Damage Control (Valiant Knox) (11 page)

His fingers lightly skimmed along her collarbone as he returned the gown to rights, and she tensed against a shiver she could feel creeping up on her. His hand lingered on her shoulder for a moment before he stepped back again.

“I saw Dr. Dalton on my way in here. She’s going to discharge you just before the end of forenoon watch. After that, I want you to head up to your dorm. Get some rest and don’t go finding any more trouble.”

“Okay,” she muttered, only just managing to resist rolling her eyes.

“What was that, Recruit?” Though the words were formal, there was a definite light glint to his gaze. Was he actually teasing her?

“Sir, yes, sir.” The reply came out sounding more like a question.

He gave a single nod, one side of his lips lifting in a small smile that made him look nothing short of adorable. Her stomach flipped over, and if she had been alone, she would have definitely slapped herself. Had she really just thought that the legendary, hard-assed Captain Alphin was adorable? That concussion must have really scrambled her brain.

“Very good. I’ll be down to check on you later, so I better find you exactly where you’re meant to be.”

Before she could confirm that she would do as he’d said, he spun on his heel and strode out of the room. Once she was alone, she blew out a long, uneven breath and sank back against the pillows.

Being around that man was like stepping onto a rollercoaster. He could go from intimidating to charming in the space of a heartbeat. Her entire future with the UEF was in his hands. But for some reason, that notion didn’t terrify her as much as it should have. Maybe that was stupid, having this inexplicable, blind trust of a man she hardly knew, feeling that for some reason, he would do everything in his power to protect her. He didn’t owe her that; he didn’t owe her anything. Right now, the only thing she could bring him was that trouble he’d told her to stay out of.

But something had sparked between them, and no matter how many times she told herself it was one-sided or it meant nothing or it was all in her imagination, the more time she spent with him, the more she was starting to think that she wasn’t the only one fighting whatever these feelings were.

Chapter Eleven

T
he dorms were quiet and deserted as Leigh walked along the passageway, not that he expected anything different in the middle of the afternoon when all the recruits were off at their training session. But he expected to find at least one person here. And she better not be doing anything that even remotely looked like trouble, or he’d be busting her down to the ground before she could even think about flashing those dark eyes at him.

Accessing the ship’s main systems.
Christ
. If he didn’t already know she was too brave and smart for her own good, he would have thought she was a complete moron, pulling a stunt like that.

He should have gone right up to the command center to report her, because what she’d done had been nothing short of a major security breach. But then he’d started thinking. Yang had already said that Stanton kept more information to himself than he revealed, and though Leigh had checked in again on the progress to find the shooter, Yang had told him that they still weren’t any closer to finding how the shooter had disappeared. Which either meant Stanton knew and didn’t want to share, or he and Mia now had information that no one else did.

His gut told him not to trust Stanton. With Mia and her skills, he had a way to do the background checks on his pilots without needing Stanton and could run his own investigation into the shooter and the identity of the mole in his squadron, which obviously had to be connected.

Though the idea had occurred to him while Mia showed him what she’d found, his sense of loyalty, the part of him that had always been a good soldier and trusted the system, balked at doing something so blatantly outside of the rules he’d lived his entire adult life by.

As he stopped in front of the hatchway to Mia’s dorm room, the low drift of music came through the door. He knocked to announce his presence, but then swiped a hand over the door control after only waiting a moment.

“Don’t get up,” he called as he ducked around the door. But Mia was already halfway across the room. She shot him a rueful smile, then switched directions and went to turn down the music.

Instead of the usual recruit uniform, she had on a pair of dark leggings and a maroon and white Ophelei Academy T-shirt. Her feet were bare and her golden hair was loose around her shoulders, apart from a few shorter strands she’d pinned up in the front, keeping them out of her face. She looked relaxed, casual, and too damn tempting.

He cleared his throat, forcing his wayward thoughts to get back on track.

“I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.” He stopped in the middle of the room, casting a glance over the six bunks, all of them neat except one on the far end left rumpled, with a datapad sitting in the middle.

“I was actually reading a book. Like, a book I picked myself, not one I’m required to read for classes. I can’t remember the last time I did that.” She walked back over to her bed and plonked herself down on it.

With no other option, he followed her over and sat on the opposite bed, facing her. “Is it the manual specs of an armored class transport or something?”

Surprise flashed across her face before she gave a short laugh. “No. It’s a crime fiction.”

He clenched his jaw over the urge to grin back at her, intrigued by a slight tinge of color in her cheeks.

“And how are you feeling now?” he asked to distract himself from how easy it was sitting here exchanging light banter with her.

