The Challenge: Resolutions, Inc., #2

By Teri Riggs

The Challenge between Ellie Ryan and Vince Corelli had been tough. It was both mentally and physically exhausting, not to mention overloaded with sexual tension. In the end, Ellie exited victorious as the test pilot of the brand new XH8 helicopter, Vince was offered a high paying private sector job, and they finally allow themselves one night of passion before going their separate ways. 

Months later, Ellie's crew has been murdered and the prototype helicopter she was piloting hijacked. All evidence leads to her involvement in a deadly terrorist game. Her only hope of survival is to open herself up and accept help, if it arrives in time. 

Vince, a Resolutions operative, is sent to retrieve the XH8 from Colombia and deal with the woman the U.S. military believes to be behind the plot to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans, but will he be able to overcome his trust issues in time to prove Ellie's innocence? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Teri Riggs
• Release date: Jan 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393082187

Book preview

Prologue

W ell, flyboy, looks like the best man won The Challenge. Chief Ellie Ryan raised her bottle of beer. The rest of the men gathered around a table at The Cockpit bar, followed suit.

Except the best man in this instance is a woman. Vince Corelli clinked his longneck against hers and noted for the one-millionth time what a damn fine-looking woman sat next to him. How often did he get to meet the real deal…an awesome pilot and a man’s wet dream rolled into one? After six months of working side by side, Vince needed to take his Ellie-inspired, constant hard-on and hit the road.

Hey man, how’s it feel to be bested by a woman? Goose, her copilot, teased. Gotta be rough on the ego.

Nah, real men don’t have inflated egos. Vince wiggled his bottle, signaling the waitress to bring another round.

Says the man with the two-hundred megawatt ego. She wrapped her lips around the rim of her bottle. What Vince wouldn’t give to have those lips wrapped around his cock. I’m still trying to figure out how you even found a helmet large enough to fit your over-sized noggin.

Samuels slapped his beer onto the table. Fuck the helmet. I want to know where the major general found a cockpit big enough for his head.

Another circle of laughter surrounded him. You do know men with big egos have cocks to match.

Wait a second. Didn’t you just tell me and the guys you didn’t have an ego? Her eyes swam with laughter, her excitement and happiness contagious.

Wilson stood and made a few obscene gestures with his pelvis. Ryan’s got you there, man.

The new tray of beers arrived, and Vince rose and held his bottle out. Seriously. I want to wish Ryan the best in her new position as pilot of the XH8 prototype. You kicked my flying ass out there, and no one deserves the honor more than you, Chief. He clinked his bottle to hers. Bottoms up.

The rest of the crew tapped their bottles together and downed their brews. The group’s trash-talk grew loud and, for the most part, obnoxious, but damn if he wasn’t going to miss working with them. Even with the constant boner he carried around her, he’d miss her, too. Hell, he’d miss her the most.

She stood, still clutching her bottle. Thank you, flyboy, for your kind words. They touched me right here. She tapped her bottle over her heart. Even if they were total bullshit.

More laughing.

You were neck and neck with me throughout The Challenge. Picking a winner had to have been a toss-up, I’m sure. And unfortunately in the end, the committee went with the better-looking competitor…me.

Having my ass beat by a beautiful woman sounds pretty kinky to me, Ryan. He wiggled his brows at Ellie.

We all know the pilot with the biggest set of balls won The Challenge. Wilson raised his bottle. But I think we’re gonna miss you, Corelli.

Like a bad STD, Sammy added.

The men were full of jokes tonight.

Thanks, Ryan, and everyone else. Your insults tonight have touched me deeply. I’ve never felt so loved. If I can ever do a favor for any of you, don’t fucking call me. I screen my calls. He took a swig from his bottle. What the fuck. I’m gonna block all your numbers.

Ah, the fun never ends when you get a bunch of drunken crew members gathered together. Goose faced Vince. Kidding aside, Corelli, it’s been a true pleasure flying with you. Will you apply to the program when they open it after the testing phase is over?

I’m thinking it’s time to move on to other things. I’m opting out and taking a job in the private sector.

Black ops?

What else?

Working as a pilot?

Wouldn’t take a job if it didn’t include flying.

Ellie moved between them and wrapped her arms around their shoulders. Y’all got a lovefest going on over here?

Jealous, Ryan? The heat where her bare wrist touched the skin on his neck burned.

Of what, flyboy? Your bromance? She pulled them into a bear hug before releasing them.

Thank God she stepped away and he could breathe again. He glanced at his watch. He’d stay another fifteen minutes at most. He had paperwork and packing to take care of tonight. Not to mention a round of solo sex in his near future.

Ellie took a bathroom break, and, when she returned to the table, her heart skipped a few dozen beats. Vince had vanished.

Where’s Corelli?

In the head. Don’t look so panicked, Chief. You’ll still have time to poke fun at him. Sammy pulled her chair out. Take a seat. It’s a big day for you.

