“Nothing’s been scheduled yet,” Grey replied. “Evelyn said it’ll be a minute.”
“I wanted to thank you both for your excellent work on the Day of Destruction,” Dakota continued.
“We only accomplished half the job,” Grey pushed back.
“We brought you in to stop the destruction and you did that,” Dakota said. “Yes, we went after the terrorists, but that wasn’t our primary objective. Our main one was to ensure those eight buildings didn’t blow up and that innocents weren’t killed.” Dakota smiled. “Mission accomplished. I want to talk about next steps for you both. You’ve got options.” He shifted to Grey. “Your three-year stint with the CIA is up. They want to renew your contract. I spoke with your CO in Naval Aviation, Jamal Jefferson. He’d love to have you back.”
Greystone nodded.
Caroline was holding her breath. She wasn’t sure what Dakota had in mind, but she’d already made up hers, though she hadn’t shared her thoughts with Grey. She wanted to see which way he was leaning, first.
“But,” Dakota continued, “we don’t want to lose you. Wewant you to stay with BLACK OPS. You’re a wanted man, Santini.”
Grey smiled. “Those are all good. What about Austin?”
Dakota eyed her. “Caroline Austin, decorated CIA handler and outstanding Intelligence Officer. You, too, are in high demand. The Agency wants you back, but we want you to stay here and work with us in BLACK OPS. You’ve got a few days to think about this. You’ve worked together for three years, so I’m guessing you’ll want to talk about it.”
Greystone fixed his gaze on her. “We need to say something.”
She nodded. “You can.”
Greystone’s attention stayed on her and the love in his eyes touched her soul. “Caroline and I got engaged. We haven’t even had time to go ring shopping.”
Caroline perked up. “I’ve been so wrapped up in this case, I didn’t even think about an engagement ring.”
Both men stared at her.
“For real?” Grey asked.
“I know,” Dakota replied.
“Well, it’s not like I’m gonna turn down a diamond or anything,” she said with a playful smile, “it’s just that I was distracted. But, now that you brought it up… I’d go ring shopping.”
“Congratulations,” Dakota said with a smile. “Does that mean you’re staying?”
“Grey and I need to sort out some things,” she replied.
On a nod, Dakota rose. “You have my sincere thanks for your hard work. I’d hate to lose you both.”
He left, shutting the door behind him.
They regarded each other. “What are you thinking?” she asked.
“I’m just gonna say it straight.”
She nodded.
“I want to work with you, but Idon’twant to re-up my gig at Langley. I spent three years out of the country. Now that I’m back with my family, I don’t want to leave. I wanna head back to the Navy.”
“I know you love flying,” she said.
“I got a phone call this morning,” he continued. “I’ve been invited to be considered for an instructor position at the Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center —TOPGUN—in Fallon, Nevada.”
She grinned at him. “That’s huge.”
Despite being immensely happy for him, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed. None of her options included Nevada.
“I don’t want to take it if it means we aren’t together,” he said. “So, I told them I’d consider it in the future.”
