Read Online Matt Archer: Redemption by Kendra C. Highley - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kendra C. Highley
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I supposed to?”
“Yes, eventually,” Ramirez said. “You just tuned in faster than most of us did.”
“Except Cruessan,” I added. “He came online immediately.”
“During a fight,” Ramirez said. “The captain isn’t under threat. That’s what makes it so unusual.”
He had a point. “It took me months to hear Tink for the first time.”
“And it took two years for Parker and me to hear ours,” Ramirez added.
“Maybe this is a sign that the captain belongs here, Colonel,” I said. “In fact, I’m certain it is.”
“You don’t need a sign to know that,” Aunt Julie said, her posture straight and proud. “You call me Badass Aunt Julie, and now I get to prove how well that nickname fits.”
A little part of me was pumping my fist, screaming, “Hell, yes!” A bigger part felt a growing fear that my cousin would lose at least one parent before we finished this fight.
And Uncle Mike must’ve felt it, too, from the way his fists were clenched as he glared at Jorge, then me, as if we were to blame for putting a knife in his wife’s hand. The glare wasn’t the usual Colonel Tannen cold stare. No, this one was angry and betrayed, like we’d failed him in the most fundamental way possible. A heaviness settled in my gut; this was a look I’d hoped never to see aimed at me. And now it was. That hurt worse than any wound I’d ever been given. Like a smack in the face from someone I loved, someone I would die for.
A man I’d spent my life trying to make proud.
Sick, tired and sore—cut deep from what I’d seen and been through today—I backed out of the room, never breaking eye contact with Uncle Mike.
When his expression faded to a confused misery, I didn’t know if it was because he fully realized what this meant for Julie, or because he hadn’t meant to saddle me with the blame. Either way, he couldn’t take it back now and I couldn’t take any more.
So I left.
* * *
“Matt, honey?” Mom called as we walked through the lobby of the Ritz Carlton. Given the ragtag nature of our group, we would’ve received stares from the guests anyway, but the pointing and whispers told me everyone here knew who we were. One more burden I didn’t feel like shouldering.
I hadn’t said a word to anyone since I left the operations room. Parker’s loss weighed even heavier knowing what it had caused. Mike had quietly kept trying to talk Julie out of accepting the knife. After two hours’ worth of arguments, she’d stopped calling him Colonel and had started calling him You Giant Ass. Even that seemed like my fault.
So now, heedless of Mom’s calls, of Mamie’s worried glances, of Ella’s steadfast protection during the ride to make sure everyone left me alone, I strode ahead. I was seconds away from losing it and I needed to stay together long enough to hit the elevator.
I punched the up button repeatedly, clutching my room card-key like it was a lifeline. Mom scurried from the front desk after me, but I needed to be alone. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. I jabbed the button for the twelfth floor, sagging in relief when the doors closed before Mom closed the distance between us. Shaking with fatigue, I sank into a crouch with my hand over my eyes.
Be easy, Matt. Be easy.
I forced myself to take a long, slow breath. Tink knew what I needed. I didn’t know when I started relying on her counsel so much, but in a way, I was glad. Being at odds with her took too much energy and I needed every spare bit focused on the tasks in front of me instead of wasted on drama.
When the elevator stopped, I stumbled to my room and hung the “do not disturb” sign on the doorknob first thing. That wouldn’t deter anybody for long, but maybe long enough.
My new BDUs weren’t as filthy as the remnants of my suit had been, but my body was still sweaty, bloody and tired. I needed to wash this day off of me, start over somehow.
I stripped everything off on my way to the bathroom, not
“Yes, eventually,” Ramirez said. “You just tuned in faster than most of us did.”
“Except Cruessan,” I added. “He came online immediately.”
“During a fight,” Ramirez said. “The captain isn’t under threat. That’s what makes it so unusual.”
He had a point. “It took me months to hear Tink for the first time.”
“And it took two years for Parker and me to hear ours,” Ramirez added.
“Maybe this is a sign that the captain belongs here, Colonel,” I said. “In fact, I’m certain it is.”
“You don’t need a sign to know that,” Aunt Julie said, her posture straight and proud. “You call me Badass Aunt Julie, and now I get to prove how well that nickname fits.”
A little part of me was pumping my fist, screaming, “Hell, yes!” A bigger part felt a growing fear that my cousin would lose at least one parent before we finished this fight.
And Uncle Mike must’ve felt it, too, from the way his fists were clenched as he glared at Jorge, then me, as if we were to blame for putting a knife in his wife’s hand. The glare wasn’t the usual Colonel Tannen cold stare. No, this one was angry and betrayed, like we’d failed him in the most fundamental way possible. A heaviness settled in my gut; this was a look I’d hoped never to see aimed at me. And now it was. That hurt worse than any wound I’d ever been given. Like a smack in the face from someone I loved, someone I would die for.
A man I’d spent my life trying to make proud.
Sick, tired and sore—cut deep from what I’d seen and been through today—I backed out of the room, never breaking eye contact with Uncle Mike.
When his expression faded to a confused misery, I didn’t know if it was because he fully realized what this meant for Julie, or because he hadn’t meant to saddle me with the blame. Either way, he couldn’t take it back now and I couldn’t take any more.
So I left.
* * *
“Matt, honey?” Mom called as we walked through the lobby of the Ritz Carlton. Given the ragtag nature of our group, we would’ve received stares from the guests anyway, but the pointing and whispers told me everyone here knew who we were. One more burden I didn’t feel like shouldering.
I hadn’t said a word to anyone since I left the operations room. Parker’s loss weighed even heavier knowing what it had caused. Mike had quietly kept trying to talk Julie out of accepting the knife. After two hours’ worth of arguments, she’d stopped calling him Colonel and had started calling him You Giant Ass. Even that seemed like my fault.
So now, heedless of Mom’s calls, of Mamie’s worried glances, of Ella’s steadfast protection during the ride to make sure everyone left me alone, I strode ahead. I was seconds away from losing it and I needed to stay together long enough to hit the elevator.
I punched the up button repeatedly, clutching my room card-key like it was a lifeline. Mom scurried from the front desk after me, but I needed to be alone. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. I jabbed the button for the twelfth floor, sagging in relief when the doors closed before Mom closed the distance between us. Shaking with fatigue, I sank into a crouch with my hand over my eyes.
Be easy, Matt. Be easy.
I forced myself to take a long, slow breath. Tink knew what I needed. I didn’t know when I started relying on her counsel so much, but in a way, I was glad. Being at odds with her took too much energy and I needed every spare bit focused on the tasks in front of me instead of wasted on drama.
When the elevator stopped, I stumbled to my room and hung the “do not disturb” sign on the doorknob first thing. That wouldn’t deter anybody for long, but maybe long enough.
My new BDUs weren’t as filthy as the remnants of my suit had been, but my body was still sweaty, bloody and tired. I needed to wash this day off of me, start over somehow.
I stripped everything off on my way to the bathroom, not
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