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“Is that all it is,Cay?”
I grabbed him by the neck and shoved him up against the wall. “Do not dare question my commitment to this mission.Do. Not. Dare.”
“Is it the mission you’re committed to, or is it all about Bexli? I mean that was the op, right? Rescue Bexli.”
I shoved harder. “Nemesis named the op, not me, you fucking bastard.” The fist of my free hand was tightly clenched, ready to connect with Ares’ face. Instead, I let go and stalked to the other side of the room.
“I heard her, Cayman. She asked you not to go.”
“That was a private conversation you had no business eavesdropping on.”
“I can see your conflict now, just like I could before we left for Gozo.”
“Nothing about my reaction is remotely the same as how I felt before we left for Gozo. I’m not suggesting O’s op be ignored or abandoned.”
“Whatareyou suggesting?”
“Nothing.I merely asked if we had overhead confirmation that Mithras is in Sharm el-Sheikh. I’ll ask you the same thing, Ares. Are you suggesting we deploy all available assets at the UN’s expense and fly halfway across the world only to discover O’s source was wrong? Someone has to look at this responsibly. Make decisions responsibly. Not go off half-cocked, only to find out Mithras was either never there or is long gone.”
“What about you, Cayman? If any of the people in the other room verify Mithras is there, will you be part of the team who goes to get him? Or will you stay behind?”
“I repeat,do not darequestion my commitment to my job.”
He got in my face. “That isn’t an answer.”
“Fuck off. I don’t report to you.”
“You are a task force commander. You are not above or below me. We are equal, and I’m asking. Will you support this op or not?”
“Ifwe can verify Mithras is in Sharm el-Sheikh,thenI will support the op.”
“How?”
I pushed past him and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me. It would be easy for me to give him the answer he was looking for, tell him I would be with them, but I wasn’t certain yet I would be, and I couldn’t lie. First, I had to determine whether or not I was actually needed.
I stormed my way through the house and out to where Bexli waited. Except she wasn’t there. Maybe she had said she wouldn’t be, and it hadn’t been my imagination at all.
“Bexli?” I shouted again and again as I searched the property for her. After looking everywhere I could think of and not finding her, I returned to the house. I was about to walk in the front door when Nem came out.
“Cayman? What’s going on?”
“Bexli’s gone.”
“What do you mean? Delfino took her for a drive. She was very upset over the thought of you leaving.”
If Bex was so worried about her parents finding out she was here, why in the bloody hell had Delfino taken her for a drive. I groaned.
“Cayman, about the mission—”
“I’d prefer to confirm Mithras’ actual whereabouts before committing to a full-scale deployment. I would think you’d agree. Or are the UN’s pockets so deep that you don’t care about the expenditure even if it’s pointless?”
Nem studied me and shook her head. “Cayman, you’re not yourself.”
I raised a brow. “One would think Ares could hold his own without crying to you.”
“What does anything have to do with Ares? I’m concerned about you, my friend.”
Nem wouldn’t prevaricate. However, I’d not defend standing up for myself to her or anyone else.
