Page 59 of Specter Bred

She’d dug in.

And I hadn’t expected her to challenge me this way.

Now, she sat on the desk, eyes still searching my face, waiting for my response to her question.

"No," I growled, dragging my eyes away from Stephanie's photo and back to Archer. "That’s not the kind of man I am."

Archer was trying so damn hard to prove me wrong. She was challenging beliefs I hadn’t built from arrogance, but from grief, loss, and hard lessons carved into me by regret.

But I couldn't lie to myself completely. There were now moments when I felt those walls shifting, when her stubbornness and grit chipped at convictions I’d spent years cementing in place. And in that fire of hers, in the way she refused to break no matter how hard I pushed, I saw pieces of someone I’d lost.

A spirit I’d once believed in fiercely.

That was the problem.

Because the more Archer reminded me of Stephanie, the harder it became to keep my distance. And the more I wanted to believe it had been possible all along, even if history told me otherwise.

"I'm the type of man who keeps his soldiers safe," I hissed, irrationally offended by her comparison.

"I've spent my entire career trying to keep my soldiers safe." I continued. "I walked into a burning building trying to save my unit."

My words left before I could stop them. I hadn't talked about that day in a long time, because I hadn't wanted to.

But now I wanted Archer to know.

"I would've died in that building if not for—"

I stopped.

The memory hit like a punch to the gut.

Smoke.

Heat.

Screaming over the comms.

Reaper.

For a moment, I couldn't finish my sentence, unable to force the words past the lump in my throat. So I looked back down at her arm and kept stitching instead. Archer didn't push me to say more. She just sat there, watching me work. Finally, she spoke again.

"I know you hate me, sir."

I blinked.

"What?” I said with a scoff.

She laughed softly.

"You hate me. It's fine. Hayes says it’s understandable. No matter what bar I meet or how hard I work, I'll never be enough for you."

She took a deep breath.

“That’s also fine,” she continued, sounding resigned.

For the first time, Archer looked uncertain and vulnerable as she weighed her next words.

“But at least give me a chance to prove myself to someone else.”