CHAPTER 5
“Hey, Mike!” Jake called from behind the ops counter, “the Nogales hospital just called. Dallas is awake!”
Murdoch had just come in from a mission. The late afternoon sun slanted through the west window of the shack. He’d just entered the door, helmet bag in hand, and now his heart took off at a gallop. “Yeah? How is she?”
It had been two days since she’d been wounded. Two of the worst days of his life. And yet he had to fly, despite not wanting to leave her side.
Laughing, Jake put down the phone. “Awake and bitching. She wants out of there, pronto! Like yesterday. That’s our X.O.”
Grinning lopsidedly, Murdoch deposited his bag on the shelf. “She’s okay? Talking? Her old self?”
“Sounded fine to me,” Jake said, grinning widely.
“You sure?”
“Yep, no brain damage. That’s good news.”
“I’ll get right over there. My report can wait.”
Waving his hand toward the door, Jake said, “Gotcha, boss. Oh, the nurse at the desk said Dallas was asking specifically for you.”
Pleasure thrummed through Murdoch. “You aren’t jiving me, are you?”
“Me?” his buddy crowed. “Hell no! I swear it.” He held up his fingers in the Boy Scout salute.
“You had better be telling the truth….” Murdoch growled.
Chortling, Jake said, “Take off, Mike. She wants to see you. I’ll tell our C.O. what’s going down and let him know Dallas is back to the land of the living. I’m sure he’ll be relieved to hear that.”
So was Murdoch. Lifting his hand in farewell to his friend, he exited the shack, mentally jumping up and down for joy over the good news. The day was cloudy, with rain predicted, and he found his flight suit wasn’t enough to protect him from the damp chill in the air or the erratic winds. The desert could be brutally cold in winter.
Even so, Mike decided not to go back to his apartment and change into civilian clothes. He’d been on an eight-hour mission in Sonora with Bob. Since Dallas had been wounded, they were down to a three-man team once more. Nike Alexander was slated to arrive in two weeks. At least that would give them two teams in the air while Dallas was sidelined.
As Murdoch headed for his black Toyota Forerunner, his whole focus centered on Dallas. How was she? Aching to kiss her, to hold her, he felt his eyes suddenly and unexpectedly mist up with tears. He fought them back and quickly strode to his car. More than anything, he needed to see Dallas. To make sure she was whole and all right, despite the fact her helmet had taken a direct hit from a bullet. Would she be glad to see him?
* * *
“Mike!” Dallas called. She struggled to sit up in her bed in the private hospital room. “Am I ever glad to see you!”
Murdoch grinned unevenly as he closed the door to her small room. The sinking sun slanted through the venetian blinds to the left of her bed. Dallas was dressed in a formless blue cotton gown, with a small white square of gauze bandaged to her left temple. She was pale, but he saw the gold fire in her eyes.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he told her, moving to her side. Grabbing a nearby chair, he pulled it over and sat down.
Dallas smiled wanly as he bent closer and adjusted two pillows so she could lean against them. “Thanks. It’s great to see you, too.”
“You took a bullet to your helmet,” he told her, reaching out to grasp her hand. Mike didn’t care; he needed to touch her, to be reassured she was really all right. Her eyes went soft as he gripped her fingers and gave them a tender squeeze. His heart pounded briefly when she returned the gesture.
“The last thing I remember is this big dude charging me, his rifle blazing away on automatic,” she murmured.
“Well,” Murdoch said, “you nailed the bastard. He’s dead. In fact, three of the five met their maker out there. When you went down, I finished the rest off. The federales got there about ten minutes later, by Huey helicopter. They cleaned up the mess.” Giving her a concerned look, he added, “I didn’t know if you were alive or dead, Dallas. Your helmet was cracked and blood was leaking out from beneath it. You scared me to death.”
Holding his hand felt like the most wonderful thing in the world. “I’m sorry I scared you, Mike.”
“You didn’t do it on purpose, sweetheart.” Gulping, Murdoch realized belatedly the endearment had escaped his lips. Dallas’s cheeks colored briefly.
He wanted to do more than just hold her hand, dammit! Yet it had to be enough for now. And it was. His heart was soaring with happiness.
“I woke up an hour ago,” Dallas confessed, holding his smoldering gaze, which made her body respond even though she was still feeling weak. “The nurse said I was calling out for you.”
“Well, we were in the middle of a firefight,” he reminded her, “and I’m sure your brain recalled that.” He assumed a cocky, teasing expression. “Hey, I’m single, good-looking and available. Why wouldn’t you call out for me in your moment of need?”
