I shut the door behind her and leaned against it with a heavy sigh.
“Told you,” Decker called from his bedroom. The door to his room opened, and he stalked out.
Fucker.“Were you eavesdropping?”
“Kind of hard not to. Just like it was impossible not to hear you two fucking in the next room.”
“Whoa.” I held up my hands, surprised by the strength of his anger. “What crawled up your ass?”
First the heavy conversation with Olivia, then Katie, now this. Was it a full moon or something?
“What crawled up my ass?” He stepped closer, his chest nearly brushing against mine. It felt as if we were about to face off in a boxing ring.
He held my gaze a moment, then backed off. “You know what? Never mind.”
“No.” I inched closer, invading his space. “If you have something to say, say it. No lies, right?”
We’d met in BUDs and had been part of the same unit ever since—me, him and Heath. They were like brothers to me. Decker and I had even retired and gone to Cole at the same time. But in the past few months, there had been a shift in our relationship. I wasn’t sure whether it was my injury or the thing with Katie, but something had changed. Of all people, I thought Decker would always have my back. Now, I wasn’t so sure.
“No lies. Right,” he snarled. He pushed against my chest, and I reeled backward, more shocked by his hostility than his physical aggression.
“What the fuck is your problem?” I asked, shoving him. I didn’t want to fight with one of my best friends, but I wasn’t going to take shit from him or anyone.
“You.” He was panting. “You are my problem, Connor. You knew I had a thing for Katie, and you pursued her anyway. And now, you found a new, shiny toy. So, it’s time to move on, right?”
I wasn’t sure what I was most upset about—the fact that he felt like I’d stolen Katie from him and used her. Or the idea that Olivia was nothing more than a passing diversion.
“That’s not true.”
He scoffed. “So, you weren’t using Katie? You haven’t moved on?” He stepped closer. “I hear you talking to Olivia on the phone every night. How long will it be before you grow tired of her too?”
I clenched my fists, fuming at his accusations. Mostly because I hated how accurate they were. I had used Katie, but I wouldn’t treat Olivia like that.
“If you had a thing for Katie, you should’ve spoken up.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “You’re an asshole, Connor.” He spun and marched toward his room, slamming the door behind him.
Fuck.Was there a sign over my head that said “Let’s gang up on Connor”?
I went to my room and fell back on the bed. I wasn’t sure where the day had gone so wrong, but it had. And while I was tempted to call Olivia, I didn’t want to dump my problems on her. I’d already confessed enough—definitely more than I’d ever planned to. So, I opened my Kindle and downloaded Meghan Hart’s latest book instead.
* * *
“Come in,” Mark said from across his office. His back was turned to me, and I shut the door behind me.
I sank down into the chair, though I didn’t feel at ease. Decker and I were still at odds. Katie avoided me in the office. And even Olivia was acting weird—cagey or something. Ordinarily, I considered myself skilled at reading people, but at the moment…I couldn’t seem to get anything right.
It would help if I could see Olivia. If I could convince her to FaceTime, then I could see what she looked like, read her facial expressions for clues. As it was, it felt like I was flying blind—trying to decipher the feelings of a woman I’d never met and likely never would.
“How’s Spines for Soldiers going?” he asked.
“Good.” I smiled, thinking of Olivia. “I’ve already said this to Nat, but thank you for nominating me.”
He sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well, this is certainly a change from when I first told you about the program.”
He arched an eyebrow, as if inviting me to elaborate. I didn’t.
“I’m hoping you called me here to discuss my return to field ops now that I’ve been cleared by my doctor.”