It had been a great day for her. She’d won The Challenge and the coveted prototype-pilot position. The downside—depending on how she looked at it—Vince’s exit from the program. She’d enjoyed spending time with him, learning and competing. He had more experience as a pilot than she, but he’d been generous sharing his knowledge. As he’d pointed out numerous times, more experience did not mean better.

And the man wasn’t hard on the eyes. Tall and lean, and built like a warrior, his brown bedroom eyes called to her most primitive desires. The program to pick the XH8’s pilot, called The Challenge, had been intense. Ellie had decided after the first month of drills, the real challenge had been to not throw herself across the controls and into her competitor’s lap.

She’d spent many hours daydreaming about the multiple ways she and her rival could have sex. Standing, sitting, lying down. In the bedroom, the kitchen, the shower, and on and on. The possibilities were endless. She would’ve challenged the alpha in Vince for control in the bedroom…if she’d been given the chance. Much to her dismay, six months of wet panties would end tonight without her ever getting a taste of the man. Unless you counted the one tiny kiss they’d shared during a moment of weakness at the gym.

You gonna sit, Chief? Sammy still held the chair for her.

You guys are the best, but I think I’m going to head to my room and call home. I want to share my great news with my family. Not to mention she didn’t really have the heart to say good-bye to the object of her sexual dreams. It wasn’t like her to become so attached to anyone. She had her sister and aunt. They were enough for her. Catch y’all tomorrow. Thanks again for all the hard work during The Challenge and for celebrating the win with me.

She hurried outside to her car for the short ride back to the base and stopped two cars over from hers. In the blinking neon lights of The Cockpit bar, she made out the silhouette of a man leaning against her older-model Camaro. What the hell? Her arms swung as she marched towards him.

What’re you doing out here, flyboy? Sammy said you were in the bathroom.

I needed a moment alone with you. With all the jokes and bullshit going on inside, I wanted to be sure you understood how truly happy I am for you taking the win. I wish you luck with the program.

Not what she’d expected to hear. Thank you. She leaned against her car next to the spot he relaxed against. I’ve learned a lot and enjoyed our time together. Boy, had she.

I hear you. To be honest, I kind of hate to see it end.

You’ll be around from time to time, won’t you?

Not likely. I took a position with Resolutions. I join their team next month.

Congratulations. I’ve only heard good things about Hutchinson’s operation. She pushed off the car. I guess it’s really good-bye, then.

Yep. He glanced at his feet and spread a few pieces of gravel around with his boot.

She hugged him. Her head rested against his hard chest and chills raced down to her toes. Ellie closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. Damn, she hated to let him go.

He tilted her chin up and wiped a finger over her cheek. Tears?

Had she just shed a few tears for Vince? Mortified, she went on the defense. My eyes are itchy.

Looks like you got a lot of something in your eye. His mouth twisted into a smile and he made another swipe over her cheeks.

Yeah, probably parking-lot dust. She laid a hand on his chest and his heart beat beneath her palm. I guess this is it.

He nodded but didn’t release her. I guess.

Then I better go.

Fuck this, Ryan. I gotta at least taste your lips. I’ve earned it after all of the time spent lusting over you in the damn XH8’s cockpit.

Before she could blink, he drew her to him, and his mouth covered hers. Six months of dreaming about him and here he stood in the flesh, kissing the holy shit out of her.

Daydreaming about him had always made her wet. Kissing him had her panties flooding. His kissing skills matched his flying expertise…unsurpassed. God, please don’t let him stop.

It doesn’t have to end. We can take this to the hotel down the road.

What? His words surprised her for a second.

You said, he whispered between kisses, you didn’t want this to end.

I spoke out loud? Dammit.

Yes. He took her bottom lip between his teeth, swiped his tongue across it, and released her. What do you say, sweet Ellie? Let’s grab a bottle of expensive champagne and take this celebration elsewhere. He ran a palm inside her shirt and thumbed a nipple into a hard peak.

Throw in a pizza and you’re on, flyboy. She stepped back and his hand slipped away. No-strings-attached sex?

Agreed. No strings. No regrets.

This might end up being the biggest mistake of her life, but it’d be a hell of a lot of fun making it.

Vince lay with Ellie’s leg wrapped around him like a vise. Her soft skin and musky, just-had-sex scent, made him burn from the inside out. His cock throbbed and turned hard as rock. Surely, taking her one more time before he left would put the fire out. He’d love to wake her and bury himself so deep it would take forever to pull them apart. But if he woke her, he might not be able to leave. If he had to gaze into her eyes and see the desire—or disappointment—in them, he’d never walk out the door. Instead, he’d sneak away like a dog with his tail tucked between his legs. No one had ever described him as a lowlife, but damned if this didn’t make him look like the biggest fucking coward around. He’d rather stare down the barrel of an AK47 than face the woman he’d fucked half the night. The rare fear making him act strange, stemmed from what he felt for her.

She didn’t deserve to be run out on. Of course, people didn’t always get what they deserved. He certainly hadn’t deserved a cheating fiancée, who emotionally castrated him. Ellie would be fine. She’d asked for a night of no-strings-attached sex, and he’d given her exactly what she wanted. Hell, he’d wanted it, too. It would work better this way. He couldn’t take a chance on another woman breaking his heart again—no matter how much he enjoyed spending time with her.