She tucked back a strand of hair. “Fine. The headache is gone and my shoulder only has a slight ache, like a pulled muscle or something.”

He clasped his hand between his knees. “That’s good, because I’ve talked to Bren, Seb, and Lawler. As long as you’re feeling confident to continue, we’d like you to keep your place in the program. It will mean some extra work to make up the session you missed today, but I get the feeling that won’t be a problem for you.”

“I’ll handle it.” She looked genuinely surprised by his words. Maybe because after he’d caught her this morning, she’d been sure he was going to kick her out. And by all rights he should have. If it weren’t for the fact that he had a mole in his team, he would have definitely given her marching orders.

But the fact was, if not for the traitor, she wouldn’t have been attacked and wouldn’t have had a reason to access the
Knox’s
systems. Or so he chose to believe. With those sorts of skills, some people would have done it just because they could, but he didn’t think Mia was that type of person. She’d had a genuine reason to take such a huge risk and hadn’t done anything other than try to find clues about the shooter.

“And about what you saw me do this morning?” she asked, her features tightening with wariness.

He shifted forward, his shoulders tensing. This was where things got complicated, and he was about to take a huge risk that could end badly for both of them. But he figured Mia had already thrown herself into the deep end of a treacherous risk and he might as well take advantage of it. This way, he could try to protect her if they were found out. He didn’t want to examine exactly why he felt the need to make her his responsibility. Yeah, he couldn’t ignore how intelligent and daring—and if he were being completely honest—how goddamn sexy she was, but he’d never done anything in his life for any other reason than duty. And, he assured himself, that was what this also came down to—his obligations. She’d almost been killed under his watch. He had to find the traitor and protect his people, even if that meant going outside the regulations to achieve his ends.

“I’ve put a lot of thought into what you did,” he started, choosing his words carefully. “And the way I see it, you have nothing left to lose. So the classified information I’m about to tell you cannot be repeated; otherwise I will see you buried.”

Her eyes widened a touch, and his conscience kicked him with a vicious jolt of guilt at threatening and possibly scaring her. But this was even more serious than the fact that she’d accessed the ship’s primary systems. This could get them both killed or dishonorably discharged and dumped in prison.

“I’ve been given reason to believe there’s a CSS mole in the fighter-pilot squadron.”

“So it’s true? The CSS have infiltrated UEF ranks? I heard rumors, but I didn’t believe—”

“It’s true.” A small swell of dismay washed through him that apparently gossip about CSS moles had spread so far already. No wonder the UEF were so hot and bothered about reviewing Yang’s command. “There could be as many as a dozen on the ship right now. There are people working to find them, but my only concern is for my squad.”

She crossed her arms, expression somber. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Instead of reporting what you did this morning, I want you to use your skills to help me find the mole in my squad or identify the shooter, since I’m pretty sure they’re going to turn out to be the same person.”

She took a deep breath, seeming to process what was no doubt an unexpected request. “This is asking a lot. I mean, accessing the systems one time for an hour was a risk I was willing to take on the gamble I wouldn’t get caught. But this will require me to spend hours searching all kinds of data and accessing all kinds of stuff, going in and out over multiple sessions. It will increase the risk of getting caught by an infinite amount.”

“I know. I thought it all through before I came here, which is why I want you to use my datapad. That way, if someone does pick up the activity, it’ll come back to me.”

A cynical half smile tilted her lips up. “And will anyone believe that you had the necessary skills to do something like this?”

He shrugged. “I’m sure they won’t. But they won’t ask, and I won’t tell. There’s a chance I’d be able to use my standing and years of service to get out of it lightly, whereas you would take the complete fall. But that’s only if we get caught. Obviously my preference is that we don’t. And there’s one other thing.”

“One other thing
besides
the questionable activities you’re already recruiting me for?”

He ignored that bit of sarcasm, even if it had been meant in good humor. “Can you get around the
Knox’s
security system to say, break into someone’s apartment without leaving a trace?”

“Of course.” She didn’t hesitate in her reply, as though it should have been obvious she could do that as well. “Don’t tell me the CAFF is considering a little B and E?”

“CI have a mole in custody, but she’s not talking, or the agent in charge is keeping us in the dark. Either way, I want to get into the traitor’s apartment to see if I can find any information, particularly the identity of the mole in my squadron.”

She pushed her hair back, expression serious, but contemplative. “And what if I don’t agree?”

“Truthfully? I don’t know. Not agreeing isn’t really an option.”

“I see.” She shifted, angling herself away from him as she glanced off across the room.

