Logan wrestled Tamara to the bed, straddling her. "You aren't going, capesh?"
"I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing."
"Then I'm not getting off you until you agree," he said, holding her hands together above her head.
"We don't have time for this. Get off me," she snapped. Where did he get off thinking he could manhandle her? "I mean it!"
"And I mean it, too. Jason and I are trained for this."
Tamara attempted to buck him off, but to no avail. He seemed to think she couldn't do the job. "I'm a good cop."
"Yes you are, but they don't need a cop today. They need soldiers."
"In case you forgot. I'm the one that defeated that kid. I can handle this just as well as you, jackass."
"I outrank you, darling. You're staying with Darla."
"If you want to keep touching the merchandise, you're going to let me go."
To her irritation, Logan threw his head back and laughed before giving her a chaste kiss on the lips, but still refused to get off her. "You're priceless! We both know you can't refuse me."
She struggled to get her hands loose, itching to deck him a good one. But he had too firm a grip on them. "Damn you!" She's never felt so helpless in her life, and she didn't like it. How the heck did she wind up in this predicament?
It was true that it only made sense that she stayed behind as Darla felt comfortable with her, but sitting around was not what she was best at. Being right in the thick of things kept her mind busy and helped her forget her tribulations.
"I need to go," she whispered, frustrated that tears were pricking her eyes once again.
His expression softened, and he brushed away the tears that slipped down her cheek. "I understand that, hun, really I do, but she needs you more than the ship does right now."
Turning her head, she glanced at her friend; her face ghostly pale. They were in trouble because of her actions. She was a hot head and impatient, and now was not the time for either. It was time to grow up, time to follow her superior. Laughter bubbled up inside her. It was time for her to be a submissive. All her life, she'd been fighting to be considered an equal and that often made her follow her own feelings, as opposed to reaching out to let others lead. A good leader knew when to follow and when to lead, and this was the time to let Logan take the wheel.
Logan tilted his head sideways and studied her. "I'm not sure what to make of that laugh."
"Tell me something."
"Hmm?"
"What exactly do you do for the government?"
"That's something I can't really discuss, but trust me when I say that I know what I'm doing."
She made a deep guttural noise in her throat. "If you want me to stay here, you need to tell me because I won't follow someone who doesn't trust me."
"You know this isn't about trust. I've signed an oath. I can't talk about it or I could be court-martialed."
"That high up then?"
He nodded.
She wanted to ask him more questions, but she knew what it meant. He wouldn't ever be able to tell her. "Then swear me in."
"Honey, you don't wanna do what I do."
Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. The only way that he'd say that was if he worked for Black ops or something, a highly skilled team of soldiers. They took out whoever the government told them to take out. But if that was the case, why did he fumble with Frank? The only thing she could think of was that she distracted him.
"Fine, I'll stay," she said, blowing out a tuft of air. "But don't think I'm going to make a habit of doing this."
"I hope you don't. I quite like sitting on top of you," he said with a wink as he climbed off.
In the back of her mind though, she still wished she could tie him to a bed and pull off the rescue herself. Sitting back was not her idea of a good time. She loved the rush of getting her hands dirty.
The men prepared themselves to head out. She watched as Jason leaned over and tenderly kiss an unconscious Darla on the forehead. "I'm going to save you," he murmured.
It was so sweet that she couldn't help but bring a hand up to her heart. Climbing off the bed, she jumped into Logan's arms. "Please don't do anything stupid."
He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed her hard. "With you to come home to, I'll stay as safe as safe can be in my line of work."
"If we get out of this, I want to move with you to the East Coast."
"We'll talk about our future when I get back."
And with that, the two of them left the room. Tamara wandered over to Darla and checked her forehead, still no fever. Pressing her fingers to her friend's wrist, she checked for a pulse, relieved to find it still beating. She wasn't out of the woods yet, but at least the bleeding was under control finally.
Wandering over to the chair in the corner, she collapsed onto the cushion, laying her head back. She hated not knowing how it would all end. Would they make it out of this? Would she and Logan last the test of time? Would Darla survive and recover fully? Questions always led to more questions. She liked absolutes. And right now, she had none.
"Don't worry," came a small voice. Tamara's head whipped to the bed. Darla was looking over at her, smiling weakly as she held her hand out. "They'll save us."
Getting up, she walked over to the bed and lay down beside her. Slipping her arm under Darla's back, she pulled her close. "I was so worried about you. Can you remember anything yet?"
Darla shook her head against Tamara's chest. "Nothing really. I just see blurred images in my head."
Hopefully as things begin to settle, her memory will return. But she knew that wasn't always the case in amnesia patients. She rested her cheek on the top of her friend's head. "I wish I could help."
"You helped just by staying." Darla, said, squeezing her hand.
She responded by squeezing back. She almost felt like she knew Darla from another time, another place. There was a bond between them that she'd never felt with any other girl. It didn't even feel strange to kiss her in front of the guys. And that wasn't even something she'd ever thought about doing before.
"I'm not ready to be alone with either of them yet," Darla continued.
"Jason really is a good guy."
"I'm sure," Darla murmured before drifting off to sleep again.
***
Logan made his way into the galley with Jason right behind him. "Grab whatever you can use as a weapon." The two of them secured two serrated knives and then were back on their way again.
"So what's the game plan?"
"I'm assuming they have commandeered the bridge, but if we go there first, we risk them hurting the hostages."
"Are you thinking to take out the ones guarding the passengers?"
"If we are careful enough, we can draw them out without anyone getting hurt."
"Works for me."
He was thinking that if they could make a noise down the hall it would draw one of them away from the door, and little by little, they could take them out. It's been a while since he's done a mission away from the office and his first experience with Frank deemed him a little rusty, but that wasn't going to happen again.
Now he was in full on soldier mode as he twirled the knife in his hand. "Let's go do this thang!"
"Right behind ya, man!" Jason replied.
"Did emergency services give you an eta?"
"Nope, just said to hang tight."
"There's going to be some hanging alright, but it won't be us," Logan said, pressing his back up against the wall as he glanced around a corner. With a quick nod of his head, they both moved down the hallway, closing in on the first dining room.
"There are two men at the entrance," he told Jason. Looking around, he pointed to the door closest to him. "I'm going to hide in here. I want you to move further down the hallway. I'll make some noise and get one of them to come this way. Try to get him to follow you, and then I'll sneak up behind him."