friend. I assumed he’d only lowered his voice out of respect for the sick and mending, not out of deference to me.
This was not the time to be obstructive or make any smart-ass remarks about the situation they’d sent us into, though. Even I knew that.
The breath I’d sucked in released as a heavy sigh as I got to my feet. With my fists clenched at my sides, I met the superior officer’s gaze. “Yes, sir.”
His eyes lingered on mine, a tiny crease between his brows the only break in his otherwise stoic expression. There were questions and confusion in the icicles that were his eyes, though, which I didn’t quite understand.
“Follow me,” he said, keeping his volume down and stepping out of the doorway. I left Eden’s door open just in case any of the alarms connected to him went off and left my friend behind reluctantly.
Just before I stepped out of the room, I gave him one last look and vowed I’d be back. No matter what. When—not if—he woke up, it wouldn’t be to a sparsely furnished room, a single window offering a view of nothing but sky and treetops, and some unknown medical personnel. I’d do everything in my power to be there when those eyes of his opened again.
Unfortunately, I had to face our superiors first. When I followed the lieutenant commander to his office and found Charles waiting there, too, I knew I hadn’t been brought there to be praised for what we’d done.
“Dobbs,” he barked, deep burgundy blotches splattering his cheeks as the muscles in his neck bulged.
I glanced at the seat I assumed I was going to be told to take, nearly collapsing into it before I’d even managed to salute them. My legs felt like they’d been weighed down with lead.
“Don’t sit,” he ordered, his eyes narrowing in a glare. “You won’t be here long enough to make it worth your while.”
My insides turned to steel. It took every ounce of determination I had, but I rallied. Forcing my legs to obey my goddamn commands and keep me standing, I pushed my chin into the air.
Charles’ hazel eyes were so similar to Sofia’s that just looking into them nearly made my knees buckle anyway, but I stood firm.
If these were the gates of my personal hell, the keepers wouldn’t find me sinking to my fucking knees.
“What is this about?” I asked, my voice lethally quiet.
“What is this about?” Charles repeated with disbelief ringing in his tone and shook his head. “You and Phillips were on suspension. Care to explain how the two of you ended up stumbling into an active mission?”
I kept my mouth shut but lifted my chin a fraction of an inch higher in defiance. If he had to ask me how we’d gotten there, that prickling in my gut had been more than just a warning about the impending danger.
Since I highly doubted giving my side of events to Charles, of all people, would get me anywhere, I didn’t say a word. There’d be an investigation. I’d cooperate then, but all I’d be doing by speaking now would be putting up hurdles I myself would have to jump over again later on. There was no doubt in my mind he’d twist my words to try and use them against me during the investigation.
“Very well,” he mused, but his body was practically vibrating. “You’re not going to answer my question?”
I gave my head one shake from left to right, straightening my spine to stand at my full height. The lieutenant commander and the officer standing beside him both frowned at me, but I still didn’t say a word.
Charles waited another minute, then released a huff of air and nodded slowly. “You and Eden Phillips were on suspension from active duty, Dobbs.”
This time, I didn’t reply because it wasn’t a question. Every man in this room already knew what my status and Eden’s had been yesterday when we’d boarded that plane.
“You disobeyed a direct order,” Charles continued without even a pause to allow me to reply. Evidently, he already knew where I stood on this issue. “We will discuss the matter with Phillips when he wakes up, but you are being placed on suspension indefinitely, Dobbs.”
Even though I had expected it when I’d seen him waiting for me, his words still drove stakes into my heart and stomach. My organs took the battering, but I didn’t so much as wince. I refused to give him the satisfaction.