Two Dauntless Hearts

Marly hid a smile. She didn’t want someone else riding shotgun. She liked the view inside the cockpit.

Her takeoff was a little less graceful as she hit a couple pockets of air that tipped the wings slightly, making the plane wobble on the ascent. Marly sighed. She couldn’t win every time.

Over the next hour, the color slowly returned to Pitbull’s knuckles as he loosened his grip on the armrest.

Marly glanced at the savanna ahead and spotted some of Africa’s finest wildlife. She turned her head toward the rear of the plane. “If you look out to the southwest, you’ll see herds of water buffalo and zebras.”

The men in the seats behind her leaned forward and peered through the cabin windows.

Pitbull sat forward and craned his neck, scanning the land below.

“If you look carefully, I’ll bet you can see a pride of lions lurking nearby.” Marly tipped the nose of the plane downward.

Pitbull sat back, his grip tightening again on the armrest. “What are you doing?” he said, his voice clipped, his lips pulled back into a tight line.

“It’s okay,” Marly said. “I’m getting a little lower so you can see the animals.”

“Isn’t that what the safari is for?” Pitbull asked.

“Yes, but you can’t see the vastness of the herd from the ground like you can from the air.”

Buck laid a hand on Pitbull’s shoulder. “Stop worrying and start drinking in this amazing view.”

Pitbull closed his eyes briefly, sucked in a deep breath and let it out before nodding and reopening his eyes. “You’re right. I need to stop worrying. This plane will get us there.”

“And the excellent pilot,” Buck added.

Marly shot a grateful smile over her shoulder. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

And then, without warning, the engine sputtered, coughed and died.

Marly set the plane altitude for the best glide speed and turned her focus to the control panel. Her experience and training kicked in.

“What’s happening?” Pitbull’s voice said into her ear.

She didn’t respond, needing every second of her attention on safely landing the disabled plane. Because they were so low already, Marly mentally went through an abbreviated emergency checklist and lowered the landing gear, all while scanning the surroundings for a suitable place to land.

Marly keyed her mic. “Mayday, mayday, mayday.”

“Holy hell,” Pitbull whispered beside her.

She’d promised to keep him safe on this flight, probably jinxing them all in the process. “Bravo-bravo-niner-eight-niner, experiencing engine failure. Bearing down on the savanna twenty miles north of the All Things Wild Safari & Resort, seven souls on board.”

The air traffic controller acknowledged her distress call and offered to send a rescue crew to the location of their transponder.

Marly eased back on the yoke, trading airspeed for altitude, aiming the plane in the direction of the longest, flattest spot on the huge field. Unfortunately, it was occupied by a herd of zebras and water buffalos.

She couldn’t take her gaze off the ground ahead, so she raised her voice loud enough that the men in the rear could hear. “Gentlemen, brace yourselves for a rough landing.”

Chapter Two

When the engine cut out, Pitbull’s heart slammed against his ribs and pulsed through his veins until Marly gave the warning to brace for landing. Then, as with all dangerous assignments, he drew into himself and focused on the mission.

In this case, it was to survive and get everyone out of what would surely be burning wreckage, if they were lucky enough to be alive upon landing.

“Move, damn you,” Marly muttered into the mic, her concentration on the zebras trotting across the field in front of the descending plane. “Move.”

The closer the plane grew to the herd, the faster they ran.

Pitbull leaned forward, his breath lodged in his throat, counting the seconds until they ran over the black-and-white-striped creatures. Just when he thought they’d hit one of the animals with the landing gear, the herd split, shooting out to each side of the aircraft and far enough away that the wings didn’t touch them.

The plane floated toward the earth, slowing, slowing, slowing...

A horn sounded.

“What’s that?” Pitbull demanded, searching the interior and exterior of the plane.

“Stall warning. Relax,” Marly said through gritted teeth. “I’ve got this.” She set the plane down on the savanna, the wheels kissing the earth. Once the nose wheel was down, they bounced across the uneven terrain.

By the time the plane came to a halt, Pitbull was convinced he’d rattled away every tooth in his mouth. But they were alive, the plane was intact and no fire ensued. He let go of the breath he’d been holding and leaned back in his seat.

“Wow, Marly,” Buck said from the rear. “That was amazing.”

