Page 76 of The Only Reason (The Trident Trilogy 2)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Millie

Jalalabad, Afghanistan

2020

“Do you think I have to wear black to the funeral?” I’m going through the clothes the agency recovered from our hotel rooms in Islamabad. There’s not much black.

“I don’t think it really matters what you wear,” Chase says as he walks over to hug me again.

When the helicopters evacuated us from Pakistan, they dropped us off at the base in Jalalabad for a debrief before they send us back home. I’ve been crying nonstop. Chase has been sleeping on the floor in my room.

“Will you go with me to the funeral?” I take a deep breath as I squeeze his hand to let him know I’m okay.

“Yes, I will. I’ll do anything you ask me to do, but I think you should ask your dad to go with you. Have you talked to him?”

“I’m not ready yet, Chase.”

“Stop punishing him. You know he went into hiding to protect you. He did what he thought was right.”

“I’m not punishing him, but I have to do the best thing for me. I can’t take any more pain right now,” I say, pausing for a second. “Is he feeling better?”

“Yeah. He’s still in the base hospital, but he’ll probably get out today. It’s just pneumonia. Apparently, he’s had it for a while. You know, not a lot of good drugs in that valley. Once they put him on antibiotics, it started to clear. He’s not contagious, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“He said to tell you thank you for getting his passport reinstated. Neither one of us really knows how you did it. I thought for sure he would at least serve time for deserting. Do you want to fill me in?”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I don’t. I’m glad that part is over. I don’t want to talk about it.”

The truth is I made a deal with the agency. I have the tape of Alex confessing to giving up Azayiz. If anyone found out the head of the agency’s Middle Eastern operations gave up its most valuable informant, the agency would never be able to recruit an informant again. Director Ward talked to the navy, and Dad is back in good standing. The official story is that he’s been working undercover for the CIA in Pakistan. I’m not sure how many people will believe that, but that’s the least of my worries right now.

“The agency searched my phone for a copy of a video,” Chase says. “They didn’t find it. It must have been something really good. What was it? Who’d you send it to?”

I avoid his stare by looking in the mirror. My red, swollen eyes look back at me. “They have my phone. They know I sent the video to two people. They found it on Raine’s phone, but they can’t figure out where else I sent it—and they never will. The recipient keeps the battery out of the phone and the phone locked in a bank vault. It’s untraceable.”

I look back at him. He’s smiling at me. “That’s the system Mariel and I used when I got into the SEALs. I’m glad to see she’s still using it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Okay,” he says, laughing. “Just know my wife can’t keep a personal secret for more than two seconds, but she will take professional secrets to the goddamn grave. You’re safe.”

I stare at him for a second and finally crack a little smile. “I’m going for a walk.”

“You want company?”

“Not this time, but thank you.”

As I close the door to the room, I hear Chase say, “Go see your dad, Millie.”

As I walk out of the housing area, I decide to head toward the hospital.

“Hi, I’m Millie Marsh,” I say to the doctor standing outside his room.

“I know who you are,” she says. “He’s sleeping.”

“I can come back later.”

---