Code Name: Ghost - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,79
has a genial smile on her face, seeming to legit want to get to work. This I can understand now that I’m allowed back in the thick of things.
“Okay,” I reply, moving back to her side. I bend to give her a soft kiss. Pulling back just slightly, I ask, “Can I come over tonight? I’ll pick up some takeout.”
She smiles with a nod. “Sounds great. I’ll be home with Avery around six-thirty.”
“Awesome. See you then.” Another brush of my lips across hers, then Cage and I are heading out of her office. When we clear her door, I gaze back over my shoulder at Anna, but her head is already bent over some documents on her desk and I’m apparently forgotten.
I follow Cage out among the pit desks, intent to follow him to his desk so we can talk more about our trip to Ft. Bragg tomorrow. Then I’ll head to the desk that had been assigned to me to read up on the situation down in Colombia.
But Anna’s voice stops me in my tracks as she calls my name. I turn to see her standing in the doorway to her office, one hand on the jamb. “Got a minute to talk?”
I jerk slightly in surprise at her expression. She looks… distressed.
Without a thought, I pivot on my heel and walk away from Cage and our discussion. “Sure,” I say.
As I approach her, she drops her gaze and moves into her office. I follow her in, letting the door shut behind me.
She doesn’t take a seat behind her desk. Instead, she turns to regard me with one arm crossed over her stomach, the other hand hovering around her throat. “Listen… about your trip to Ft. Bragg…”
“Yeah,” I cut in, throwing a thumb back at where Cage is probably sitting at his desk by now. “Sorry… got really excited about that. I didn’t even think to tell you about it, but when he started talking about the trip and you didn’t seem surprised, I just started prattling.”
She shakes her head, waving her hand. “Yeah… no… I knew about it. Wasn’t surprised.”
“Good,” I blurt out, unable to contain my excitement. “Because I’m really pumped about going. About training again. And well, I was going to talk to you about it tonight, but Corinne and Kynan have released me back to full duty.”
“That’s really awesome,” she says. While her eyes are shining with pride, her voice seems a bit reluctant.
I’m wondering if she’s just not getting the importance of this to me. I try to explain. “It means that not only have I accepted the way things turned out were not my fault, but also that Kynan has trust in me to get back out there again.”
“Yes, I totally get that,” she rushes to assure me, reaching out to take my hands. “And that is more important to me than you’ll ever know.”
“Then why do I get the distinct impression you’re really not all that happy about it?” I ask hesitantly.
Her gaze falls away a moment, down to her desk. She nibbles on her lower lip. It’s the classic sign for wanting to say something, but not quite sure how to.
“Anna,” I say, putting my hand under her chin to force her attention back to me. “You can tell me anything. Talk to me about anything. You know I respect every fucking word that comes out of your mouth, and you’ll never get judgment from me.”
I hate I have to even say that, because she knows it’s true. Especially since she’s given me the same tenfold.
Resolve fills her eyes as she nods. “You might be going to Colombia after the trip to Ft. Bragg.”
I sigh, finally feeling the true depth of her angst and from where it’s actually coming. “Yeah… I was going to talk to you about that tonight as well. I knew it would cause you some worry.”
“Some worry?” she repeats, a question that has enough bite to it that I can tell I’ve minimized her feelings without intending to. Before I can rush to validate, she grits out, “I would say I might have a bit more than just some worry.”
“Of course, you would—”
“I don’t want you to go,” she says resolutely, lifting her chin in the air and crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t want you doing this type of dangerous work.”
I’m stunned at the finality in her words, as well as the notion she’d dare even levy them my way. I get her being scared.