Marly sat for a moment, staring at the departing herds, her lips pressed tightly together. Then she nodded, as if pulling herself back to the present, and peeled her fingers from the yoke. She turned with a tight smile and faced the men in the back. “Well, you wanted a safari. I didn’t see any reason to wait.” She held up her hand. “Don’t worry. I won’t charge you extra for the exciting landing.”

Harm shook his head. “What happened?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” She pushed out of her seat and waded through the team to the door. Once she’d lowered the steps, she hurried to the ground and around to the engine compartment.

The team piled out, leaving Pitbull to exit the aircraft last.

He fought the urge to drop to his knees and kiss the ground. If his legs were a little wobbly, he couldn’t help it. Though Marly had done an excellent job landing the plane among a herd of zebras, she could just as easily have crashed and killed every last one of them.

The water buffalo and zebras stopped running and went back to grazing, as though it were an everyday occurrence to be disturbed by landing airplanes.

Pitbull trailed behind the others as they followed Marly.

“Need a hand?” T-Mac asked.

Marly lifted the lid to the engine compartment. “Know anything about airplanes?”

T-Mac shrugged. “No, but I’m handy with a variety of engines and computer issues.”

“You’re welcome to look over my shoulder.” Marly opened the luggage compartment and started tossing backpacks and duffel bags to the ground. “I have a ladder in here somewhere.” Once she’d dumped everything else out of the way, she said, “There it is.” She yanked a small ladder out and stood it beside the plane. “Unlike all of you, I’m not six feet tall.” She climbed up and leaned over the engine.

“I’ve had engines quit in my car before due to fuel pump issues,” T-Mac offered.

“The fuel pump was replaced during the last annual maintenance on this plane,” Marly said. “But that doesn’t mean it didn’t go bad since then.” She looked down at Pitbull. “There’s a tool bag behind the back seat inside the plane. Could you get it for me?”

Pitbull nodded and hurried to comply. When he returned, Marly and T-Mac had their heads together, staring into the engine.

A flush of heat washed over Pitbull. He fought the urge to insinuate himself between the two. Hell, they were within kissing distance. Instead, Pitbull cleared his throat and shoved the tool kit between Marly and T-Mac. “Perhaps this will help.”

T-Mac leaned back.

Marly didn’t take the bag. Instead, she stared into the engine. “Could you hand me a crescent wrench, please?”

Pitbull bit back a retort, unzipped the bag and gave her what she asked for.

She reached into the engine with the wrench and jerked back her hand. “Damn. You’d think it would have cooled down by now.”

“Here, let me see.” T-Mac took her arm and inspected the inside of her wrist.

“I’ll be all right.” Marly tugged her hand free and bent over the engine again. A few minutes later, she pulled out a part, shaking her head. “Like you said, it’s the fuel pump. Looks like it burned up.” She handed him the part and leaned over the engine. “Thankfully, it’s the only thing burned up. A new part and this plane will be in the air again.” She straightened and grimaced. “It’ll be a rough takeoff, but I’ve been in worse places.”

“Speaking of being in worse places.” Harm stepped up beside Pitbull. “How are we getting out of here?”

“I put in a call to the ATC. He said he’d send out a rescue crew.” Marly closed the engine compartment and started to step down from the ladder.

Pitbull reached out and took her hand to steady her. When she laid hers in his, he felt the tingle of electricity race up his arm and spread across his chest. He didn’t have time to analyze the feeling before she slipped on the last rung of the latter and pitched forward, slamming into his chest.

Pitbull went down, landing hard on his back, but cushioning Marly’s fall. She landed on his chest, her hands on the ground on either side of his arms.

“Sorry,” she said and scrambled to get off him. In the process, she kneed him in the groin.

Pain shot through him, wiping out the heat of the electricity her touch had generated. Pitbull doubled up, swallowing hard on the groan rising up his throat.

“I’m sorry,” Marly repeated. As she straightened and brushed the dirt off her hands, her cheeks flamed red. She held out her hand to Pitbull.

“I’m all right,” he said through clenched teeth, waving away her efforts. For a long moment, he lay still, willing the pain to go away.

“Well, damn.” Marly knelt beside him and started to reach for the parts still pulsing with pain. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

He let go of his package and grabbed her wrist to keep her from touching him down there. Hell, if she didn’t leave his parts alone, it wouldn’t be long before he embarrassed himself in an entirely different way, pain be damned.

