Charles grunted, but his eyes stayed on mine. “What do you say, Dobbs? Are you finally ready for your own command?”
My mind spun. Just a few short hours ago, I’d been in a cell, and now he wanted me to make this decision on the fly? “Can I have time to think about it?”
“No,” he said simply. “The way I see it, a real soldier doesn’t need time to think about what we’re asking of you.”
“What will it mean for me if I say yes?” I was already sorely aware of what it would mean if I said no. I’d spent the last few days trying to plan around a scenario where I got told to leave.
Charles didn’t skip a beat. “It would mean a six-month tour in Iraq for starters.”
I sucked in a breath. After all I’d been through and having had time to come to grips with the thought that I might never go into battle again, a six-month stint in that sandbox sounded like a dream come true.
It would allow me to show them that I was meant to be a SEAL. Eden and I could clear our names once and for all. More than everything else, I would be getting back to doing what I did best.
But it would be under my own command. I’d kicked against this for years.
It would also mean leaving Sofia behind for six months. I doubted they’d give me a chance to speak to her about it before I gave them an answer.
Six months was enough for her to finish her degree. But it was a long time to ask her to wait for me.
My cheeks puffed up with air before I blew out a breath. Charles eyed me expectantly, but for once, there was no venom in his gaze. I didn’t feel like his glare was trying to pierce my organs and rip them to shreds.
Something had changed in him between my leaving there and today. Despite how unbelievably fucking angry I was with the man, looking at him now was more like looking at the instructor I had respected when I’d first arrived.
Either he was hoping I’d get shot, and that was why he wanted to send me away, or he really believed I could command my own unit. Sofia’s words from that day on the beach played in my mind. She’d said he believed in me but that I was a waste of talent.
Was I? I didn’t think so, but he did. It had been the crux of our problem, if she was to be believed.
And I did believe her. I also didn’t want to leave her. Or Eden.
Charles watched me closely as I turned all this over in my mind. Eventually, he got tired of waiting. He drummed his fingers on the desk before he cocked his head and looked me right in the eyes once more.
“Well, Dobbs, what’s it going to be?”
Chapter 36
Sofia
“Can you believe it?” I asked Haley once I’d told her everything I’d learned at the base. “It’s absolutely crazy. He’s supposed to be retired, but he’s been working behind the scenes to get rid of Lincoln.”
My best friend leaned back against the pillows on her bed, clutching one to her chest, and stared at me with disbelief shining in her wide eyes. “I always knew he would do whatever he thought was necessary to protect you, but this does seem like overkill.”
“You think?” I groaned, collapsing onto her bed and lying back. “It’s such a mess. I just can’t believe he would do that to someone.”
“Least of all to one of his precious SEALs,” she murmured. “He lives for those guys.”
“It figures that he’d treat them all like his sons, except for the one I end up falling for.” I covered my face with one of her pillows, digging deep to find a sliver of calm to grasp onto.
Haley had still been at the deli when I’d arrived at her place after that meeting with my dad. Having some time alone had been good for me, but I’d been more than ready to talk once she arrived home.
Armed with a bottle of wine, she’d sat me down and listened patiently as I ranted and raved. It had taken me hours to get everything out, and now I was out of words but still emotional.
She rolled over to face me, propping her head on the stack of pillows and her hand underneath her cheek. “I know it sucks. Nothing I can say can really make it better, but I don’t think he did it to hurt you.”
“Maybe he didn’t realize how much it would hurt me, but he knew it would.” That was what made it even worse. “I’m just struggling to wrap my head around it all, you know? Thanks for letting me sleep here tonight. I really wasn’t looking forward to having to go home and starting with round two just yet.”
“Both of you might have ended up saying things you’d regret.” She smiled. “You know you’re always welcome here. I’m glad you decided to stay.”
“So am I.” I sighed as I flicked off the lamp on the nightstand on my side of the bed. Haley’s was still on, but it wasn’t very bright all by itself.
With the room softly lit and the quiet both inside it and out, I couldn’t believe the madness my life had become. Sighing as I wondered when I’d been catapulted into a world where my father was the villain, I folded my hands over my stomach and shook my head.
“I’m thinking about transferring to a school closer to home,” I said. “I know UCLA isn’t that far away, but I want to be here. You’re here, Lincoln’s here, and Dad’s here. We might be fighting now, but I hope we won’t always be.”
“Where is this coming from?” she asked quietly. “You’ve been looking forward to going to UCLA since we were juniors.”
“Yeah, I know. I want to be closer to you all, though.
