Ashfall by Denise A. Agnew Page B

her voice low as she answered him. “I’m really pissed. I had my weapon up as I came outside, and he still grabbed me. I screwed up.”
    He knew right away why she was mad. “You’re afraid I’m going to say I told you so.”
    The pink on her cheeks grew redder. “Yes.”
    His stomach tossed when he thought of what could have happened to her, but she’d also handled everything today like a pro. A muscle in his jaw twitched. “You should have retreated and come out to get backup.” Her slight smile disappeared, and she started to move away. “Wait.” She turned back toward him, her gaze hard as nails. “But you kicked ass. You did really well today.”
    The tension in her eyes and mouth released a little. “Thank you.” She rubbed her face. “Can we get out of here?”
    “Sure. Let’s head back to the compound. It’s too late to start on your security system today, anyway.” He wasn’t happy with her answer, but in the open in front of the crime scene wasn’t a good place to talk. “Let’s go.”
    Once back at the compound, they entered the building and Adam and Mark headed straight to the locker room where they could ditch their equipment. As the General emerged from his office, his face was undeniably grim. The older man stared at Adam and Mark.
    “What’s wrong, sir?” Adam asked.
    “There isn’t a sign of my daughter or MacDaniel.” The General’s eyes were bleak. “I’ve tried calling Penny, but I keep getting a dead line. Nothing is going through. What the hell has happened to them?”
    Adam’s heart dropped into his stomach. “The only way Ian would be out of contact this long would be if some serious shit has gone down.”
    “You want us to go looking for him, sir?” Mark asked.
    The General’s gaze turned harder and full of a bleakness Adam had never seen on the old warrior’s face. “No. I’ll use all my contacts to see if I can find out what’s happened. All of you are committed to working in this town right now, and I can’t break the contract we have with the government.”
    Adam wanted to say fuck that. But he knew Ian would tell him not to come looking for him. “I have confidence in Ian, sir. He’s one of the best military individuals I’ve ever met.”
    The General turned his gaze on Mally, a skeptical twist to his mouth. “How was your first day working for us, Miss Andretti?”
    She shifted her shoulders and stood straighter. “I’m alive, aren’t I?”
    The General barked a laugh, and Adam blinked in surprise. Jesus, the old man seemed to really like Mally. Adam was two parts surprised and two parts not. Regardless of the old soldier’s faults, he’d always impressed Adam as a fair man.
    “Hard knocks, eh?” The General asked.
    “Yep,” Mally said. “But it turned out all right.”
    The General gestured toward the War Room. “I need a sit rep from you all. Blow by blow.”
    “Roger that,” Mark said.
    Adam turned to her. “That means situation report.”
    She rolled her eyes. “I know. And who really says Roger that? How did the ‘that’ get into the whole equation? It used to be just Roger back in the day. Why can’t you guys just say what you mean?”
    “Why, that would be too easy,” The General said.
    Adam smiled and followed her toward the war room.

Chapter 9
    Mally ached with an exhaustion she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Water cascaded over her in a sweet warm shower. Feeling the water cleanse her of the day’s excesses was nirvana. Today had been a bitch. She’d learned a lot and had even more respect for the work Sentry Security performed. Not only were they bodyguards for specific clients, but now that the government used them to keep the peace, everything was on the line. In the back of her mind she’d understood how dangerous their work could be, but witnessing it firsthand made it all the more real.
    She’d gathered from what very little she knew about these companies, that they’d made a lot of money during the