Buck laughed out loud. “Can’t believe you let a girl clock your nads, dude.” He nodded to Big Jake. “You get one side, I’ll get the other.”

“I’ll get up when I’m ready,” Pitbull insisted.

“You’re ready,” Big Jake announced. With one of his buddies on either side of him, Pitbull was brought to his feet. Not that he was quite ready. He did his best to stand up straight, thankful the pain faded with each breath.

Marly stared across the grassy plains, the color still high in her cheeks. “Shouldn’t be too long. The ATC would have called someone close to our location. We never know what we’re going to get.” She entered the plane and walked from front to rear.

“Well, we might as well enjoy being this up close and personal with the African natives.” Diesel walked past the tip of a wing and stared out over the savanna. “I don’t think I’ve actually seen a water buffalo or zebra from this close.”

“You’re not as close as you’ll be on the safari.” Marly pulled a rag out of her back pocket and wiped the grease off her fingers.

“May I?” Pitbull held out his hand for the rag.

Marly’s brows drew together, and she ran her gaze over him as she handed him the towel.

His lips quirked upward. “Don’t be so suspicious.” He leaned toward her and wiped a smudge of grease from her jaw. “You missed a spot.”

Her cheeks blossomed with color. “Thank you.” She swiped the rag from his hands and stuffed it back into her pocket before turning to the others. “We’re not too far from the resort. If we’re lucky, we won’t have to wait more than an hour before someone shows up to take us there.”

“An hour?” Buck asked.

Marly shrugged. “You never know who or how they will arrive. I’m assuming in a ground vehicle.”

“I’d give my left nut for a whirly bird,” Pitbull muttered. “We wouldn’t be in this situation if we’d started out in a helicopter.”

Marly rounded on Pitbull, eyes blazing, and jabbed her finger into Pitbull’s chest. “If we’d been in a helicopter and the fuel pump went out, those vultures would be picking our bones clean.” She redirected her pointer finger to a flock of vultures riding the air currents several hundred yards away.

Pitbull held up his hands. “Okay, okay. You made your point.”

“Damn right I did. I’d like to see your helicopter pilots land as smoothly without an engine.”

Buck draped an arm over Marly’s shoulders. “You were awesome.” He shot a glare at Pitbull. “We’re alive, aren’t we?”

Pitbull returned his buddy’s glare and then nodded, letting the tension seep out of his body. “You’re right.” He held out his hand to Marly. “You did great landing the plane.”

She stared at it for a moment, but didn’t take it.

Pitbull dropped his arm, somewhat relieved. The last time she’d touched him with her hand, electricity had ricocheted throughout his body. He’d be better off enforcing a hands-off policy with Marly.

“I thought we were going to have zebra stew for dinner, as close as we came to landing on them,” Harm said. “How did you know they’d get out of the way in time?”

Marly ducked from beneath Buck’s arm. “I didn’t. That was pure luck. Landing without damaging the plane...” She straightened her shoulders and flung back her ponytail. “That was all me.”

It was true—Pitbull had been in the copilot’s seat the whole way down. Marly had done a hell of a job piloting the craft to the ground among a herd of zebras and on bumpy terrain. “I guess I should thank you. But all I can think about is the fact you broke your promise.”

She shook her head. “No I didn’t.”

“You said you wouldn’t crash the plane,” he told her.

“No, I said I wouldn’t pass out while flying.” She winked. “Those are two completely different things. And I didn’t crash the plane.”

Pitbull waved his hand toward the aircraft. “It’s not flying.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “But it will, once I get the replacement part.”

“How soon will that be?” Pitbull panned the surrounding savanna. “There aren’t any aviation superstores anywhere nearby. And you can’t seriously think you can take off on this field.”

“I’m sure I can get a replacement part within a couple of days. And when I can find a smooth enough stretch, long enough to build up some speed, I can get this bird off the ground.” She shook her head, a disgusted look on her face. “What do you know about avionics, anyway?”

Marly walked several yards away and stood staring at the animals in the distance, her back to the men. The band holding her ponytail had slipped loose. Strands of silky, sandy-blond hair caught in the breeze.

Pitbull couldn’t tear his gaze off her slim, athletic figure encased in the form-hugging flight suit.

