“Wars?” Maybe this time wasn’t more advanced than hers.
“Sorry, my explanations are only raising more questions for you. I’ll stop and let you read up on what’s happened the last forty years. Links will take you from topic to topic and you’ll get more complete answers than I can give you.” Troll’s expression turned sheepish. “History wasn’t my favourite class. I passed it, but I didn’t pay much attention.”
History. Things that hadn’t occurred for her yet were events from his past. Some of it had likely even happened before . . . “When were you born?” she demanded.
“June 3, 2018.”
Her eyes went wide and she did some maths. “My God, I’m thirty-six years older than you are!”
He shook his head. “If you’d lived through all that time, yeah, but you didn’t. From what the Colonel told me, you’re four years younger than me.”
“Your colonel talks a lot,” Lia grumbled.
“A briefing is different than gossip, and when it comes to a mission, there’s no such thing as too much intel.”
She was a mission? Blood roared in her ears for a moment. She was on her own in a time and place where she wasn’t sure of the rules, but she’d ridiculously latched on to Troll as her guide. “I’m only an assignment?” Lia asked, unable to stop herself.
“You know better than that. Believe me, I don’t handle my missions like this. If I did, I’d have been booted out of Spec Ops a long time ago.”
And that easily, the weight on her chest eased enough to let her take in air. “What else do you know about me?”
“What else did you tell Sullivan?” Troll countered, his thumb rubbing circles on her palm, arousing as well as relaxing her. “He might have sent a request to Earth to get more information, but it’s too early to have anything back yet.”
Time lag in communications. She hadn’t thought about that, but she should have. Lia was still mulling it over when she recognized where they were – in front of the security building. The MPs had dragged her here last night after they’d escorted her to the bottom of the pyramid. Her heart kicked into high gear again and betrayal made a lump block her throat. She dug in her heels, refusing to move forwards. “You said we were going to lunch, but you’re taking me back to that colonel, aren’t you?”
“No. I’m bringing you to my quarters to drop off your stuff and the quickest route happens to take us past security headquarters.”
She wanted to believe him. Troll was the only one who seemed to be on her side and she needed that. She neededhim.Because of it, Lia stared hard, trying to see the truth.
“The MPs could have brought you to security HQ without involving me.” He squeezed her hand, his thumb continuing to caress her skin. “And we both know I didn’t have to lie to get you here. You’re not exactly operating from a position of power.”
Reluctantly, she nodded. Troll was right, it wasn’t as if she could refuse to go anywhere, but this . . . connection . . . she felt to him made her idiotic. “Your quarters?” she asked.
“Yeah, I –” He stopped abruptly, straightened, and though his left hand continued to hold hers, his right went to his forehead to salute a man drawing near.
Half afraid she’d see the colonel, Lia turned to get a better look. It wasn’t Sullivan, but some other officer and her muscles unclenched. She watched the man drop his gaze to their joined hands, then look back up at them. He returned the salute, shook his head, and kept going. Only then did Troll relax.
“He’s sure good-looking,” she said. “Who was that?”
Troll scowled. “Major Brody. He’s married with three boys and devoted to his wife so you’re out of luck.”
Did he sound jealous? Lia scoffed at herself for having the thought. Not only did they meet maybe ten minutes ago, but Troll had to know that very few males could measure up to him in the gorgeous department. “It was just a comment and some curiosity, not a plan to hunt the man.” And before she could stop herself, she added, “But I can see how a guy like you would be insecure about his appeal. I’m guessing you were nicknamed Troll because of how ugly you are?”
One side of his mouth quirked up. “Something like that.”
He tugged gently and she fell into step with him. It wasn’t until after the metal building was out of sight that she asked, “Why did you keep hold of me when you saluted? Your colonel made it clear that he thought I was a spy, aren’t you worried about getting into trouble for associating with me? And why did that major shake his head, but not say anything?”
This time it was Troll who stopped walking. “We’re never going to make it to the mess hall for lunch,” he muttered. He glanced around and led her to a bench against the front of a dove-grey building. “Have a seat.”
Lia quelled the urge to ask why and did as he suggested.
Troll sat beside her, his thigh nearly brushing hers, and stared straight ahead. For a moment, he didn’t speak and she had a sense he was trying to decide what to share. Finally, he said, “Major Brody shook his head because I have a reputation with women.”
“Undeserved?”
Troll sighed, but confessed, “No, I earned it, but I reformed about two years ago. Not that anyone except my teammates believes it, but it’s the truth.”
Lia considered that and decided it was better to leave it alone. “What about you being so cosy with a suspected spy?”
