Page 23 of Harry

She dressed quickly, wondering if she should grab the envelope she’d stuffed into his couch. Maybe leaving that information with him wasn’t wise. If she came back over here later in the week, she would grab it then. She didn’t want him getting in trouble for her actions.

“Have a good day tomorrow,” Harry said as she opened the door.

She smiled and waved, wishing she could stay with Harry. She would have to tell her command that she wanted a relationship with him. There was no way around it now. They’d planned on keeping everything casual, and what happened between them was far from casual.

Arriving home felt like a huge weight was pressing on her chest. At least her door had been fixed. She keyed in, not at all happy with the mess that she still had to clean up. She should have told Harry about the break-in, but he would have been worried and possibly wanted to come help her clean the place. Not that she would have minded his help, but she didn’t want him to think she was helpless.

She picked up her bedroom first, glad they hadn’t cut up any of her clothes when they’d spilled them on the floor. It took her the rest of the evening to get her place straightened. They’d broken her bookshelf, which sucked. She would need to buy something to replace the shelves. For now, her books would sit on her table.

After picking up the place, she glanced around, thinking this was what her life amounted to. Sure, she’d accomplished a lot for a girl who’d been abandoned by her mother, and shoved into a system that didn’t care about the kids left without families. But her connections were few. Heck, even her relationship with Lucia wasn’t all it could be. They lived in the same town but only saw each other once a month, maybe twice if they were ambitious about getting together. Surely there was more to life than this.

She plopped down on her couch, her brain aching as her thoughts shifted from work to the information she’d found, then to Harry and how he made her feel. She didn’t want to be some messed up chick without any grounding to keep herself steady, but that’s what she felt like she’d become.

Sitting around worrying about life instead of getting sleep wouldn’t change her situation. She would have to work her life out, and first on the agenda in the morning was making sure she had interviews with companies set up when she left the military. Leaving wasn’t exactly the path she thought she would follow, but too much had happened, and she wanted Harry in her life. As a civilian, no one would have any say over their relationship.

Sleep didn’t come easy, but she’d drifted off and was lost in the world of dreams when something pulled her out of dreamland. She blinked open her eyes as fear swirled. Something was terribly wrong.

Rory pushed up off the mattress just when the first blow hit. Pain spread as her head spun. Someone was in her place attacking her. She tried to scream, but they’d covered her mouth, so any noise she made was heavily muted.

“Dumb bitch, you should have left the laptop alone.”

The words sent a chill straight through her. They knew she’d found the information. What would they do to her?

Chapter 17

Harry hadn’t felt this good in years. They had a few things to work through, but it could all eventually be settled. Something good would come from this. There was little doubt in his mind that Rory was meant to be in his life.

Monday at work, he was slammed, and by the time he left the base, he thought it was too late to call Rory. There was a chance they would be called out on a mission. The area they were watching was still simmering, but it could erupt into a situation that had to be dealt with.

He texted Rory on Tuesday morning, but because of the troubles around the globe, he had to leave his phone outside of the room they were working in. When they finally left the conference room, he was surprised she hadn’t texted back.

“Hey, Harry, do you want to stop by the house tonight for dinner? Maybe Rory can come,” Wild asked as they left the building and headed out to their cars.

“Um, sure. I’ll text and ask.”

Wild put his hand on Harry’s arm. He stopped and turned to face his friend. Wild’s eyes narrowed, and his lips thinned.

“What’s wrong?”

Harry shook his head. “I’m sure I’m overreacting.”

“Possibly. I doubt it. Tell me, and I’ll be the judge about how you’re reacting.”

Harry blew out a frustrated breath. He didn’t want to be the overly annoying type who had to check in all the time, but Rory not texting him back at all, especially since he hadn’t heard from her since Sunday when she left his place, worried him.

“I’m probably being too sensitive. I saw her on Sunday. She didn’t text or call yesterday, but then again, neither did I. I texted her this morning before we went in for the conference. We’re late getting out because of stuff running long, and I haven’t heard back from her.”

Wild’s lips twisted up to one side. “So you haven’t heard from her at all since she left your place on Sunday?”

“Not at all. And I wouldn’t normally be worried, but…” he trailed off, not wanting to discuss this here on base. No one else needed to know they’d had sex.

“Just follow me home. Ava would love to see you, and so would the kids. We can sit outside and talk while Ava gets the girls in bed.”

Harry nodded. “Sure. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Good.”

All the way to Wild’s place, Harry worried about Rory. When he pulled up at Wild’s house, Bear stopped, too.

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