Page 26 of Duty and Desire
“We need to talk.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound good.” She sat across the desk from her..
“Scarlett, I—” How could she even begin to say what she needed to? What she dreaded to?
“What’s wrong?” Scarlett reached over to take Ros’s hand in hers, hurt rippling across her face as Ros pulled her hand away, fiddling with her cuffs instead.
“We can’t. I can’t.” God, why couldn’t she get the words out? “It’s out, Scarlett. Everyone knows. Or at least suspects. We need to stop.”
“Is this about the rumors again? Ros, we talked about that. We can’t let gossip get between us. It’ll blow over. We just need to lie low until it does.”
“It’s not going to fade, Scarlett. It’s obvious to anyone who just looks at us that there’s something going on. I can’t do that to you. Your career is only just taking off, and I can’t jeopardize that.”
“I’m willing to risk it. I’d risk anything for you, Ros.”
“And that’s the other thing,” Ros said, cutting her off. “I can’t risk you. I can’t seem to do my job with you around. I’m putting everyone at risk because I can’t think straight. Every time you’re in danger, you fill my head. I can’t let anything happen to you.”
“We can work it out. We’ll find a way.”
“No, Scarlett. This needs to end. I’m not putting lives at risk for a fling. Or your career, or mine for that matter. I’ve worked my whole life for this, I’m not going to let it be taken from me.”
“A fling. Is that all this is to you?”
“That’s not what I?—”
“No, I get it. You’ve already decided that’s it. I get no say in the matter. That’s just typical.”
“It’s for the best, Scarlett.”
“I can’t believe you.”
“It was never going to work, all this sneaking around. The base has eyes and ears everywhere. Trust me, the last thing you want is to get court-martialed. They probably wouldn’t do anything to me; it’s a bad look for everyone for a general to go out in disgrace. But you? Being a rising star won’t protect you if this gets reported.”
“Trust you, huh?” Scarlett huffed drily.
Ros looked up at Scarlett, really looked for the first time. Her hazel eyes were filled with tears threatening to fall any second, but behind the tears was fury, rage, betrayal. It almost broke Ros to see it. To see what she had done to her. She had to remain firm, though. Her duty, her honor demanded it. This was the right thing to do.
“Scarlett—”
Scarlett shot up from her seat, storming over to the door.
“Maybe your reputation was right after all, General. You have no heart.”
Retribution arrived swiftly. The soldiers rescued from the encampment had barely been let out of med bay when the first explosion thundered through the base. The ground shook and groaned from the impact.
Alarms blared and red lights flashed on the walls as service personnel scrambled for gear and orders. The insurgentspositioning themselves nearby had been cause for concern, but no one, not even Ros, had thought they could possibly be so brazen as to launch a direct attack on Fort Independence.
Usually, such an attack would have been an immediate death wish, but the base was so unprepared that they were left scrambling.
Ros felt not only her heart breaking in her chest, but her base crumbling around her.
Would there be any way through this? Would they even survive this?
She took a deep breath and prepared herself.
She was General Ros Bloody Carson. She had this.
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