Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
I folded my arms over my chest and leaned against the wall. “With your permission, I’d like to speak to Doc about your first session tomorrow.”
“You mean—you wanna know what we talked about?”
“I want his two cents on your mind-set,” I corrected. “He won’t give me details, but he might gloss over some things.”
He smiled ruefully and sighed, and he sat down on the couch. “Do I have a choice?”
“Of course you do. But in order for me to be the mentor you need, I want as much information as I can get my hands on.” I paused briefly. “You’re also alone in this apartment now, and the one con on my list is that I don’t think you should be on your own too much.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I took it out while Leighton mulled over his response.
A message from Shira.
We need you to come in.
Fuck. Had they found the ship? Or even better, the crew that’d hijacked a part of it to use for their operations?
I saw no other reason for Shira to wanna see me urgently.
“Yeah, all right,” I heard Leighton say. “Fine.”
I looked at him, and it took me a moment—wait. Oh, right. Permission to talk to Doc. Okay, good.
I nodded once and pocketed my phone. “I gotta go, but I’ll see you tomorrow. Text me or Coach if anything’s wrong.”
Now I had to text my sister. I wasn’t gonna be able to pick up Alex on time.
I was walking hurriedly to the elevators when Kristen called, and I wanted to punch a fucking wall. It’d be so easy to let her go to voice mail, but let’s face it. I’d done that too many times already.
“Yeah?” I answered as I swiped my card. Fourth floor, let’s go.
“Hi, it’s me. Where are you?” she asked.
Huh? “I’m at work, and now’s not a good time—”
“You were supposed to be here at five, Bo!” She immediately got pissy, and I winced. I couldn’t blame her. Fuck, I’d completely forgotten. “You know what? I’m fucking done. If you wanna make this work, give me a call.” She hung up before I could say anything, though I wasn’t sure what that might be.
She’d pulled the trigger on her asshole of a boyfriend. I was free, right? Girlfriend number four had dumped me much like the previous ones had.
I scratched the side of my head. No more commitments, all right? Not a fucking one. It was the same old story every time. I had to work late, I had to work extra, I had to cover for someone else, I had recruits… And the last ten or so months, everything had been about Alex and finding the fuckers who’d shot my brother.
I blew out a breath and stepped out of the elevator.
Leighton hadn’t asked for other reasons people left Hillcroft.
This was one. Our work barely left time for a personal life. The divorce rate was through the roof, and no fucking wonder. We couldn’t divulge much about our jobs, and communication and openness were kind of a deal-breaker in most relationships. Just look at Riggs and his ex. They’d had the advantage of working at the same firm, meaning they could be a little more open with each other, but at the end of the day, they led two separate lives. David wanted children—Riggs was done in that arena—and to eventually retire and move back to the UK, and Riggs didn’t want a life at all. He worked, spent time with his kid, and worked some more. He was never gonna change—and not for anyone else.
As much as I liked the guy, David had done the right thing by leaving. David viewed the divorce as losing someone he’d loved deeply. Riggs viewed it as the result of an operation he’d failed.
Shira was waiting for me right outside the Operations Central, so I shook the sad tales of breakups and refocused.
“What do you have for me?” I asked.
“Two sightings,” she replied. She led the way, and I followed her down a hall. “The ship is back in Mogadishu, but it’s not as relevant anymore. One of our operators came across a few of Hahn’s men in Galveston this morning.”
Holy fuck, so they were stateside. At least some of them.
“You gotta reinstate me,” I told her. “I’m the only one who’s seen their faces—”
“And they’ve seen yours,” she pointed out. “Believe me, Bo, you will work this case again, but we’re not going to do anything rash.”
Just because I knew she was right didn’t mean I liked it.
I clenched my jaw and followed her into operation room four, where I was surprised to see not only Coach and Emerson but both Tenley brothers. Had they been brought in as consultants? The only way to tell them apart was the fact that Reese had more visible ink. River tended to avoid shaving more too.