Buck leaned close to his friend and whispered, “You’re a knucklehead.”

“What’s your point?” Pitbull snapped back, too engaged in his view of Marly to care what Buck had to say.

“She landed the plane,” Buck said.

T-Mac added, “That’s right. We’re alive. You should be down on your knees, groveling at her feet.”

His teammates were right. What was it about Marly that got Pitbull all fired up? She was smart and sexy and knew her way around her airplane. Why couldn’t he leave her alone?

She turned, a smile on her face.

That smile hit him square in the chest like a round from a .55-caliber machine gun. He almost staggered back a few steps with the impact.

“Here comes our rescue team.” Marly pointed to a cloud of dust rising from the grass, heading straight for them.

The men gathered around Marly, like cowboys circling their wagons.

“Are you sure that’s our rescue team?” Pitbull asked.

“Who else would be out in the middle of nowhere?” Marly’s brows dipped. “Seriously, the ATC had our coordinates from the transponder. They had to have passed them on to whoever they called.”

“We’ve seen some of the welcoming committees here in Africa,” Harm said, squinting at the oncoming vehicle.

“If you’re worried, wait behind me.” Marly unzipped her flight suit to reveal a pink bra beneath and a shoulder holster. She pulled out a nine-millimeter handgun.

The team all backed up several steps, every man raising his hands.

“Whoa there, Marly,” Buck said. “Do you know how to use that thing?”

She glared at him. “Do you think I’d carry it if I didn’t?”

Buck shrugged. “Some women do.”

“I’d be a fool to fly around this country unarmed, now, wouldn’t I?” She nodded toward the vehicle now visible through the cloud of dust. “Looks like a safari wagon.”

“And it’s not empty.” Pitbull dove for his backpack, unearthed the M4A1 he’d stashed inside and quickly assembled the main parts.

“Hold your fire, Zippy,” Marly said. “They wouldn’t come out without a contingent of armed men. The animals can cause enough damage, but the poachers and warring rebels are even more dangerous. Wait and see.”

“If we wait too long, we could all be dead.” Pitbull took up a position in the shadow of the airplane and lined up his sights with the driver of the oncoming truck.

“I’m with Pitbull.” Harm reached for his backpack and pulled out a .45-caliber handgun.

The other four men did the same. Soon, everyone waiting at the plane was armed and ready for whatever was headed their way.

The big truck pulled to a lumbering stop several yards away from the plane.

A woman appeared out of the cloud of dust, wearing tall leather riding boots, khaki slacks tucked into the top of the boots and a matching khaki shirt, unbuttoned to reveal an ample amount of cleavage. She swept a wide-brimmed safari hat from her head and shook out auburn curls. “We’re here to help.”

Buck let out a long, low whistle. “Wow.”

She was followed by three dark-skinned men dressed in khaki uniforms and carrying machine guns.

Pitbull aimed for the first one, keeping all three in his peripheral vision. If any one of them made a move, he’d take them down.

“Hey, don’t shoot!” a sultry voice called out. “We’re really here to help.”

Chapter Three

Marly shoved her pistol back into the holster beneath her flight suit and stepped forward, holding out her hand to the woman who came to a halt in front of her. “Marly Simpson. I’m the pilot. You got here fast.”

The other woman was shorter, curvier and stunningly beautiful. Next to her, Marly felt like the ugly stepsister to Cinderella. She shoved aside the thought and shook the woman’s hand.

“Talia Montclair. Nice to meet you.” She shook Marly’s hand with a firm grip and turned to the others. “I’m from All Things Wild Safari & Resort. We got a call from the local police to come pick up the passengers and crew from an aircraft since it went down closest to our operations.” She stared around at the others. “Anyone badly hurt? I’m also a trained paramedic.”

Buck lifted his hand.

Talia’s brows rose. “What’s the nature of your injury?”

He pressed the hand to his chest. “You just stole my heart.”

Talia planted her hands on her hips, her lips quirking on the corners. “Seriously, was anyone injured in the landing?”

“No.” Pitbull stepped out from the shadows and lowered his rifle. “Thanks to our pilot.” He glanced at Marly with a slight nod and then held out his hand to Talia. “Percy Taylor.”

Marly chuckled softly. Finally, the man acknowledged her skill in landing the plane. But did he have to hold Talia’s grip for so long?

