Page 54 of Renegade (The Santini Assassins #2)

He set his sights on the end of the runway, throttled up the turbines, released the brakes, and relaxed into the chair as the massive craft accelerated. Faster and faster he raced down the runway until he pulled back on the stick, and the forty-seven-thousand-pound aircraft rose into the sky.

Here we go. Wheels up, baby.

He glanced down at the flight map on the tablet, following it to the letter.

Higher and higher he flew. Like him, the jet was built to go faster, so he let it.

When he attained a cruising speed of five-hundred miles an hour at thirty thousand feet, he glanced around.

The sky was bright blue, cloud free, and the visibility went on forever.

DC disappeared behind him as he rocketed south over Virginia. At these speeds, he could be in Florida in as little as ninety minutes.

This is great.

The intensity, the focus, the freedom, the control, the power. All of these made him feel invincible. But he wasn’t fooling himself. One misjudgment could cost him his life… and the Navy seventy million dollars.

He reviewed the maneuvers detailed on the tablet, took several deep breaths.

He yanked the stick back and flew straight up for two thousand feet while executing barrel rolls.

The G-forces challenged his body, but the pressurized flight suit and his specialized breathing pattern kept him from blacking out.

Then, he looped around and returned to where he’d started his ascent, adding a cobra maneuver.

He continued his training by performing a variety of minimum radius turns, sudden climbs, and rapid descents, with and without barrel rolls.

An hour and a half later, he’d finished his run and had clocked the hours required to stay current. A smooth landing was his welcome back to earth.

For those precious minutes in the sky, the cluster fuck of the Haqazzii terror mission, the shitstorm of his now dead uncle and cousin, and the ordeal with Stan had faded to black.

All that had remained were his feelings for Caroline, as clear as the skies he’d just flown in.

They were real, they were deep, and they were forever.

He was all-in, and he wanted to take their relationship to the next level…

or to as many levels as she could handle.

When he brought the jet to a stop on the tarmac, he cut the engine, removed his helmet, and climbed out. Waiting nearby was his chief technician.

“How’d she do, sir? ”

“Great. She handled the speed like a beast.” Grey shook his hand, continued on to the two people waiting for him in front of the building. Jamal and Caroline. She looked like a natural in the borrowed flight suit. Her radiant smile sent a bolt of lightning charging through him.

“Watching you take off and land was awesome,” Caroline said.

Jamal extended his hand. “Nice job, Greystone.”

“Thank you, sir.” He regarded Caroline. “Ready?”

She nodded.

Minutes later, she was strapped into the back seat of the F-18 Super Hornet. Before she put on the helmet, he leaned in, kissed her.

“You’re gonna do great,” he said. “I’m gonna keep things nice and easy, but if you start to pass out?—”

“I won’t.”

“Do this.” He showed her how to apply pressure through breathing, forcing blood into his head.

She tried it once, then repeated it. “If I pass out, revive me.”

He loved that she wasn’t scared, loved that he could share this part of his life with her. But more than either of those, he just loved her for her.

CAROLINE

Caroline was beyond excited, somewhat nervous, and fully aware of the butterflies zooming in her belly. She loved flying, but flying commercial and flying in a military aircraft were two completely different things.

Greystone helped adjust her helmet, ensured it was connected to the oxygen intake valve before he strapped her in, then confirmed she was secure .

“This’ll be fun,” he said before climbing down. He spoke with the tech, climbed into the front seat, and pulled on his helmet.

Seconds passed where all she could hear was the thumping of her heart slamming against her chest.

Then, Grey’s velvety-smooth rasp filled her ears. “Hey, babe. We’ve been cleared for take-off.”

He taxied away from the building, rolling slowly toward the runway. Turning onto it, he punched up their speed and the buildings whizzed past her.

“Wheels up,” he said.

She stared out the window as the giant bird lifted effortlessly off the ground. And then, they climbed and climbed and climbed. Higher and higher until everything below her was small and irrelevant.

Nothing but blue sky for miles and a horizon that curved downward. They were flying so fast, she wondered if they chased that curve, would they circle the earth?

“Wow,” she said. “This is fantastic.”

“We’re at twenty-seven thousand feet,” he said. “How ya doin’ back there?”

“Doing great.”

He talked to her about the instruments in front of her.

He told her a little about the jet she was flying in.

But mainly, he stayed silent as they soared through the air.

Space and time and reality floated away.

All that was left was this perfect moment with someone she’d fallen deeply in love with.

A love she’d wished for, even found herself praying for, but never fully knowing if she’d find it.

In that moment, she knew she’d found it with this amazing man.

Multi-faceted, multi-talented, ever-present, and filled with passion, determination and grit.

She found his quiet strength intoxicating, his brevity of words entertaining, and his brave actions heroic.

She’d found her person long before she’d been ready to receive him.

And vice versa.

“Grey,” she said.

“I’m right here, babe.”

“I love you like I’ve never loved anyone in my entire life.”

Oops.

“Ohgod, I think the lack of oxygen has gone to my head.”

“Austin, are you gonna pass out?”

“No, but I’m babbling incoherently,” she replied feeling like she’d run her mouth too much.

“Then, you shouldn’t be surprised if I tell you I’m gonna marry you.”

Silence.

Her heart had taken flight, and she smiled. “Don’t you have to ask me first.”

“Caroline Austin, you are my Bella. I love you and want us to spend our lives together. Will you marry me?”

