Sophia Sasson - The Sergeant's Temptation

She was right. He had let himself get into a situation and then hadn’t been able to decide how to handle it. He’d started by thinking he would let her take some jabs at him and then call a truce, but the more she pushed, the more the fight had spun out of control.

“The whole thing was a mistake. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“This wouldn’t have happened if you’d gone through the exercise like you were supposed to, and fought properly. Tell me something...” She turned in her seat and though she tried to hide it, she winced in pain. “If I’d been Rodgers or Steele or one of the other guys, would you have fought the way you did?”

He didn’t bother responding because it was a rhetorical question. They both knew the answer was a clear no. He started the jeep and put it in reverse. The next question was inevitable and he didn’t have an answer, even for himself.

“Either you went easy on me because I’m a woman or you don’t think I can cut it on this unit, or—”

Or I have inappropriate feelings for a soldier in my command.

“You’re not an official member of the team,” he interrupted. “An injury is what I was trying to avoid. If Colonel McBride finds out about this, I’ll have a lot of explaining to do.”

“If that were true, you wouldn’t have let me fight the rest of the guys. Unless you are so arrogant that you’re assuming you would’ve gotten the best of me.”

She was right, and he’d have to come up with a better excuse than Colonel McBride to explain his bizarre behavior.

“I did get the better of you. I was trying to spare you the humiliation.” He kept his tone light.

“I can take care of myself,” she said tightly.

The words were on his lips to reassure her but he focused on pulling up to her barracks unit. He leaned over and released her seat belt, earning another glare. Before he could get around to her door, she had it open and had stepped down, her eyes warning him not to help her.

She turned to him before going through the front door. His stomach twisted at the shine in her eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re playing at, but the army is all I have, it’s all I’ve ever had. Please don’t ruin it for me.”

CHAPTER SIX

ALESSA’S SHOULDER WAS killing her, but she couldn’t take the painkillers the doctor had prescribed. She tried going for her morning run but gave up after the first two miles. The sun wasn’t even up when she arrived at her desk. If Luke thought he could marginalize her, he had another think coming. She’d have all the corrections he had suggested yesterday done by the time he came in. Only she’d underestimated how hard it would be to type and operate a mouse with her left hand. When she’d dislocated her shoulder before, she’d been in middle school and then high school.

What was wrong with her? She’d been so desperate to get the upper hand on Luke, she’d twisted her body beyond the safe zone. The man brought out an irrational side of her that she wasn’t used to. The self-discipline she’d worked so hard to attain seemed to melt away when he was around.

One assignment, then I’ll request a transfer. Even as she thought it, she hated the idea. She loved the guys in the unit. They respected and accepted her, something that wasn’t easy to find in the army. Which made spying on them that much harder. And then it hit her. If Luke was right about his brother being alive, he wouldn’t necessarily remain unit commander. From what the guys had told her, he’d only gotten the job because his father had insisted on it. But if Ethan was alive, and they found him, wouldn’t he return to take command of the unit?

More incentive to find him and prove that the guys weren’t involved. Another reason Alessa wanted to complete her assignment was so she could have time to study the satellite maps from the area where Ethan had supposedly been killed. She wasn’t skilled at reading satellite imagery, so it would take her some time to learn. Once again, she marveled at what a great opportunity working on the unit was. Normal army assignments were remarkably monotonous; you did the same job over and over again.

A few hours later, she had finished her logistics work and had turned to her spy assignment. “What’re you working on?”

She jumped in her seat and turned to find Rodgers peering over her shoulder. “Just studying the satellite maps to get familiar with the area. I’ve served on the border, but never in Pakistan.”

Rodgers nodded and went over some of the landmarks with her, including the safe house where Ethan had been killed. He didn’t once question why she was so interested in the imagery, trusting her half-truth.

“Are you okay with going back there?” She asked carefully.

Rodgers shrugged. “I need to be. Our mission was simple—grab and interrogate Azizi to find out who the army leak was. We never even got to Azizi, though the guys and I talked about finishing the mission since it was important enough to get Ethan killed. But McBride ordered us back. It’s time to get it done.”

“Did Ethan know something you didn’t?” Rodgers narrowed his eyes at her, so she quickly explained. “I’m trying to make sure I cover our bases so we stay safe. Luke briefed me on the mission and I’ve read the files, but you were there.”

Rodgers took a breath. “I try not to get defensive about it, but it’s hard not to question every move we made. Ethan was really open with us, kept us in the loop on all details, no hierarchy. Then when we got on the ground, he was listening to surveillance tapes and heard something he didn’t want to share with us. He insisted on following a lead by himself. Refused to let us get involved. It was the first time he pulled rank on us and we didn’t know what to do, so we let him go. I thought about following him, then decided against it.”

Alessa had read most of this in the after-action reports, but those reports were missing the emotion she sensed in Rodgers. He seemed to be genuinely struggling with the events of that mission.

“It’s not your fault. You were following orders.”

“Which is exactly what I’m not supposed to do in this unit.” He smiled sheepishly.

“It’s hard being in the unit, isn’t it? You’re supposed to question orders but follow them anyway?”

He shrugged. “If you’re talking about Luke, I think he’s still trying to find his way, figure out what he’s supposed to do with us.”

“Have you figured out what to do with him?”

Rodgers laughed. “No, and I think he’s having a particularly hard time with you.”

“Is it because I’m a woman?”

“No, I think it’s because you’re cute.”

She froze. Rodgers’s tone was teasing and flippant, but she sensed a deeper concern.

“What are you implying?”

He sighed. “Listen, Luke has a reputation. I think being a ladies’ man comes naturally to him. This mission is dangerous. Whoever killed Ethan is going to come after us. We all need to be totally focused. We can’t have Luke distracted.”

The subtle warning in his tone made her stomach twist.

“Yesterday wasn’t my fault. I was fully prepared to fight him.”

“Yes you were, but you were slow on your feet. I’ve fought you, remember. Twice. You have sonic speed, but seeing you and Luke fight was like watching a slow-motion video. It wasn’t all him.”

“Nothing is going on between us.”

“I believe you, but to make sure it stays that way, it might be a good idea for you to sit this mission out.”

Her eyes widened. “This mission is my chance to prove I have what it takes. I’m not sitting it out.”

Rodgers shifted on his feet. “Obviously it’s not my call. You’re better than anyone on the team, me included. You’d be an asset on the mission. As long as you can keep things professional with Luke.”