Page 42 of Mariposa
Kade’s and my eyes dart to the deep voice coming down the hall.
“The legendary beast. Where have you been, man?” Another soldier with a green beret on his head chimes in. Kade walks away from me like I’m nothing to him, shielding my view with his broad back.
“Max, how are you, brother? How’s your leg?” They share warm handshakes and exchange hugs with pats on the back. The way they talk to each other makes it clear there’s history.
Max lifts his pants to reveal a prosthetic.
“I may have lost my leg, but you saved my life, man. I’m forever in your debt.” Pure gratitude is detailed in every syllable.
Max’s chocolate eyes gleam brighter as more soldiers come up from behind him and join the conversation. They all look at Kade with respect and admiration. He’s well-known in the military community, and the way everyone speaks about him, they only ever have good things to say, besides the way he can be an asshole sometimes. Still, no single person can say he’s a bad man.
I close the door, giving them privacy. I have a meeting with Booker to get to anyway, and it’s pretty obvious Kade wants to pretend like last night didn’t happen.
Either way, I worked hard to get to this day, and I refuse to let anything stop me from enjoying the start of my career as a special forces soldier.
Booker’s officelooks just like how I imagined it. Shelves with awards to prove a successful military career and photos of what I can only assume are his parents and siblings. He doesn’t wear a ring, and he’s never mentioned if he has any children. He sits behind his desk, with mountains of paperwork on either side.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
Booker makes it easy to open up and speak freely. He’s sunshine, while Kade is an unforgiving storm of grey shades.
“I requested to be stationed on the West Coast. I?—”
“You’re staying here. This group.”
My brow raises. “I’m staying here…” My tone drops. “In North Carolina?”
“Yup,” he replies, emotionless.
No. I need to be away from O’Connell. I can’t think straight when I’m around him. He’s a distraction. Being around him on the same base is enough for shivers to run up my spine. We shared a secret moment hours ago, certifying my reason to go to another group where a pair of intense heterochromia eyes with a scar that runs through one side of his face can’t make me fall apart at the seams.
“But I…”
“Watch yourself, Isla. You’ll take the group you were assigned. You got that?” Booker shifts his tone to a more authoritative one. Booker is always so friendly, which reminds me that I’m pushing my comfort zone to talk to him so freely. At the end of the day, he’s one of my superiors.
I clear my throat and straighten. “Roger that. I’m sorry, sir. I never complain, although everyone else got their dream station,” I point out.
“Isla. Beast had it arranged this way.”
My heart sinks.
He did? He pulled strings to have me stay here? I want to question Booker, but I bite my tongue. My stubbornness is already getting me into trouble, and I don’t want to have that kind of reputation when I go to my first team.
“Specialist Isla will report after Christmas leave,” he hands me a group of papers neatly tucked into a manila folder. Opening it, I skim until I find my name and duty station. My mouth dries when I see it in the detailed font. “It’s already inked on orders. There’s no changing it now,” he finishes.
“What team am I going to?” I close the folder.
“You’ll find out when you report. Prepare yourself, though. The team you’re going to is the best of the best, and many things are happening behind the scenes.”
“I’m ready.”
His lips flatten.
“You are one of the best soldiers I’ve seen in a long time come through the course. You have intelligence, resilience, and strength.” My chest warms. It feels good to have my hard work recognized. A part of me wishes it came from Master Sergeant. Tears rim my lashes, so I suck in a breath before my bottled emotions can get me in trouble.
“Now, I’d like to talk about something else.”
