Regrets were useless; the situation had been taken out of their hands. She needed to straighten her head out. Starting with accommodation. Cot-beds had been set up in the neighbouring hangar and if she was quick enough she might even bag one of the choicest locations in the quietest corner.
‘Ah, Colonel Stirling, your driver is ready to take you.’ A voice from behind snagged her attention. ‘You have a seat on the first direct commercial flight out of the main airport in the morning. Unfortunately, the airport hotel was already fully booked but I took the liberty of booking you into a hotel in the nearby tourist resort.’
‘That sounds fine, Sergeant.’
If merely hearing his name had set the hairs bristling on the back of her arms, pausing in the action of retrieving her wash-bag, the sound of that rich, steady tone was enough to make her heart falter before galloping off.
What was he doing on a flight out of here too?
His infantry battalion wasn’t due to leave for another week, which could only mean something bad. Without stopping to second-guess herself, Fliss stuffed the items haphazardly into the top of her rucksack, snatching at the closing ties and dragging it onto her shoulder as she sped across the floor.
‘Colonel?’
There were too many soldiers around to risk using his first name but she trusted that he would see beyond the clipped tone. However, he didn’t stop, striding confidently away from her and towards the main doors so that Fliss was forced to call again, barely concealing the note of panic in her tone.
To her relief he stopped, turning slowly, aviator-style glasses in his hand and an expression she didn’t recognise cloaking his handsome face. She stopped abruptly, thrown. He looked like hell.
‘Major?’
He was the very definition of poker-faced. She swallowed nervously. How was she supposed to do this with people all around them?
‘I’m in a hurry,’ he bit out. ‘Walk with me.’
Without waiting for an answer, he turned and walked out of the doors, the wall of heat from outside hitting her despite the air-conditioning within the hangar. She stared after him, then her legs acted for the rest of her body, carrying her right along behind him. He’d walked to the end of the path to the road where the car was waiting for him. They’d moved out of the line of sight from the glass doors and no one was around.
‘Is everything okay, Ash?’
Something flickered over his face, perhaps pleasure at seeing her, but then it changed to something she couldn’t identify, and it was gone as quickly as it had arrived.
‘I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to speak to you.’ His clipped tone gave nothing away.
She waved it away as though it hadn’t mattered.
‘But are you okay?’
‘Of course.’ He hesitated a fraction too long. ‘But I have some...loose ends to tie up in the UK. My promotion was never meant to take place until the battalion had returned from Razorwire; it just got accelerated after Colonel Waterson’s accident.’
‘You’re booked on a commercial flight?’
‘It’s time sensitive.’ He shrugged.
If she was overstepping, he didn’t show it. In fact he showed no emotion at all. Unease rippled through her.
‘Should I...would you like me to come with you?’
It had taken Fliss a lot to make the offer. The look he cast her was flat, expressionless. Her stomach pitched.
‘Why would you do that?’
‘Just to talk? Or...to finish the other day, if you like?’
Flat eyes stared at her. Then, all of a sudden, Ash’s gaze turned hard and demandingly hot. It raked over her, as though virtually stripping her right down on the concrete. She could barely breathe, let alone move.
‘You want to do that?’ he demanded harshly.
‘I want to,’ she confirmed.
‘All right, Major.’ She hoped his use of her rank was because someone was approaching—his driver, perhaps. ‘You can share my ride. Inform the duty sergeant and ask him to book you a flight and a hotel room.’