LITMIR.BIZ

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Quinn Parran, and Grace’s aide, Sergeant Kristine Norwood, had helped to bring them home— although their involvement hadn’t been strictly in accordance with military protocol. That hadn’t pleased the general—but Sara thought his irritation had been more for show in his position as commanding officer of Alpha Force than his real feelings.

      What Simon had just said worried Sara, who liked everything military to be by the book. That included all units being...well, ordinary—even if she already knew that Alpha Force was anything but.

      Plus, all military units should unquestionably keep any rivalry under control for the good of the country.

      Assuming rivalry was what was going on at Ft. Lukman. If so, it was way out of hand in the event it had been the reason for General Yarrow’s injury.

      “You think they’re responsible for this?” Sara demanded, recalling how Jason and she had already discussed that possibility. Her initial experiences with members of the USFT unit, in the cafeteria, in the BOQ and otherwise, hadn’t been especially cordial. In fact, she’d sensed a lot of animosity from that team without understanding why...although maybe they simply mistrusted another military unit alleged to have woo-woo stuff affiliated with it, like shapeshifters. She could understand that. But all military troops had to act for the good of the country, not in accordance with their own suspicions or misgivings.

      Surely no one within the USFT would intentionally do something to harm the commanding officer of another unit...would they?

      Simon appeared ready to say something affirmative in response to Sara’s question, but the general waved his hand dismissively. “Unknown, at least for now. That’s why we have to be sure to handle the investigation appropriately.”

      “Do you have any suggestions about who should investigate your car, then, General?” asked Grace, who was seated beside her husband, opposite Sara.

      Before he responded, Sara broke in. “I have an idea, sir. At least for starters. We can keep it low-key at first, but there’s someone stationed at Ft. Lukman who apparently has an excellent background in working with cars. If we get him to do more than just move the vehicle—”

      “You’re talking about Sergeant Jason Connell, aren’t you?” Simon’s tone was neutral, but there was something troubling about the way he avoided looking toward Drew—cousin to the soldier under discussion.

      “That’s right,” Sara agreed. “I understand he’s an expert in fixing automobiles. As long as he doesn’t do anything to obscure any evidence needed to be confirmed by a neutral third party, why not have him start the investigation? Major Connell already directed that he take a lot of confirming photographs while the car was still at the scene of the event. They can be shown to whoever conducts the official investigation later, too.” She didn’t call what had happened an accident. With that intense a fire, she suspected it was anything but.

      “I don’t mean to insult your cousin, Drew,” cut in Grace, her gaze now on the major, “or offend you, but—”

      “But you’re going to, anyway.” Drew turned to Sara. “You’re probably not aware of the full situation with Jason, Sara, but—”

      “But he’s a car thief,” broke in Simon.

      “Was a car thief.” Drew’s expression darkened as he turned toward the lieutenant. “He enlisted in the military and joined Alpha Force as part of his penance for past misconduct.”

      “Right. It didn’t hurt that joining up kept him out of prison.” Simon was smiling now. “Hey, we understand. Far as we know, he’s now a model soldier. A fine member of Alpha Force. We’ve seen him do great things with the unit’s automobiles that need servicing. But—”

      “I assume you’re not suggesting that he could have been the one to somehow booby-trap my car, are you?” asked the general drily. “Why would he?”

      “Why did anyone?” countered Simon. “Assuming it wasn’t just spontaneous combustion.”

      Sara tuned out of the discussion for a moment, digesting what she had just learned. Sergeant Jason Connell wasn’t merely a car lover and outstanding mechanic. He had apparently been arrested, and maybe convicted, of being a car thief. He must have agreed to join Alpha Force and throw himself under the scrutiny of his well-regarded cousin Major Drew Connell, a commissioned officer and a medical doctor to boot, to keep himself out of prison.

      And this was the guy Sara had found so sexually exciting?

      Hell, even if he was sexually exciting, everything she learned about him made him even more of a wrong choice for involvement.

      Even so... “General, sir, I didn’t know all that about Sergeant Connell. But he is a member of Alpha Force, and you’re its commanding officer. He has a good reputation for working with cars, and he obviously isn’t going to steal what remains of your Jeep. Sir—” Sara turned to Drew “—as I said, you’ve already ordered that photos be taken. You’ve also said that the remains should be kept in a protected area. You can additionally order that some of the other soldiers on base, maybe more security team members who aren’t part of Alpha Force or USFT, assist Sergeant Connell, and be there the whole time he’s conducting his investigation. Although—” She looked back at the general. “If he was involved, and there was anything he could steal off the damaged car and hide, he’ll have done that already.”

      “True,” said General Yarrow. “And I wouldn’t have approved acceptance of the sergeant into Alpha Force if I’d thought he was still any kind of risk. Although having someone watching to confirm he doesn’t do anything wrong with my former vehicle now is a good idea. In fact—”

      Uh-oh. Sara didn’t like the general’s smile. She had seen it before when he was about to give an order that he knew the recipient would hate.

      He was looking at her.

      “Lieutenant McLinder, I hereby order you to work with Sergeant Connell to find out what the hell happened to my car—and to make sure he does a good job of checking it out.”

      Her shock must have shown on her face, since, for the first time that she’d seen after the explosion, General Yarrow actually laughed. So did the other three Alpha Force members in the room.

      Then the general grew serious. “One thing, though. I’m pretty sure you already know it, that you’ve seen some things you didn’t expect despite my warning before you preceded me to Ft. Lukman.”

      “Are you about to tell me that Sergeant Connell is a shapeshifter, sir?” Sara tried to put levity and nonchalance into her voice, but knew she failed miserably. She looked, one by one, at the three Alpha Force members now in her presence, all medical doctors and commissioned officers. “I don’t know if everyone in Alpha Force is a shapeshifter,” she said, “but I now believe that some of you are. And that includes Jason Connell. So if you—”

      General Yarrow raised his hand in a sudden gesture that she recognized was intended to command. She immediately shut up.

      Which was a good thing, since a voice sounded from behind her. “General Yarrow. Greg. We just heard and had to come here to make sure you were all right.”

      Sara turned. In the doorway were a couple of the USFT members she had seen in the cafeteria. They were preceded by a short, stocky man also in camos, his insignias indicating that he was a general. He’d been the one to speak.

      “I’m fine, Hugo. Everyone—” General Yarrow’s gaze took in the Alpha Force group around him as he gestured toward the newcomers “—this is General Hugo Myars, commanding officer of the Ultra Special Forces Team. I’m sure you’ve met some of his team members.” He nodded toward the not especially friendly officers Sara had previously spoken with.

      Myars maneuvered his way around the representatives of Alpha Force, while his backup remained near the door, their caps respectfully doffed and in their hands. “I know our people aren’t merging as well as we’d initially hoped, so the exercises we planned are on hold, and now this. But I’m

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