Running Fire (15 page)

“I'll take the horses,” he told her. “Follow me.”

Leah was led into yet another chamber. There were two stone walls jutting out in the cave, reminding her of wings of a sort, and they enclosed the area where Kell led her and the horses. The light was bright and welcoming.

She saw a grate and a teakettle. Someone had lived here. Or
was
living here. She started getting out of all the Afghan clothes and then was more than happy to rid herself of the heavy Kevlar vest and her weapon. It was wonderful to strip down to a damp, soaked T-shirt that clung to her skin, and her cammie trousers.

Kell had taken the horses and tied them on metal rings that had been placed into the limestone wall. She saw there was a smaller cave near the horses. Kell went into it and came out carrying flakes of alfalfa hay. What was this place? Curious, Leah walked down the tunnel toward him.

“Does someone live here now?” She watched him take the saddles off the horses and set them on the floor.

“Did. A woman Marine, a black ops sniper by the name of Sergeant Khatera Shinwari lived here for five years. Now, black ops groups traveling through this area use this cave as a sort of safe house.” Kell removed the tarp and unpacked the heavy load on the horse, setting all the items in the small hay cave.

“Am I hearing things? Is there water running nearby?”

Kell smiled. “That's the five-star treat. Soon as I get these animals fed and watered, I'll take you over to check it out. Why don't you get us some MREs out of that box?” He pointed to one on the ground near the horse.

Leah chose two. “Have you been here before?”

“A number of times.” As Kell gave each of the sweaty animals their hay, he picked up three buckets from the other cave. “Why don't you make yourself at home in her kitchen? There's all kinds of stuff in those cave holes in the tunnel on the other side of where the horses are at. Each black ops group leaves canned food and other items for the next operators who hole up here for a day or two.”

She was stunned by the cave. The fact a woman lived here for years made Leah's brows rise with surprise.

She set the MREs down by the metal grate and began to investigate the holes in the cave wall. In some, she found cans of food: vegetables, salmon, sardines and just about everything else. There was a can opener with them, as well.

In another, she found sugar, flour, salt and pepper in aluminum tins. In a smaller one she found bags of candy, chocolate bars and chewing gum. She smiled, thinking about the men and women who had passed through here. She wondered what Kell would leave to restock the place after they left.

Kell hauled three large wooden pails of water, one for each horse. When he was done, he caught her hand, took the lantern and said, “Come on...”

She held his hand, feeling its strength, knowing how gentle he could be. In one way, it felt strange to be with a man. Could it last? Leah wasn't sure. But she wanted a chance to find out.

As Kell rounded the corner, a whole new cave opened up before her. It was twice as large as the other one. Leah gasped, halting, her eyes widening. There in front of her was a waterfall at least ten to fifteen feet high, coming out of the ceiling above and flowing into a huge pool that took up a third of the cave. She saw a wooden bench sitting near it.

“What do you think?” Kell asked, watching her expression.

“Five stars. You were right. I never imagined something like this here in this desert country.”

“The mountain surrounding this cave is fourteen thousand feet high. It has year-round snow on its summit and in the summer, some of it melts and this is where it flows.”

“This...is so beautiful,” Leah whispered. Kell's arm slid around her shoulder, pulling her close. It felt so natural to be with him. Leah wondered how she'd lived all these years without him. But she wasn't sure whether their relationship, which had taken root under the worst of circumstances, would continue to bloom once they arrived at the FOB. She felt tentative, yet hungered for what he effortlessly shared with her.

“Let's go eat and then you can take your shower under that waterfall.”

As they ate, Leah asked, “What's the plan for us?”

