Nick cocked his head, snorting softly. “Then put me in, Sean.”
Frustration burned away inside Sean, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to strangle Nick or hug the man. It seemed like no matter what he tried to do, he was watching his team slowly but inevitably pull apart from one another.
As Matt and Ricardo finally stopped dancing around and came together to begin, movement on the other side of the ring caught Sean’s attention. Looking past the struggling forms of his teammates, Sean watched as a man strolled into the clearing, his expression more curious than startled as he stopped at the edge of the ring.
Nick snorted. “Who’s that?”
“I don’t know, but we haven’t exactly made it a mystery that this area is ours when we’re training,” Sean said.
While soldiers had to get permission or be stationed out on the small islands that dotted the area beyond the peninsula, most of the base was free for anyone to roam, train, or lounge around on while they were off-duty.
“Probably a private, fresh from Basic,” Nick said.
Sean didn’t think so. Recruits fresh from Basic all tended to have the same look on their faces. There were those who were still flush from success, thinking they were ready for whatever was coming. There were those who had been stiffened a bit more than others by their time at Basic, looking stone-faced and a little robotic. And the others were those who looked relieved but worried now that they were out in the actual force.
The man who watched Matt and Ricardo looked like none of those things. Sean watched him, taking note of the man who seemed more interested in the sparring match than Sean’s blatant glare in his direction. The man’s dirty blond hair looked as though he’d had it cut recently, shorn close to the sides of his head. From several feet away, it was impossible for Sean to see the exact color of the soldier’s eyes, but they were fixed intently on the fight, sharp and attentive. Sean could see the man stood only a few inches shorter than himself, being almost as muscular as him, though it was a little more evenly distributed than it was on Sean. His entire posture was relaxed, at ease, as though he hadn’t wandered into what should have been a private training session. And he had barely paid any attention to Nick or Sean.
“That’s no private,” Sean said.
Nick leaned in. “Yeah, his uniform isn’t wrinkle-free.”
Sean snorted but didn’t disagree. It was something he hadn’t noticed. The ring was an informal place for people to go if they wanted to spar or wrestle, but it was pretty widely known that when Team Maelstrom had it, no one else was supposed to intrude. They’d never had to enforce it before, and Sean let out a sigh as he decided he was finally going to have to do it.
“You show ’em,” Nick said as Sean walked off.
Sean resisted the urge to flip Nick the finger, even though he knew it probably would have drawn a smile from him. Instead, he kept his eyes on the stranger standing at the edge of the ring. Even as Sean approached, the man’s gaze stayed locked on the training that Sean himself should have been overseeing.
“They’re messy,” the man said, his voice sharp and a little wry.
Sean blinked, looking over at Matt and Ricardo, who were also aware of the stranger in their midst now that Sean had approached him.
“What?” Sean asked.
The man motioned toward Matt and Ricardo. “Them. They’re messy, or weren’t you paying attention?”
Sean wasn’t sure what irritated him more, the question, or the amusement in the guy’s voice. Cocking his head, Sean waited for him to turn and look at him, and to his even greater annoyance, the stranger took several seconds before tearing his eyes away from Matt and Ricardo. Sean had thought the soldier’s eyes might have been brown from a distance, but he found they were, in fact, a deep blue. They lit upon Sean’s face with that same amusement and a touch of expectation.
After another pause, the guy held out his hand. “Aidan.”
Sean looked down at the offered hand. “This area is taken until we’re done with it. You can use it when we’re finished.”
“Huh, guess I should have asked Winter what kind of attitude I was going to be dealing with before I walked my ass all the way out here,” Aidan said, keeping his hand held out in front of him.
Sean’s brow stitched at the mention of the general’s name. “General Winter sent you?”
“You’re Staff Sergeant Sean Harris, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’m Sergeant Aidan Rider. A pleasure to meet you,” Aidan said, giving his hand a little shake in the air.
Sean resisted the urge to smack the man’s hand away and had to hold back the impulse to remind the man to salute. They were a whole rank apart, so despite the formality of it being called for, even between soldiers in general, it shouldn’t have mattered to Sean. Yet Aidan’s entire demeanor rankled Sean’s nerves, as though the man couldn’t be bothered to show even the slightest respect for anything.
Reminding himself to stay calm, he took a deep breath.
“Right, then what did the General want?” Sean asked, still ignoring Aidan’s hand.
Aidan withdrew his hand, the corner of his mouth twitching. “General Winter sent me out here because you’re looking at the new fifth member of your team.”
“What?” Matt barked, followed by a murmur from Nick further in the background.
Sean was right there with them, but Aidan’s dark eyes were still locked on Sean’s face, and he had to keep his features straight. He’d known General Winter was looking around for someone to be their fifth and had been dreading the day, though he knew it would come. Sean had been expecting a little more warning than to have the guy just show up, however, and to say that Aidan was already managing to make a bad impression was putting it mildly in Sean’s book.
Aidan raised a hand at the other three. “Sergeant Aidan Rider, field intelligence.”
There came another couple of murmurs from behind them, which Sean did his best to ignore. He wasn’t surprised that Command had decided to include another member of intel in their group since they no longer had one. Still, the idea of Clint’s spot being replaced was hard enough, but to hear it was his same position as well just rubbed salt into the already stinging wound.
