me out into the corridor, and finally, a grin of my own broke through. I shook my head at myself, but I kind of wished he was going with me.
“Where am I going?” I asked the stone-faced guard, but it seemed he’d decided to ignore me.
A car was waiting for me when I stepped into the cool night air. It was quiet on the base, but some lights were on in the surrounding buildings.
If I was being let out at this time of day, I was guessing someone had been burning the midnight oil with my investigation as well. Trepidation crept into my veins, but I kept it at bay. Whatever was going on, I’d face it head on. Just the same as I faced everything else that got thrown at me.
An ensign waited in the car, merely nodding his head at me when I climbed in. As I closed the door, I leaned forward and frowned at him in the rearview mirror. “Where are we going?”
“To the airfield, sir.” His voice was clipped and nervous, his eyes barely meeting mine before they were back on the road.
“Are you scared of me?” I watched incredulously as he flinched at the sound of my voice. “Seriously?”
“Well, you were in the brig, sir. I’ve been instructed not to speak to you.”
“Right. Sure.” I sat back again, raking my hands over my face. “Well, I haven’t gotten much sleep. Mind waking me up when we get to the airfield?”
“It’s only a few minutes away. We’ll be there before you fall asleep. You have approximately two-and-a-half hours on the plane to San Diego, though.” His eyes widened when he realized what he’d said.
Sighing as I sat forward again, I clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone you let the cat out of the bag. I’m going home then, huh?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know where home is for you.”
“San Diego.” I rested my head on the back of the front seat and rubbed my burning eyes. “You’re new at this, aren’t you?”
“It’s my first week on the job, sir.”
“My name is Lincoln,” I said. “Stop with the ‘sir’ shit.”
“Okay, Lincoln.” His voice still seemed a little high.
“You might as well talk to me while we’re stuck together for a few minutes,” I said. “What are you so scared about?”
“Other than being told to go pick someone up from the brig in the middle of the night?” There was a hint of amusement in his tone.
I laughed when I realized it had been an attempt at a joke. “That’s better. I’m not going to hurt you. The only reason I was in there was because I tend to do my own thing. Then I started dating a girl who is related to one of the officers.”
He whistled between his teeth. “An officer’s daughter? No wonder you ended up getting in trouble.”
After being quiet for a few seconds, he blurted out his next question. “What do you mean when you say you tend to do your own thing?”
“I mean that I don’t wait for orders instead of doing what needs to be done, but you really shouldn’t take that as advice.”
“I heard a rumor bad orders had gotten some guys in real danger down there in…” He trailed off for a second. “San Diego. You’re him, aren’t you? The guy who saved that team?”
“What is it with you people around here? Do you just talk all the time about what happens on every other base?”
“No, but everyone heard about the mission that went bad. There’s an official statement about it.”
“Fuck.” I dragged my hands through my hair and over my face again. “What’s it say?”
He shrugged. “Everyone involved will be dealt with swiftly.”
“That’s just fucking great.”
“We’re here,” he said suddenly, slowing the car to a stop. As I got ready to climb out, dead on my fucking feet for more reasons than one, he caught my gaze. “My name is Turner. If you’re that guy they’ve been talking about, it would be my honor to serve with you when you get your own command.”
A humorless laugh tore out of me before I could stop. “I highly doubt that’s going to happen, Turner. If it does, though, I’ll look you up, okay?”
He nodded, then saluted me before taking off again. A plane was waiting to take me back home, and exhaustion dragged me under almost the second my ass hit the seat.
After the past few days, I was surprised that I’d managed to