Ben rinsed his mouth out and looked at her through the mirror. “Commander Brady needs to see me this morning. I shouldn’t be long.” He pushed away from the sink and gave her a quick kiss.
“You seem different this morning.” Had she done something wrong?
Ben shook his head as he shoved his feet into a pair of boots. “I just want to get it over with. I don’t know what he wants but it sounded important and the guys need a rest before we go back out.”
Hannah wanted to ask him more but knew he wouldn’t tell her. It was part of the package of being with a Delta Force operative, she reminded herself. He wasn’t always going to tell her what she wanted to know.
“I’ll see you when you back.” She said softly.
Ben stood up and closed the distance between them. He grabbed both sides of her face and gave her a deep kiss. He pulled away all too soon. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I’ll make you something to eat and maybe we can go out later.”
Hannah smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing him. “Hurry up then. The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll be back.”
Ben pulled out of her arms and raced out the door.
Now, what could she do until he got back? She looked at the clock and saw it was just after ten. So late? It had felt so early. An idea suddenly popped in her head. She pulled her phone off the nightstand and called Cora.
“Hey Cora, are you up for a little shopping this morning?”
Hannah had just come back from shopping an hour later and was setting her bags down and looking over her bounty of sexy nightwear when the front door handle jiggled as if someone was testing to see if it was locked. Out of habit Hannah always kept it locked when she was there. She was suddenly glad she did right now if it was a burglar. When the door didn’t open she near jumped out of her skin when the doorbell rang. Hannah pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and dialed 911 and kept her hand on the send button just in case. Who could it be? Ben had a key so he would just let himself in. Cora always knocked. She didn’t know anyone else.
She inched towards the door and peeked through the peephole and saw an older man in uniform. Hannah stood paralyzed in fear. Could it be someone posing as a military person or was she just being paranoid and it was a military friend of Ben’s coming to see him?
Hannah slid the phone back in her pocket and opened the door. “Can I help you?” Please don’t say Ben is hurt. Please don’t let it be about Ben.
The man in uniform looked down at her in disdain. “Ms. O’Connell,” He swiftly masked his features and said in pleasure.
“Yes?” Was she supposed to know him? He seemed to know her.
“Well, I see I was right and Ben didn’t follow orders. I ordered you away from the base and the state and dumped back home where you belong.”
Hannah reared back as if slapped. This was Ben’s commander? She knew she wasn’t supposed to be on base because of this asshole but she didn’t think she was supposed to leave the state because his royal highness said so. “Ben has asked me to stay to help him find out who was behind the ambush. I have valuable information about Alejandro and the those he has worked with.”
Ben’s commander seemed to pale hearing her statement and a look of panic came into his eyes. “That won’t be necessary, Ms. O’Connell. The team doesn’t need your help and have already figured it out. Ben has asked me to come see you home now that the issue has been resolved.”
Ben figured it out without her? Who had set them up? The least he could have done was call her and let her know himself. Something felt wrong. Her instincts were screaming at her right now. “How could Ben have sent you to tell me? He left a short while ago because you requested to see him.”
The look of panic in his eyes quickly turned to anger and he launched himself at her. Hannah tried to slam the door in his face but he blocked the door with his shoulder. “Get over here you little bitch.”
Hannah gave up trying to close the front door and took off for the sliding door in the dining room. She could hear the commander curse and stomp after her; he was hot on her tail. She screamed at the top of her lungs for help and saw a glass case next to the TV. Ben would forgive her, she hoped. Hannah opened the door and flung figurines and awards it looked like at the commander. He deflected a few and dodged others. Glass shattered behind him. She reached into the case for something else to throw but came up empty handed. Hannah stared at the commander wide-eyed and raced for the slider but tripped over the shopping bags she had set down when she came home. Stupid.
The commander pounced on top of her and pinned her to the ground. “You my dear have been a pain in my ass, but that all ends today. I have a friend who is dying to see you and I don’t want to disappoint him. You are going to come with me quietly or I will have to knock you out.”
“Leave her alone.” A feminine voice shouted before a thwacking sound was heard.
The commander swore and his body jerked before he turned his head and saw Cora standing over them with a baseball bat in hand. “You just signed your death warrant.” He slowly stood up and approached Cora like an
