Page 69 of Keeping a Warrior

The whine of the ramp’s hydraulics drew Rhys’s attention toward the rear of the plane, and he watched the slice of Coronado sunlight grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared altogether.

The next time I see this particular piece of sky, I’ll have changed. Everything will have changed. Am I ready for this?

The engines started to spool up as the ramp slowly clamped shut.

Well, ready or not, here we go.

Rhys jumped on top of his pallet bed and lay down, and with a roar, they took off. Once they’d leveled out, he made the rounds with a bottle of sleeping pills for anyone who wanted one.

He crouched down next to Devon and waved the bottle enticingly. “Want a night-night pill? Best way to spend an eighteen-hour flight.”

“No, thanks.” Devon shook her head. “I won’t drug myself around a group of men, Rhys. I’ll just have to sleep the best I can.”

The expression on her face didn’t invite any questions, so with a nod, Rhys slipped the bottle into the pocket of his pants and went back to his own pallet, where he spent a couple of hours watching a movie on his tablet and dozing.

All around them guys were out cold, although every now and then someone would lurch to their feet and stumble toward the pisser at the back of the plane. A sudden patch of turbulence caused Smudge to fall against one of the pallets Devon was next to, and Rhys watched her jerk awake from her light sleep, hand scrabbling at the knife sheath on her belt.

Her awareness returned almost in an instant, but Rhys’s heart ached. If she couldn’t rest, she’d be exhausted by the end of the trip and would be starting out the deployment with an unhealthy sleep deficit that she’d never catch up on.

Debating with himself for another moment, Rhys finally grabbed a blanket and made his way over to her. He spread it out across the entrance to her little hidey-hole and sat down on it, leaning in close so she could hear him over the plane’s engines.

“Get some sleep, Devon. I’ll keep watch.”

She stared at him. “What?”

“Get some sleep,” he repeated. “I’m gonna sit here, and I won’t let anything happen.”

Rhys put his back to one pallet and stretched his legs out toward the other, a human barricade. He held up his tablet. “Got a bunch of movies I downloaded on here, so I’m fine and I want you to get some fucking sleep.”

Her face darkened. “I don’t need you to take care of me—”

Rhys cut her off. “And what part of ‘having your back’ don’t you understand?” he snapped. “Do you trust me? If you don’t, I’ll crawl back under the rock I came from, just say the word.”

They glared at each other, until at last Devon’s eyes softened. “Yeah, I trust you. More than I’ve trusted any man in a very long time.”

A rush of emotion stung the back of Rhys’s throat. “I know, and I would never do anything to jeopardize that. Do you trust me enough to fall asleep? I’ll be right here the whole time, I promise.”

Instead of answering, Devon wrapped herself completely up in her woobie, settled her head on the pillow she’d brought, and was out cold in seconds.

Rhys watched her for a while, then queued up another movie. It wasn’t long until he started shivering uncontrollably. The cabin was frigid at thirty-six thousand feet. All the guys had donned fleece, and were cocooned in down sleeping bags, warm and snug.

He shifted uncomfortably on his blanket. He’d wrap up in it, but then his ass would be resting on bare metal, which would make it even worse.

I could grab my ruck and get my fleece. It’d take ten seconds.

Rhys looked at Devon’s peaceful face, then at the ruck on top of his pallet several yards away. No. What if she woke up in those ten seconds and he wasn’t there like he’d promised? The damage that’d do, just so he could be a little more comfortable? Not an option.

He pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, hunching over and trying to think warm thoughts. Beach. Sunshine. Devon in a bikini...

Rhys snorted into his folded arms. Not helping. Although the rush of heat that skittered through him was very pleasant.

It didn’t last, and the jackhammer shivering returned with a vengeance. He wouldn’t move, though. He wouldn’t violate Devon’s trust...

The thick fleece jacket being tossed over his shoulders just then was a gift from heaven. Rhys clutched it like a lifeline, and glanced up at his savior.

Matt grinned down at him as he dropped Rhys’s ruck at his side. “You look like I felt on that steel pier during BUD/S.” He shuddered. “No exaggeration, but if I’d had some lighter fluid and a match that night, I would’ve set myself on fire just so I could get warm.”

“Amen, brother,” Rhys forced out. “Amen. And thanks.”