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since he was an expert at pushing people’s buttons. The assessment had been designed by Ethan and when Luke had first read the protocol, he’d lamented his brother’s sadistic nature. It required twenty-four hours of travel the day before the in-person tests. When Rodgers had been selected, he’d been located three hours away, but Ethan had put him on a plane and sent him to California and back twice. Ethan’s rationale had been characteristically thoughtful: after all, they might be forced to fly to the other side of the world and hit the ground running. He’d wanted soldiers who could handle it, and Luke couldn’t disagree with that. Parrino was the first soldier Luke had found standing in his office at the end of the day. The rest of them had been plopped into the seat gulping water.
“The position is going to be more than logistics. I can’t give you the details yet, but trust me on this.”
She blinked at him with a maddeningly blank look.
“What do you mean by more than logistics? Are you going to have me spy inside the team?”
Add “perceptive” to the list of qualifications. He tilted his head. “I wouldn’t put it that way. There’s work to do where information needs to be compartmentalized, and I need someone I can trust.” It was a nicer way of saying “off the books.”
“But if my official designation is logistics, it does nothing to get me promoted. In fact, most will see it as a step backward, like I’m being punished.”
“Initially, yes, but at the end of your tour with this unit, I will reveal the true nature of the assignment. Barring any performance issues, I will recommend you for promotion.” Provided Colonel Blowhard keeps me on as unit command.
“And what if something happens to you?”
What if I die like Ethan? She didn’t have to say it out loud. He was all too aware of the risks. Then it occurred to him: he’d be putting her life in danger, too. He shook it off. She was a soldier, she had signed up to take risks, and he’d give her a full briefing. If she wanted out at that point, he’d let her go.
She won’t want out. He could see it in her eyes despite her bland expression. She was looking for adventure, a way to fill whatever hole there was in her life.
“As unit command, there are any number of things that only I’m privy to. There are files my commanding officer will receive should something happen to me. Details of your operations will be in those files.”
“They’ll be the first ones Colonel McBride burns.”
Luke couldn’t help but smile. He and Sergeant Parrino were going to get along well. She had no history with the colonel, but she’d gotten a good measure of the man in just a few minutes. That’s what he needed, someone with judgment who could take care of herself.
“That’s a risk you’ll have to accept. Look, what do you have to lose? Besides, part of your job will be to keep me safe, so how about we call it added incentive?”
Her brow went up slightly and he swore a smile was tugging on the corners of her mouth.
“What’s the assignment?”
“Not so fast. To become a member of the unit, you need to sign some additional confidentiality agreements. These are beyond the army standard. I need to let you know that it’s serious business. If you talk in your sleep and your boyfriend gets details of our missions, you won’t be court-martialed and put through the ringer—big, bad men will come in the middle of the night and ship you straight to Gitmo.”
She reached out and plucked one of the pens from the holder on his desk. Clicking it, she tilted her chin. “I don’t talk in my sleep and I don’t have a boyfriend. I’ve faced worse than Gitmo. Where do I sign?”
What horrors are you hiding in your past? He wanted to know more, but she’d told him all she would for now. Turning to the computer, he pulled up the paperwork. Several minutes later, he plucked the forms off the printer and handed them to her.
“I suggest you read these carefully. There’s a bathroom behind that door if you need it.” He was done testing her. She was the toughest soldier he knew, but there was something about her that was bothering him, and he couldn’t place his finger on it.
He stopped at the door. “Parrino, I don’t care about what’s in your file. But this is the kind of assignment that needs complete focus. No distractions. Before you transfer over, I’m going to require you to take a one-week leave. You can have more if you need it. In that time, you deal with whatever ghosts you have in your past. Once the unit is operational, you’re totally mine.”
* * *
ALESSA TOOK A breath after he left. It was hard to remain calm when he looked at her with those intense blue eyes.
She signed the papers in less than five minutes. She read them quickly, but it didn’t matter what they said. Her life already belonged to the army. There were no other options for her. She didn’t have a college degree, had enlisted the day she graduated from high school, so she wouldn’t have to spend another day at home. This unit was the only way to make sure she didn’t get squeezed out.
Expecting Lieutenant Williams back any second, she used the restroom and took a long drink of water from the faucet. She washed her face and used a paper towel to dry it. The physical exertion she’d gone through was nothing compared to the sheer relief of not having to return to Kuwait. The papers she’d signed said her transfer was effective immediately. Maybe with her gone, Aidan Connors could finally move on with his life. After the incident, she’d thought things would die down in a few months and both of them could forget about it. But that hadn’t happened. They were based at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait. It was a relatively small installation with no life off the camp. The story had lingered on, grown additional arms and legs and wrapped around her and Aidan until neither one of them could escape it. She’d been warned about Williams and could see why. He had a way of pulling you in, making you feel like he was on your side. Just like Aidan.
Returning to her seat, she waited, curious to hear what secret stuff Williams had for her. Truth be told, she would’ve taken the logistics job even without the added intrigue. Since the incident, she’d been relegated to desk assignments that included mounds of paperwork. She’d lost track of how many transfers she’d applied for and been denied.
The lieutenant returned with two steaming cups of coffee in his hand. He placed one in front of her and pushed the bottle of water toward her. She picked up the coffee, eager for the caffeine.
“Before we get started, I need to know everything about you.”
Keeping her face neutral, she spread her hands. “I don’t think there’s anything the army doesn’t know about me. My file even documents the birthmark I have on my hip.”
“It also documents bones that you broke as a child.”
Her mouth went dry but she nodded, smiling disarmingly.
“It’s a lot of bones for a little girl to break” he said carefully.
“What can I say; I was always a tomboy.”
But Luke wasn’t buying it. Brows knotted, he leaned forward. “I need to know who did it to you.” His voice was hard and Alessa took a sip of her coffee, letting it burn down her throat, trying to loosen the frog lodged in it. There was only one other person she’d told. After years of serving together and becoming good friends. And that didn’t turn out so well. She hardly knew Williams. Could she trust him?
“This is just between us—it doesn’t go in the file. In order for this job to work, we need to trust each other. Right now, I need to know you can tell me the truth and you need to believe that the information won’t end up in your file.”
She searched his eyes for signs of malice but all he gave her was an intense, serious look that was completely inconsistent with his golden-blond hair and Ken-doll handsomeness.
“If you can’t trust me, this won’t work.”
She needed this