Free Perfectly Exposed (Command Unit Book 1) by Gail Faulkner Page B

as he shook his head no.
    Jack headed for the deck to wait for the chopper. The few minutes’ wait meant he could wrap her in the Mylar blanket that was part of every man’s pack.

Chapter Seven
     
    Hailey fought it, but the haze of unconsciousness gradually evaporated, taking away the nothingness and, with it, her hiding place. But the wave of pain didn’t rush over her. Instead she found a new type of nothing. This one was warm, soft and filled with muted sounds. Rather pleasant.
    The only hard thing was the hand holding hers. Wait. Hand holding hers?
    She’d learned the hard way not to tense, not to move, not to give away consciousness in any way at all. One time jerking awake had accomplished that. Now she tried to focus on her surroundings without actually opening her eyes. It was difficult until someone spoke.
    Softly, deep tones communicated, “Wheels up whenever you’re ready, man.”
    Right beside her the response. “Yeah, be out in a minute.”
    Jack!
    Jack was sitting beside her. Afraid to open her eyes and test the hallucination she did it anyway. He was still there. His face was turned in the direction of the other voice. Hailey had no time to investigate that as his gaze dropped to her.
    “Baby,” he breathed as their eyes met.
    He seemed real but her world felt in some way soft focused. Hailey didn’t dare believe he was actually with her but this was a very nice break from reality. He appeared older, there were lines bracketing his mouth. His skin was stretched tight, features accentuated in brutal relief. It was Jack but different, more elementally male. Perhaps extreme stress colored one’s fantasies.
    “You’re good. It’s over,” Jack informed her gently.
    That was nice. Fantasy Jack was comforting her.
    “We are headed home in a minute,” he continued. “Buddy of mine has a helo so you can sleep if you want. No worries.”
    Hailey felt unease slither into her comfy world. This was a lot of information for a hallucination. Having a buddy with a helicopter wouldn’t be a stretch for Jack. Perhaps he actually was in the container with her. Making sense of how he might have joined her wasn’t as important as warning him. Disjointed panic knifed across the pleasant dream.
    “He is here! Be careful!” Hailey pushed past painfully cracked lips. Jack’s face tightened above her. Lines etched deeper between his brows and beside his mouth as muscles in his neck bunched. Good, he was taking her seriously.
    “Who is here, baby?”
    “The man, the man from the club,” she whispered desperately. “I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault. He’s going to kill you!”
    “Which man?” Leaning over her, Jack drew even closer. His already scary face was carved with menace.
    “The one sitting behind you,” Hailey gasped urgently, clutching his hand as she felt the fog of unconsciousness now threatening her. “Behind you…” But the black won.
    Her eyes closed and her little body relaxed in a way Jack knew she was gone again. Looking up at the man leaning against the wall across from him, Jack straightened slowly. The other man glanced away from Jack’s eyes to curse softly under his breath.
    “Not one of the ship’s crew then,” Jack growled. “Not one of Yatzic’s goons. Jesus, fuck! Who the hell is after my woman?”
    Eyes the same pale blue as his own met Jack’s as Jed “Smoke” Stone replied, “Someone who should have died long ago. Any chance of surveillance in that damn club?”
    “Unlikely,” Jack gritted. “You will be telling me where this is coming from on the hop to Florida. In detail. I don’t give a fuck about classified.”
    “Yeah, I will,” Smoke agreed.
     
    ***
    “Jesus, that is fucked,” Jack bit out several hours later, starring at the man who had raised him.
    “Cold war. Everyone was fucked,” Smoke agreed.
    Hailey was safely sleeping after having woken several times on the trip up to central Florida. Each time she was progressively clearer and had given