Aiden: Military Heroes (The One I Want Series Book 1) Read online

  Aiden

  The One I Want

  Jet Masters

  Ellie Masters

  JEM Publishing

  We believe in Soulmates, True Love & Romance.

  Jet & Ellie Masters

  Copyright © 2019 Jet & Ellie Masters

  Aiden & Ariel: The One I Want series

  Book 1

  All rights reserved.

  This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this print book ONLY. No part of this print book may be reproduced, scanned, transmitted, or distributed in any printed, mechanical, or electronic form without prior written permission from Jet & Ellie Masters or JEM Publishing except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

  Image/art disclaimer: Licensed material is being used for illustrative purposes only. Any person depicted in the licensed material is a model.

  Editor: Erin Toland

  Proofreader: Cindy Wolken

  Interior Design/Formatting: Ellie Masters

  Published in the United States of America

  JEM Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, businesses, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  * * *

  AISN: B07QMK9572

  Created with Vellum

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to our amazing readers.

  True Love

  Jet and I believe in true love. We believe you can look into the eyes of your soulmate and JUST KNOW. Many people may not believe us, but for us, we are one of the lucky few who fell in love at first sight.

  Jet and I are writing THE ONE I WANT series together. It's a collection of contemporary, love at first sight, romance stories. These stories are about strong women. We're talking helicopter pilots, commercial boat captains, wildlife adventure guides, veterinarians…you get the picture. Strong, accomplished women who don't need a man in their lives, but who can't help stumbling across

  THE ONE.

  Sparks will fly.

  These stories are about love at first sight. They’re heartfelt and true to what Jet and I believe about love. We believe that special spark exists, and we're bringing it to you, one story at a time.

  The men in these stories are pretty amazing too! You'll see Green Berets, Delta operatives, Air Force Para-jumpers, and more. Of course, strong women deserve strong men. Right?

  It’s with great pleasure that we launch THE ONE I WANT series. We conceived this concept together, argued plot points, sketched out scenes, and worked to bring you stories with all the feels. In the end, we want to bring you a Happily Ever After that will stay with you long after the last page is read.

  Also by Ellie Masters

  Sign up to Ellie’s Newsletter and get a free gift. https://elliemasters.com/FreeBook

  YOU CAN FIND ELLIE’S BOOKS HERE:

  ELLIEMASTERS.COM/BOOKS

  Light BDSM Romance

  The Ties that Bind

  each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different couple with an HEA.

  Alexa

  Penny

  Michelle

  Ivy

  Contemporary Romance

  The One I Want Series

  By Jet & Ellie Masters

  each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different couple with an HEA.

  Aiden

  Brent

  Caleb

  Dax

  Rockstar Romance

  The Angel Fire Rock Romance Series

  each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different couple with an HEA. It is recommended they are read in order.

  Ashes to New (prequel)

  Heart’s Insanity (book 1)

  Heart’s Desire (book 2)

  Heart’s Collide (book 3)

  Hearts Divided (book 4)

  Dark Romance

  Captive Hearts Series

  each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different couple with an HEA. It is recommended they are read in order.

  She’s MINE

  Embracing FATE

  Forest’s FALL

  Romantic Suspense

  Changing Roles Series:

  this series is about one couple and must be read in order.

  Book 1: Command

  Book 2: Control

  Book 3: Collar

  HOT READS

  each book is a standalone novel.

  Off Duty

  Nondisclosure

  Down the Rabbit Hole

  Romantic Suspense (standalone)

  each book is a standalone novel.

  Twist of Fate

  The Starling

  Redemption

  HOT READS

  Becoming His Series

  this series is about one couple and must be read in order.

  Book 1: The Ballet

  Book 2: Learning to Breathe

  Book 3: Becoming His

  Sweet Contemporary Romance

  Finding Peace

  ~AND~

  Science Fiction

  Ellie Masters writing as L.A. Warren

  Vendel Rising: a Science Fiction Serialized Novel

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  Final Thoughts Jet&Ellie

  Also by Ellie Masters

  About the Author

  Connect with Ellie Masters

  Brent & Brie

  THE END

  Chapter 1

  Ariel

  Hurricane Julian would be the tenth storm of the season. The Category Five monster barreled down on the Gulf with the tenacity of a bull staring down a china shop. Chomping at the bit, Julian dug in, ready to destroy, and Ariel intended to fly directly into the maw of Julian’s fury. Metaphors aside, things were about to get ugly, and she loved every minute of it.

