Читать книгу Night Hawk онлайн | страница 10

“No, s— No, I wasn’t. In my squadron, we had four women. The rest were men.”

“I see you had six deployments to Bagram. You were kept busy.”

She nodded. “Well, if I wasn’t on Apaches, I and a few others were sent over to work on Black Hawks and MH-47s for the Night Stalker squadrons located there with us.”

“Yes,” he murmured, “I’m a little familiar with Bagram.”

Kai was dying to ask him what branch of the military he served in but didn’t dare. That would have been inappropriate.

“So,” Talon said, holding her stare, “if you were being asked to work on other birds then, you were a multi-engine qualified mechanic. They don’t let mechs work on anything but what they’re trained in on.”

“That’s correct. I was multi-certified.” Kai saw a pleased look come to his face. He didn’t hide how he felt. If he was an operator, usually they had a game face on and no one knew what they were thinking or feeling. Maybe Talon Holt wasn’t an operator, after all.

“I see here you were born in Cody, Wyoming? That your father owns the Circle T?” Talon cocked his head, studying her. “Why aren’t you home working for your parents instead of applying here for a job?”

Her throat tightened for a moment. Yeah, Talon was an operator. They had an unerring ability to home in on the exact issue that needed to be revealed and investigated. She told him the least she could, keeping out the fact she had a permanent rift with her father. His expression became sympathetic when she told him her mother had died when she was eight years old.

“That had to be tough on you,” he murmured. “And you have an older brother?”

“Yes. Steve works at the Circle T.” Her hands grew damp. “My father didn’t need a mechanic. I needed to expand my horizons and stay in my MOS after I separated from the Army. That’s why I’m applying for a job here.”

Rubbing his shaven jaw, Talon regarded her for a moment, the silence thickening in the office. “And you grew up helping to repair tractors, trucks and hay balers?”

“All of those,” she said, “and more.”