Page 9 of Harry

“There is no way you’re thirty,” Harry said. “Sorry, that might have been rude. You look much younger than thirty.”

“It’s because I don’t tan, and if I’m outside, I wear a lot of sunscreens. Basic training in South Carolina at Parris Island was rough. Luckily, my sergeant was a decent person, and I wore long-sleeved shirts under my short sleeves. But it was hot. Like so freaking hot I thought I would die some days.”

“South Carolina is very hot. We’ve done some training at Parris.”

“I didn’t know you guys went there to train.”

“Not always, but the marsh is the perfect place to train for some missions. Just like we head to Alaska and operate in Nevada and a few other places. We have to be ready for anything.”

“Yeah. Sometimes, I look at what you special forces guys do, and I wonder if you all are even human. But running next to you here, I can tell you’re all human.”

He flashed her a grin that made her laugh. “There are a lot of dorks and geeks in special forces. It takes someone dedicated to honing in on something and not giving up. A lot of guys who fail BUDs do so because they think it’s all brute strength and macho crap. But most of BUDs is just being stubborn and unwilling to admit defeat.”

“Did you want to give up?” Rory asked.

“Yes and no. I mean, I knew I could walk away and put on dry clothes that didn’t have sand eating away at my crotch, or I could stick it out for another few hours. I always stuck it out.”

“That’s good.”

“You still okay?” Harry asked when they’d gone about three miles.

“We do have to go back, don’t we?”

Harry slowed. “We do. How about we turn around and stop and get coffee and some food?”

They’d turned around and were running back when Harry’s suggestion sank in. “Crap, my credit card is in my car.”

“I can pay.”

“Oh no, I can’t let you?—”

“You can pay me back. That way, there is no misunderstanding.”

“Okay, but only if you promise to accept my payment.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

“Good.” They ran a little while in silence until they came to the Navy Amphibious base. “I guess you all run this stretch often.”

Harry glanced around. “We do. I really love my job. It’s weird how much I like it.”

“It’s good that you like it.”

“What about you?”

She hadn’t planned on talking to him about leaving the military, but now that he’d asked, she decided not to hold back. Besides, she trusted him not to blab the information all over the place.

“I don’t know. I might go private. Not sure if I want to stay in long enough to hit retirement. There are advantages, but there are also disadvantages.”

“What would you do if you got out?”

“I don’t know and I know I sound like a broken record. There are companies I could work for, but I’m unsure.” Worry twisted through Rory. She knew stuff she shouldn’t, and the warning from Laelyn had been heard loud and clear. If she valued her life, she would keep quiet. But the thought of people being taken advantage of made her sick to her stomach.

“You okay?” Harry asked.

She pushed thoughts about the file she’d seen out of her mind. “Yeah, I’m great.”

“Good. The coffee shop is pretty close. They have some seats outside, and it’s not too far to walk to our cars after we finish.”

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