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“Hard to say. There are a lot of big shots here today, and you know how he enjoys attention and likes to suck up to those above him.”
“Maybe,” Gabby retorted. She knew one thing—he wasn’t there to cheer her on.
She and the Vice Admiral had clashed ever since headquarters restructured the Chain of Command for the MSRT, and her unit fell under his command. For some unknown reason, he had placed a target on Gabby’s back the moment he stepped foot in her presence a little over a year ago. Her saving grace had been her teammates and Captain Graham. It was because of them and their loyalty to her that Alley didn’t hit the bullseye.
“Allen and Herndon, you’re up,” one of the event volunteers shouted.
Gabby took a deep breath and exhaled as she gathered her gear. Thankfully, her bruised hip hadn’t been much of a hindrance. By no means was it magically healed in two days. However, she had taken Graham’s offer and stayed home yesterday, and she just took it easy. Plus, coupled with the ibuprofen she took earlier, the pain was manageable.
“Hey, you aren’t nervous, are you?” James asked as they started walking across the field toward the helicopter.
She didn’t answer immediately, and James nudged her elbow.
“Gabby?”
She hated allowing her nerves to show, but she couldn’t lie to her teammate. She nodded. “I’m a little nervous.”
“But you never get nervous.”
“Well, I am today.”
“Don’t be nervous because pencil dick showed up,” he said, referring to the Alley.
Gabby chuckled. “Maybe I’m nervous because we have a shot at winning this thing.” She pushed the thoughts of Alley out of her head.
“Is your hip bothering you? Or could it be because yourboyfriendis watching?” He grinned and motioned with his head toward the railing by the water, where Playboy stood with his teammates watching the competition.
“First of all, the hip is manageable. Second, he isn’t my boyfriend,” she stated firmly, at least she thought she did, as she looked towards the group. Playboy, right at that exact moment, locked eyes with her and smiled, giving her a thumbs up.Oh, damn!That sinful, sexy smile of his was going to be the death of her. She offered a slight wave back. Okay, maybe his presence was a little nerve-wracking.
Oh, but you would like him to be yours.The voice inside her head told her, and she felt a little flutter of desire in her stomach. She wanted to argue, but who was she fooling? She had a massive crush on the Navy SEAL.
After they had parted ways at Bayside two nights ago, as she sat and had dinner with Luna, she couldn’t stop her eyes from wandering back to the pool tables where Playboy was with his teammates. He had even caught her a few times. The chemistrywas there. She could feel it. But it was that fear of rejection that had been holding her back.
“Gabby, who are you kidding? You know, everyone is talking about how you two disappeared together after leaving the gala a few weeks ago.”
Gabby’s head swung around so hard she thought she might get whiplash. “What?” She asked, shocked at James’ comment.
Yes, it was true. The person she rode with had to leave the event early, and Playboy offered to drive her home. They had left the ballroom together, but once they were outside waiting for the valet to bring Playboy’s car around, Velcro Vicky showed up with two of her friends. They had acted all surprised to see Playboy. She claimed she and her friends were at the hotel for dinner and drinks. But it was obvious she knew that Playboy was there for an event and had gone just to try and see him. And it worked, though it pissed Gabby off because after acting all surprised to see him there, she claimed her car wouldn’t start. Being the boy scout that Playboy was, he told her that he would take a look at it. Gabby didn’t stick around and told Playboy she would just call for anUber. She could tell he wasn’t thrilled with her decision, and he seemed torn, but then Velcro Vicky inserted herself into their conversation and, of course, was hanging on his arm.
After witnessing that, Gabby assured him that she would be fine and could see herself home. Was she bummed? Of course. But there was nothing she could do about it. It was moments like that that it felt like he was sending mixed signals, and she didn’t have time for that.
Her mind went back to what James just said. She now wondered if people thought she had a booty call night with him.Oh, dear lord!
James smirked as if he knew what she was thinking. But before he could answer, the volunteer ushered them to the waiting helicopter.
She and James quickly loaded into the helicopter. Blocking out any mental distractions, she got her game face on and ready to kick some ass.
She and James were each handed a headset, which they tested to ensure they could communicate. Gabby then got to work setting up the support system of several straps she’d use to help brace her rifle. She found that using the prefabricated setup helped reduce the vibration caused by the helicopter. If a shooter wasn’t prepared, the slightest vibration could throw off the shot by a few inches or even more. There were other factors she had to take into consideration, like rotor wash, the distance to the target, wind direction and speed, the altitude the helicopter was flying at, and others. That was why having an open communication line with her spotter was critical. James was an excellent spotter and someone she could trust and rely on to give her accurate data.
Once they were set, she gave a thumbs up to the pilot, and they lifted into the air, making their way over the water toward the targets. The pilots made two passes around the targets, giving her a bird’s eye view of the first phase, which was the stationary targets.
“We’re coming around to the first target,” James told her.
“Let’s do this,” she replied, giving him a thumbs up and shaking off the jitters she felt earlier. Ignoring the slight ache in her hip, she settled into a comfortable kneeling position with her rifle resting on the straps and began to line up her first shot.
She cleared the first five targets within minutes, hitting them easily and precisely.
“You’re killing it, Gabs!” James shouted over the headset. As happy as Gabby was about nailing the targets, she wasn’t about to celebrate prematurely. She let her body relax but kept her mind in the game, knowing the next set was going to be much more challenging.
