not!”
“But he tells you to kick me to curb and you are perfectly fine with that. Is that it?” She is being unfair, and she knows it, but she is so mad that Hargraves is meddling in matters that don’t concern him she can’t see straight.
“Ronnie! No! I…”
“I tell you what, Petty Officer First Class Evans… why don’t you just go fuck yourself,” she snarls, and moves to step around him. She needs a minute to cool off.
He grabs her by the arm, holding her in place. “Ronnie! You don’t know what is at stake here!”
Ronnie shakes her arm free. “Oh yeah? Like what?”
Ryker pauses, not sure what to say.
“That’s what I thought,” she scowls, moving to step around him again.
“They have given me orders to shoot your father if I can’t extract him!” he whispers urgently, taking her by her shoulders.
Ronnie stops and feels herself go pale. “You bastard,” she mutters, low and dangerous, struggling to escape from his grip.
“Ronnie, you don’t understand! Wait Goddamnit!”
Ronnie stops struggling and Ryker lets her go. “So that’s it, then? You’re just going to kill my father. Better to see him dead than in the hands of terrorists? Well, I’m sorry if…”
“Ronnie, just wait a moment! Would you just listen for a minute?”
“Ryker, there is nothing you have to say that I want to hear. Just get the fuck away from me.”
“Ronnie, Goddamnit! Would you just listen! If I don’t break it off with you, at least for a while, they are going to get someone else. Then I…”
“We wouldn’t want that now would we? The great Ryker Evans can’t…”
“Ronnie! Shut the fuck up and listen!” he bellows. She blinks and steps back, but doesn’t say anything more. “If I don’t do this they are going to send in the CIA. They won’t hesitate to kill your dad. But I can get him out. I know I can.”
She ponders what he is saying, her anger at Hargraves cooling as cold dread seeps into her. “So you’re telling me that if you don’t stop seeing me then they are going to pull you from the mission?”
“Yes! That is exactly what I’m saying!”
“And if they pull you from the mission, you think that will increase the chances of my dad being killed?”
“Yes.”
“So you are breaking up with me to protect my dad? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“Ronnie,” he says softly. “I’m not breaking up with you. But I just can’t see you for a few days. Not until the mission is complete. Then—if you still want to—we can go to that someplace more private.”
She thinks about it. She isn’t happy about this, but maybe it is for the best. Maybe he really is trying to protect her father. “You have to tell me something. I have to know. Will you kill my dad?”
“Ronnie, don’t ask me that.”
“I have to know Ryker. Will you?”
He stares into her eyes for a long time. “Not before I die trying to get him out,” he finally admits. Ronnie stares at him so long that he has a glimmer of hope that maybe she understands.
“I thought maybe we had something special,” she finally says. “Except for my dad, these last few days have been some of the happiest of my life. But I realize now, I don’t know you at all.”
“Ronnie,” he says softly. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s Dr. Baker, if you please,” she says as she steps around Ryker, opens the door, and leaves.
He stands silently in the room for a moment then gives a middle finger to the security camera in the corner. Let Spreck and Hargraves know about that, too.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Ronnie throws herself across the bed in her room. She wants to cry but the tears won’t come. She’s in shock. In shock that her own government is going to kill her father for what they developed with government money. In shock that the man she thought she could trust with her life is the
“But he tells you to kick me to curb and you are perfectly fine with that. Is that it?” She is being unfair, and she knows it, but she is so mad that Hargraves is meddling in matters that don’t concern him she can’t see straight.
“Ronnie! No! I…”
“I tell you what, Petty Officer First Class Evans… why don’t you just go fuck yourself,” she snarls, and moves to step around him. She needs a minute to cool off.
He grabs her by the arm, holding her in place. “Ronnie! You don’t know what is at stake here!”
Ronnie shakes her arm free. “Oh yeah? Like what?”
Ryker pauses, not sure what to say.
“That’s what I thought,” she scowls, moving to step around him again.
“They have given me orders to shoot your father if I can’t extract him!” he whispers urgently, taking her by her shoulders.
Ronnie stops and feels herself go pale. “You bastard,” she mutters, low and dangerous, struggling to escape from his grip.
“Ronnie, you don’t understand! Wait Goddamnit!”
Ronnie stops struggling and Ryker lets her go. “So that’s it, then? You’re just going to kill my father. Better to see him dead than in the hands of terrorists? Well, I’m sorry if…”
“Ronnie, just wait a moment! Would you just listen for a minute?”
“Ryker, there is nothing you have to say that I want to hear. Just get the fuck away from me.”
“Ronnie, Goddamnit! Would you just listen! If I don’t break it off with you, at least for a while, they are going to get someone else. Then I…”
“We wouldn’t want that now would we? The great Ryker Evans can’t…”
“Ronnie! Shut the fuck up and listen!” he bellows. She blinks and steps back, but doesn’t say anything more. “If I don’t do this they are going to send in the CIA. They won’t hesitate to kill your dad. But I can get him out. I know I can.”
She ponders what he is saying, her anger at Hargraves cooling as cold dread seeps into her. “So you’re telling me that if you don’t stop seeing me then they are going to pull you from the mission?”
“Yes! That is exactly what I’m saying!”
“And if they pull you from the mission, you think that will increase the chances of my dad being killed?”
“Yes.”
“So you are breaking up with me to protect my dad? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“Ronnie,” he says softly. “I’m not breaking up with you. But I just can’t see you for a few days. Not until the mission is complete. Then—if you still want to—we can go to that someplace more private.”
She thinks about it. She isn’t happy about this, but maybe it is for the best. Maybe he really is trying to protect her father. “You have to tell me something. I have to know. Will you kill my dad?”
“Ronnie, don’t ask me that.”
“I have to know Ryker. Will you?”
He stares into her eyes for a long time. “Not before I die trying to get him out,” he finally admits. Ronnie stares at him so long that he has a glimmer of hope that maybe she understands.
“I thought maybe we had something special,” she finally says. “Except for my dad, these last few days have been some of the happiest of my life. But I realize now, I don’t know you at all.”
“Ronnie,” he says softly. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s Dr. Baker, if you please,” she says as she steps around Ryker, opens the door, and leaves.
He stands silently in the room for a moment then gives a middle finger to the security camera in the corner. Let Spreck and Hargraves know about that, too.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Ronnie throws herself across the bed in her room. She wants to cry but the tears won’t come. She’s in shock. In shock that her own government is going to kill her father for what they developed with government money. In shock that the man she thought she could trust with her life is the
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