Dallas managed a wry smile and gripped his callused hand. She wondered what it would be like to kiss Murdoch. Suddenly smitten by the shape of his mouth, and how it moved, Dallas realized how much she liked having this guy in her life. “You’re so full of yourself, dude.”
“And you like me despite that, right?” He smiled wickedly. Her soft, full lips curved upward, and heat tunneled through Murdoch. Right now, Dallas was vulnerable because of her injury, and he wanted to tread lightly.
“I suppose it won’t hurt to admit that I do like you a little bit,” she murmured, meeting his gleaming eyes, which promised her so much. Lifting her hand, she pointed to the bandage on her temple. “Do me a favor? Get me the hell out of here. I want to go home, to my apartment. I hate hospitals, Mike. Can you talk to the physician and get me released? Please?”
Her pleading look tore at him. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do. Are you in pain?”
“No. They’re giving me aspirin. The nurse said I had bruised my temple. My thick skull’s intact.” She laughed. “For once it pays off to be hardheaded.”
When Murdoch released her hand, Dallas felt as if the sun had stopped shining. He had such a positive effect on her! How could this man, who had been so difficult, suddenly mean more to her than any other guy ever had?
“Okay, boss lady, I’ll go hunt down your doctor and see what I can wrangle out of him. I’ll be back,” he promised.
* * *
Dallas was chomping at the bit. Forty minutes had passed. What was Murdoch doing? She knew the hospital physicians were sometimes tough to track down, being so busy. Before she could work herself up anymore, the door opened and Murdoch entered. He was beaming, his mouth pulled into the broadest smile she’d ever seen.
“This looks like good news,” she said, exasperation in her voice. “Is he letting me go?”
Murdoch rubbed his hands together as he came over and sat down in the chair. “Well, she, Dr. Maria Alvarez, is going to release you on one condition.”
Dallas searched his twinkling eyes. “Okay, Murdoch, what did you finagle? There’s a hitch in this. I can smell it.”
He eyed her innocently. “Hey, Dr. Alvarez was pretty amicable about this idea under the circumstances. At first, when I found her, she didn’t want to release you at all.” He preened a little. “But with my good looks, my persuasive melt-a-woman smile, she gave in to my little plan to get you out of here.”
“Uh-oh,” Dallas said, swayed by that wonderful male smile herself. “Okay, what’s the deal? What do I owe you?”
Murdoch chuckled. “The doctor is going to release you to me for the next twenty-four hours. She feels you need to be watched, to make sure no other symptoms manifest from that bruise to your head.”
“Released to you? What does that mean?”
“I get to take you over to my apartment for the next twenty-four hours.” He noted her surprise. “Don’t worry, Dallas. You’ll get my bedroom, and I’ll sleep out on the couch. It’s not what you think.” Although he wished it was. Her gold eyes conveyed shock, and then her mouth set, which meant she was considering her options. “Hey,” he cajoled, “it can’t be that bad, can it? I’ll make you chicken soup. I’m rather good at cooking, in case you didn’t know. All Dr. Alvarez wants is to have a set of eyes on you to make sure you don’t develop dizziness, vomiting or stuff like that. She said that normally, in a case like yours, they keep you one day for observation after you regain consciousness.”
“Humph.” Dallas raised an eyebrow. “Murdoch, if I didn’t know better, I’d suspect you concocted this whole scheme from beginning to end.”
“For once I’m innocent,” Mike protested, while inwardly gloating over the situation. The beginnings of a smile curved her delicious lips. “Well? Can I sweep you off your feet, my lady? I’ll carry you to my charger, and we’ll blow this joint.”
“Anything is better than staying here.”
Giving her a hurt look, Murdoch said, “Come on. I can’t be the lesser of two evils, can I?”
“That’s exactly what you are,” Dallas muttered.
“Then how come you look so happy?”
“Because anything’s better than a hospital, that’s why.” Dallas grinned.
Murdoch refused to be rebuffed by her, especially since she was teasing him. He could see the joy banked in her gold eyes. “Well, I’ll just have to persuade you that I’m a very good deal under the circumstances.”
“Make me that chicken soup, Murdoch, and we’ll talk. Okay?”
* * *
Dallas sat at the kitchen table in Murdoch’s condo and savored the chicken soup. “Mmm, this is good,” she murmured. “The only thing missing is my mother’s matzo balls.”
