Code Name: Ghost - Sawyer Bennett Page 0,84

and Anna should be in her office. It’s probably not appropriate to have the discussion we need to have in our place of employment, but fuck it.

This absolutely can’t wait.

I have the driver let me off at the entrance to the underground parking deck, then use my passcode generator to open the steel rolling gate, moving through the parking spaces to the entrance door. A quick eye scan to confirm my identity and I’m in, heading toward the freight elevator that will take me to the second floor.

When I alight, I immediately run into Corinne.

“Hey, stranger,” she says genially.

“Can’t talk,” I reply curtly but with a friendly smile. “On a mission to make sure true love wins the day.”

Corinne just blinks, mouth slightly agape, before she manages to mumble. “True love, huh?”

“Finally figured it out,” I admit to her with a cheerful grin.

“And that is?” she prompts.

“Anna was why I was spared.”

“That’s some pretty philosophical thinking.”

“But no less true,” I say, stepping around while waving goodbye.

And that’s when my eyes land on Anna. Sitting at her desk, head bent over her work. It’s not my imagination, there’s a morose look on her face. I’d be an egotistical bastard to think I’d put that expression there, but I know her. I think I did.

I put some speed in my step, reaching her door and knocking. Her face tips up, eyes looking blank before a slow smile breaks across her face.

Unsure why I’m here, but happy nonetheless. “Hey.”

“Hey back,” I murmur, stepping into her office and closing the door behind me. “I missed you.”

“And I missed you,” she replies, no ounce of hesitation in her voice. This woman who told me but a few days ago she couldn’t handle my lifestyle.

Doesn’t matter, though. If she needs me to give it up, I will.

I’ll do anything to keep her.

“Told you I needed to think,” I press on, wondering if I should keep my distance and take a seat or if I should move closer to her.

Because my first words knock the smile off her face and her eyes fill with wariness, I decide to move closer. I navigate through the two chairs, around her desk, and perch my butt on the corner of it. “The rest of the team headed down to Colombia. Kynan took my place.”

The wariness remains. A flush of guilt is added to it, making her cheeks turn rosy. It kills me she feels guilty that I didn’t go on that hostage exchange, even though I know deep in her gut she’s feeling all kinds of relieved I didn’t.

Reaching out, I touch her face with my palm. “Don’t feel bad about it.”

She shakes her head, almost dislodging my hand, but she immediately brings hers up to cover it, holding it close to her cheek. “I don’t want you to give up the things you love. I’m scared, yes, but I’ll find a way to deal. I want you to be happy, and part of that includes a dangerous job. We’ll make it work.”

Fuck, how I love this woman. I know she’s terrified, and she has every right to be. Her husband died doing the very same type of work I would be doing. How could I ever ask her to live with that type of constant fear?

“Well, it seems we have a problem,” I say, pulling our hands away from her face and tugging her up from the chair. I rise from the edge of the desk, pulling her in close to me. “You want me to be happy, and I don’t want you to be scared.”

“I won’t be scared,” she says quickly—an absolute lie. “I promise.”

Chuckling, I lean in to press my mouth to hers gently. When I pull back, I admonish. “Little liar. But I think I have a solution.”

Anna tilts her head, questioning me with those beautiful eyes. Yes, I could get so used to looking at them day in and day out.

“I talked to Kynan, and he actually offered me sort of a unique position here at Jameson,” I say.

“What’s that?”

“He wants me to be Director of Tactical Training,” I reply with a satisfied smile, pulling her in even closer and wrapping my arms around her lower back until she’s forced to tilt her head back to see me. “He’s hiring a lot of guys with very diverse backgrounds, but not all have Special Forces training like I’ve had such as free-fall diving, scuba, evasion and resistance, explosives, etc. He wants to implement our own training