She wasn’t expecting a proposal. She hadn’t even gotten as far as fantasizing about one, but when the words filled her ears—and her heart, and then her soul—there was only one answer she would give him.

“Of course I’ll marry you,” she said with a smile. “Would you marry me if I’d proposed to you?”

“Hell, yeah,” he replied.

She couldn’t stop looking around at the magnificent earth below and the stunningly blue skies above. After several silent seconds, she said, “Are you for real?”

“Yes.”

The silence was broken when he said through the comm, “We’re gonna do a steeper climb.”

As he began the maneuver, she sank into her seat and little yellow stars floated into view, then they crowded her vision. “I’m passin?— ”

“Austin, apply pressure.” Grey’s soothing voice calmed her, but she could feel herself passing out.

She came to feeling a little groggy. “I’m back.”

“There’s my girl. Take a few slow, deep breaths.”

After she did, she felt a little better. “How long was I out?”

“Forty-four seconds.”

“You were timing me?”

“Yeah, and I was talkin’ to you the entire time.”

“Love words?”

“No, Austin, I was trying to get you to come to.”

She could hear the smile in his voice and said, “Where’s the fun in that?”

“You wanna keep flying or are you done?” he asked.

“More,” she said. “This is incredible.”

GREYSTONE

He slowed to four-hundred, kept things steady, and wondered if she knew he’d proposed to her. He checked his gauges and confirmed the flight plan on his tablet.

Fifteen minutes later, he landed the jet on the runway, taxied back to the hangar, and killed the engine.

Feeling invigorated, he paused to acknowledge that both his flights had gone smoothly.

He never took his abilities for granted, he always respected the massive machine he’d learned how to fly, and he appreciated when his flights were emergency-free.

He tapped the button, the canopy lifted. He disconnected his oxygen mask, unstrapped himself, and removed his helmet as the crew rolled over the ladders.

“I got my copilot.” He got down, then climbed up the ladder to her seat. When he removed her mask, her smile blew him away. “Fun?” He unfastened her five-point restraint .

“The best.”

“Take it easy getting down.”

“I’m okay.”

As they made their way back into the building, he said, “I gotta do a flight debrief.”

“Perfect. I’ll change into my clothes, then catch up on the surveillance video.”

He grabbed two bottles of water, walked her to the women’s locker room before returning to the conference room. While reviewing the flight with his commanding officer, she returned. She shot him a little smile before she sat at the other end of the table.

Truth was, he was crazy about her.

“You gotta get up there more,” Jamal said. “I know life has been complicated for you, but you need more flight hours.”

“Yes, sir.”

He couldn’t talk about the mission, couldn’t discuss the Day of Destruction or the pressure of finding the terrorists, but he had less than two weeks to shut them down. Then, he’d turn his attention back to flying.

One step at a time.

He and Jamal finished discussing the training session.

“You’re an excellent pilot, Greystone. Let’s get you back here again in the next couple of weeks.”

“Absolutely.” Greystone stood, shook Jamal’s hand. “Always good to see you, J-man.”

Jamal said goodbye to Caroline.

“Commander Jefferson, thank you so much for today. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

“I’m used to Greystone pushing against the rules, so I just go with it,” Jamal said with a smile.

Greystone escorted her out of the building.

As they made their way to his SUV, she said, “I have good news. ”

“Go.” He expected she’d tell him she was engaged.

“We got two hits at the apartment complex.”

Also good.

“Who?”

“The terror cell leader, Muhammad Haqazzii, and one of his men—the one who listed his actual address at JL’s company.”

We got a break.

“Which building at Riverdale?”

“The third one.”

Into the SUV they went, and he drove toward the exit. Determination burned deep in him. They had a terrorist sighting—and not just any terrorist—the leader. The one that threatened to turn their mission into a house of cards.

Once on the main road, he said, “Assuming it checks out, we’re raiding them at two in the morning. I’ll put together a crew.”

“Nice.”

He clasped her hand. “Thanks for being my copilot today. You’re the first civilian I’ve taken flying with me.”

She squeezed his hand. “I need to tell you something. It’s kind of embarrassing, but I’d rather say it and feel like an idiot, than assume something and be wrong.”

He glanced over at her, raised his brows.

“Do people dream when they’ve passed out?”

“They can, especially at that altitude.”

She glanced out the side window. “Damn,” she whispered.

He knew why she was asking, but he wanted to have a little fun with her.

“Why?” he continued.

“I dreamt something.”

“Good, bad, scary? Talk to me, Austin.”

She regarded him. “I… it was nothing. ”

“You can’t leave me hangin’ woman. Tell me about your dream.”

“I… you… you told me something, then you asked me a question.”

“Hmm, like how you were feeling?” he asked, biting back a smile.

“Not exactly, but kind of. You asked—” She shook her head, pursed her lips.

He drew her hand to his mouth, kissed her soft skin. “At forty-five thousand feet, flying five hundred miles an hour, I asked you to marry me… and you said yes.”

She beamed at him. “So I didn’t dream that?”

“No, baby. We’re engaged, so no backing out.”

Leaning over, she kissed his cheek. “Are you sure?”

He furrowed his brows at her. “’Bout what?”

“The proposal.”

“It’s my standard question when I bring people flyin’ with me.”

She laughed.

“I’m sure,” he said. “Are you?”

“One-hundred percent,” she replied.

For the first time in his life, he could see his future. And, as they headed back to the Black Site, he took a moment to appreciate the good.

If anyone knew it could be fleeting, it was him.