“We're going to reach Camp Bravo by horseback.” Kell didn't want to give her any more information than necessary. Leah was still working out the shock of the crash, and the news that her ex-husband was sticking his nose into her life once again. She was under a lot of ongoing stress. He could see the fragility in Leah's eyes, although she didn't say anything. She was a lot stronger than he'd given her credit for. Mentally, she was tough, and that's where it counted. Anyone who could keep moving with painful leg cramps like she had gained his respect. With most people, it instantly crippled them and they fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

“How far is Bravo from here?” Leah remembered his face, the tight tension, the focus in his expression just before he killed the Taliban who had wandered into their cave. Now, Kell was relaxed, and it touched her deeply. Hayden always wore a game face and never let it down around her. Kell was himself around her. Not the SEAL. Not the military man. Just a Kentucky-bred boy whose natural warmth oozed out of him like warm honey in sunlight.

“Roughly twenty-five miles.”

“That's not far.”

“No, but it's not a straight shot, either. We're going to be riding and making changes all the time, based upon what the drone sees. We have to avoid Taliban at all costs.”

“It's dangerous.”

His mouth lifted a little. “Anything we do falls into that category, Sugar.”

She sighed and put the MRE aside after finishing it. “I've really been protected by being up in the sky.” She held Kell's somber look. “It's very different here on the ground.”

“It's always a game of cat and mouse,” he agreed. Worse, because of intense Taliban activity, if they got into trouble, they were on their own. Kell was going to have to use his considerable experience over here, his knowledge of the land and mountains, to thread the eye of this particular needle and get them safely back to the forward operating base.

Leah leaned back against the protruding wall, her hands wrapped around her drawn-up knees. “Sometimes,” she admitted softly, “I don't want to go back.” She saw Kell lift his head and study her. “I know it's immature to say that. Since meeting you, my life has changed so dramatically. When we go back to Bravo, everything will change again. I won't get to see you that often and I know it.”

“We'll make it work, Leah. Don't forget, I'm black ops.” Kell smiled a little. And then he became serious, placing his empty MRE aside. “You've given a lot of thought to us? About the fact you're a warrant officer? If you ever get outed by someone in your squadron who discovers that you're consorting with an enlisted man, it could hurt your career very badly. You've worked hard for years to get where you are.” He saw Leah nod, her expression placid, as if she were at peace with the threat.

“I've thought about it, Kell. I know the danger. The guys I'm with at Bravo have my back. It's my ex-husband who doesn't, but he's at Bagram, thank God.”

“But you're putting your
entire
career on the line.” Kell dug into her green eyes. As much as he wanted to continue to explore what they had, the price would be steep.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Leah teased, seeing the worry in his eyes, the concern in his voice.

“No. Not even.”

“This cuts both ways and you know it. What if your officers find out you're in a relationship with an Army warrant officer?”

Kell shook his head. “SEALs operate differently. I'm not saying they'd like it. But as long as I do my job, I'm accountable to my team, they don't care. If I were to flaunt it under their noses, that would get me in hot water. The team is everything, Leah. But if I do my job, keep us under wraps, they will look the other way.”

“Wish the Army had that live-and-let-live attitude, but they don't.”

“No, and that's why we really need to be sure of what's going on between us. Because once we make it back to Bravo, you've got a thousand men watching you whether you like it or not. Not many women, especially good-looking women like you, are out here in the badlands. And that means we're going to have to be extra careful, because if there's fallout, it's coming your way, not mine.”

She tipped her head back and listened to the music of the waterfall. “I'll roll with it, Kell. Take it a day at a time.” She felt the danger of what could happen, how military regulations could tear them apart. Was she being wise? Foolhardy? Leah had taken very few risks in the emotional department with men. The three times she had, they had all ended in disaster.

Was she seeing Kell accurately? Would he change once they were back at Bravo? Hayden had seemed so warm and open to her until they'd gotten married, and then her life became a nightmare. Leah had thrown those experiences around, trying to compare those men to Kell. He was just so different from them that she felt hopeful. Maybe she was idealizing their relationship? Only time would tell.

Leah wasn't going to rush into anything. Hayden had taught her that. They had time at Bravo to slowly move forward and she could, by being more mature, handle this relationship differently. Better.

