He shrugged. “It’s a living. I do get to fly, which I love. And I like making a difference in people’s lives. Plus, I’m not bored out of my skull. I translate when I’m out in the field and like doing that.”
There was no passion in his face or voice. She felt as if he were treading deep water in some ocean where there was no land in sight. “I would think you have someone waiting for you at home?”
“No.”
Sloan wasn’t sure whether she should feel happy or sad about the news. He’d nearly snapped the word out of his mouth. She knew that sharpness in his voice and seen it before at Bagram.
“I was hired by Artemis. I wanted to use my medical background to help others. Tal Culver was a good friend of mine back at Bagram, as you probably remember. When she turned in her commission, she became the CEO of Artemis. She called me and asked me to come work for them instead of working at a hospital.”
“Are you happy?”
“Yes, I am. I’ve been on a lot of assignments in Africa and each one of them has been gratifying to me.”
“Do you have a condo near Artemis, then?”
“I found a small house about fifteen miles east of the firm and bought it. It has two acres of land, some fruit trees. I love it. I need the quiet and nature. But,” Sloan said, giving him a wry look, “I’m not home very often. I’ll get a couple of weeks or a month off between assignments, but then another mission comes in, and I’m off, gallivanting to somewhere else in the world.”
“I initially rented a condo in Alexandria after Delos hired me,” Dan admitted. “But since buying it, I’ve only been home for three weeks this year. It’s pretty much sitting there, unused. Tal was telling me I should rent it out and make money off it.”
“We’re global tumbleweeds,” Sloan said, relishing the tasty stew. “Home is wherever we’re standing, Malloy.”
He perked up over her teasing and smiled a little. “You were my home at Bagram. It never got any better than that, Sloan.”
CHAPTER 5
You were my home at Bagram. It never got any better than that, Sloan.
Dan’s low, pain-filled words cut through her, starkly reminding her of what she was missing with the only man she’d ever loved. How badly Sloan wanted to ask him the obvious. But she had to work with Dan now, as partners on a mission. This wasn’t about her personal and emotional desires toward him. It was about keeping him safe so he could do his job for Delos. There was a bad guy out there, lurking, waiting to blow up his helicopter, destroy the hangar, and him. Sloan knew the joy of Dan sharing their hectic life at Bagram. She knew how tough it was to leave him to go out on a mission with her team. And now, she was going to have to button up her personal needs and gently set them aside because they had no business in the mix right now.
“Tomorrow, is it possible to go to your hangar? Maybe look around?”
“Sure, that was my plan. I figured a good night’s sleep under your belt would put you in stead for tomorrow. I want to introduce you to Samiah, my office assistant, and my two mechs. We’ll seed your cover with them. That way, anyone seeing you work with me isn’t going to suspect anything.”
“Good,” Sloan said, finishing off the bowl of stew. She smiled a little. “You’re really a good cook. This tasted great. Thank you.” She saw a ruddiness come to his cheeks and realized belatedly that Dan was blushing. She’d never seen that before, and it endeared him to her.
“My pleasure.”
“Can we look over your schedule tomorrow? I want to see where you’re going, and the medical teams coming in. I need to do a lot of prep work on each flight, where you land, how long you stay, and what types of medical relief are being given to the village.”
“We can do that,” Dan promised. “Samiah will have the details on my computer, and she can email you a copy.” He smiled slightly. “All the electronic conveniences of home out here in the middle of nowhere.”
“Wow,” Sloan teased, “I’m impressed, Malloy.” She saw him perk up a little more as if she’d invisibly reached out and caressed his cheek.
Dan got up and removed the dishes, placing them in the sink. He made coffee earlier and brought it over, filling the two cups. He knew she liked sugar in hers and brought over the sugar bowl, setting it nearby.
“I need to apologize to you, Sloan. I never did at Bagram, and I’ve regretted it every day since then. I’m sorry I walked out on you like that.” The pain built within him as he saw her eyes go dark with anguish. “We’re going to be working together again, and I can’t handle not clearing the air between us. I thought you might arrive here angry, upset, or…something. But you aren’t any of those things. I’m sure you’re over me, and with good reason, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t apologize for my actions and my decisions toward you…us.” His mouth thinned, the words so hard to push out between his lips. “I should have told you the real reason why I left. This was not your fault, and I’m so damned sorry I hurt you like I did. I can see it in your eyes right now, and it tears me up inside. I didn’t mean to do this to you.”
Sloan sat very still, absorbing his emotional apology. She folded her hands in her lap, holding his pleading gaze. “I didn’t know what I’d done wrong, Dan. All you said is that you had to leave and that was it. I’ve wondered for years what I’d done to cause the breakup.”
Dan shook his head. “No, there was nothing you did, Sloan. You were the victim in all of this.” He laid his hands on the table, staring at her, seeing the glimmer of unshed tears in her eyes. “At the investigation hearing, I never expected what happened to me. My arm had two crushed bones in it. I wasn’t sure I would ever heal up enough to fly again, but I was cleared. It had never entered my mind that I wouldn’t remain in the Night Stalker squadron so long as the Army cleared me of the crash.” Even now, it hurt to talk about that morning when he’d stood at attention, hearing the final investigation report from the three-man tribunal. “They told me the primary cause of the crash was weather-related conditions, but then, the unofficial version I got said that I should have piloted the craft better. They removed me from the Night Stalker unit and demoted me to a Black Hawk driver in a Medevac squadron. My orders were to leave Bagram immediately and join the squadron at the forward operating base in Kandahar. That totaled me. I was reeling emotionally from the crash, my lousy piloting skills getting Andy killed, and the MH-47 being destroyed by RPGs.”
Sloan watched him wrestle with so many raw feelings, each one written in his eyes and his tortured expression. She ached for Dan, knowing how hard it must be for him to confess all of this to her.
“When the Army finished their report on my crash, I was told it was due to the thunderstorm in the area where we had to pick up your team.” His mouth flattened. “But they also said that because of how it happened, me landing and then taking the bird up after that gust hit it, that they felt I no longer had the necessary skills required to remain a Night Stalker pilot.”
“Wait a minute, Dan. My captain got a copy of that report, and it said nothing in there blaming you for pilot error.”