She shoved the chocolate in her mouth, shocked at how good it tasted. “This is perfect.”
“Yeah? Well, it’s no five-star restaurant, but we like our treats, Bo and I.” The dog came up and nudged him, expecting cuddles, which he gave with gusto.
“I’d like to speak to the manager, then.”
He yawned, covered his mouth, and put his head back to look up at the stars. “Hey, lady, you’re the one who asked for the yeti special.” He glanced at her, that irresistible smile in his eyes.
She laughed, hard. A belly laugh that she had to quiet quickly or risk giving their location away.
They cleaned up and brushed their teeth in silence, their gazes never quite meeting.
“You’re so cute.”
That stopped her cold. “Cute?”
“Don’t like that word?”
She opened her mouth to respond and then hesitated. “It’s not a word anybody’s used to describe me before.” Just him saying it made her feel fragile, which she wasn’t prepared to explore.
“Really?”
“Really.”
He cocked his head, looked her up and down, and stood. “Just ’cause you’re deadly doesn’t mean you can’t be other things, too. You’re…” He opened his mouth and shut it. “Look. I realize you’re a complex individual. But let’s just say that cute’s definitely in there.”
He eyed the tent where they’d both sleep for the night.
“Go on in.” A shiver ran through her to the tips of her fingers and toes. It was quickly doused when he said, “You sleep. I’ll take the first watch.”
***
Amka sat quietly in a dark corner of the hangar, staring at the helicopter like a cat at a mouse.
The dang thing squatted there, ripe for the picking.
If you knew how to pick that type of fruit.
A yawn cracked her jaw.
How was she supposed to disable a monster like this one? Was there some wire she could cut in the engine? A control she could break off or something?
Carefully, she made her way to the door and pulled it open, surprised to see that it wasn’t locked. Then again, who’d they have to lock it against? Wasn’t like anyone could steal it.
She stepped up and in, grasping the metal frame for balance while her eyes tried to adjust to the lightless interior.
Finally fumbling out her flashlight, she shone it over the space—which was big and cavernous as a damn bus, with jump seats lining the sides. She turned right to find the cockpit door standing open.
Idiots.
Her smile quickly melted from her face when she took in the instrument panel. Five black screens stared back at her, like mini TVs. More dials and buttons and levers than she knew what to do with—and not a single one of them spoke to her.
Like flying a goddamn spaceship.
She pointed the light at a dial and squinted. Crap. Without her glasses, she couldn’t read a solitary thing.
It didn’t take her long to realize there was only one solution. It’d be loud and probably get her caught, but it would ensure that those bastards couldn’t get off the ground. One less thing to worry about.
First, she needed something big and heavy. A baseball bat would be ideal, but she could make pretty much any tool work. She’d just turned to head back into the hangar in search of something she could use to smash the hell out of this thing when she bumped straight into something.
