Sophia Sasson - The Sergeant's Temptation

“I’d be surprised if it’s one of my guys, but I’m not eliminating that possibility. You weren’t a part of the unit when they lost Ethan, which is why you’re the only one I’m reading in on the next part.”

“Why you think your brother is still alive.”

He slid another folder toward her. It was the autopsy report. She scanned it, not knowing what he wanted her to find. The DNA test seemed pretty conclusive.

“Page 7, the skeletal scan.”

She flipped to that page, then looked at him questioningly.

“It shows his ribs are intact. He fractured his ribs when we were kids.”

So that was why he’d picked up on her broken bones.

“Maybe the coroner missed it.”

“He didn’t. I showed the original X-rays to another doctor. No broken ribs.”

“Maybe you’re mistaken about the break.”

He shook his head. “We were thirteen and spending the summer with a cousin overseas. Ethan got trampled by a sheep. When we stopped laughing, we figured out Ethan was in real pain and took him to the hospital. The fractures were obvious on the X-rays, even to me. He was in bed and I had to take care of him for the better part of the summer.”

She sat back in her chair. There had to be a more reasonable explanation.

“I’ve spent two months thinking about this and the only possibility is the dead body wasn’t Ethan.”

“The DNA tests.”

“Were based on matches in our database. Someone could have switched the records. Same with the dental scans.”

Realization dawned on her. “The broken ribs—you weren’t on post. You went to a private hospital so it wouldn’t be in the army records.”

He clicked his fingers and pointed them at her. “Even my father didn’t know about the broken ribs. I need to get to the bottom of what happened with Ethan. Call it the twin intuition thing, but I feel it in my bones—he’s not dead.”

Alessa’s sister, Julia, was three years younger than her but while they were growing up, Alessa could always sense when Julia was in danger. She couldn’t even imagine what it was like to have an identical twin. If Luke believed Ethan was alive, then chances were good that he was.

“How can I help?”

“Right now, learn your job. Rodgers has been doing logistics, so he’ll talk you through the mistakes you made on today’s assignment. Get friendly with the guys, be a member of the unit. If you hear something that seems suspicious, let me know.”

A cold dread seeped into her bones. That’s how it had started with Aidan. Personal favors that seemed innocuous, part of the job even. But the mistake she’d made with Aidan was that she’d let him get too close. Forgotten the fact that she was an enlisted soldier and he was a commissioned officer, which meant they couldn’t even be friends. She wouldn’t do that with Luke.

Luke stood and she followed suit, getting ready to salute him, the way she would any other superior officer, but he extended his hand and she automatically took it.

“We wear civilian clothes to shed the army way. No saluting. From now on, we’re colleagues, perhaps even friends.”

She looked into his ocean blue eyes. I can’t be friends with you. That would be dangerous. Her career couldn’t withstand one more rumor of an improper relationship with a superior officer.

CHAPTER FOUR

THREE DAYS INTO the unit and Alessa didn’t know whether she’d made the best or worst decision of her army career. Now that she had to do things the un-army way, the logistics job was much harder than she’d expected. It was easy to click through some databases and fill out paperwork, but a whole other task to rely on general internet searches and online contacts to set up the most basic arrangements. There wasn’t exactly an Expedia for safe houses and covert air transportation.

It was a challenge she welcomed, but it also left her little time to train with the team. She’d been stuck behind a desk for the better part of three days. The guys stopped by to see her and that made it even harder. They were kindhearted men who genuinely respected her, and no matter how many times she told herself she would prove them innocent, she felt disingenuous in her attempts to bond.

Tapping at the keys, she reconfirmed yet another one of the details for the team’s upcoming trip. Every logistic mattered. They were going into unfriendly territory without the cover of the army. If she overlooked even one minor point, she could jeopardize the team’s safety.

“You’ve been sitting behind a desk way too long.”

Alessa turned to find Luke leaning over her shoulder. He smelled of soap and coffee and looked entirely too fresh for the late afternoon.

“You’re right. Want to give me a field designation and hire someone else for logistics?” She was surprised that she managed to make her voice sound normal despite the fact that her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth.

He eyed her monitor, then placed his hand over hers on the computer mouse and clicked to see the itinerary she’d been working on. He moved his hand before she could snatch back her own. She had barely processed the invasion when he pointed to the document he’d pulled up and asked her about their travel plans.

She answered his questions, miraculously focusing on the content of the inquiry and not on the lack of personal space between them. The heat from his body made her shift in her seat. This mission was too important for her to be distracted, and Luke was a superior officer. Pull yourself together, Parrino.

He pointed out some issues in her plans and she bit her lip to keep from screaming in frustration. Luke wasn’t wrong; he was catching some fine points she should have thought about.

“It’s a good start. Keep at it and you’ll get it,” he said encouragingly. Alessa nodded blandly but all she wanted to do was pull her hair out. With the things he’d pointed out, she still had a lot of work ahead of her, which meant she’d be behind the desk for a while. At least in Kuwait she got to go out on patrol once a day even when she was on primary desk duty.

“Why don’t you take a break and come do some exercises with the team? We’re in the pit.”

If Luke hadn’t been standing so close, she would’ve jumped up immediately.

“Thank you, I’d like that,” she said serenely.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and she flinched involuntarily. He immediately pulled back. She stood and followed him across the warehouse, but he stopped before reaching the pit. “I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to touch... I mean...” He took a breath and she shuffled on her feet. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he said finally.

“I like boundaries,” she said simply. Alessa shouldn’t have been bothered by his proximity. Personal space was a luxury you didn’t get in battle. She was used to the closeness of men, riding in trucks, staying in tight quarters. She and Luke were an officer and a soldier, nothing more. She wouldn’t have bristled if Rodgers had put a hand on her shoulder. She’d had full body contact with Rodgers when they were fighting and hardly noticed. In fact, she’d seen all of the team, minus Luke, in various stages of undress and it hadn’t bothered her at all. All the more reason to keep my distance from him. The last thing she needed was another Aidan situation.

When they stepped into the pit, Luke divided everyone into teams and paired Alessa with Steele. They would be practicing close-quarters combat. Alessa and Steele were the first team, so she only had a few minutes to warm up. Each pair would fight in the pit while everyone else watched from the outside to give them tips afterward. It felt like being in a fishbowl, but that was also part of the training. To focus on the fight despite distractions. She got into the exercise with gusto. It felt good to get rid of her pent-up energy and she quickly had Steele on the ground.