Mike sat at her elbow, eating a huge Caesar salad with strips of grilled chicken breast. It was nearly 7:00 p.m., but the night was young, and he was enjoying Dallas’s company. “You cook much? Maybe you can teach me how to make them someday?”
“I love to cook. Just never have the time,” she griped good-naturedly. When they’d gotten home, Murdoch had shown her to the bathroom, where she’d enjoyed a long, luxurious bath, washed her hair and changed into clean clothes that they’d picked up from her apartment earlier. The bandage they’d put on was waterproof, thank goodness. Dallas felt comfortable wearing a soft cotton Peruvian shift that fell to her ankles. The gold-and-purple orchids embroidered around the neckline and hem made her feel very feminine. But maybe that was due to the burning look in Murdoch’s eyes. He treated her like a woman, not an air-combat commander.
Mike waved a hand toward his small and efficient kitchen. “Hey, when we start getting some time off, come on over. My mother taught me how to cook as soon as I was old enough to peer over the kitchen counter.”
“Smart mom. Men should know how to cook and clean, just like any woman does.”
“I keep telling you, I’m not the Neanderthal you think I am.” He grinned at her lasciviously.
“I admit, I had some pretty intractable opinions about you.” She finished off the soup, picked up her fork and began to help herself from his salad bowl. “I guess I’m hungrier than I thought.”
“I like to share.”
“Yeah, I bet you do,” Dallas chuckled softly. “Hey, you make a mean Caesar dressing. You really do know how to cook.”
“Just one more thing to love about me.”
Groaning, Dallas nibbled on a piece of the savory, herbed chicken. She could taste the lemon basil. “Stop selling yourself, Murdoch. It won’t do any good.”
“No? What does it take to get you to fall for me, then?”
The music he’d put on was low and mellow, and she found herself relaxing even more. “Just be yourself. You don’t need to convince me. I work with you every day, remember?”
“So,” he said, raising his brows and spearing some romaine lettuce with his fork, “have I sold you yet?”
“You don’t play fair, Murdoch.” Her eyes teased him.
“No?” He sighed and enjoyed simply watching her. Dallas’s hair was still damp, and it gleamed with gold highlights in the light of the chandelier. This was the first time he’d seen her in something other than a flight suit. She made that loose-fitting cotton gown look damn good. “How do I not play fair?”
“You’re too blunt and forward.”
“What? About liking you? About wanting to pursue something with you other than being air buddies?”
She dipped her head to hide her burgeoning smile. “You just don’t take no for an answer, do you?”
“Never. Not when it’s something I want.”
“You’re a wild man, Murdoch. The C.O. named you and your friends well—the Wild Bunch.”
“But you love wild, Dallas. From what you’ve told me about the Black Jaguar Squadron, it’s a bunch of wild women. You go for primal.” He met her laughter-filled eyes. How badly he wanted to get up, lift her out of that chair and kiss her silly.
“Point taken. We are wild women. The whole premise of the BJS was cooked up by Major Maya Stevenson, and she’s as wild as they come.”
“Yes,” Murdoch said patiently, “and you were her X.O. for six years, so what does that make you?”
Dallas held up her hand. “Okay, guilty as charged.”
“So, why wouldn’t a wild man and a wild woman find happiness in a relationship with one another?” he posed archly, pointing his fork in her direction. Dallas was hungry and eagerly consuming a good portion of his salad, but Mike didn’t mind. She was alive. She was getting well. That was all that mattered to him.
“I suppose they might,” she admitted. She wasn’t tasting the delicious salad anymore, her heart and body were reacting to Murdoch’s nearness. It seemed as if she were sitting next to sunlight; she felt warm, soft and achy in all the right places. And he damn well knew that she was enamored with him.
The only thing that held Dallas back was that shortly, the Pentagon was going to assign her somewhere in the world with a new Black Jaguar Squadron. What then? Mike loved his job. He was a civilian. He had a life here in Arizona, where he’d been born and raised. She figured he wouldn’t want to pull up his roots and become an aimless tumbleweed, following her around the globe. Past experience had shown her that few men would ever consider such a scenario.
Frustration thrummed through Murdoch. How to convince this feisty, no-nonsense woman to fall into his arms and allow him to love her until she melted like hot wax? “I have an idea. A proposition of sorts.”
Dallas sat back and drank from her iced tea glass. Seeing the playful look of hurt on his handsome face, she said, “What idea?”
“Christmas is coming up shortly. I make a mean turkey stuffed with cranberries, apples and raisins. How about you agree to come over for a great gourmet dinner midafternoon Christmas Day, and consider staying overnight afterward?”