Page 82 of Untamed

“Fuck, I hope not. I wish her well, as long as she’s far the hell away from me.”

“So what’s the plan with Thompson?” Charlie asked. “When are we dealing with him?”

Antony shrugged. “Not today. Randall wants Simon and me to interrogate, and frankly, the asshole can sit and stew overnight. I’ve got better things to do.”

“Need any help moving your shit?”

“Nah. It’s done. I turned in the key before the meeting.”

“I can’t believe you got your own place. You always said you weren’t going to settle down here.” Charlie smiled at her friend. It was about time he felt comfortable enough to make longer-term plans.

“Never know. If I decide to move later, selling the place won’t be a problem. But yeah, it’s nice here.” He grabbed one of the full boxes and set it on the dolly. “I’m gonna get these locked up and get out of here, unless you need me to stick around.”

Charlie shook her head. “I’m just about done as well. I’ll help.”

***

Lesley needed to see him that day. As she sat at her computer, she wondered if her phone was going off at that very moment, wondered if he’d ever respond to her message at all. Had she screwed up that badly? No, she couldn’t think about that right now, not until she talked to him, heard it from him.

She’d done nothing worthwhile since coming back from the meeting. Her databases were running and collecting her searches, and everything else was still around her. The Sergeant Major had gathered everyone in a conference room down the hall and was breaking the news about Smith and Thompson. While there was no love lost for Smith, Thompson was a different story for most of them. He’d been a popular sort, so the notion that he could have been involved with something so heinous would be a shock to their unit.

Lesley made a note to ask Oliver about Thompson’s interrogation. She still wanted to know why Smith targeted her, though there wouldn’t be a legitimate answer. Oliver probably wouldn’t tell her what Thompson said, anyway.

Shit, she was going to end up going to court, wasn’t she? Her stomach churned at the thought.

“Prosser?”

Lesley jumped and spun around. A woman appeared slowly, so as not to cause her any alarm. “Sorry, Sergeant, I figured I’d give you some notice.”

Lesley relaxed when she saw it was the section lead. “Hey Sergeant Gray. I think I need to not sit with my back to the door now,” she said, smiling weakly.

Master Sergeant Gray smiled at her. “Not a bad idea. Should be easy enough to move your computer over just a little.”

Lesley nodded and waited.

“You need to clear out of here. Go home. They’re getting ready to release the troops, and we don’t want you inundated with bullshit.”

Lesley had to agree. She had no desire to hang out, and she sure as shit didn’t want to be on the receiving end of the pity. “No arguments here.”

The older woman smiled. “If you need some time, or to talk to someone, make it happen,” she said. “I’ll see you on Monday.”

Lesley wasted no time in locking her station and grabbing her items. Minutes later, she was waiting for her phone to power on. When it finally booted up, she stared at the screen. Nothing.

Antony was still silent.

She was almost at her car when Stina called out to her. She sucked in a deep breath and willed her pooling tears to stop long enough to get through the chat and get home.

“Okay. Spill.”

Lesley turned and looked at her friend. A single tear rolled down her cheek and Stina sighed.

“Come on. You’re crashing at my place. You can borrow some of my sweats.”

Lesley didn’t want to be alone, so she sniffled and nodded.

Half an hour later, she sat on the floor in Stina’s living room, wearing sweats and wrapped in a blanket. Stina set a mug of tea on the table in front of her and flopped down on the couch across from her.

“You haven’t heard from him, have you.”

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