Read Online Damage Control (Valiant Knox) by Jess Anastasi - Free Book Online Page B

seem like a shallow jerk. Okay, perhaps some of it came down to a weird sense of disconnection he’d developed ever since Yang told him one of the people he trusted with his life had betrayed him. Maybe he just wanted to feel connected to something or someone—
    And maybe all this self-psycho-analysis crap was giving him a headache. He dragged a hand down his face, pressure building behind his temples.
    Going to bed and laying in the dark had only intensified the problems. For one, that forbidden moment when he’d touched Mia’s shoulder had gone on live-action replay in his head over and over. He couldn’t stop it, as though his mind had imprinted the scene on his very soul. The feel of her soft, lithe body next to his. The sound of her breath catching. The exact curve of her lower lip. The light almond scent of her skin. The way she’d whispered his name, laced with darkly sensual things that were forbidden between them.
    What would have happened if she hadn’t murmured his name and jolted him from the spiraling path of his thoughts?
    He’d half expected Commander Yang to come pounding on his door, dragging him up to the command center to bring him up on charges of misconduct, among other things. Yet the night had crept by and eventually he’d fallen into a fitful sleep, plagued by his own stupidity.
    But even more unsettling? The conflicted feelings warring within him. How would he face Recruit Wolfe today and pretend like nothing had happened? Somehow he had to drag himself out of the dishonorable place he found himself and put things to right.
    After shoving the sheets off, he then stooped to grab a pair of sweats and worn T-shirt, before yanking on some socks and shoving his feet into his trainers. An hour on the treadmill to wear down his body and clear his mind was what he needed to regain some of his sanity and get through the day.
    He headed out into the hallway and down to the transit. As he reached out to the control screen, the doors opened, revealing Commander Yang.
    For a second his heart went into a free fall, until he remembered that Yang had recently moved into Dr. Sacha Dalton’s apartment on this level.
    He clasped his hands behind his back and sent Yang a nod as he stepped out of the transit. “Sir.”
    “Alpha.” Yang returned the nod, though a little less sharply. The commander looked tired, his usually neat hair sticking out and tie pulled loose, while his rumpled jacket was slung over his arm. “Late night or early morning?”
    “Early start. Wanted to get some time in at the gym before classes start with the recruits. You?”
    Yang ran a hand over his hair and sent him an exasperated look. “Late night, but I’m sure you can tell.”
    He sent Yang a quick half smile. “Of course not, sir.”
    “Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’m hoping to catch a few hours sleep before the next crisis.”
    Yang started to walk by him, but Leigh turned. “If you don’t mind me asking, sir, is everything okay?”
    The commander paused, then looked back at him, a range of grim emotions passing through his expression before becoming carefully neutral. “You mean apart from the fact we have a number of unknown traitors in our midst and no idea what the CSS are planning?”
    The betrayal he’d tried to avoid feeling about the possible mole in his squadron returned, lighting up to burn in his chest. If he felt this way at the prospect of facing a single traitor in his ranks, he couldn’t imagine what Yang must be feeling, all on top of the PTSD he was recovering from after his time as a POW.
    Yang gave a short sigh and stepped back toward him. “There’s a lieutenant due to come over from the Farr Zero later today. To put it simply, his one task is to review the validity of my command.”
    A deluge of aggravation surged through him. UEF and their bureaucratic BS . More than half the brass who made decisions for them hadn’t ever fought on the front lines. They were all about money, figures, and