as usual."
"Thank you, sir."
Pepper moved to the door and opened it before Woodward could get there. She was stunned by his refusal to work together. Worried, she walked down the hall, making her way back to his office. She was too angry to walk back with him. His secretary was in his office this time—a woman with short blond hair and pretty blue eyes, dressed in a pale pink business suit. Nodding to her, Pepper went straight to the closet and got her coat. It crossed her mind that Woodward's secretary resembled Laura Trayhern somewhat—she had the same hair and eye color and was petite in build. As Pepper turned, shrugging into her coat, Woodward entered, his jaw set, his eyes grim.
"I'll get you a manual on HAHOs , then take you to another area to be fitted with gear," he said abruptly.
"Fine." Pepper's nostrils quivered with anger. What a bullheaded person he was turning out to be! Did she even want to try this mission with him? If he'd been one of her staff, she'd have kicked him out for lacking the team spirit that kept them successful and safe on the toughest jumps. She decided she would call Wolf later from her hotel room and talk more with him about the situation.
Vaguely, she heard Woodward talking to his secretary. His voice was no longer hard or clipped, but personable—even warm. She turned, realizing what a difference there was in his attitude toward her and toward his secretary. So he could be human, after all. He just didn't like her, didn't want her around and didn't believe she could contribute anything of value to the mission.
To hell with him. She stepped out into the hall to cool down. Arranging the deerskin purse on her right shoulder, she waited for Jim to reappear. When he did, she didn't want to admire him in his dark green wool uniform, the cap, with its shining, black patent leather bill, settled on his head. He was a stalwart warrior type, the epitome of the Marine Corps' finest, and he knew it. Pepper's anger dissolved as she appreciated him from a purely physical standpoint. The man was ruggedly handsome, there was no doubt, in a dangerous kind of way. Despite his stubbornness, Pepper found herself drawn to him—and then berated herself for allowing her feminine side to overlook the facts: the man was a danger to her—and to the mission.
Chapter Three
T he chill in the C-130 as it leveled off at twenty-one thousand feet at 0630 the next morning sent a shiver through Pepper. It was below freezing. She stood, legs apart, balancing herself as the Air Force bird bobbed around in the choppy air, hitting continual pockets of turbulence. A yellow ribbon of color lay along the horizon in the clear, cloudless dawn. The high-pitched whine of the four turboprop engines and the cavernous expanse of the empty C-130 reverberated through her as they strained in the thin atmosphere en route to the drop zone. In fifteen minutes, the rear of the C-130 would yawn open, and she and Woodward would leap from the edge of the ramp into the sky, four miles above the earth.
She hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Instead she'd pored over the manual on the military parasail used in HAHOs , a specially made parachute that was wedged shaped, like an arrowhead. Although it was similar to the ones she used in smoke jumping, it had small differences, and that's what she had absorbed until three o'clock this morning, when she'd finally fallen asleep on the couch in her hotel room.
Glancing up, Pepper saw Jim standing about six feet from where she had anchored her booted feet on the metal grating. He was busy making last-minute checks on his gear, too. His attitude hadn't changed since yesterday, and in fact, she'd seen him give her a look of disdain when she'd pulled protective elastic coverings over her elbows, knees and ankles. Pepper didn't care. She had too much to lose by allowing him to push her into jumping without her safety gear. She hadn't done a high-altitude jump into a deciduous forest before, and
"Thank you, sir."
Pepper moved to the door and opened it before Woodward could get there. She was stunned by his refusal to work together. Worried, she walked down the hall, making her way back to his office. She was too angry to walk back with him. His secretary was in his office this time—a woman with short blond hair and pretty blue eyes, dressed in a pale pink business suit. Nodding to her, Pepper went straight to the closet and got her coat. It crossed her mind that Woodward's secretary resembled Laura Trayhern somewhat—she had the same hair and eye color and was petite in build. As Pepper turned, shrugging into her coat, Woodward entered, his jaw set, his eyes grim.
"I'll get you a manual on HAHOs , then take you to another area to be fitted with gear," he said abruptly.
"Fine." Pepper's nostrils quivered with anger. What a bullheaded person he was turning out to be! Did she even want to try this mission with him? If he'd been one of her staff, she'd have kicked him out for lacking the team spirit that kept them successful and safe on the toughest jumps. She decided she would call Wolf later from her hotel room and talk more with him about the situation.
Vaguely, she heard Woodward talking to his secretary. His voice was no longer hard or clipped, but personable—even warm. She turned, realizing what a difference there was in his attitude toward her and toward his secretary. So he could be human, after all. He just didn't like her, didn't want her around and didn't believe she could contribute anything of value to the mission.
To hell with him. She stepped out into the hall to cool down. Arranging the deerskin purse on her right shoulder, she waited for Jim to reappear. When he did, she didn't want to admire him in his dark green wool uniform, the cap, with its shining, black patent leather bill, settled on his head. He was a stalwart warrior type, the epitome of the Marine Corps' finest, and he knew it. Pepper's anger dissolved as she appreciated him from a purely physical standpoint. The man was ruggedly handsome, there was no doubt, in a dangerous kind of way. Despite his stubbornness, Pepper found herself drawn to him—and then berated herself for allowing her feminine side to overlook the facts: the man was a danger to her—and to the mission.
Chapter Three
T he chill in the C-130 as it leveled off at twenty-one thousand feet at 0630 the next morning sent a shiver through Pepper. It was below freezing. She stood, legs apart, balancing herself as the Air Force bird bobbed around in the choppy air, hitting continual pockets of turbulence. A yellow ribbon of color lay along the horizon in the clear, cloudless dawn. The high-pitched whine of the four turboprop engines and the cavernous expanse of the empty C-130 reverberated through her as they strained in the thin atmosphere en route to the drop zone. In fifteen minutes, the rear of the C-130 would yawn open, and she and Woodward would leap from the edge of the ramp into the sky, four miles above the earth.
She hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Instead she'd pored over the manual on the military parasail used in HAHOs , a specially made parachute that was wedged shaped, like an arrowhead. Although it was similar to the ones she used in smoke jumping, it had small differences, and that's what she had absorbed until three o'clock this morning, when she'd finally fallen asleep on the couch in her hotel room.
Glancing up, Pepper saw Jim standing about six feet from where she had anchored her booted feet on the metal grating. He was busy making last-minute checks on his gear, too. His attitude hadn't changed since yesterday, and in fact, she'd seen him give her a look of disdain when she'd pulled protective elastic coverings over her elbows, knees and ankles. Pepper didn't care. She had too much to lose by allowing him to push her into jumping without her safety gear. She hadn't done a high-altitude jump into a deciduous forest before, and
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