Targets Entangled (2 page)

“Einstein,” Doc warned softly so that the other men couldn’t hear. He nodded down the hallway to the left. “You might want to fix that before Starr or Gunny get wind of it.”

Daegan was just about to take his turn to detour around an open hatch that led down to the second platform where engineering was performing maintenance in a shaft-bearing compartment when he caught sight of Ferrin Hewitt in the passageway. She was a communication specialist aboard
The Promised Land
and the woman with whom he’d broken the recently reiterated fraternization rule. He didn’t regret it, but it was plain as day that she obviously did. He needed to fix things between them before her apparent animosity went any further. The last thing either of them needed was to be called in for an ass chewing for past transgressions immediately after Starr had put them all on notice.

“I’ll meet you in the team ready room.” Daegan ignored the men’s warnings regarding the time limit that Gunny had given them as he veered off from the group. He continued to follow Ferrin down the corridor until he caught up with her as she rounded the corner just before the S-6 spaces began in the stern of the ship on the first platform. She must have known it was him because she swung around with a finger that hit dead center in his chest. It was a cute gesture but he doubted she would want to hear that at the moment. He spoke before she had the chance. “I just want to talk.”

“Back off,” Ferrin cautioned, her grey eyes flashing with annoyance and something else he didn’t want to ignore. It was hard to overlook her beauty, even in her standard issued khaki utility blouse and pants. It fit her better than it had a right to, which was what had caught his attention to begin with. She had long chestnut colored hair that was currently pulled back in a twist at the nape of her neck, dark grey eyes that were usually hiding behind those glasses she had clutched in her left hand, and perfectly pink, arched lips that were made for kissing. She tapped his chin to raise his stare and he fought the urge to remind her of what they’d shared. It wouldn’t help his case any. She lowered her voice as if she were afraid someone would overhear them even though the passageway was empty. “There’s nothing to talk about, Daegan. We both agreed it wouldn’t happen again, especially once this mission commenced and we left port. We’re now co-workers, not friends or anything else. Just do your job and I’ll do mine. I shouldn’t have to spell out for you what will happen if anyone in the chain of command finds out that we…”

“Had sex?” Daegan was clear on the rules as well, but that’s all it was—a rule. He wasn’t sure why he was arguing with her over this, especially considering they were on the same page. “We’re not in the military any longer, Ferrin. It’s a Human Relations guideline, nothing more.”

“We might not be in the military, but my ship’s captain stated clear as day that there would be no fraternization among the crew,” Ferrin insisted, finally dropping her hand as she realized she was still touching him. She rubbed her finger on her blouse nonchalantly. “I happen to agree and seeing as you made rather clearly that what we had was totally free of commitment and for the weekend only, it shouldn’t be a problem now that we’re back at work.”

“I can be influenced by the right woman,” Daegan said with a smile, loving the fact that he could razz her so easily. A lovely shade of rouge touched her cheeks. Ferrin wasn’t his usual one-night stand and it had become quite clear that she didn’t usually partake in them. Maybe that was why she fascinated him, but he sure as hell didn’t like to see confusion in her eyes. “Ferrin, I only stopped you because you haven’t looked my way with that smile for the last four months. When you do see me, you get this look on your face that could tip our hand if somebody put two and two together. We’re going to be in close quarters and I want this to work just as much as you do. I know how important your job is to you. I wouldn’t jeopardize that for something trivial.”

Daegan remembered that day as if it were yesterday. They both had just finished a long work week a few months back that had turned into a full-blown weekend of wild and passionate sex—exactly what he’d needed to take the edge off. It had been fun; they both had known that circumstances would go back to normal come that following Monday morning, and they’d both acted like adults when the sun rose that day. Unfortunately she’d decided to act as if it had never taken place with the addition of a rather perturbed attitude. It would have been easier to allow her that courtesy, but for some reason it agitated the shit out of him. He took a deep breath and made another effort to make her more comfortable.

“We’re adults, Ferrin. It was a fun weekend and we did nothing wrong.”

“Didn’t we?” Ferrin asked, clearly disagreeing with him. She looked down at the glasses in her hand as if they had all the answers. He wouldn’t call her uptight, but her composure was a little too strung for his liking. He could admit to wanting to be the one to unwind her just a bit. “What happened was a mistake, Daegan. I can’t take it back, and I really can’t afford to mess this job up. This is something that I’ve spent eight years working toward.”

“We enjoyed each other’s company. That’s not a crime.” Daegan would have placed a hand on her arm in reassurance if he thought she’d have let him. He liked her better when she was uninhibited in his bed, but even he knew that breaking the fraternization rule on board
The Promised Land
wasn’t the brightest idea. “I do understand how much this means to you, which is why you need to relax around me. We’re not only going to be in close quarters, but we’re going to be working closely together. Can we please have a truce from the attitude?”

“I can keep things professional if you can.”

Ferrin apparently hadn’t played the game enough to know that she’d just waved a red flag. There was an underlying attraction between them that he hadn’t gotten out of his system and she felt it too, regardless that she was concerned about their positions aboard the ship. She raised a hand to the bundle of hair at the nape of her neck, ensuring that a strand wasn’t out of place. He had to make a fist to prevent himself from unclipping the long waves he knew to be there.

“No problem,” Daegan assured her, catching sight of someone emerging from the watertight hatch that led to the S-6 passageway. It was probably a good thing or he would have proven her wrong and gotten them both into trouble. He nodded his head as he turned back to retrace his steps, letting her know that someone was approaching. The man walking down the hall was in a similar uniform that Ferrin was dressed in and he didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. He spoke before he turned and walked in the other direction. “Thank you for clearing that up, Hewitt.”