“Why weren’t we told about this beforehand?” Sean asked with a tightening jaw.
Aidan eyed him. “If it makes you feel any better, I wasn’t given much warning either. I got back to the States, and they decided to throw me over here and tell me I was joining you guys.”
Not that Sean was at all surprised, it wasn’t as though Command cared one whit about whether or not someone was ready. When they told someone to jump, the expectation was that you jumped and hoped that you went high enough. Privately, Sean had the impression that Aidan was one of the few people who waited to jump, seeing if he might be able to get away with letting everyone else do it instead.
“I showed up yesterday, met with General Winter, got to have some real sleep for the first time in days...well, close to real sleep, and now here I am,” Aidan said, gesturing grandly.
Upon closer inspection, Sean could see the dark circles still pressed under Aidan’s blue eyes. Other than that, though, he didn’t seem all that tired, but Sean knew better than to trust that too much. From what Aidan had said, he’d probably come from overseas, and when you were there, you learned to live on minimal sleep for long stretches of time. It became a great deal harder to adjust when you first returned, though, Sean remembered, the jetlag was utter hell.
Sean looked toward his team. “Does this mean we’re being redeployed?”
“If there are any plans to deploy tomorrow or within a week, General Winter didn’t tell me. He told me to come over here and introduce myself. I think he wanted us to make nice, since we’re going to be on the same team and all,” Aidan said, cocking a brow as he finished.
Somehow Sean didn’t think Aidan was in the dark about the circumstances involving their lack of a fifth member. He wasn’t su
re if the man was an asshole or just a complete dumbass, but he found his temper steadily growing as Aidan continued to talk.
Did the guy think it was going to be as easy as showing up and pretending they were old friends? Sean could barely process the idea that their new member was already here without so much as a warning, let alone pretend he knew the guy and liked him. He knew he wasn’t going to be doing himself or his team any favors by losing his temper, however, and he shoved it down, letting it boil away where no one else could see it.
“I think I need to speak with General Winter before we agree to anything,” Sean said.
“I mean, you’re more than free to try to get an appointment with him if you want. He called me out here and still made me sit around for almost an hour before he’d talk to me,” Aidan said with a laugh.
From behind them, Matt snorted. “Just an hour? Sounds like the general wanted to talk to you then. Last time Sean was there, he had to wait almost two.”
Sean turned around to shoot Matt a mutinous glare. “He had something come up at the last second and had to deal with it before he could get around to our meeting.”
“Well, and you’d been visiting him three times a week up to that point.”
Sean turned back to Aidan, nostrils flaring. “That’s Matt, the big guy next to him is Ricardo, and the guy at the back is Nick.”
“Oh, I didn’t want to ask, but,” Aidan said, flopping his hand at the three men, who returned it with varying levels of enthusiasm.
“Either way, I’m speaking to General Winter before we do anything moving forward. I wasn’t warned about this, and we’re not ready,” Sean continued.
Aidan raised a wry brow but said nothing. Sean didn’t think he had to since he could practically hear the smart comment that was probably fighting to come out of Aidan’s mouth as he looked over the four of them. His initial assessment of Matt and Ricardo’s duel had probably been accurate, as all of them had been off their game since returning to the States.
That didn’t mean Sean wanted someone he didn’t know or trust to tell him that.
“Once I’ve spoken to him, we can all reconvene and figure out what we’re going to do,” Sean informed them, turning to look at his team.
Ricardo gave a light shrug. “If that’s what you wanna do, then so be it.”
With Ricardo offering no resistance, he could see Nick and Matt were quick to follow suit as well. The four of them might be losing their way and not sure how to get back, but at least Sean could rely on them for support when he needed it. There was no way General Winter could think they were anywhere close to ready, and especially not with Aidan. Sean couldn’t say exactly what it was, though the man’s flippant attitude was irritating, and he could feel that Aidan was not going to be a good fit for the team.
Sean nodded. “Good, then that’s what we’ll do. I’ll let you guys know what happens.”
With only a curt nod in Aidan’s direction, Sean walked off, ending the day’s training without saying a word. He knew damn well that General Winter would probably be booked for the day, as the man kept himself busier than Sean thought was possible. He suspected General Winter was expecting a visit from him, however, considering he’d sent Aidan without so much as a warning. Sean was going to speak to the older man and pray that for once in his military career, he managed to get someone in charge to be understanding.
As he walked through the trees, he heard Aidan’s wry voice again. “Not like I’m going to argue with him, I’m only supposed to be the second in command after all.”
Sean froze, glad he was out of sight so no one could see him as he stared at the trunk of the nearest tree, aghast.
He was supposed to be what?
4
Aidan
Marching through the foliage, Aidan pushed a branch out of his way as he followed the narrow path made by other’s shoes. Normally he would take his time if there was no rush, but he found he had a great deal of nervous energy to work off. He had been cooling his heels for two days since he’d introduced himself to Team Maelstrom, and he was ready to get something done.
