Unfortunately, I had to face our superiors first. When I followed the lieutenant commander to his office and found Charles waiting there, too, I knew I hadn’t been brought there to be praised for what we’d done.
“Dobbs,” he barked, deep burgundy blotches splattering his cheeks as the muscles in his neck bulged.
I glanced at the seat I assumed I was going to be told to take, nearly collapsing into it before I’d even managed to salute them. My legs felt like they’d been weighed down with lead.
“Don’t sit,” he ordered, his eyes narrowing in a glare. “You won’t be here long enough to make it worth your while.”
My insides turned to steel. It took every ounce of determination I had, but I rallied. Forcing my legs to obey my goddamn commands and keep me standing, I pushed my chin into the air.
Charles’ hazel eyes were so similar to Sofia’s that just looking into them nearly made my knees buckle anyway, but I stood firm.
If these were the gates of my personal hell, the keepers wouldn’t find me sinking to my fucking knees.
“What is this about?” I asked, my voice lethally quiet.
“What is this about?” Charles repeated with disbelief ringing in his tone and shook his head. “You and Phillips were on suspension. Care to explain how the two of you ended up stumbling into an active mission?”
I kept my mouth shut but lifted my chin a fraction of an inch higher in defiance. If he had to ask me how we’d gotten there, that prickling in my gut had been more than just a warning about the impending danger.
Since I highly doubted giving my side of events to Charles, of all people, would get me anywhere, I didn’t say a word. There’d be an investigation. I’d cooperate then, but all I’d be doing by speaking now would be putting up hurdles I myself would have to jump over again later on. There was no doubt in my mind he’d twist my words to try and use them against me during the investigation.
“Very well,” he mused, but his body was practically vibrating. “You’re not going to answer my question?”
I gave my head one shake from left to right, straightening my spine to stand at my full height. The lieutenant commander and the officer standing beside him both frowned at me, but I still didn’t say a word.
Charles waited another minute, then released a huff of air and nodded slowly. “You and Eden Phillips were on suspension from active duty, Dobbs.”
This time, I didn’t reply because it wasn’t a question. Every man in this room already knew what my status and Eden’s had been yesterday when we’d boarded that plane.
“You disobeyed a direct order,” Charles continued without even a pause to allow me to reply. Evidently, he already knew where I stood on this issue. “We will discuss the matter with Phillips when he wakes up, but you are being placed on suspension indefinitely, Dobbs.”
Even though I had expected it when I’d seen him waiting for me, his words still drove stakes into my heart and stomach. My organs took the battering, but I didn’t so much as wince. I refused to give him the satisfaction.
“There will be an investigation into this latest transgression of yours. Once it has been concluded, the decision will be made on whether you will be dishonorably discharged.”
Red-hot flames erupted from the stakes already lodged in my most vital organs. My ears rang and my muscles tightened so much I worried they might snap, but I still didn’t move or say a word.
“Of course,” Charles muttered, then pursed his lips in disappointment and shook his head again. It seemed to be a favorite pastime of his where I was involved. “You’re dismissed, Dobbs. Someone will contact you in due course.”
I reacted on auto pilot, snapping my fingers to my forehead once more before pivoting on my heels and marching my ass out of that office. Anguish rolled through me as memories lit up my previously dulled mind. It was like a highlight reel for my career had already been compiled and was now playing out for only me to see.
The worst thing of all was that I really had done nothing but follow orders this time. It seemed I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t.
The investigation would happen, but I doubted it’d be enough to save me. Not now. Not anymore. Too much had happened.
I wouldn’t lose hope completely until they shoved those papers into my hands, but as I left the base, I felt a fissure opening up in my heart. The chances of me ever coming back to do my job—while I still had one—weren’t very high.
I wasn’t only leaving the job behind, but I was also leaving my teammates behind. I would have been able to live with it if Eden hadn’t been back there, too. Somehow, I would have to find a way to make good on my vow to him.
I needed to be there to support him while he recovered. It wouldn’t be easy gaining access to my friend, but I was fucking determined to make it happen. No matter what, they weren’t taking Eden from me, too.
Chapter 20
Sofia
My father stormed back into the house in a rage several hours after he’d left. I still hadn’t been able to reach Lincoln, and fear was now a living thing inside me. With both of them possibly being affected by whatever this incident had been, I couldn’t help the worry coursing through me.
All the time Dad had been gone, I’d been pacing in our living room. After trying Lincoln a few more times, I’d decided to wait until Dad got back before calling him again.
The door ricocheted
