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“No.”
But he trusted her enough to bring her here, to his private sanctuary. She tried to hold back the tears but failed.
Zirkov brushed the tears away with his thumb. “What happened to you could have happened to anyone.”
“But it didn’t. I’m a trained agent, and it happened to me.”
“Maybe that’s why. Because you are a trained agent.”
“What are you saying?”
“I wasn’t going to tell you yet.” He picked up a datapad from the coffee table and handed it to her.
She read the file. “This is my dossier.”
“Read the section two and a half years ago, shortly after you joined Earth Intelligence.”
“You mean the reprimand for taking unauthorized leave? My mother got ill. I couldn’t wait for permission for time off. The doctors I spoke to said she wouldn’t live much longer. I returned to Montana and stayed with her. She died a few days after I arrived. I stayed an extra week to take care of the funeral and deal with her property.”
“Look four months earlier, May third.”
“Leave of Absence granted: Family Death. Mother.”
“That’s wrong. My mother died four months later, in September.”
“Maggie, your mother died in May. You returned home for the burial, but everything you believe happened in September occurred four months earlier, in May.”
“That can’t be. I remember it so clearly. The leaves a spectacular array of golds and oranges. The temperature in the seventies during the day, dipping to the fifties at night.”
“The memories are false or taken from other times in your life. The og’dals invaded your brain, manipulated your memory. You need time to heal.”
He was consoling her, trying to keep her positive. That wasn’t exactly Zirkov’s style. He was more of a ‘here are the facts, deal with them’ kind of guy.
When he reached for her again, she batted his arm away. “You’re placating me. Why?”
“The doctors said upsetting you could slow your healing.”
“I don’t care. I need answers. Don’t keep my own life hidden from me, Zirkov. Please.”
He swiped through several documents on his datapad, then tapped the screen. “The date you disappeared from the DAA without notice—”
“You mean the day I left and then later called in when I finally found a phone.”
“Maggie, your memories—”
“I get it. They’ve gone through an og’dal grinder.” If she didn’t remember her own mother’s funeral correctly, then she couldn’t trust any part of her memory, including how she felt about Zirkov.
Right now, she wanted to sidle up to him and run her hands along his body. But was that something she truly wanted, or a desire the og’dals had planted in her?
“Are you listening?” he asked.
“Sorry, I’m distracted.”
“More proof that you are not ready to return to work.”
“Then it’s a good thing they fired me.” She leaned her cheek against the window pane and stared out at the quiet neighborhood. “I’m sorry. You don’t deserve any attitude from me. None of this is your fault. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Z, but I think I should leave.”
“No, we are stronger together,” he said, his voice resolute. “It was a concept we learned in warrior training. Stronger Together. It applies to marshals… and partners.”
