USAF detachment at RAF Leuchars will fly us back to the States. I figure Iâd head over there before your practice round tomorrow and bring the detachment commander up to speed.â
Dayna hesitated. She hated to introduce the subject of her failed romance, but Hawk needed to know it might present a complication.
âBefore you talk to the detachment commander, you should be aware that I used to date one of his pilots. Captain Luke Harper.â
Mike cut her a surprised look. âI remember the hype about you and some flyboy. Heâs here, at Leuchars?â
âHe is. Matter of fact, I bumped into him this afternoon.â
Bumped, as in locked lips. To Daynaâs profound disgust, the memory of Lukeâs mouth on hers sent heat seeping into her cheeks. She fought to keep her expression neutral but Hawkeye hadnât earned his code name by missing subtle signals. Nor had he stayed alive as long as he had in this business by shrugging off even small, seemingly innocuous incidents as mere coincidence.
âAre you sure it was a chance meeting?â
Like Hawk, Dayna had learned the hard way that training and experience were no substitutes for gut instinct. She went with hers now.
âIâm sure. I was a last-minute entry in this tournament. Harper didnât know I was coming to St. Andrews and he doesnât have a clue I work for the government. The problem is, he isnât supposed to be here, either.â
When she indicated he flew the super-secret Stealth bomber, Hawk grasped the implications immediately. The material heâd studied on the flight up from Algiers had included a brief detailing of the antiwar movements in Britain and the sensitive issue of the presence of U.S. nuclear-capable bombers on British soil.
âIf the media gloms on to his presence and tries to resurrect your old affair, it could jeopardize both his mission and ours.â
âLightning and I discussed that,â Dayna replied. âOur initial assessment was that the air force has sufficient measures in place to keep their operation at Leuchars under wraps, butâ¦â
She blew out a long breath. The unexpected encounter this afternoon had forced her to reevaluate the situation. St. Andrews was a small university town, crammed at present with newshounds from around the world. Any one of them could sniff out the story of her old flame.
âYouâd better lay out the problem when you meet with the detachment commander in the morning,â she told Hawk. âGet his take on the threat to his operation.â
âWill do.â Those too-keen eyes studied hers. âWhat about the threat to ours?â
âIâve been thinking about that, too. If the media does latch on to my old romance, we could use the hype to deflect attention from our efforts to get close to the Wus.â
âSomething to consider,â Hawk agreed, âbut you donât sound too thrilled about letting this character back in your life. Just say the word and Iâll take him out of the picture.â
Lightning had already made that offer. Once again, Dayna turned it down.
âNo need. The meeting this afternoon caught me by surprise. Iâll be prepared if it happens again.â
Â
She was still trying to convince herself of that some four hours later.
Lifting her head, Dayna glared at the digital alarm beside her bed. When she saw the hour, she let loose with an expletive that would have earned her a warning if sheâd muttered it during the tournament. Still swearing, she dropped her face into the goose-down pillow.
This was ridiculous. She was playing a double game of golf and deception tomorrow. Sheâd have to make every stroke count while keeping tabs on Wu Kim Li. She needed sleep.
âGet out of my head, Harper!â
Chapter 3
W hy couldnât he put the woman out of his head?
Luke shifted restlessly in the mission commanderâs seat of his bat-winged B-2. The
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