Which was exactly why he was keen on getting back to the sparring ring where he’d originally found the team practicing. Aidan had received Sean’s short message informing him that they were to meet as a team at the sparring ring. Aidan hadn’t been too surprised at the message since he’d known full well what the outcome of the meeting between his new team leader and General Winter would be.
And if the almost terse quality of the message, delivered by a rather haggard looking private, was any indication, the meeting had not gone as well as Sean would have liked.
Pushing through the next line of trees, Aidan hesitated as he realized he wasn’t alone in having arrived early. The man who Sean had introduced as Matt was sitting at one edge of the circle, staring down at his phone in concentration and annoyance.
“Morning,” Aidan greeted.
He wasn’t surprised when the man’s head jerked up, eyes flashing in his direction. A moment later, the tension in Matt’s shoulders eased when recognition entered his eyes.
“Oh, hey. Aidan, right?” Matt asked.
“The one and only,” Aidan said.
Matt flashed a smile. “You’re early.”
“Could say the same about you.”
Matt shrugged, turning his attention back to his phone. “I like being where other people aren’t, lets me focus better.”
Aidan watched him fiddle for a couple of minutes before continuing. “Something wrong with your phone?”
“Eh. I’ve been trying to streamline some of the processes. You know, integrate different messengers into one app, linking it with the calendar, photos, stuff like that.”
Aidan cocked his head. “Why?”
“Well, I already know Java as a language, and really, I could probably manage this if I was actually using Java. But I’m trying to teach myself Python, which I’m not so good with, so all I’ve managed to do is make a mess. But hey, unlike the other two phones, I haven’t broken this one...yet.”
Aidan chuckled. “Broken them?”
Matt winced. “Nick says I never know how to take it slow and...maybe he’s right, just don’t tell him I said that. I might have tried to do too much with the last couple of phones, and when you screw with programming enough, sometimes you end up with an expensive brick instead of a phone.”
“And I imagine that doesn’t do anything good for the warranty.”
“Nope! Something Nick likes to remind me of all the damn time.”
Aidan sat down in the grass a few feet away from Matt. “You know, I can’t tell if he drives you nuts or if he’s your best friend from the two times you mentioned him.”
Matt chuckled. “Sean says we’re like brothers, but I think that’s only because we argue.”
“Brothers are also pretty close.”
“I think that’s why he says it too, though he’s never like...said that was the reason.”
Aidan thought back to his brief interaction with Sean and nodded in understanding. Sean hadn’t even taken the friendly handshake, and Aidan could easily see the team leader having a hard time passing out compliments. While he didn’t want to be too harsh on a man who was obviously struggling, Aidan had a hard time seeing Sean saying anything positive at all.
Matt lapsed back into silence as he tapped away at the phone, seeming not to notice Aidan was there anymore. Aidan wasn’t surprised. He’d taken the opportunity to catch sight of his team members whenever he could, as they were going about their business on the base. With nothing else to do and no access to any records, Aidan had entertained himself by seeing what his soon to be team members were like when they thought they weren’t being observed.
As far as he could tell, Sean didn’t know how to give a real smile. Matt was attached to a device at all times, whether a phone or a tablet. Ricardo barely spoke, and when he did, it was typically only to Sean. Nick was a strange one, looking like he was more asleep
than awake and unaware of most things going on around him.
Matt stirred, looking at Aidan curiously. “So, you’re really going to be our fifth?”
Aidan nodded. “Whether anyone wants it or not.”
“What about you?”
Aidan blinked. “What?”
“You said whether anyone wants it or not, do you want to be here?”
That was a damn good question, but Aidan wasn’t sure it would be a good idea to tell Matt. They barely knew one another, and Aidan imagined no one on Team Maelstrom was happy about his presence. While Matt was at least making an effort not to be an ass, Aidan wasn’t so sure it was a good idea to start talking about his motivations.
Aidan shrugged. “I’m here, so that has to count for something, right?”
“Not when you’re ordered to be here.”
Aidan smirked, hesitating as he heard the sound of approaching footsteps coming through the woods. “Would it make you feel better if I promised to try to play nice?”
Matt smiled briefly, looking in the direction of the forest. “I don’t know if you were trying to get a rise out of Sean on purpose, or if that’s just how you are. I know he can be a little serious, especially lately, but he’s not a bad guy.”
“Just a little grumpy,” Aidan said.
“Yeah, something like that,” Matt said.
As if summoned, Sean stomped through the brush, stopping short when he caught sight of the two of them. The sight of him twisted in Aidan’s stomach, even though he knew his reaction was irrational and stupid. Sean might not have been the most pleasant of people to deal with at first, but he wasn’t Jason.
The resemblance was uncanny, at least at first glance. Sean had the same pitch-black hair, and bright, flashing green eyes that called to mind a polished jewel. He even had the same bulky frame, which Sean used to move through the world with surprising grace, even if he did tend to stomp whenever his temper was flaring. The similarities stopped there, and Aidan had to admit to himself, Sean was better looking. There was a strong cut to his jaw, enough to make him handsome, but not square and blocky, though Aidan had to admit the almost constantly furrowed brow did detract from Sean’s looks a little.
Trust Me, I Hate You Page 3
