Read Online It's Always Been You by Jessica Scott - Free Book Online Page A

grateful at least that he no longer had to worry about finding a place to put his truck in the mass confusion that was PT traffic on Fort Hood.
    It had been so long since he’d actually come to a PT formation, he was a little thrown off by the fact that it was five-fifty a.m. and he was conscious
and
at work. He was usually one but not the other. Now? Now responsibility dogged his every waking hour. He’d used his insomniac powers for good last night, getting all his required policy letters and other requisite paperwork updated.
    Because nothing said “cover your ass” like a good set of policy letters.
    He wasn’t sure why he was even doing all this work. He didn’t want the job and he was confident that any day now, LTC Gilliad was going to figure out that he’d made a huge mistake and tell him he could go find himself another job.
    Ben could only hope.
    His phone vibrated on the seat next to him.
    He let that sink in for a moment.
    It was five-fifty in the morning and his phone was
already vibrating
. He parked the truck and looked at the text message.
    Sir, this is PFC Walsh. The new first sergeant is here to meet you.
    “Huh, how ’bout that.” Yesterday had been absolute chaos. He was reasonably certain that every soldier in the company, half their wives, and at least three ex-girlfriends had stood outside his office, looking to either piss on his leg, whine about the previous commander, or kiss his ass.
    He didn’t have a lot of patience for any of that. Especially the ass-kissing part. He’d been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people parading through his office and all he’d been able to do was take notes and try to put faces to names. His lieutenants hadn’t been anywhere to be found, either. The
last
thing he was going to do was walk into his boss’s office and cry about too many people. Ben wasn’t a religious man but damn if he hadn’t prayed that the gods of war would send him a first sergeant.
    Someone he could count on. Someone like Escoberra or Reza.
    Because if God had meant for captains to run companies by themselves, he wouldn’t have made NCOs.
    He grinned in the darkness at the phone. It looked like the gods had decided to answer his prayers. He killed the engine and headed into his company ops.
    Five minutes later, Ben wasn’t sure where the army had dusted off his new first sergeant, but he was more than a little impressed.
    He’d heard of people described as six feet tall and bulletproof but they rarely were. First Sarn’t Gale Sorren was built like a bear—a big one. Six and a half minutes into their conversation, Ben suspected that Sorren might be the myth turned reality.
    His hand swallowed Ben’s and Ben was reasonably certain he’d felt bone break.
    “Glad you’re here,” Ben said.
    “Damn glad to be here, sir.” Sorren’s voice was deep, rumbling from some dark abyss that produced born leaders. Hell, Ben wanted to follow the guy’s orders. But that wasn’t how this relationship was supposed to work.
    “Where are you coming from?” Ben motioned for his first sergeant to sit and took his own seat across from him at the conference table in the middle of the company ops.
    “Fort Lewis,” Sorren said. “Just got the word that this job was open so I jumped at the chance.”
    “They got you here for this job that fast?” The army never moved people that quickly. Ever.
    Sorren grinned and the smile creased his entire face, from the corners of his mouth to his nearly black eyes. “I was already on my way here. Sarn’t Major asked me to sign in from leave early. Said something about keeping you from fucking things up too badly.”
    “Sergeant Major Cox is the president of my fan club.” Ben laughed out loud and leaned back in his chair. Some of the fatigue from his not-sleeping habit receded. Just a little but enough to be noticeable. “I’m glad to see my reputation precedes me.”
    “I’ve heard your name before.” Sorren snapped his fingers. “You were