  It had been far too long since adrenaline spiked in her veins. After leaving the military, she’d taken a job as a medevac pilot, flying her helicopter to any of the many oil rigs peppered throughout the Gulf. Dangerous work, injuries were an unfortunate occurrence, despite rigid safety protocols. Her crew answered the calls, heading out to ferry the sick and injured back to definitive medical care.

  It wasn’t a kickass job steeped in death an
d glory, not like the military, but it had its moments. Most of the time it was a thankless job, but it paid the bills, and it kept her flying. She never felt more alive than with a stick in her hands and air beneath her feet.

  This promised to be an interesting run because everyone was headed off the oil rigs rather than flying to them. They fled the storm she willingly flew into.

  Pre-flight prep took most of her concentration, but she thought back to the last time she had braced for the worst. This was a cake walk compared to that. Her third combat tour in the desert was a shitstorm and ended her career in the Army.

  It had been early morning on base when the call came in. A special ops team had injured men on the ground, were pinned down and had requested helicopter evacuation. The area was to be secured by the time her team arrived. After the briefing, she and her co-pilot, Reggie, aka Rocks, went to their helicopter.

  They checked the exterior of the helicopter while the four special ops surgical team members loaded the crew area with their gear. Then, she and Rocks climbed on board to complete their pre-flight checks. They were in a hurry but didn’t skimp on safety. Rocks dusted off the gauges. The ever-present sand and grit permeated everything. While the team in back secured their gear, she and Rocks went over the flight plan. Once finished, they each squeezed the rabbit’s foot they hung in the cockpit for good luck. It began their tour gleaming white but was now a dusty brown from all the sand.

  “You ready Angel?” Her call sign had been Battle Angel, or Angel for short, a play on a famous Manga character because she was small but packed a punch.

  “Ready.”

  Their mission was to pick up two wounded near a forward operating base. A team had gone on patrol, ran into difficulty, and now battled insurgents.

  They lifted off and headed into the desert. Perspiration beaded her brow and sweat trickled down her back and between her boobs. Fifty clicks out, she dropped down, using the rocky terrain to hide their radar signature.

  As they approached their target, flashes of gunfire burst from the rocky scree. Pings sounded as bullets struck the outer shell of the helicopter.

  “Shit!” The area was supposed to have been secured, but it was too hot to land. She piled on speed and began defensive maneuvers as Rocks radioed in a status update.

  “They’re telling us to leave,” he said.

  One of the worst parts of the job was aborting a mission and leaving men on the ground, but she couldn’t disobey orders. They would return, just as soon as it was safe.

  As she angled away, a man stood up from behind a large group of rocks with an RPG propped on his shoulder. The man staggered as he fired. A smoke trail headed directly for her bringing a rocket grenade on a direct intercept.

  “Evade! Evade! Evade!” She banked hard left, angling down to pick up speed.

  Rocks gripped his seat as the helicopter shuddered under the impact. The rocket grenade exploded, taking out the tail section and putting her into a spin a hundred and fifty feet off the ground. Her entire instrument cluster lit up like a Christmas tree, lights flashing, alarms blaring.

  She fought for control as they went down. They were going to crash; her job was to make sure they didn’t die on impact. With deafening alarms screeching in her ears and lights flashing on her display, she fought the deadly spiral.

  The helicopter slammed into the ground, crunching and groaning as metal twisted and broke apart. The hard landing bounced them on the rocks and flipped the helicopter on its side.

  When she came to, her head felt like it’d been split in two. An acrid smell burned the sensitive tissues of her nostrils. Smoke poured down her throat, making her cough. The coppery taint of blood coated her tongue, and she spit out the offensive substance. Blood blurred her vision, but not the macabre scene of Reggie and the shrapnel which speared him through the chest. His eyes stared back at her, filled with the terror of his death. She looked over her shoulder while pulling on the straps securing her to her seat. Two of the SOST team were dead. Two others were injured.