“That’s his real name, but we call him Pitbull.” Buck bumped Pitbull out of the way and held out his hand to the safari representative. “Graham Buckner. But you can call me Buck.”

Talia grinned. “Percy, Graham, nice to meet you.” She faced the other four men. “I’m assuming the rest of you are Dalton, Harmon, Trace and Jake?” Her smile spread wider.

They nodded as one.

“Good.” She clapped her hands together. “My safari adventurers. And I see you couldn’t wait to get started and decided to land in the middle of our first stop for tomorrow.” She waved her hand toward the herd. “Welcome to Kenya. Like what you see so far?”

Marly’s lips thinned. For the most part, the men weren’t looking at the herds of wild animals. Instead, they were drooling over their safari guide, Talia.

Heat built in Marly’s gut. And not the good lusty kind. More the jealous, burning, I-can’t-compete-with-that kind. She glanced down at her flight suit that did little to disguise her lack of a voluptuous figure. She was too tall and lanky to be considered feminine. Not that it had bothered her. Until now.

She dared a glance at Pitbull. She was pleased to see he wasn’t looking at Talia.

Instead, his gaze was on Talia’s guards.

Talia must have noticed their regard. “Don’t let my men scare you. We have to come armed.” She nodded toward the SEALs’ weapons. “And I’m glad to see you brought your own firepower. We run into all kinds of four-and two-legged aggressors out here. It pays to be prepared.” Talia glanced toward the plane, her eyes narrowing. “Speaking of which, we might want to push the plane into the tree line.”

Marly glanced around the open field, searching for a stand of trees large enough to park the plane beneath. “The engine isn’t working.”

Talia smiled. “I’m sure you can get some old-fashioned brawn to help get it where you want it to go. I wouldn’t leave it out in the open. You never know what might happen if it’s left alone.”

Familiar with the nature of the inhabitants of the savannas and jungles of Africa, Marly agreed. Gangs of miscreants, poachers and rebels would have the plane stripped of anything salvageable in no time.

She located a copse of trees three hundred yards to her south. “If we could get it to that stand of trees, I’d feel better about leaving it.”

Pitbull stepped forward. “Let us handle it.”

The six SEALs and the three guards positioned themselves around the aircraft at Marly’s direction and began pushing the plane across the bumpy terrain and toward the trees.

Talia followed in the truck.

Once they had the plane positioned between the trees, Talia hauled out a large bundle from the back of the truck and dropped it on the ground. “You can use this camouflage netting to conceal the plane. Trust me, I wouldn’t want anyone to find it. We’ve had some near misses with a local rebel group. The cowards try to get our people alone. Then they attack and steal whatever they might sell on the black market. They’d steal this plane piece by piece if they found it.”

“Should I stay with the plane until the part comes?” Marly asked.

“I think it will be okay as long as you conceal it well enough.”

“Great,” Marly said, grabbing a corner of the netting.

The others took up the other ends and dragged the net over the nose and wings, and finally over the tail.

When they had secured the ends to the ground using sticks and rocks, Marly stood back and examined the effect. From a distance, it would blend into the shadows of the trees.

Talia waved toward the truck. “We can fit two inside—me and one other—and the rest in the back. I’ll let you figure out who goes where.”

Pitbull hurried to the front of the vehicle and opened the passenger seat. “Marly,” he barked like a command.

Marly, unused to having men open doors for her, glanced toward the rear of the truck. “I can ride in the back. You guys are the clients.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Buck hooked her arm, marched her to the passenger side and handed her off to Pitbull. “You’ll ride up front. We’re used to eating dust.”

“So am I,” Marly argued.

Pitbull leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Are you always this disagreeable?”

She frowned at him. “Sometimes I’m even more so.”

Pitbull gripped her around the waist and lifted her up to the seat, ending the argument.

Marly sat down hard, shocked that he’d manhandled her so easily. She’d always considered herself to be too big to be girly. But Pitbull had just proven he was strong enough to sweep this independent, no-nonsense woman off her feet.

Her heart fluttered and her cheeks heated. Where his hands had clenched around her waist still tingled with awareness. She clamped her mouth shut and stared forward, refusing to look back at the man who’d set her blood speeding through her veins and pooling low in her belly.