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Zirkov wouldn’t give up on proving her innocence. His reputation had to be on the line with the DAA and Galactic Intelligence. Exonerating her meant maintaining his good name, his job, and his status.
She’d been a fool to think he was helping because of deeper feelings for her. He’d said it quite plainly. She couldn’t be his heartmate, not that she believed in such things for humans. Still, the idea of someone loving her so completely, as she’d seen the love between the other marshals and their mates, pulled at her.
“Will you tell me about the code in your diary?”
She faked a yawn. “I think you’re right. We should table this discussion until the morning.”
As she turned away from him, his hand wrapped around her upper arm. “No more games. You will trust me.”
Normally, she’d punch a guy for grabbing her like that, but she longed for his touch, even one born from impatience. Zirkov fought with everything he had to help those under his protection and she’d become the most recent in a long line of innocents who needed his help.
“I’ve been having blackouts for months,” she began, not sure how much to tell him, only that it was time to trust him. “I’d wake up in strange places, fully dressed, my gun in its holster, sometimes in my hand. I never knew how I got there or why I was there.”
Silver eyes focused on her with such intensity she hesitated. Then his thumb stroked her arm, absent-mindedly, lovingly, where he still held her. She had to tell him everything.
“At first, I thought I was sleepwalking, but that’s rare. I checked the surveillance footage around my apartment and the places I’d woken up.”
He quirked a brow.
“Yes, I investigated my own movements.”
“You suspected you were under another’s control?”
“That never occurred to me, but I knew something wasn’t right. Especially when I didn’t see myself on any surveillance. I know where the cameras are and how to avoid them, but I don’t believe that’s knowledge a sleepwalker would access or use. Something more was happening to me.”
“You should have told me. Or Konnitch, Ri’Nom, or even those in the DAA, if you did not trust me.”
“I trusted you,” she said without hesitation. “I still do.”
“Then why didn’t you ask for help? We are stronger together. That is the warrior motto, one I live by, even though I am no longer a warrior. You, Magdalena, must learn to work as part of a team.”
“I’ve been on many ops. With both DAA agents and GI7 marshals.”
“But have you ever asked them for help when you needed it?”
“No.”
“Perhaps that is the problem you need to focus on while I find Var’Len.”
“I’m not stepping away from this mission, Z. I can’t. Because if I do, I’ll be the one to pay the price. More than losing my job.”
“Being a part of a team means individuals each have a function. They work as one, with no one person or role less important than the others. For you, currently, that means resting until you have recovered. Then you will rejoin the fight. Until then, I will find Var’Len. Can you trust me to do that?”
“I trust you. Can you say the same about me?”
“Yes.”
She watched his horns closely. No movement. He trusted her… huh. That surprised—and worried—her.
“Maybe you shouldn’t,” she said. “I still feel… off. I know that sounds crazy, but—”
“You are no different from a soldier who’s been through a battle. Healing takes time.” The pad of his thumb wiped a tear that escaped her. “If you cannot trust yourself, then rely on me. I will not fail you, sho— Maggie.”
Her eyes snapped to his at the slip. “What were you about to say?”
His jaw tightened. “Nothing.”
“Liar. You were going to call me sholani.”