  Only after unbuckling did she realize her left leg had been shattered. Smoke filled the air. They were on fire and moments from an explosion. She bit back a scream as she clutched her injured leg and breathed in fumes.

  The whole thing was going to blow.

  Crawling to the back, she dragged one of the wounded men out of the helicopter, then headed back to rescue the other. The dead could wait. A bullet ricocheted off a nearby rock, but she never once thought to stop. She grabbed the last survivor and dragged him toward safety. Bullets peppered the ground around her head, over her shoulders, and beside her hips and her feet. She gave hasty thanks for their terrible aim, at least until one of the shots scored a hit in her good leg.

  Gritting her teeth, she dragged the last man behind a sheltering clump of rocks, getting the three of them to safety. Her last thought had been to grab for her sidearm, but blackness overcame her and she passed out.

  Two years later, her shattered leg and lack of sufficient rehabilitation to make her combat ready again, found her sitting before a medical evaluation board. They could have kicked her out, but the Army awarded her a medal and a medical retirement instead.

  Her military career was over. Her career in aviation hadn’t been ruined, but it had been sidelined.

  They didn’t have hurricanes in the desert, but they had hostiles with guns, plenty of ammunition, itchy trigger fingers, and a fanatical will to kill infidels. She had battled sandstorms and survived getting shot down. Now, she was lucky to battle a sudden violent gust or maneuver around a localized storm.

  Back then, she’d flown in hot, hand steady on the stick, with a crew of medics hanging on for dear life with clenched hands and puckered assholes. Landing in the midst of gunfire could make the cockiest pilot quake in their boots or shit their pants, but she faced those kinds of missions with steely determination and eerily cool composure.

  She did that now.

  A distinguished combat veteran, her hand remained steady as she lifted out of Mobile, Alabama with a critical care transport team strapped in the back of her helicopter.

  Hurricane Julian churned a couple hundred miles offshore, flirting with the western coastline of Florida as it barreled directly toward Mobile. Instead of petering out, it looked to be picking up steam. Earlier, it had looked like any other gorgeous day on the Gulf; deep blue skies with barely any clouds and nearly mirror smooth waters. The calm before the storm lied about the hell to come.

  There were no blue skies for this flight, however. The sun had set over an hour ago. She flew into the inky blackness and headed out to sea.

  “It’s bumpy as shit back here,” Andrew, the flight nurse, called out through their integrated headsets.

  “How’s Julian?” Larry, their medic, sounded concerned.

  She didn’t blame him. It was going to be a rough flight, but they were still far ahead of the storm.

  Ariel glanced at her weather radar. “Still on a direct course.”

  “How much time?” Larry asked.

  “Enough.” She tried to soothe him but was too busy flying to settle Larry’s nerves.

  While devastating, hurricanes traveled at a relative snail’s pace. However, the winds were already kicking up and tossed the Gulf into a frenzy. Below them, the normally calm waters churned and the waves kicked up. Gusts would make her job harder, but she looked forward to the challenge.

  “Lots of air traffic.” Andrew's voice crackled through the headset.

  A glance left confirmed Andrew’s statement, although it wasn’t a surprise. Lights from other helicopters dotted the night sky as they ferried crew off all active rigs in Julian’s path. Beneath them, tossing about in the waves, a steady stream of boat traffic lit up the dark waters.

  Flights would continue until all crew members were evacuated from the fixed platforms. Per protocol, stationary rigs evacuated their entire crews, while drillships off-loaded only nonessential personnel. They would then disconnect from their we
lls, and steer the drillship away from the storm to wait things out.

  Their patients were on the former, a stationary rig with a complete evacuation underway. Last man off would turn out the lights as it were. A glance at the clock and she gave a nod. They would have plenty of time to stabilize the wounded crew and make it back far in advance of the worst of the weather. Unfortunately, their helicopter would block the evacuation of the last crewmen remaining.

  Hopefully, all non-essential personnel would be gone by the time her crew arrived. The rig she flew toward was located a little more than a hundred miles offshore. They had a relatively quick flight and would be there in thirty to forty-five minutes, depending on changes in wind speed as Julian approached.

  She called the rig and confirmed her ETA and availability of the landing pad, which gave her twenty minutes to obsess over things she couldn’t control. It would be nice to have a little more action and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist.