you talkin’ about? There’s a stack of good soldiers on your desk.”
Luke had gone through all the applications in the folders on his desk and auditioned ten other guys, all of whom Rodgers had wiped out. The colonel knew this; he’d been there for every test. Not that he was micromanaging Luke. No, the colonel was there to “lend support.” Luke was supposed to have the authority to hire whomever he wanted. Technically.
That was the point of this unit, Ethan’s brainchild. Luke’s twin brother had convinced the brass that the only way to deal with their current problem was to create a nimble unit that could operate without the usual hierarchy. Each of the unit members had been hired for a particular skill set and they worked as a team, regardless of their army rank. The whole idea was not to work the usual way, so their moves wouldn’t be predictable. None of the soldiers who had been handpicked by Ethan had known each other, served together or had any commanding officers in common. They were a good group of men. But they were his brother’s men.
“Sir, we need a woman on the team. Men and women are regularly separated in the Sandbox, and I don’t want to be in a situation where we don’t have eyes where we need them.”
“Have you thought about the influence she’ll have on your men, your unit?” He motioned toward Rodgers, who was staring at Parrino through the glass doors of Luke’s office.
Luke raised a brow, though he understood full well where the colonel was going. “Oh, I’ll tell them I told Rodgers to go easy on her so they don’t give him a hard time.” It was a cheeky comment, but the colonel took it at face value.
“That’s not what I mean. Unit cohesion is everything, and given her history, I worry she’ll be a distraction. She has trouble with boundaries.”
Look who’s talking. The only boundaries McBride respected were the ones that suited him.
Luke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He didn’t have a good grasp on how to manage the colonel. How would Ethan handle this? Now more than ever he wished he’d kept in touch with his twin brother. They’d been inseparable until they graduated West Point. A rift had grown between them after they both began active duty. The last few times they’d spoken, it had been to argue over Luke leaving the army. Ethan had taken command of this unit a year ago, but Luke had hardly paid attention. He’d been too focused on getting out. The news of Ethan’s death four months ago changed everything.
“Sir, no one knows for sure what happened, and she wasn’t disciplined.”
“Yeah, but her commanding officer still had to face an Article 134. That man will never get promoted. All it takes is the hint of impropriety between a soldier and a commanding officer, and you...” The colonel wiggled his eyebrows and pinned Luke with steel-gray eyes. “Son, I have great respect for your father—we’ve served in combat together—but I have to say that given your reputation, I wasn’t entirely comfortable giving you command of this unit.”
That’s a shocker. The uptight colonel was as old-school as they came, and Luke was far from a model officer. But McBride also wanted to get his first star, and going up against Luke’s four-star general father was not the way to do that. That said, Luke was on a short leash. He had command of the unit on a trial basis. A big screwup and he was out.
That couldn’t happen.
Luke gave him a hard look. “Sir, this unit meant a lot to my brother, and I plan to make it a success. For his sake.”
“Then I suggest you think carefully. This is your first major decision as unit commander. Pick your battles. Would your brother have wanted her?”
Luke didn’t have to think about what Ethan would’ve done. There was a reason why his brother had made captain while Luke was still first lieutenant. Luke hadn’t earned command of this unit. His father had pulled some strings, and if he hadn’t, Luke would be the last man in contention for the job. The colonel knew it, and so did Luke’s men. Every decision he made would be judged, and he would be blamed if anything went south.
“Sir, I know my reputation precedes me as well, which is why I’m more willing to give Sergeant Parrino a chance. The army has a way of blowing rumors out of proportion.”
“All rumors have a basis. Now, you’re a smart boy—” the colonel drawled “—you know what’s at stake here.” He patted Luke’s shoulder in a fatherly gesture that was anything but. “I’ll leave it with you. I’m sure you’ll make the right choice.”
As soon as I know what the right choice is.
“Yes, sir.” The colonel walked away and Luke was left starting after him. He didn’t need to be reminded of the stakes. The army was Ethan and his father’s thing. Not his. He hadn’t cared about climbing the ladder. He was supposed to be out by now, starting a new life. Then Ethan had died. Well-known for his shenanigans, Luke would have to work twice as hard to prove he was capable of commanding the unit. Without it, he had no chance of finding out what really happened to his brother.
* * *
ALESSA TOOK SEVERAL deep breaths so she’d be prepared to be neutral and deferential when Luke Williams—excuse me, Lieutenant Williams—returned to tell her she couldn’t have the job. She’d seen it all over the old colonel’s face when she’d pinned her opponent to the ground. He wasn’t the first officer to give her that look of disbelief and disgust. She was a woman; how dare she show herself to be stronger and more capable than a man? It was just as well. The unit was a long shot. She’d known that coming in.
The wall clock told her she’d been waiting for well over an hour. She shifted on her feet, trying not to think about the fact that her bladder was about to explode. Forty-eight hours ago, she’d been handed papers saying she would ship out in twenty-four hours with no explanation as to where she was going. Yesterday she’d boarded a military transport and it wasn’t until she’d been delivered to Fort Belvoir close to midnight that she’d been told to be ready to demonstrate her competence for the unit commander. She’d submitted her application six months ago and hadn’t heard anything.
Her “assessment” for this job had started this morning with a five-mile run, followed by a tactical exercise requiring her to focus and stay quick on her feet, and then the close-combat fight. It had been seven hours since she’d been given the opportunity to use the bathroom.
She catalogued everything in the office, trying to paint her own picture of Lieutenant Williams. It was hard not to remember everything she’d heard about the man, but she knew firsthand that talk did not equate to reality. There wasn’t much to see, however. The office was as generic as a grocery store aisle. Standard-issue desk, a common computer and cheap ballpoint pens. There was a bottle of water beside the guest chair. Tempting, but Alessa guessed it was part of the test. Having spent more than her fair share of time in the desert, she knew how to deal with thirst.
“Sergeant Parrino.”
She moved to stand at attention.
“At ease, soldier. Have a seat.”
He took a seat across from her, and she allowed herself to get her first good look at him. She’d seen his picture in the post newspaper, standing next to the general when the story about his brother broke. His eyes had drawn her in; they were so intense, so full of determination. They weren’t the eyes of the entitled, carefree playboy she’d heard about.
“Tell me why you want to be a part of this unit.”
Because I need to get away from my current post before I destroy more lives.
“I want the opportunity to serve, sir.”
“What exactly do you know about this unit, Sergeant?”
“Not much. Just that it’s highly irregular because it’s special ops but isn’t using Delta or other Special Forces. In fact, they were purposely excluded.”
He raised a brow and she suppressed a smile. She had done her homework, called in every favor she had to get information on both the unit and