Page 64 of Surge

He laughed. “Sure, sure. This is a Mal.”

Taking advantage of her distraction, Surge pulled the end of the KONG tug out of her hand and dropped it at Garrett’s feet. The traitor.

Garrett scooped it up and tugged harder with Surge than she ever could. Surge practically had a giant grin on his face.

Delaney realized it wasn’t the game that had her attention—she was staring at the bulge of Garrett’s arms. Her eyes shifted to his hands that had been on her shoulders after that attack on the combi plane. “You don’t have to stay out here in this river stink. Surge needs to play, but we’ll come in in a bit.”

Garrett let go of the KONG, which led Surge to parading around the yard with it. She warmed under the intensity of Garrett’s bright amber eyes. The full attention of this man rocked her to her core, just like it had after the fight in the plane.

“Delaney, I know we debriefed while we ate those sandwiches, but I wanted to check how you’re doing after the incident at the airport.”

“Just a bit of a headache, that’s all.”

He pointed at her as she massaged the back of her neck. “Tell me.”

“This stinky river is giving me a headache.”

He crossed his arms.

What was she, a wuss? “The river is encouraging a headache, that’s all. Yeah, I wanted you to see my capability on this mission. It’s been a nice chance to prove myself?—”

He pushed himself toward her, looked in her face. “I didn’t want you in any fighting on this mission, but you were. You literally jumped out of hiding this morning! Delaney, you’re not a maverick. You’re a part of this team. Trustworthy. You did prove yourself.”

She shifted from foot to foot. “I didn’t think I?—”

“You did!” Then his voice softened. “You don’t see that?”

Words wanted to come, but they wouldn’t.

“Delaney, it’s my job to know my team.”

She didn’t want to talk about her failings. Except it was Garrett who asked it of her. She’d learned to trust him. She took a steeling breath. “One day after school, I went into our family store. A man was holding a gun on Dad. The guy reeked of this horrible cologne. Worse than this river, even.” She dropped her hands from the back of her neck. “Anyway, I hid in the next aisle, behind the dog food. The jerk shot Dad and ran out with a bunch of money. Dad lost his leg. And our business.”

“That’s why the new prosthetic.”

“Yeah.” She tapped her foot on the concrete. “I should’ve distracted that robber. Shoved the endcap on him. Run to call the police.” Her voice faded to a whisper. “Anything other than freeze in a store aisle when Dad was in danger. I just hate that my dad might see me as incompetent.”

His touch against her shoulder was warm, gentle. “How old were you?”

“Eight.”

“You were a little girl!”

She bit her lip. “But I froze and my dad got hurt.”

“Delaney, by hiding, you probably saved his life, your own life. That wasn’t incompetence.”

She stared at him like he was nuts.

Chuckling, he held up his hands. “Do you and your dad get along?”

She smiled. “We’ve always been close. He keeps me grounded.”

“Does your dad think you’re incapable or incompetent—or do you?”

That bookshelf full of dog training books Dad had bought for her when she took the ABA job . . . Had he been worried about her ability? Or had he been showing support? That thought took her breath, and she could barely whisper it. She slouched against the wall next to Garrett. “You’re right. Dad doesn’t think I’m incapable. I disappointed God.”

“Huh. So Christ didn’t put MWDs in your DNA? Make you ready for this mission? For such a time as this?”

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