Page 102 of Secret Gifts
“I think so. Where to now?”
“Um, I think your uncle said you were being called back to Seminole for a while, and I’m going to head back out with a group to see if we can get anything new.”
I don’t want to be separated from him, and I almost feel a harsh stinging in my gut at the mere thought. Such a thing shouldn’t be so painful, but my senses are overly heightened.
“It’s just for a while,” he says after reading my thoughts, making me feel like an idiot for showing him my ridiculous weakness.
“Yeah. I just wasn’t expecting to take any downtime, considering the commander hasn’t replaced Hedin, and this threat is out there along with the Unaligned war still in full throttle. It just seems odd they would send me to base,” I murmur with a shrug.
“Perhaps the commander knows you need a rest after your scrape,” he chirps casually.
“I don’t need a rest. I need answers. And I need to know these guys are put down before they can complete their sick, twisted plans.”
“You need rest,” he sighs in objection. “Your gifts are too dormant for you to be facing the Unaligned right now. Your tracking is phenomenal, but we shouldn’t be relying on you so much.”
“If you don’t rely on me, you end up with people like Abby. What happened to her by the way?”
His jaw clenches, and he looks away, careful to avoid my eyes.
“The matter has been dealt with,” he says through gritted teeth.
“How?”
He exhales heavily, and then his arm drops from my waist before taking my hand.
“It just has. Call me when you reach Seminole. I’ll come see you when I can,” he says in an effort to change the subject, and then he kisses the back of my hand.
“You make it sound as though I’ll be there for a while. I’m only ever there for a few days at a time before going back out on the road.”
His eyes hold a secret I’m curious to interrogate him about. I’m starting to wish I had paid more attention to all of Mom’s detailed lessons on the matter.
“What are you hiding from me?” I pry, hoping that’s enough to make him spill.
“Nothing. I love you, and I’ll see you soon. Go to base, get some rest, and live in the apartment you rarely enjoy. I’ll talk to you later.” he says distantly.
“I love you,” I mumble when I feel a little shut out.
He kisses me hard, and it feels like more than just a couple of days will pass before he does this again, given the passion he’s exerting.
I know he’s holding back, I just don’t know what.
“I’ve been asking for my next detail for three weeks. What in the hell is going on? I’ve never spent this much time on base,” I bark to Captain Fricks’s back as he tries to evade me.
“I’m sorry, Aria, but the commander feels you need time to rest and recuperate after the attack. It’s standard procedure.”
“Standard? Prisoners of war are taken, found, and given the opportunity to exact their revenge the second they are healed. Most of them were missing much longer than a few hours. What’s really going on? Does the commander think this was my fault? Does he think I led us into that trap?”
“No, the commander knows it was Abby Perkins who steered you wrong. This has nothing to do with your abilities in the field, Aria. Just take the time being given to you, and try to stop being so disrespectful to me in front of the others,” he murmurs under his breath, his eyes pointing to all the faces taking notice of our argument in the great halls of Seminole.
Nosy sons of bitches.
“Sorry, Captain Fricks. I’m just a little upset. I want to be out there tracking. I don’t have to have high profile cases. I can stalk the lesser threats,” I humbly offer.
That would be the best solution. I’d have more time to secretly stalk my stalkers.
“I’m sorry, but this is nonnegotiable. It’s from the commander, not me.”
“Then tell me who the commander is so I can berate him for a while,” I growl, and he stifles a grin as though he finds something amusing.
