Page 40 of Acting on Instinct
“Because I shoved her away from me. Tactically—"
“Tactically correct. Even if you tucked Kira behind you, she would have clung to your arm, and a split second is all it takes. I understand tactical. Kira is operating from her brain and heart. You’re both right in your own ways, and the only reason one of you is more right or more wrong is just how the event plays out. Sometimes you make a good move, and sometimes it’sthe thing that takes you down. It sounds like it went as well as it could. All the bad guys were wrapped up by the police.”
Ty swiped his wrist across his mouth.
“She said no one reacted at first because seeing men rushing into a store in balaclavas didn’t mean a robbery was happening. It was the camo and MOLLE rigs that threw her.”
“Mind-bending not to know if you’re facing an enemy or not. Reminded me of Afghanistan in my early days when anyone from the youngest kid to the oldest grandma could have explosives strapped to their chests.”
White reached out and touched his arm. “You doing okay?”
“Another day, another bad guy.”
“Right.” White paused, squinting her eyes at him. “Now the truth.”
“Anytime Kira’s under threat, I want to stand in front of it to protect her.”
“There’s a lot of energy and chaos in your world, where you’ve trained for cool and precise.”
“It’s not a new sensation. I sometimes wonder if I’m not picking up those thoughts from Kira. She always seems braced for that wolf to leap out of the mists.”
“Possibly.” White scowled, then seemed to wrangle her thoughts back to the present and her expression back to neutral. “Switching topics. Have you heard anything from Iniquus about the position with Team Delta?”
“Nothing solid. At the end of the first day of my interview, the lawyer went over the contract and the paperwork with me. It’s an interesting process. I guess they wanted me to know what was involved and what they offered.”
“They do that because they don’t negotiate,” White said. “This is the contract, take it or leave it. And I imagine they don’twant anyone out there that can go around saying that they were offered a position with Iniquus, and they turned it down.”
“You think someone who went through all that would turn down that kind of contract?” Ty bladed his hands on his hips. “I guess there are guys that get all the way through Hell Week and never get through training to be a SEAL.”
“So you have everything in place?” White lifted up and stepped over the log, straddling it like Ty. “You signed the contract and the paperwork?”
“They have my John Hancock. If they want me, I’m contractually theirs. They just need to sign on their line and send me a copy. If they don’t want me, they had four months to rip up the contract.”
“It’s been three?” White asked
“It’s been three. So next month, I’ll have to give up on that dream and come up with something else.” Ty rubbed his index finger along the bridge of his nose. “But until the four months are completely up, I’m not going to move my energy in a different direction. I have two more months on my military contract. I’ll have a bit of time.” He let his focus pan across the horizon before focusing back on White. “Reaper Hamilton, their lead K9 trainer, has been in touch with dog videos and assessments, asking for input. My take is that my foot’s still in the door.”
White put her elbows on her knees, leaning forward to rest her chin on her laced fingers. “Did you get a clue why they might be on the fence about you during your interviews?”
“Kira’s family connections and my behavior in manipulating her to meet my own ends.”
“I’m sure there’s a line in there for Iniquus that can’t be crossed. You can manipulate the bad guys, but the tribe is uplifted on all sides.” She tipped back to look at the sky.
“I’ve certainly never seen or heard of any backbiting. Hey, White,” He waited for her to lower her gaze to meet his before Ty gave her a tight nod. “I haven’t thanked you for going to bat for me. I guess when I saw you in the parking lot, you already knew why I was there.”
“I never assume. You could have been there on a mission. Besides, there was no point in saying I’d been up in the Command suite spilling all the tea. Might as well let that be a surprise.” She held her hands up. “Kidding. They knew all about the mission to Tanzania. I don’t know how. I told them firmly and specifically that you fought me at every turn and that I wasn’t sure that I could keep control of my mission. I told them how you acted with integrity toward Kira the entire time—before, during, and after. I even told them that I’m still in touch with Kira and that, from my perspective, she is handling the situation intelligently, giving herself time to be very clear about her feelings. And that you have put zero pressure on her. Knowing you and knowing Marissa—”
“Marissa?” Ty asked.
“Dr. Banyon. Knowing Dr. Banyon, my guess is that she was asking you about that mission to see which vocabulary you chose and to watch your body language. From the time when she interviewed me, and we spent a great deal of time talking about the Nadir branch of the family, I’d say that’s where the concern lies. Look, things in the Middle East are roiling. Qatar is in a difficult place. Nadir is trying to manifest his geopolitical wet dreams, and having Kira as part of the landscape might be problematic for Iniquus. Honestly, I think that if Kira weren’t in your life, you’d already have the contract with them.” She reached up to shove Ty’s shoulder. “Go eat. You’re going to want those calories in your system for what comes next.”
Ty got his food but moved off to sit by himself.
He was failing Kira. That morning when he got out of the shower, he found her in the living room, a storm churning up in her eyes. She had told him as much on the stairs when he was carrying her up to bed. She wanted a distraction, and he could provide one. He could protect her in a robbery, even if she hated his methods, but he couldn’t show up for her when she needed him.
He had to leave her alone. But the whole way back to camp, Ty had thought it was for a few hours. He’d take care of the training evolution, pop back in his car, and get back to her side.
In the meantime, he’d called White.
