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Kate has something that pulls me into her. I don’t know what it is but I can't get her out of my mind. She captivates me, makes me feel like a teenage boy talking to their first crush.
When I came across her FB profile I wasn't sure she would have reply but seeing her text, surprised me.
We've spent almost all night chatting and it’s as if I’ve known her since forever. We clicked instantly and it's a feeling I love.
"Reed, did you know? We get orders to wait for the X Squad. They'll land here soon," Marcus informs me.
"What about them?"
"I barely heard of them, they usually don't get involved with no military or governative force. Some say they are directly hired by the presidents themselves since they're a private institution."
"For real?"
"Yeah," he says while all the troops take their seats. I hate having last minute changes on the program. Usually means trouble, and trouble means longer missions.
I look at my watch, checking the time once again as I did for the last fifteen minutes. They're late!
When I finally spot them walking on the runway I almost lose my grip. Are you fucking kidding me?
Three men and a stunning girl are finally getting on our cargo.
"Ma'am, sir. Please take a seat, we're running late."
"Sorry about that, I'm Hewitt," he says, shaking my hand. "Thanks for the lift."
"My pleasure, take a seat!" I say.
When the door is finally closed we start moving.
Five long hours. I can't wait to see if Kate has already got home. If only we would have some days off I'd fly to Italy just to see her.
I take out my cell phone and look at her picture. Too bad I can't see her face. Maybe it's not even her in this picture.
I do a quick research on Lens, googling it but nothing shows up. Marcus nudged me, showing me the girl with those military.
"She's cute, huh?"
"I don't know, man, I haven't seen her," I lied. Truth is she caught my attention even before getting on board.
"Then take a look, now," he says, and I do. The guys are wearing their combat uniform while she's speaking to them. I don’t know how she can wear those high heels but they look good on her.
My eyes caressed her legs up to her body. She's tying her hair in a ponytail, revealing her neck and her pretty face.
"You're drooling."
"Fuck you, Marcus," I say, not taking my eyes off her. I notice I'm not the only one looking at her. I don’t know why, but it drives me crazy.
I sigh, shutting my eyes. Just looking at her makes me feel guilty. I have Kate. I want to know where this attraction leads us. Gosh, her voice made me have goosebumps triggering some forbidden thoughts.
"Oh look, she's taking off her clothes," teases Marcus. I opened my eyes, surprised, watching her take off her jacket. The guys in the squad made a circle to protect her while she's undressing. She can’t be serious! I mean we're fifteen in here, does she really not care about being seen?
When the guys move away, she's wearing a combat uniform too. My mouth dropped open. I never expected her to be in the military. She seems too young and beautiful for this world.
When her eyes meet mine, I smile. I can’t help it, she stares back at me and then she takes out her devices, arguing with what I suppose it's his superior.
After two hours, some are already napping. I took out my cell phone checking if Kate sent me something, but found nothing at all.
Me: I miss you, are you already home?
"Are you kidding me? None of them?" I hear the girl saying, walking to the back of the plane. I know eavesdropping isn’t wise, but I can’t stop myself.
"No Alec, it's impossible. I have almost nothing to work on, for fuck’s sake, and it drives me insane!" she's angry, her tense body shows her slim figure even more, making her so sexy.
"Yeah, I know he will be fine," she says, pivoting, catching me staring at her. She ends the call, sighing.
"You good?" she asks, annoyed.
"What?"
"Stop staring at people, it's creepy!" she says, looking at her phone. She types something and puts it back in her pocket.
"I'm sorry, I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable."
"You didn’t, I'm used to it, but it doesn't change the fact that it's creepy," she replies.
"Is everything okay?"
"If it were I wouldn’t be stuck here, don’t you think?" she snaps. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault."
"It's okay, I get it." I reply.
"I need to go back to work," she says leaving. Her fruity perfume is still here, almost enveloping me and I like it. I turn back at my seat. I noticed that I got a message from Kate a few minutes ago.