“Your ex is gunning for you,” Kell warned, not wanting to say any more than that. “He could get one of the pilots at Bravo to watch you. Report back to him. If he found out we had a relationship, would he put you up on court-martial charges for it?”

She snorted. “Hayden is vindictive. He's been wanting to trip me up for years, ever since he divorced me. He's filled my father's ears with all the things he can find that I've done wrong, and then he tattles on me.” Leah held his dark gaze. “I don't care anymore, Kell. This crash has done something to me.” Leah hitched one shoulder upward. “I can't put it into words. Since the crash, I just don't care.”

“It's shock,” he muttered. “It's going to take you a month or more to shake it off. You almost died.”
You should have died. But didn't.
And Kell knew better than anyone, because he'd cheated death too many times himself. It changed a person's outlook forever. Usually, they realized it months after the event. With Leah, she was already there. “I don't want you making snap decisions right now because of it,” he warned her. Kell had seen other team members, once they almost died, walk away. Quit. Others just sucked it up, internalized the experience and kept on moving forward. A person never knew what they'd do until it happened to them. In Leah's case, she was reviewing her life as a pilot. Kell had no idea where it would lead or what Leah would decide because of it.

“I know.” She gave him a sad smile. “The past few days have been so different from the life I knew. It's you, Kell. I know that. And I
want
you in my life. I want to explore what we have.” She opened her hands and added, “I know we haven't had much time with one another, but I'm serious about you. Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe it's that shock you're talking about. I don't know. What I do know is I want you in my life.”

Kell sat very still, listening to her impassioned words, absorbing her expression, the urgency underlying her admission. “I'm serious about you, too, Leah,” he said. He'd never expected in a million years that a woman would drop out of the sky, drop into his arms, and he'd fall so damned hard for her, body and soul. “I don't know where we're going, either, Sugar. I want you in my life as much as possible. It's going to be tough to do at Bravo. Most of the time, I'm out on missions for a day, maybe a few days, at a time. Sometimes longer. And you have your flight schedule, too.”

“Distance makes the heart grow fonder,” Leah said, giving him a tender look. Just the idea that their close intimacy with one another might be coming to an end, that she'd not have this with Kell at Bravo, made her heart ache. Leah had never felt so emotionally connected to a man in her life as she did with Kell. It was inexplicable. It was heady. Scary. And the future wasn't bright. It looked like a minefield to her, and Kell realized the same thing. They were older, mature, and realistic about themselves and the issues confronting them. Leah knew it didn't look good. But something deep was driving her toward him, not away from him.

“I'll find ways for us to be together,” Kell assured her, and he saw her perk up and smile a little. He wasn't going to tell Leah that he'd have her six, that he'd either watch out for her himself or one of his team members would. Kell was going to let Clutch and a few of his other SEAL brothers know the truth. If he was off on a mission, he was going to make damn sure Leah wasn't left in the lurch, alone and possibly having to face Major Grant by herself if the bastard suddenly showed his face at Bravo to confront her.

One of his brothers would have her back, would protect her in his absence. That's how SEALs worked; they protected those that they loved. Kell didn't swerve from the word. He knew what love was; had had it once. But through his own mistakes, immaturity and from being gone so much, he'd lost Addy.

What he felt for Leah was even more powerful and life-altering. There hadn't been time for him to absorb it all, or even work through his feelings toward her. One thing he did know, however, was that she was his woman and nothing else mattered. So long as she felt the same way toward him, the path was clear for both of them. But nothing was guaranteed and Kell knew that. Leah was right, they'd take it one day at a time once they got back to Bravo. He was unsure what the outcome would be.

“This crash,” Leah began quietly, “has really thrown me.”

“In what way?” Kell asked. The expression on her face was one of confusion. Yeah, major shocks sure as hell did that to a person. He'd seen it far too often.