Page 3 of Deadly Force
"He's still on shaky ground with the CG, and there's Samantha."
I snort. "Right. So, he wants you to make a few calls?"
Silas tilts his head, raising a solitary eyebrow in that way that usually means he’s about to drop something I won’t like. "I told him I had a better idea, and he agreed. You can go check it out."
To hide my shock, I pick up my water bottle and take a long swig. The cool liquid does nothing to ease the sudden dryness in my throat. "Yeah… that’s a big fat nope."
A single eyebrow raises, and then he squints at me with the intensity of a man who's made a career of reading people. "Because?"
I slap my palm to my chest, more dramatic than necessary, trying to mask the real reason. "You benched me."
He laughs, the sound echoing off the gym walls, utterly unimpressed. "And you’ve been skulking around the gym anyway. You need to get out of here."
"Is that a directive?"
Amusement flashes across his face, but there’s steel underneath it, a definite command in his eyes. "It’s a polite request."
I rest my bottle on the bench and shake my head, trying to buy time to think of a better argument. "I don’t know if I’m the best person for this." I doubt Brooke would think I am. She may have apologized, but given the ongoing tension after we left the Glades, she thinks I’m a joke. And maybe she's not wrong.
"Why?"
Knowing that he’s probably already three steps ahead of whatever excuse I’m about to come up with, I try again. "What about Samantha’s induction?"
He folds his arms, almost smirking, sensing my desperation. "I think we can handle it without you."
Still fighting against the rising dread settling inmy chest, I cast about for names, any names. "Verity would be great at close protection."
Silas narrows his eyes. "This sort of work has never bothered you before. Something you’re not telling me?"
I shrug, feeling a twinge through my left pec that reminds me I’m not at full strength. I’m pushing it. If I’m not careful, I’ll tear the ligament. I’m already benching more than I should without a spotter.
"She’s probably still traumatized by what happened in the Glades. I don’t want to add to that. Might slow her recovery," I offer, trying to make my voice sound convincing.
I know I’m fighting a losing battle when he pulls out his phone, thumb already moving across the screen. "All the more reason to make sure she's okay."
"What about Adena?" At this point, even Delilah would be better suited than I am. Anyone but me.
"Adena’s at a bike rally in Denver. You approved her leave."
I shake my head, casting a look at the mirror where my reflection stares back, looking as trapped as I feel. "Just got my dates mixed up, that’s all."
He doesn’t buy a word of it. If I fight this too much, he’s going to know something is up. The man has an uncanny ability to smell evasion from a mile away.
I didn't say a word about what happened when Iretrieved Brooke, and I’m not planning to. Some things are better left buried.
The solid thumping of the song ends, and the silence is more pronounced when Silas’s lips twitch into a smirk. "Starting to think you’re the one who’s been traumatized. What did she do to you?"
I send him a warning glare. "Nothing, man."
Silas's lip curls, and I hate that he’s left me with no choice but to relent. He’s backed me into a corner, and we both know it. "Then I’ll go ask Reese to fuel up the Cessna."
"Roger that," I mutter, defeat heavy in my voice.
With a loaded look, Silas lets me know he’s aware something is going on I don’t want him to know about. The man misses nothing, stores everything, and uses it when it suits him.
Until now, my only consolation has been that no one will find out, and I'd never have to face Brooke again. That hope just died a quick death, crashing around me like the weights I just pressed.
I look up, sighing as I read the scrawling scripture on the wall above the Smith machine. The words have been there for years, faded but still legible, like a constant, unyielding truth. "Cursed is the man who trusts in man, who makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord." Jeremiah 17:5.
