“…and I’m assigningherto a new team.”
“What?”
Until now, Fairchild had been leaning back casually in her chair. Now she bolted upright. There was so much visible tension in her body, Reece half expected her to leap right out of the chair and jump up onto the table.
“You heard me,” Lennox replied. “I’m assigning you to a new squad.”
“You can’t do that!”
“I can, and I am. It’s for your own good, Fairchild. You didn’t just get too close to the mission. You got too close to your teammates as well. It’s understandable, considering what happened to your previous team, but the Guild can’t allow it to continue. It’s too dangerous for everyone involved.”
Reece could sense that Fairchild was about to say something—something she might later regret—so he stepped in and spoke up first.
“A team is supposed to be close,” he said. “That’s the whole point. Take Dutton and Nash over there. Sometimes they knowwhat I’m thinking before I even know it myself. We’ve all got the blood of the Mercs flowing through our veins. We’re a family.”
“Maybe,” said Lennox. “But there are limits to everything. As long as Fairchild’s on your team, she’s a liability.”
Reece could see he wasn’t going to get anywhere with Lennox. He shifted his attention to Barnes instead. The old bulldog was still puffing away on his cigar.
“Colonel?”
Barnes shook his head sadly.
“Sorry, kid. It’s not my call, I’m afraid.”
Damn, Reece thought. Apparently he’d underestimated how much pull Lennox had in the Guild. She must have been closer to the top than he’d initially realized.
Across the table, Fairchild was still poised on the edge of her seat.
“What if I say no?” she asked.
“Excuse me?” replied Lennox.
“What if I refuse to be reassigned?”
Lennox’s mouth twisted into something akin to a smile. Her lips were obviously out of practice.
“You don’t have a choice,” she said.
“I don’t?”
“Not as long as you’re a part of the Guild.”
Reece already knew what Fairchild was going to say next, and it made his heart clench like a fist inside him.
“In that case,” she said. “I quit.”
For a moment, Lennox appeared too shocked even to answer. Reece had never seen the woman of steel thrown off her game like that before.
“You can’t quit,” she said.
“Watch me.”
Reece didn’t know if Lennox watched, but he sure did. He watched Fairchild stand up from her seat and stride right out the door, hips switching with every step, the perfect woman and the perfect killing machine all rolled into one. He didn’t take his eyes off her. He couldn’t. Not until she was already out the door.
CHAPTER 31
Fairchild was halfway down the concourse of Sector HQ when the tears started to flow. A Merc wasn’t supposed to cry, but Fairchild made no effort to hide it.
