Chapter 16

Rory knew getting in bed with Harry had been a mistake, but she didn’t care. She wanted him more than anything else she’d ever had. With everything else going on in her life, she needed the comfort. She hadn’t told him about the break-in or any of the other stuff going on with work. She couldn’t tell him about the files she’d found because it would put him at risk. He would have to tell someone, which might get him in trouble.

Finding the laptop had changed everything for her. She knew now that something bad was going on, and it had to be stopped. Her lack of faith in her chain of command saddened her, but it was the reality she lived with. Hopefully, the FBI or the news station could put pressure on the right place and expose the criminals.

After sex, they drifted off in each other’s arms and must have slept for about an hour. When she woke, it made her sad to think that she had to head back to her place and check on the door that should have been fixed. She hoped it had been fixed. And she needed to get her head on straight to deal with seeing Laelyn at work. If she had gone in there and acted differently, he would have known for sure that she had found the computer and copied the files. She had to act like nothing had happened.

“I hate leaving, but we both have work in the morning.”

Harry pulled her close and kissed her on the nose. “We do. I’d like to see you this week.”

It was crazy to encourage their relationship, but she wanted this. “I’d like to see you, too.”

She dressed quickly, wondering if she should grab the envelope she’d stuffed into his couch. Maybe leaving that information with him wasn’t wise. If she came back over here later in the week, she would grab it then. She didn’t want him getting in trouble for her actions.

“Have a good day tomorrow,” Harry said as she opened the door.

She smiled and waved, wishing she could stay with Harry. She would have to tell her command that she wanted a relationship with him. There was no way around it now. They’d planned on keeping everything casual, and what happened between them was far from casual.

Arriving home felt like a huge weight was pressing on her chest. At least her door had been fixed. She keyed in, not at all happy with the mess that she still had to clean up. She should have told Harry about the break-in, but he would have been worried and possibly wanted to come help her clean the place. Not that she would have minded his help, but she didn’t want him to think she was helpless.

She picked up her bedroom first, glad they hadn’t cut up any of her clothes when they’d spilled them on the floor. It took her the rest of the evening to get her place straightened. They’d broken her bookshelf, which sucked. She would need to buy something to replace the shelves. For now, her books would sit on her table.

After picking up the place, she glanced around, thinking this was what her life amounted to. Sure, she’d accomplished a lot for a girl who’d been abandoned by her mother, and shoved into a system that didn’t care about the kids left without families. But her connections were few. Heck, even her relationship with Lucia wasn’t all it could be. They lived in the same town but only saw each other once a month, maybe twice if they were ambitious about getting together. Surely there was more to life than this.

She plopped down on her couch, her brain aching as her thoughts shifted from work to the information she’d found, then to Harry and how he made her feel. She didn’t want to be some messed up chick without any grounding to keep herself steady, but that’s what she felt like she’d become.

Sitting around worrying about life instead of getting sleep wouldn’t change her situation. She would have to work her life out, and first on the agenda in the morning was making sure she had interviews with companies set up when she left the military. Leaving wasn’t exactly the path she thought she would follow, but too much had happened, and she wanted Harry in her life. As a civilian, no one would have any say over their relationship.

Sleep didn’t come easy, but she’d drifted off and was lost in the world of dreams when something pulled her out of dreamland. She blinked open her eyes as fear swirled. Something was terribly wrong.

Rory pushed up off the mattress just when the first blow hit. Pain spread as her head spun. Someone was in her place attacking her. She tried to scream, but they’d covered her mouth, so any noise she made was heavily muted .

“Dumb bitch, you should have left the laptop alone.”

The words sent a chill straight through her. They knew she’d found the information. What would they do to her?