“Starved,” Naomi replied. “I was hoping you’d be cooking, so I didn’t eat yet. Didn’t want to spoil my appetite.”
“Oh, you sweet girl,” Margo gushed. “It’ll be nice to have you here. There’s far too much testosterone around this place.”
“What?” Link asked, throwing his hands up like he was offended. “You sayin’ I’m not sweet, Margo?”
“That is exactly what I’m saying.” Turning to me, she said, “Thank you for picking Naomi up so we could finish cooking. Please, join us for dinner.”
Naomi watched me, looking a little too interested in my response for my comfort. I didn’t want to be rude and reject Margo’s invitation, especially not when she was always so nice to me, but I also didn’t want to fall prey to temptation. The less time I spent with Link’s forbidden sister, the better. “Thank you for the offer, but tomorrow’s a busy day. I’m sure Link has something else for me to do.” I looked to my incoming president, hoping he would throw me a task that would get me the hell out of here.
Link shook his head. “I’m good, brother. Join us. In fact, all the prospects and ol’ ladies helping out should. Here, Nae, let me introduce you to the others. This here’s Havoc. He was my weapons specialist.”
Naomi extended her hand toward the big black prospect who served with Link. He ignored her hand and pulled her in for a hug. “Any sister of Link’s is family,” Havoc said.
I knew the gesture was meant as friendly and nothing more, but it still set me on edge. I recognized the emotion for what it was—jealousy—but it shocked me. I’d never been a jealous man. Not even with Genie. If I could go back in time, I’m sure things would be different now. I’d covet every minute she spent away from me, knowing our time was limited. But, for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why I’d be jealous of Havoc’s arms around a woman I intended to avoid.
After the rest of the introductions were made, we all headed into the dining room to eat. Naomi sat toward the middle of the table with her dad and brother on either side of her. Havoc took a seat directly across from her, irritating the hell out of me. Frustrated and confused by the way I wanted to block her from him, I sat clear at the end, as far away from them as possible.
“So, Naomi,” Wasp said, sitting beside Havoc. “Link said you’re in the Air Force. How do you like it?”
“I love it. Most of the time. Okay, I love doing my job and going out on CSARs, but I hate the political bullshit.”
“CSARs?” I asked, recognizing the acronym for combat search and rescues. “Are you on a flight crew?” I didn’t mean to ask, didn’t want to appear interested, but the question had just flown out. I wasn’t usually chatty, but something about her made my tongue wag.
“She’s a helo pilot,” Jake beamed, heaping mac-n-cheese onto his plate. “The only female helo pilot in her squad.”
“You’re a Pedro?” Havoc asked, chewing on a rib. He wiped his mouth before adding, “Damn, girl, get it.”
His voice held respect, and I could understand why. Pedro was the call sign for Air Force helicopter pilots, specifically those who did CSAR missions. Pedros were uncommon. Last I’d heard, the Air Force only had about a hundred helicopters compared to the thousands owned by the Army. Getting an Air Force helo slot meant you were the best of the best. Naomi Lincoln had to be made of some pretty tough shit to make her way into such a competitive job.
“I tried to tell her to go Army,” Link said.
“Yeah, you were super helpful,” Naomi droned. “What was that great advice you gave me?”
Link grinned. “If you want to fly choppers, go Army. If you want to fly jets, go Navy. If you want to fly the fuckin’ space shuttle, go Air Force. If you want to blow shit up, go Marines. If you can’t swim, go Coast Guard. And that’s some damn good advice, thank you very much.”
It was customary for different branches of the military to flick shit at each other, and since the club didn’t currently have any Coast Guard vets, the Coast Guard usually got the brunt of our jokes.
“Damn good advice,” Jake agreed. “But I still wish you wouldn’t have gone after such a dangerous job, slugger. You’d think after growing up around a bunch of fucked up old soldiers, you’d want more from life.”
She smiled at him. “Dad, I grew up around the best men on the planet. Why wouldn’t I want to follow in their shoes?”
He shook his head at her, but his eyes were full of pride.
“What made you choose the Air Force?” Havoc asked.
“Better pay and conditions than most of the branches. Smarter people. I’m not savage enough for the Army.” Naomi elbowed her brother.
“She likes doing the shit people say is impossible,” Link added.
She directed a pointed look at her brother and father. “Wonder where I get that from, hmm?”
Link threw his hands in the air before not-so-discretely pointing at their dad, who denied everything. Even when Margo called him a bald-faced liar.
“What about you, Eagle?” Naomi asked, surprising me as she dismissed the brothers in front of her and angled her body to face me. “What did you do in the Marines?”
Talking about my time in the service dredged up too many memories I didn’t want to think about, so I gave her the short answer. “Sniper.”
“Guess that explains the name,” she replied. “Like a scout sniper?”
