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The man laughed. She was stringing him on, and every other head at the table was turned directly at her.
Frankly, she was fucking marvelous, doing a much better job than I could have. I let her do the charming, the talking, and I just sat back and enjoyed the show.
After a half hour of this, I looked up across the room and suddenly sat very still. He was leaning up against the bar and smiled at me as soon as I saw him, gesturing for me to follow.
“Excuse me,” I said, and stood. “I’ll leave you in my wife’s capable hands,” I said to the group.
I quickly walked off, through a back door, and headed out into the alley.
He was standing by the dumpster smoking a cigarette. He looked just like I remembered, though I hadn’t seen him in a long time. We spoke over the phone sometimes, but not often, only when it was important.
“Good to see you again, soldier.”
“Sir,” I said, saluting.
“At ease.”
I relaxed. “Why are you here, sir?”
“It’s a fucking donor party. I’m kissing ass, just like you.”
I nodded. “Sir, I thought you’d be above that.”
He laughed. “I’m that kind of domestic propaganda. This is more or less my job.” He took a few steps closer to me, taking a long drag on his cigarette. “How’s it going in there?”
“Fine, sir. My wife is handling them.”
He nodded. “I heard about her. Why?”
“Why what, sir?”
He stopped close to me and finished off his cigarette, tossing it aside. He was an older man, in his sixties at least, tall and lanky. His hands were large and his voice was deep. He was wearing civilian clothes, but I could still picture the three stars pinned on his collar.
General Eli Benton was my commanding officer and one of the top-ranked covert military commanders in the country.
“Why marry the girl?”
“Love, sir.”
He nodded. “You don’t have to lie to me, you know.”
I clenched my jaw. “She’s useful, sir.”
“Good. Just so long as you don’t lose sight of the mission.”
“Sir, I’m the face of the military. I understand my mission.”
“We still have a public relations crisis in this country, Nash. The people no longer glorify the military like they once did. We need you to be our good old boy, to be the model of military discipline. We need you to be a hero.”
“Sir, yes, sir. I understand my mission.”
“Good. Will this girl get in the way of that?”
“No, sir. Americans love family. She helps with my cover.”
He nodded again and took another cigarette from the pack in his pocket. He lit it slowly. “Good. Be careful, Nash. Your mission is important, but not that important. If you’re not doing what we need, you will be discharged.”
“Sir,” I said quickly, “about that.” I took a deep breath, steadying myself. “Permission to speak freely.”
“You weren’t already?” He laughed. “Say what you want.”
“Sir, I want to be reassigned to active combat duty.”
General Benton stared at me for a second, taking a long drag on his cigarette. “Why?” he asked.
“Sir, fame doesn’t agree with me. I want to be back out there fighting for my country.” I paused and looked at him seriously. “It’s what I’m good at, sir.”
“You’ve done well in your current mission so far. Why would we want to let you back out in the field?”
“I can be useful there, sir.”
“Despite the dangers? This is an easy posting, you know. No bullets.”
“I like the bullets, sir.”
General Benton nodded slowly. “Very well. I’ll keep that under advisement. If you continue to do your work.”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“Dismissed.” He turned away, smoking his cigarette.
I snapped a salute and went back inside, my mind buzzing.
General Benton, here.
And now he knew what I really wanted.
As soon as I was inside, I spotted Selena. She smiled as she saw me, and for the first time in my life, I felt doubt.
She didn’t know that I wanted to leave, to go back to fighting abroad. But what did that matter? She wasn’t really my wife. She just wanted the money, and she would probably be relieved if our little marriage ended early.
I walked back over to the table slowly, watching her. She was practically glowing, laughing at some bad joke, playing up the crowd, working the table. She was gorgeous, fucking beautiful, and she was my wife.
But really, I was married to my job. I was a Navy SEAL, not some fucking asshole that sat in front of cameras all day long.
I wanted to feel the weight of my gun, feel the thrill of battle again.
I sat back down next to her, and she placed her hand on my thigh. I felt my cock stiffen immediately, and that doubt was still there, nagging me, deep in my chest.
“Are you okay?” she asked after a minute.
“Fine,” I said. “You’re doing great.”
She smiled, a genuine, warm smile. “Thanks.”