At this rate Daegan probably only had a few minutes to spare before his meeting started. That was fine by him. Doc was the only one who knew how far Daegan had taken things with Ferrin and he wouldn’t tell the others for fear of ill-timed comments and baiting the waters. Stick and Trigger might assume he was just trying to get laid, but they wouldn’t think twice about it. His major problem at the moment was actually following through with what he’d just agreed to. Keeping things professional with Ferrin was going to take some measure of personal restraint. Speaking with her again reminded him of why he’d been attracted to her in the beginning and he wasn’t at all sure that he
wanted
to keep his distance. Four weeks to their station off the Nigerian coast in international waters via the preplanned route was a damn long time and there were only so many opportunities and a finite amount of targets that he could shoot at in the middle of the ocean. Maybe setting his sights on
someone
rather than
something
was exactly what this trip required to keep that razor edge he needed.

‡

F
errin entered the
galley with the intention of eating a late lunch before her shift began, but her appetite had fled the moment she’d set eyes on Daegan. His blue eyes had cut through her like a razorblade, reminding her with a knot in her stomach that he’d been her one mistake that she couldn’t take back. She wasn’t sure she regretted it completely and that made it even worse.

Daegan was the total opposite of her—an extreme adrenaline junkie without a care in the world and a man who went through women like he did clips of ammo. It was as if he didn’t value his own life and he purposefully set out to create chaos to keep it interesting, whereas she needed everything organized and in its place in order to get through her day-to-day routine. So why then was that wretched weekend scorched into her brain?

“Sex,” Tami McDaniel said, having no idea that she’d just answered Ferrin’s question. The short bubbly blonde had become a friend of sorts since they’d started initial sea trials and then mission workups with the newly refitted
The Promised Land,
getting her ready for departure. She reminded Ferrin of a female version of Daegan. Tami had a position in the combat operations center, the so-called COC. She monitored the surface ship traffic on their new generation Terma surface search radar and she liked working with the type-A operations guys in high-tension atmospheres…among other things.

As for her job, Tami had been all excited by the radar’s ability to detect and track small targets and queue the new Block 1 Phalanx Close-In Weapons Systems through the automated fire control computer. They had actually engaged some towed targets on their last live fire exercise and it seemed Tami thought she was the reincarnation of Annie Oakley. She didn’t hide who she was though and she appeared determined to get Ferrin to lighten up just a bit. She had no idea that Ferrin had followed her advice or that she was now paying the price. “You need sex. That frown on your face would turn upside down if you had a little relief. You should let one of those Team guys take you for a ride.”

“I don’t need sex and besides, fraternization is against the rules,” Ferrin said, pointing out what everyone seemed to be forgetting immediately after they’d all been warned. What was it with these people and not following the CO’s guidance? It was a damn good thing that Ferrin hadn’t shared the details of her sordid weekend. She wouldn’t have heard the end of it and she didn’t need to be stuck on this ship day and night being reminded of the moment she’d let her hair down in her moment of weakness. She had Daegan for that constant memento. His Irish good looks didn’t help her forget what it was like to rub her hand over his closely cropped head, the stubble as black as sin. She remembered kissing those soft lips and watching those blue eyes of his darken when he talked dirty to her. She inhaled deeply, hoping that would cool her down and then tried to focus on the conversation at hand. “I’m on the graves shift but my body isn’t used to it yet. I thought I’d grab something to eat before trying to get a few hours of shuteye. Are you coming or going?”

“Always coming,” Tami replied with a wiggle of her eyebrows. Ferrin was reconsidering eating when Tami fell into step beside her as they made their way to the end of the salad bar. Not even the smell of food prompted her hunger to return. Tami tucked some blonde strands behind her ear before grabbing a tray and handing it to Ferrin. She envied her friend’s hair, cut into a neat and tidy bob that framed her chin. It was the perfect style for being in the careers they’d chosen, but that would mean Ferrin would be giving up the stress-free action of twisting it at the base of her neck after a shower. It wasn’t worth it and she forced herself to pay attention to what Tami was saying. “Why did you volunteer for graves anyway? I can’t take the quiet. I need voices, people, and interaction.”

“You just answered your own question,” Ferrin said with a smile. Okay, she was feeling a little better now that she’d been reminded that she would be on a different rotation than Daegan. She’d never have to see him and be reminded of what they’d shared. She wasn’t even sure why she couldn’t get past it. Well, yes, she could—because her actions had been so out of character and she secretly liked what they had done together. She assembled her salad, grabbed a bottle of water along with some utensils, and then waited for Tami to do the same. Ferrin was grateful for the distraction. “It
is
quiet, with no one to bother me unless there’s an issue on the bridge with their radio interface or someone wants to make a call home on one of our ship-to-shore links. I can do my job with efficiency and avoid the madness of the day shift.”

“If you ask me, this mission is FUBAR…fucked up beyond all recognition,” Tami murmured, finally making up her mind on which salad dressing she wanted. She was certifiable. Who didn’t know what kind of dressing they liked? She once again fell into step with Ferrin as she led them to a table against the bulkhead so Tami could watch who passed by. Ferrin glanced around to see if she knew anyone and while she noticed some of the staff that she’d met prior to preparing the ship, they all had their groups of friends they were comfortable with. Everyone was forming into their cruise cliques. This mission was a job to her and that’s how she looked upon it, with the exception of Tami. The woman had that type of outside the box, bubbly personality that was impossible to ignore. She was also very opinionated. “I know it might be hard to believe, but I do keep up with current events. There are multiple other hostage situations that Red Starr HRT could be undertaking. All of them are dangerous as hell but quite a bit less politically incendiary.”