Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Aaron's Honor (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Men of Mercy Book 8) by Lindsay Cross
Authors: Lindsay Cross
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not leave her side until that mission is completed.”
Mission. She was a mission, wasn't she? But the way he said it, so clinical, as if she were a thing and not a human.
“Roger. Let’s go, I’m tired of standing in the rain.” Daniel turned and went to his sedan, holding the back door open. Aaron grabbed their one duffel bag and escorted her to the car, squeezing in the back seat right beside her.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
Aaron stared straight ahead when he answered. “The Pentagon.”
XXX
Celine stayed tucked up close to Aaron as they walked quietly down the maze of hallways inside the Pentagon. Somehow she never pictured it like this, so...normal. Like the inside of any other office building, minus the windows and the fact that they were there in the middle of the night. And yet people rushed up and down the hallways, all dressed business casual, carrying on with their jobs.
The group took the elevator down, to what floor she had no idea, but Eli had to swipe his card and enter a code for access before they started moving. The doors finally dinged open and she stumbled out first, eager to get out of the claustrophobic space. “Where are we now?”
“Below ground, this level is secure. You have to have clearance to enter,” Eli answered and took over as line leader this time. “If you will follow me, please.”
Once again, Celine stayed close to Aaron as they followed Eli down the hall, Daniel bringing up the rear of their little entourage. Eli stopped in front of a common brown door, near the end of the hallway, and swiped his card. The door buzzed open and Eli held out his arm, inviting them to enter. “Have a seat, someone will be with you shortly.”
Celine entered the room first unable to shake the uneasy feeling she'd had since they'd stepped off the plane. The room was small, with a single plain table in the middle and a couple of chairs on each side. A large mirror stretched across the opposite wall and Celine nearly gasped at her reflection. She'd lost weight, she could tell that simply by the way her bones protruded beneath her skin, but the hollowed out cheeks and the purple smudges under her eyes showed more evidence of it – she looked like a recovering drug addict.
And Aaron had been up close and personal with her the whole time. Uggghhh.
“We’ll be right outside if you need anything.” Eli pulled the door shut.
Aaron stalked to the mirrored wall, his brows narrowed and lips pulled tight. Her unease slipped into fear. “What's wrong?”
Aaron did that thing again, where he made his face go completely blank, something she'd started to hate. “It's nothing, just the CIA, I always hated working with the sneaky bastards.”
Celine stared hard at him, concentrating on his rich brown eyes. There were tight lines around them now that hadn't been there on the plane, and his blank expression couldn't hide the flat lines of his mouth. Evidence that he was as uneasy here as she was. “I thought you guys were run by the CIA.”
He didn't even blink, just stared at her without speaking.
After a few seconds the urge to fill the silence overtook her patience. “So, don't you sort of work for them?”
He kept staring and she had to fight the urge to twitch. “You're doing that on purpose, stop it.”
“Just trying to figure out how to answer your question when I can't really answer your question.”
“I think you just answered my question.”
Finally, his tight lips eased into a soft smile. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
“Ms. Latimer?”
Aaron shoved her behind him and faced the open doorway. “Who wants to know?”
A tall, thin man in a suit, with a shock of red hair and pale white skin, propped his shoulder on the door frame like he owned the place. “I'm Agent O'Keefe. Sorry about rushing you down here fresh off the plane, but we just need to ask you a few questions about your time overseas while everything is still fresh on your mind.”
He reminded her
Mission. She was a mission, wasn't she? But the way he said it, so clinical, as if she were a thing and not a human.
“Roger. Let’s go, I’m tired of standing in the rain.” Daniel turned and went to his sedan, holding the back door open. Aaron grabbed their one duffel bag and escorted her to the car, squeezing in the back seat right beside her.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
Aaron stared straight ahead when he answered. “The Pentagon.”
XXX
Celine stayed tucked up close to Aaron as they walked quietly down the maze of hallways inside the Pentagon. Somehow she never pictured it like this, so...normal. Like the inside of any other office building, minus the windows and the fact that they were there in the middle of the night. And yet people rushed up and down the hallways, all dressed business casual, carrying on with their jobs.
The group took the elevator down, to what floor she had no idea, but Eli had to swipe his card and enter a code for access before they started moving. The doors finally dinged open and she stumbled out first, eager to get out of the claustrophobic space. “Where are we now?”
“Below ground, this level is secure. You have to have clearance to enter,” Eli answered and took over as line leader this time. “If you will follow me, please.”
Once again, Celine stayed close to Aaron as they followed Eli down the hall, Daniel bringing up the rear of their little entourage. Eli stopped in front of a common brown door, near the end of the hallway, and swiped his card. The door buzzed open and Eli held out his arm, inviting them to enter. “Have a seat, someone will be with you shortly.”
Celine entered the room first unable to shake the uneasy feeling she'd had since they'd stepped off the plane. The room was small, with a single plain table in the middle and a couple of chairs on each side. A large mirror stretched across the opposite wall and Celine nearly gasped at her reflection. She'd lost weight, she could tell that simply by the way her bones protruded beneath her skin, but the hollowed out cheeks and the purple smudges under her eyes showed more evidence of it – she looked like a recovering drug addict.
And Aaron had been up close and personal with her the whole time. Uggghhh.
“We’ll be right outside if you need anything.” Eli pulled the door shut.
Aaron stalked to the mirrored wall, his brows narrowed and lips pulled tight. Her unease slipped into fear. “What's wrong?”
Aaron did that thing again, where he made his face go completely blank, something she'd started to hate. “It's nothing, just the CIA, I always hated working with the sneaky bastards.”
Celine stared hard at him, concentrating on his rich brown eyes. There were tight lines around them now that hadn't been there on the plane, and his blank expression couldn't hide the flat lines of his mouth. Evidence that he was as uneasy here as she was. “I thought you guys were run by the CIA.”
He didn't even blink, just stared at her without speaking.
After a few seconds the urge to fill the silence overtook her patience. “So, don't you sort of work for them?”
He kept staring and she had to fight the urge to twitch. “You're doing that on purpose, stop it.”
“Just trying to figure out how to answer your question when I can't really answer your question.”
“I think you just answered my question.”
Finally, his tight lips eased into a soft smile. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
“Ms. Latimer?”
Aaron shoved her behind him and faced the open doorway. “Who wants to know?”
A tall, thin man in a suit, with a shock of red hair and pale white skin, propped his shoulder on the door frame like he owned the place. “I'm Agent O'Keefe. Sorry about rushing you down here fresh off the plane, but we just need to ask you a few questions about your time overseas while everything is still fresh on your mind.”
He reminded her
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