Free Tactical Strike by Kaylea Cross

she’d been with him, she couldn’t help the
sappy smile that took over her face. The man had a knack for getting her back up
at every single turn, but he was trying to make amends and had obviously meant
that apology earlier. The thoughtful, romantic gesture touched her more deeply
than she would ever have thought possible.
    “From the smile on your face, I guess the olive branch did its
job?” Maya whispered.
    “I have to admit it’s a good start,” she answered just as
softly, still smiling as she picked them up to breathe in the sweet, slightly
musky fragrance. “You think it was really him?”
    “His friend swears it was.”
    Wow. Who would have thought Ryan had that kind of sweetness in
him? It was probably stupid of her, but that withered bouquet went a long way
toward making her forgive him. He must have picked them while on his way back
from a training op or mission and held them the entire time on board the helo.
His teammates would have had a field day with that one. The thought made her
smile even more.
    “That’s more like it,” Maya commented, giving her a sly grin.
“You gonna be able to get a full day’s sleep finally?”
    Candace inhaled a deep breath, pulling in more of the faint
sweetness of the flowers. “I dunno. I’m feeling rather energized at the
moment.”
    Snickering softly, Maya got up and tugged on her boots and
jacket.
    Candace eyed her in surprise. “You going out again?”
    “Yeah. Have to meet a friend in a little while anyhow, and the
wind’s died down now. Your flower delivery cut my workout short but I wanted to
be here when you saw them, so I might as well get another few miles in.”
    Sinking onto her bunk as Maya slipped out the door, Candace
twirled the fragile bouquet in her fingers and shook her head. What was she
supposed to do about that man?
    The soft, steady breathing of her other two roommates was
soothing, but she still wasn’t the least bit sleepy. Fishing the thick SERE text
from beneath her bunk, she carefully placed the flowers between the center pages
to press them, so no one else would see them and so they’d be preserved forever.
Placing the book back on the floor, she felt a lightness inside her that she
hadn’t experienced in a long time. A sort of restless, exuberant energy. The
first time since Dev had been shot down.
    She glanced at the door. If she hurried, she might be able to
catch Maya.
    Pulling on a knit cap, she headed out into the chilly morning
air and shut the door behind her with care not to wake the others. Her breath
curled like silver wisps into the faintly lit sky. Rubbing her hands over the
arms of her jacket to ward off the shivers, she broke into a light jog and
headed for Disney Drive, one of Bagram’s main streets.
    Her running shoes slapped against the hard ground in a soothing
rhythm. Her labored breaths puffed out clouds of steam in the pale dawn light.
It felt good to get out here and run off some energy. She might not actually like running, but God knew this was a great way
to combat some of the stress she’d been under lately.
    To the east the rugged peaks of the mountains were tinged a
pearly pink, as were the clouds dotting the lightening sky. Another sunny day in
paradise was beginning, though the temperature was near freezing and the wind
chill made it feel twenty degrees colder on her skin. Her toes and fingers were
already tingling from the cold, and her ears ached despite the knit toque she’d
worn. But stealing this time for herself was totally worth it.
    She jogged to the northern edge of the base toward the
chain-link fence that marked the perimeter and found a woman stretching one leg
against it. Candace shook her head. Man, Maya was a hard-core exercise
freak.
    She slowed to a walk to get her breathing under control so
she’d be able to talk once she reached her friend. Not that Maya would notice
her until she got closer. As usual, she was plugged into her iPod again, no
doubt some sort of hip-hop blasting