Page 67 of Resurgent

And once Annalise started laughing, I discovered something nobody had bothered to tell me—She's funny. Like really fucking funny.

Which is almost as insistently distracting as the fact that she's breathtakingly beautiful.

How did not a single person who answered questions about her not mention that?

My mother certainly hadn't. She talked about Annalise enough over the past few months that I'm pretty sure I've heard her entire résumé. Resilient. Talented. Brilliant under pressure. Dangerously determined. A natural Dragon Rider. Exceptional shot.

And the other recruits?

They wouldn’t shut up about her. Good and bad, it was like they couldn’t get enough—which wouldn’t have been surprising if they were talking shit about the girl born into a middle class family, but no. They relentlessly talked about her like she was someone they—maybe not admired, but respect.

I was told countless stories of her early dragon bonding, details about her sentencing as though they were sitting in court themselves that day, hell—I even heard about the whirlwind relationship with her ex that apparently ended in catastrophe.

But yet, not a soul told me about her infectious humor or the way her eyes roll back when she’s biting into a new snack. I didn't expect someone who can make me laugh while simultaneously arguing that sour-cream-and-onion crisps are an abomination against nature.

At least that particular bit of research paid off.

We barely make it through the Vault gates before Captain Lin spots us.

"Good work," she calls to Annalise. "That was one hell of a mission."

Annalise smiles. "Thanks, Captain."

My chest tightens unexpectedly. Did we actually pull it off?

Then Major Halden appears. "Sit down. Time to debrief."

The smile disappears from Annalise's face as we take our seats.

Once we’re all sitting, there’s no missing Halden and Lin’s considerably less pleased expressions than they wore thirty seconds ago.

That should be my first warning.

Halden drops a report onto the table. "Your targets were able to make their handoff."

I blink. "What?"

"Matt and his partner were delayed," Lin says. “But they passed the material in time—barely, but still within parameters."

Annalise's eyebrows shoot up. "How barely?"

"Three minutes."

Silence.

I stare at the report.

Three minutes.

We spent half the night planning the delays. Deflated tires, faux construction zones courtesy of the cones we…borrowed…from a local construction site, that forced them to go around not one but two major events taking over the main roads.

We executed it perfectly.

Apparently, Matt simply decides to be an enormous pain in everyone's ass. Again.

Halden continues. "Your interference worked. Their route was compromised, their timing was thrown off, and they were forced to alter their approach several times.”

"Then how did they make it?" I ask.