Page 37 of The Story of Danny Rose

I shrugged with one shoulder and eased off. We’d reached the bottom floor, which wasn’t even where we were going, so I pressed the button for the fifth floor. We had to get Danny’s recruit ID card so he could come and goin a select few places. With his clearance level, he wouldn’t even have access to the shooting range without me present.

“I’ll be your superior,” I said. “I don’t want you to feel pressured into anything.”

That one made him huff. “Thanks, but I can make decisions for myself even when I’d bending over for my hot CO.”

Fucking brat.

“But, so…” He took a step closer. “Can we be official and shit?”

Christ. I chuckled and shook my head. Yeah, we could definitely be official and shit.

“I never stood a fighting chance against you, Danny Rose,” I murmured. “I’m yours for however long you want me.”

He beamed. “I’ll hold you to it.”

CHAPTER 7

Good, they were on time. The twins had overslept the other day, so that’d been the perfect moment to present them with their new watches. Now they had no excuse.

Danny and I walked down the corridor, and River and Reese glanced up from their books. They were sitting on the bench outside the classroom, and I was curious how their morning had gone. Reese had started taking Sid’s Krav Maga class, and River had clearly chosen to focus on languages this summer. He was studying Spanish and Russian at the same time.

“Hey, boys. How goes it?” I took a swig of my coffee.

“I was just thinkin’ I’m so glad I didn’t go to college,” Reese muttered.

I chuckled. Did they think they could become contractors without studying?

Not at our agency anyway. I knew how some others operated.

“You left early this morning,” I mentioned.

River nodded once. “I had an appointment with Mr. Daniels before my Spanish class. Did you have anythin’ to do with that?”

I smiled faintly. “I keep him updated.”

It was a fairly slow year for Hillcroft. We had enough operators in the field, so we didn’t have many recruits. IncludingDanny and the Tenleys, we were looking at sending six young men in total to Ecuador—if they came that far. On the plus side, it gave Terrance enough time to get invested in their progress, and he was very curious about River and Reese.

“So you’re actually taking language classes here?” Danny asked. “What’s next, calculus and geography?”

I tipped my head, weighing my answer. “Picking up a language is something you do on your own. Here, we help you with local culture and dialects. River, for instance, has chosen Colombia, so one of our operators who’s from there is helping him.”

River smirked a little. “There’s less to choose from with Russian.”

I let out a laugh. That was true. We had one operator who’d worked extensively in Russia—Todd—and all he could do was share his knowledge. He had been born and raised in the US.

“I’m supposed to talk to a Paul about field communication,” Reese mentioned. “Do you know where I can find him?”

Well, right now, he couldn’t. Paul was in Jalalabad. “He’s on assignment. I’ll talk to TJ. He’s taking over scheduling for all training next week.” It included more than recruits. The classrooms might be small, but they were frequently used by established operators who wanted to further themselves in various skills and fields.

“I mean, I can help.” Danny scratched his nose.

Fuck, I hadn’t thought of that. I was an idiot. Of course Danny was already trained in communication.

“Wonderful idea.” I nodded. “We’ll work out a schedule with TJ. Do you have room for a couple hours a week?”

Both Danny and Reese confirmed.

Another recruit soon showed up—someone Todd was in charge of—and the guy’s military background shone as brightlyas Danny’s. So he definitely belonged in the class the boys were about to begin.

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