Kate: Unfortunately, I had an emergency so I had to leave again.
Me: I'm sorry to hear that, what happened?
Kate: My brother and his team are missing.
Me: Oh shit, where is he? You say he is in the military, right?
Kate: Yeah, but I can’t share more. I'm sorry, Logan.
Me: It’s okay, babe. If you need me to ask for some favors just let me know.
Kate: Sweet, but no need. I can handle it.
Can she?
"You know Reed, it's so weird seeing you texting," Marcus says, amused.
"Why? I mean, I always text Angel."
"Yeah, but there's writing to a Kate. Who is she?"
"I met her yesterday."
"Do you have a girlfriend? For real?"
"She's not my girlfriend, not yet. Who knows, maybe one day."
"Oh, look at you! It's been a lifetime since you were into a girl."
"I got burned once, I've learned from my mistakes."
"So, how's she?"
"She's great, I know a little about her but her voice made my heart race. I mean it. Am I a fool?"
"Nah, you're not. Have you seen her?"
"Not yet, I was about to ask her for a picture but she say she had to leave for work and I haven't asked her."
"Leave for work? What is she doing?"
"Honestly, I don't know. She just say we'll talk about it later."
"And she's a woman?"
"Of course she is."
"But you haven't seen her."
"Nope, I mean she sent me a picture of her, but her face was covered by her phone."
"That's weird, so not a selfie."
"Nope,"
"Ask Klay, he's great at hunting down everything. He can find whatever you want on her."
"Nah, that's okay. I'll find it anyway."
"Okay, then. Just be careful, there's a lot of scammers out there."
"What's the point?" I ask when I see the X team getting ready. The red lights of the chart start flashing so we rush to fasten the seat belts. I look at my watch puzzled. We haven't arrived yet.
I see the girl looking at the light and then checking the parachutes on her team. They can't be serious, we'll land in forty minutes. Are they about to parachute?
I stand up approaching them.
"Fast and clean, okay?" she says.
"Yes, ma’am!" they shout.
"Hey guys, you should sit," I say looking at their names: Reyes, Roberts, Hewitt and...
"No need, we're ready to go," she says approaching the door. I couldn't see her name.
"Are you insane? You don't have the permission." The guys burst out laughing while the door opened. Hewitt jumps first, followed by Roberts and Reyes.
"See you at the base, tenant," she says, winking at me before lowering her helmet visor, jumping off too. The door closes as the green light stops flashing. What the hell just happened?
I go to talk to the pilot; he definitely has more information. Finding out they're on a top-secret mission and they'll be our host for the next week seems unbelievable. We weren't informed about them. Why are they here? And why is this mission so Top Secret?
Marcus' words are still in my head, and even though I'm craving to know more about her, it would be better to wait for her to tell me more about herself. Kate... I love her name. I sigh, deleting another text I wanted to send her. It makes me feel pathetic, I don't want to send her messages. I know she's busy and surely she won't have time replying but I just want to know she's okay. I can’t imagine how she's feeling right now.
I shove the phone in my pocket, picking up my bags. We've been told this mission will be a short one. Yeah, the last time they told us that it lasted five years.
The heat hits us once we get off the plane. There are four Humvees waiting for us along with some more vehicles.
The place seems pretty busy as we head to the base. Once we cross the gates I can relax a little.
After dropping the bags in our rooms, a group of soldiers show us around. Some are here for training and some are doing routine maintenance on military vehicles.
I have chosen to go back to my quarters as we have the day off. I'd like to check on Kate and see if I've heard anything from her since our last correspondence.
"Tenant, what should I do with these bags? No one took them." One of the soldiers asked me while passing by.
"Those are the X Squad bags. Put them in their room."
"Yes, sir."
I lay down on the bed, staring at her photo.
Me: I hope everything is okay, Kate. Please let me know you're okay. No matter the time.
I want to scream from the top of my lungs. If only I had a few more days before this mission maybe I could help her. There's one thing that's stuck in my brain. She say she can take care of the situation but how?