Page 53 of The Only Reason (The Trident Trilogy 2)

“All right,” he says, standing up. “Just promise me you’re going to be one hundred percent objective.”

I nod. “One hundred percent.”

After he walks away, I look back over to where Millie and Alex were sitting. He’s still there. She’s not. I stand up to look around the plane. I don’t see her up in the work area. I take a stroll around and finally see her lying on a bench tucked away under the storage cabinets. She’s curled up in a little ball with her jacket pulled over her head. She looks like she’s freezing, which I know from experience she probably is. Unfortunately, I don’t have the five blankets she usually requires to get warm. Luckily, our logistics team packed our parkas. I told them we wouldn’t need them in the spring in Pakistan, but they like to cover all their bases. I grab my coat and walk over to her. I watch her sleep for a second. She looks so sweet and vulnerable. I want to spoon up behind her and keep her warm. I gently cover her with my coat and take off my fleece and put it under her head. She doesn’t stir. I still don’t understand how someone can sleep that deeply.

As I turn around, I see Alex walking over to me.

“Master Chief. May I have a word with you?” He’s nodding over to an area away from Millie. I motion him to go first.

“What’s up?” I say as we get over to the private area.

“Bluntly, I know you have feelings for Agent Marsh.” He’s looking directly in my eyes, challenging me. I just stare at him. “I understand that. Believe me. More than you know. But as soon as we land, she needs to be all-in as my wife. She needs to play the role to perfection if we want to have a successful mission. Having you around—staring at her—is not going to help anything. Maybe you should stay at the embassy and assign a few of your team members to the hotel.”

I smile. “How about you do your job and I’ll do mine?”

He takes a step closer to me. I know he’s trying to provoke me. If I take a swing at him, I’m off the mission.

“I need for you to stay away from Millie after we land,” he says, leaning in—just inches from my face.

My hands automatically clench into fists. “And I need for you to back the fuck off me,” I whisper.

JJ appears out of nowhere and wedges himself between us, facing Alex. He starts pushing me backward with his body. “Agent Laskin,” he says, “thank you for your input. We’ll take your suggestions into consideration.”

Alex smiles and nods his head slowly as he walks away. JJ turns to me and keeps pushing me back. “How’s that objectivity working for you, Mase?”

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