The fact that he wasn’t really giving her a choice made him feel like a bastard, but this was bigger than either of them.

Voices in the corridor caught his attention, and he glanced over his shoulder at the door. “Are you expecting company?”

“Oh yeah,” she said, as though she’d only just remembered. “Kayla said she’d come and check on me in between sessions.”

“Great,” he muttered, pushing to his feet. He glanced around the room, but already knew what his only option was.

“What are you doing?” she asked as he walked by her bed.

“Hiding.”

She stood, incredulity crossing her features. “Are you serious? Why?”

He went over to the cupboard and pulled open the door. Only just enough room to squeeze himself in. He turned to look at her, finding that she’d come over and stopped only a step behind him.

“Besides the fact that no one can know we’re working together on uncovering the traitor, how do you think it’s going to look when your friend walks in and finds you alone in your dorm room with your CO?”

“Oh.” That hint of color was back on her cheeks again. “Of course. That would look bad.”

“So let me hide already.” He gently pushed her back and shut himself in the cupboard just as the door across the room opened.

“Hey, Mia.” Kayla’s cheery voice was muffled by the closed door. “How is all that rest going?”

“Boring,” Mia responded, sounding like she’d moved away from the cupboard. “How have the sessions been? Have I missed anything interesting?”

“Two washouts, Steve being his usual jerk-self, and Captain Alphin being in a foul mood.”

Foul mood?
Yeah, he’d been a little distracted and short-tempered because he’d been trying to work out what to do about Mia, but he’d been far from a foul mood. If those recruits thought that was him on a bad day, they hadn’t seen anything yet.

“Really?” Mia had responded, her voice rising a notch. “Well, maybe he had a good reason.”

He could have almost rolled his eyes. Teaming up with Mia to find the traitor wasn’t going to get him very far if the girl didn’t learn how to play it cool.

“Or maybe he’s just an uptight son of a bitch,” Kayla replied breezily. “Either way, he made Lewis cry this morning.”

Lewis had
cried
? Well, the guy had failed to grasp the most basic concept in engine components, what did he expect?

“You’re kidding,” Mia’s voice was heavy with disbelief. “Like actually full-on cried?”

“Well he wasn’t sobbing like a baby, if that’s what you mean,” Kayla replied, a hint of amusement in her tone. “But I saw a few tears when he thought no one was looking. He was one of the washouts. He just quit after the last session with Lieutenant Brenner. Who, by the way, is almost as much of a hard-ass as the CAFF. The two of them could make adorable little hard-ass babies together.”

Mia gave a small laugh, but it sounded forced.

“Well, enjoy the snacks I brought you.” Kayla’s voice shifted, as though she’d moved across the room. “I’ve got to get back before the next session starts. Don’t want Captain Hard-Ass giving me extra drills to run or something for being late. I’ll catch you at messdeck tonight.”

Mia murmured a good-bye, and then the door opened and closed. Leigh waited, making sure the coast was clear. But before he’d decided it was safe to come out, Mia had pulled open the door. With one hand on the knob, she set her other hand on her hip.

“So, Captain Hard-Ass, I hear you’ve been making people cry.”

Her sheer audacity blew him away. He couldn’t ever remember anyone having the gall to say something like that to his face, with maybe the exception of Seb, who treated everyone like that.

He stepped forward and leaned against the doorframe. She didn’t move back, leaving less than a few scant inches between them.

“I’ve got a reputation to maintain. Making people cry is a staple of hard-asses everywhere.”

“I see,” she replied with a perfect amount of gravity. “You know, I’m starting to think this whole tough-guy thing is just a routine.”

“Really?” They’d strayed into forbidden territory; even this light flirting could end in trouble. But the more he got to know Mia, the more intrigued he became. He could honestly say he’d never met a woman like her before, never been tempted into doing things he knew were wrong. But it felt reckless in a way he liked a little too much. Maybe he’d been living by the rules, set in his ways for too long. Maybe he was having some kind of early midlife crisis. Whatever it was, he couldn’t find the will to pull himself into line.

She nodded in response to his one-worded question. “Yes, I do. I can see you, Captain Alphin, and the truth is you care more than you’d like anyone to believe. You care enough to put your own career at risk to help the people under your command. Not many men would go to those lengths.”

“Don’t go making me out to be a hero. You forgot the part where I blackmailed you into helping me.”

“Well, I didn’t say you were perfect.” She grinned, and her smile hit him right in the middle of his chest.

Every muscle in his body locked up and it was all he could do in that moment to hold himself still. Because he wanted to kiss her. Right here, right now. Push her up against the wall and get himself all over her until she moaned for him.