Sure, she’d be fine with his leaving without a good-bye, but why the fuck did he feel like such a bastard?

Mmmm…. Exhaustion filled every cell in her body. She and her flyboy had made wild, wicked love all night long. She’d be lucky if she could move today. This idea turned out to be a great one, Corelli…I mean, Vince. He’d insisted she call him by his first name. Maybe she needed to adjust her no-strings-attached policy.

She rolled over and reached for him and found his side of the bed empty, the sheets cold. Ellie pulled on her tee shirt and padded to the bathroom. She knocked on the door. Vince? Are you in there?

No answer. She pushed the unlocked door open and peeked inside. A wet washcloth tossed in the floor and a pile of used condoms in the trash can, were the only hints he’d been in the bathroom at all.

She pulled the door closed and glanced around the hotel room. The shirt he’d left next to the empty pizza box had disappeared, along with the pants he’d tossed over the TV. Vince had run out on her. She kicked the empty champagne bottle across the room and sat on the side of the bed, her head buried in her palms. Why did she fall for this crap every time? She knew better. Never depend on or trust a man. They’ll fuck you every time…literally.

How could she have read the signals so wrong? Vince and she had worked together for six months. She’d let herself believe he’d be different. She roamed around the room, picking up her clothes. The son of a bitch left without a good-bye, a kiss my ass, or even a thanks for the fuck.

Okay, so maybe making one huge mistake wasn’t really much fun.

1

Six months later, Felker Army Airfield, Fort Eustis, Virginia….

The next best thing to sex, in Chief Warrant Officer Ellie Ryan’s opinion, had to be flying. Her ass belonged sitting in the pilot seat and in command of the cockpit. Pops and his maintenance crew had already rolled the prototype from the hanger and after making her outside preflight check of the helo, she and her crew climbed onboard.

If her crew hadn’t been around, she’d probably cut loose with a hoot and a fist pump. Instead, she strapped on the kneeboard, the digital tablet holding most of her flight data, and adjusted her seat. She completed the interior preflight check with Goose and started the onboard auxiliary power unit.

The day had finally come. In the pre-dawn hours, she and her crew of four were taking the Army’s newest top-secret helicopter out for a full ops run. They were testing the effectiveness of the radar shields and how easy it would be to drop toxins on a large population undetected. All other test flights and simulations over the last six months lead up to this one. She and her men were about to make history. Adrenaline raced through her, kicking her pulse into overdrive. A strong sense of power jolted into gear.

She readjusted her helmet mic, earbuds, and then buckled and secured her harness. After giving Goose a thumbs-up, she simultaneously pressed the engine start buttons and monitored the starting sequence. The smaller APU engine fired the two main engines, bringing the XH8 to life. She pushed the engine power control lever down from OFF to IDLE and the helo barely shuttered as the main rotors began turning counterclockwise. The machine purred like a kitten, absent of the usual wop-wop-wop of a helo’s blades. She loved the quiet ride of the prototype.

I have the controls, she said.

You have the controls, Goose responded.

She repeated the command once more before taking control of the cyclic, the collective, and the floor pedals and lifted the aircraft off the ground to a five foot hover. The prototype tilted slightly left as the right wheel came off the ground first, followed by the left, and finally the tailwheel. She quickly checked that all systems were functioning properly and requested departure clearance from base tower. After being cleared, she pulled up on the collective and pushed slightly forward on the cyclic, nosing the helo from a stationary hover to forward flight.

Passing over the runway midpoint, she pulled back on the cyclic and the prototype began to climb. She leveled the XH8 at her assigned altitude and relaxed her hold on the collective as she reached cruising speed. To her, nothing compared to a clean lift off. She rolled her shoulders and settled back in her seat.

I fucking love to fly this machine. Much nicer than the original prototype.

Copy, Chief. I only hope she doesn’t do a face plant like the first XH8, Goose said through his helmet mic, his voice coming across tinny and accompanied by static.

Minor details, Goose, she said with an air of confidence. John Marks had earned the handle Goose because of his physical resemblance, complete with the spotty mustache and lanky build, to the character in the movie Top Gun.

The crash scared ten years off our lives. He sneered. Everyone but you, Miss Fearless.

That’s Chief Warrant Officer Fearless to you. The original XH8 had gone down in a blaze of glory, an electrical fire caused by malfunctioning shield wiring. The systems failure lights had come on. She had adjusted the airspeed and reset the two switches, hoping it turned out to be nothing more than a glitch. The caution lights had remained on, and she’d had to initiate the special emergency landing procedure for the prototype. The XH8, the only aircraft of its kind, had been built to be stealthy and deadly like a black panther prowling through the night, making it an extremely lethal weapon.

All but one of her crew had made it out without major injuries. Sadly, her flight engineer and data-intake specialist, Roy Atkins, died on impact, apparently from a heart