Page 14 of SEAL'S Secret Vows

Did that scumbag Ethan call her or was it her parents?

“Can I come in?” she asks, averting her eyes from my chest. If this were a different time, I’d have teased her about it and watchher blush crimson. Titan pushes his nose through, eager to get in.

“Yes. Of course.” I open the door and Titan follows after her. She’s really rubbing off on him. She looks at the pile of papers strewn on the floor and looks at me.

“What happened here? This place is a mess. I knew something was wrong when you didn’t say hi when you came in, or tell me how the mission went.”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.” I reply.

“There you go again. Being all high and mighty,” she says, tsking at the mess in the room.

“Why are all these papers on the floor, Chase?”

“Haven’t you seen it?” I ask.

“Seen what?”

“The rumors. No.” I raise a finger up for a second and let out a sarcastic laugh. “The news.”

Her brows pinch together in confusion.

“It’s everywhere.” I say vaguely. I open the bottom drawer of my desk, reaching for the celebratory rum I keep in there. Today, it’s a consolation rum. Before I can open it, Nora snatches it from my hands, hiding it behind her back.

“Give it back.”

“No,” she replies.

“I’m still your boss, even if we are friends. Give. It. Back.”

“No,” she replies, determined. We stare each other down for what feels like eternity until I give in and make my way to my phone.

“Here. Read this.”

She reluctantly accepts the phone from me and scans the content, her eyes growing wide as she reads through.

“Chase, what’s this? What happened?”

“National Security Nightmare: Chase Steele, Decorated SEAL, Accused of Compromising Mission Secrets!” I recite bitterly, theheadline easily stamped in my memory. I scoff. “Imagine! After everything.”

She looks worriedly between me and the phone, reading the next one. “Fallen Hero? Chase Steele’s Reputation Hangs in the Balance Amidst Explosive Espionage Allegations.”

“Fallen Hero?!” A bitter laugh bubbles out of my throat. “Now, that one’s new. Let me see it.”

“Chase.” She puts the phone and bottle on the table and grabs my shoulders looking me straight in the eye. I breathe a little deeper—a little easier—and she nods once, satisfied. “Calm down. Tell me what happened. What went wrong?”

I peer down at her, her hands on my flesh calming me down. She leads me to a chair and sits opposite me as I begin to share details about the mission that paints me as a traitor.

“My team and I were tasked with extracting a key informant from a hostile territory in Dallas, Texas. It was a covert operation. That's why I couldn't disclose anything until the informant was safe, but the operation didn't go as planned, and I don't even know if she's safe right now. She holds valuable information that we need but as we approached the extraction point, we encountered unexpected resistance from enemy forces, leading to a fierce firefight and the informant was taken away.

“When I returned to base, accusations arose against me from Commander Keith that I had acted recklessly, and had leaked information that made our enemies know our location. I put the mission and my teammates at risk.

“I jeopardized the success of the mission by tipping off the enemy, which allowed them to prepare defenses and we were attacked. Luckily everyone is fine; their main focus was the informant.

“But the allegations gained traction, fueled by sensationalized media coverage and it's spreading. I mean, it’s all over thenews. There's political pressure from above to hold someone accountable for the mission's failure and Commander Keith’s holding me responsible.”

I finish ranting, covering my face with my hands.

After a moment, I feel Nora’s hands on my wrists, gently pulling them away from my face.

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