“No, seriously,” Gavin pleaded. Leaning down, he caught her golden gaze. “I’m dying for some feminine companionship.”

“Intelligent conversation with a woman? I like that.”

The jeering in her tone made Gavin chuckle. “That’s all I want, Captain Alexander—just a little conversation.”

Nike shot him an I-don’t-believe-you-for-a-second look and continued her walk around. As she leaned under the carriage, she checked the tires. The tread was thick and obviously new. That was good because when she landed this bird on rocky terrain, she didn’t need a blowout. Tires had to be in top-notch condition.

“We have nothing in common except for this assignment, Captain Jackson.”

“Are you so sure?”

Straightening to her full height, Nike grinned. “Very sure.” He stood there with a quizzical expression on his features. And she had to admit, he had a nice face. She liked looking at him, with his wide brow and high cheekbones. He had a prominent nose and a solid chin hidden beneath the dark beard. His lips reminded her of those on a sculpted bust of Julius Caesar. They were his best attribute aside from his large, inquiring blue eyes. She found it tough to think of him as someone who could easily pull a trigger and kill someone if needed. Jackson just didn’t seem like the killer type.

“Why don’t you give me a chance to prove otherwise?” Gavin pleaded as they neared the rear ramp. He knew he could win her over. The men had just finished loading fifty boxes of supplies for the village. The truck fired up, the blue diesel smoke purling upward in thick, churning clouds. He halted. So did she. Nike seemed to be considering his challenge. Good.

Why did he want to engage her on any level? Hadn’t he had enough with Laurie and her inability to compromise? Never mind he’d fallen head over heels in love with her. He’d been able to take her stubbornness in stride. Her ego was considerable and dominating like his. And that was what had broken them up. Two headstrong egos unable to bend. Laurie had brought out the worst in him. And he was as much at fault in the breakup as she was. Gavin felt men and women were equals—not one better than the other. Laurie, however, had felt that all women were inherently better than any man and that grated on Gavin, too.

“This attention is flattering but I’m busy,” Nike told him with finality.

“Are you married?”

“That’s none of your business, Captain.” Nike glared at him. “Let’s get this straight—I’m your pilot. I fly you in, drop your team off and leave. I come back with any supplies you radio in to ops. Nothing more or less. Got it?”

Sighing, Gavin said, “Yes, I got it. I wish it was otherwise, though.” True, Nike had a helluva ego but didn’t seem as stubborn as Laurie. “You’re an interesting person. How many women have been flying against South American drug cartels?” He gave her a warm smile. “See? We really do have something to discuss. I’m kind of an interesting dude myself.”

“Oh, I’m sure you think that,” Nike said, laughing. She shook her head and moved up the ramp.

Gavin stood watching her pull on the helmet and get situated in the right-hand seat in the cockpit. Nodding to the load master, Gavin mounted the ramp.

His men were grinning expectantly at him as he made his way to his nylon seat right behind Nike. He held up his hands in a show of surrender and they all laughed. Gavin didn’t mind making himself the target of fun or prodding. His team had had a two-week rest, and now they were going out again. This time, he hoped, to something less dangerous, but he wasn’t sure of that.

The ramp groaned and rumbled upward until finally the hatch was shut with a loud clang. Darkness, except for the light coming in through the cockpit, made the inside of the helicopter gray. Gavin watched his men strap in, their weapons in hand, their faces belying their real thoughts. He prayed that as they approached Zor Barawul nearby Taliban soldiers wouldn’t be firing RPGs at them as they came in for a landing. He knew from the premission briefing that the townspeople hated the Taliban. But were they pro-American? There was no way to know except to walk in, offer humanitarian aid and see what happened next. They had no script written for this newest idea by General Chapman.

After pulling on his helmet, Gavin plugged in the radio connection and heard Nike’s honeyed voice as she talked with the base air controller for permission to lift off. She had already engaged one engine on the helo and then the other one. Gavin had found out at the briefing with his people that her usual copilot had food poisoning and there was no one to replace her. Nike was flying alone, which wasn’t a good thing, but Gavin had seen it happen.

If they weren’t wearing helmets, the noise created by the helicopter would be horrendous and would destroy their hearing in a short time. The bird shuddered and shook around him. The deck beneath his booted feet constantly shivered. If his men had any worry about a woman flying this huge, hulking transport helo a hundred feet off the earth, they didn’t show it. Flying nap-of-the-earth took a helluva lot of skill. Gavin wondered how many hours she had of flight time. When Nike had finished her conversation with the tower, Gavin piped up, “Captain, how many hours do you have flying this bird?”

All his men heard the question, of course, because they, too, had helmets on and were plugged in to the inter-cabin radio system. Gavin saw the load master at the far end turn and give him a questioning look. He also heard the explosion of laughter from Nike.

“Oh, let’s see, Captain, I got my helo-driver’s license at Disneyland in Orlando, Florida,” she drawled. “Does that count?”

His men were guffawing in reaction, but no one could hear it over the noise of the vibrating helo around them. Jackson chuckled. “I feel better, Captain Alexander. So long as Mickey Mouse signed off on your pilot’s license I feel safe and sound.”

Jackson thought some of his men were going to fall out of their nylon seats they were laughing so hard. He joined them. And then he heard Nike joining their collective roar of laughter. She had a wonderful, husky tone and it made his body ache with need. What kind of magic did this Greek woman have over him?

“Actually,” Nike said, chuckling, “it was Minnie Mouse who signed it. You have a problem with that?”

“No, not at all. Now, if Goofy had signed it, I’d be worried.”

Even the load master was giggling in fits, his gloved hands closed over the fifty-caliber. Unaccountably, Gavin felt his spirits rise. If nothing else, Nike Alexander gave as good as she got. Even more to her credit, she could take a joke and come back swinging. Looking into the faces of his men, Gavin felt a warmth toward the woman pilot. Did Nike realize how much she’d just lifted everyone’s spirits? Probably not. But he would tell her—alone—and thank her for being a good sport on a deadly mission.

“Okay, boys,” Nike said, catching her breath, “let’s get this show on the road. Sergeant, once we’re airborne, lower the ramp and keep that .50 cal ready to shoot. We’re not in Disneyland and where we’re going, the bad guys are waiting. Hunker down, you’re about to go on the wildest roller-coaster ride you’ve ever taken. I’m ready to rock….”

For the next fifty minutes, Nike’s full concentration was winding between, around and down into one valley after another in the steep, rugged mountain range. When they roared past Do Bandi, another village, she knew they would soon be climbing steeply. Zor Barawul sat in a rich, fertile valley ringed by the snowy mountains. On the eastern side of those mountains lay the Pakistan border where Taliban hid. The valley was a well-known Taliban route. They boldly passed through it because the Afghan villagers could not fire on or challenge them. If they did, the Taliban would come in and kill men, women and children.