fall asleep so fast or that I slept for so long, but the realization that I was probably about to hear my fate must have finally allowed me to get some rest.
When I woke up, the plane was touching down. The sun had started to rise, and the airfield was already a blur of activity.
Few people paid attention to me as I disembarked after being told to report to Charles’ office. He was the last person I wanted to see, but it made sense that he was going to be the first.
When I walked in without having been given the chance to take a piss or splash water on my face, all the same officers as before were gathered there. Charles gave me one look and sighed as he shook his head.
“You look like shit, Dobbs.”
“I was yanked out of a cell at the brig in Washington in the middle of the night. My cellmate liked talking and hadn’t gotten around to letting me fall asleep yet. All things considered, the fact that I’m still standing is a miracle.”
I knew I shouldn’t be running my mouth, but the man brought out the worst in me. To my surprise, a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
“You’re not wrong,” he said finally. Shuffling some papers in front of him, he laid his hands down on top of them and lifted his eyes back to mine. “We’ve reviewed your case, and we’d like to make you an offer.”
“Okay,” I replied hesitantly. He wasn’t apologetic about what had happened, but he wasn’t looking at me like he wanted to squish me either. “What’s the offer?
“We want you to command your own unit. This is your only option. If you don’t take it, you’re out.”
“Excuse me?” Maybe my lack of sleep had messed with my hearing. “After all this, you’re not going to give me feedback on the investigation or the findings? But you want me to command my own unit?”
“You already know what happened.” He held my gaze evenly. “We don’t report to you. If you accept our offer, you will continue to report to us. Well, not me. But them.”
“Charles might actually finally go into retirement now,” one of the officer’s commented. “If you take our offer, that is. If not, he’ll need to look for someone else before he goes anywhere.”
Charles grunted, but his eyes stayed on mine. “What do you say, Dobbs? Are you finally ready for your own command?”
My mind spun. Just a few short hours ago, I’d been in a cell, and now he wanted me to make this decision on the fly? “Can I have time to think about it?”
“No,” he said simply. “The way I see it, a real soldier doesn’t need time to think about what we’re asking of you.”
“What will it mean for me if I say yes?” I was already sorely aware of what it would mean if I said no. I’d spent the last few days trying to plan around a scenario where I got told to leave.
Charles didn’t skip a beat. “It would mean a six-month tour in Iraq for starters.”
I sucked in a breath. After all I’d been through and having had time to come to grips with the thought that I might never go into battle again, a six-month stint in that sandbox sounded like a dream come true.
It would allow me to show them that I was meant to be a SEAL. Eden and I could clear our names once and for all. More than everything else, I would be getting back to doing what I did best.
But it would be under my own command. I’d kicked against this for years.
It would also mean leaving Sofia behind for six months. I doubted they’d give me a chance to speak to her about it before I gave them an answer.
Six months was enough for her to finish her degree. But it was a long time to ask her to wait for me.
My cheeks puffed up with air before I blew out a breath. Charles eyed me expectantly, but for once, there was no venom in his gaze. I didn’t feel like his glare was trying to pierce my organs and rip them to shreds.
Something had changed in him between my leaving there and today. Despite how unbelievably fucking angry I was with the man, looking at him now was more like looking at the instructor I had respected when I’d first arrived.