“No.”
“Exclusive?”
“No.”
Thank God.“What can I do to convince you to date me instead of him?”
“I don’t date Air Force—”
“Penelope.”
“Yes?”
“Can you try for just one minute not to paint me with the same brush as your friends’ boyfriends?” he asked calmly. “What concerns do you have thataren’tabout my job? What concerns do you have that are just aboutme?” He flattened a hand against his chest.
“That ship has sailed—”
“We’re not over. We haven’t even gotten started. What are your concerns?”
Several seconds passed.
He adored everything about her, and he couldn’t remember when something had been as important to him as this was.
“I’m concerned that I can’t count on you to be truthful,” she said at last. “I don’t want to be manipulated.”
“And?”
“I’m concerned that you’re too macho to communicate your feelings.”
“And?”
“I’m concerned that you’re not the type of guy who, I don’t know... would be willing to make a fool of himself for love. You’re so self-possessed all the time.”
“And?”
“That’s it.”
“Okay.”
She tilted her head. “Nowdo you agree that we shouldn’t date?”
“There’s nothing on this earth,” he told her firmly, “that I disagree with more strongly than the idea that we should not date.”
Chapter Five
The F-22 became an extension of Eli when he flew it. Yet the plane also reminded him, every time, that he was the most fragile, mistake-prone part of the machine.
On Monday morning, just after take-off, Eli hauled the jet up, planted a turn, then streaked cleanly into the sky.
The F-22 Raptor was a weapon built for war. A single-seat, two-engine stealth tactical fighter constructed by Lockheed Martin for the Air Force at a cost of 150 million dollars each. Top speed: fifteen hundred miles per hour.
Its raw power could push him down into his ejection seat at nine times his weight. The plane was a mighty beast and its awe-inspiring strength buzzed through every one of his five senses. The plane was also a wicked scalpel, capable of incredible accuracy.
He looked through the head-up display of electronic words and symbols to the scenery beyond. Sighting a ridgeline, Eli pointed the plane’s nose toward it. He placed the green velocity vector circle directly over the point above the ridgeline where he aimed to pass. It was seven miles away, but traveling at this speed, the F-22 would cut through that exact airspace in one minute flat.
Last night, Penelope had told him her three concerns about him. He was glad she had, because now he knew what the obstacles were.
He’d faced obstacles before. When he’d been determined to get into the Academy. When he’d been determined to become a pilot. Every single day on the job.
