They moved to the far edge of the room. The others focused on their roles in getting this op off the ground without a hitch.
Con faced him squarely. “I’ve read your file.”
Ash didn’t react outwardly. Of course he understood his CO knew everything about each person on base, right down to their shoe size. It didn’t shock him that Con knew everything about him too.
But it made him nervous.
Ash met his stare.
“I know what you’ve run. I know what you’ve commanded. And I know what happened on that last op.”
The air between them thickened.
“I’m sorry for your loss.” Con’s voice came out quiet.
Ash swallowed once, but that was the only reaction he’d allow himself.
“I gave you space to process it on your own. You’ve had time. Now we do it my way.”
“Or the highway?” Ash’s attempt to lighten the mood crashed and burned.
Con held his gaze. “You’re dead. There is no highway. This is your life. This is your family. You don’t always like everyone in a family as big as this.”
Ash’s brow crinkled. “You think I don’t like everyone here?” His tone might be flat but only because it was suffocated beneath something too big to name.
Con didn’t answer.
“How could I not like you? Any of you?”
There was no sink or swim in this game. Sinking meant every single man—and woman—sank too. After what Ash went through on that last op, he would never let that happen again.
Con knew it.
His words worked up his throat, rough and thick. “Sinner makes the best damn pizza I’ve ever had. He obsesses over dough like it’s a classified file.”
They all knew Sinner’s pizza was his way to show how much he cared about them all because, to him, food was love.
“Sophie’s a damn cryptology machine. She can crack patterns most agencies would spend months chewing on. Elin and Dante are such pros at cyber and comms that by the time a door gets kicked in, they’ve already owned the building.”
He exhaled slowly. “You lead with intelligence and heart. That’s rare, from what I’ve seen.”
His voice dropped another notch. “Everyone here has my six. Every one of you, including the women who are strong enough to survive a house full of men. Hell, you even let Elin keep that ridiculous dog.”
He pointed at the cute pup sprawled out under the table at her feet.
He liked them. More than that—he was starting to love them.
And that scared him more than taking live fire. The walls that served him all these years had kept him functioning when he threatened to break.
Now those walls were thinning.
Ellory’s voice echoed in his head.Should we build walls or bridges?
Being in charge meant protecting her too. His lungs burned as he filled them with too much air.
As if his thoughts summoned the woman, Ellory stepped into the war room, a file tucked under her arm, close to her curves, looking composed. As if she hadn’t hijacked his dreams twelve hours ago.
He had to lead for the good of the team. For his own good too.
