JORDAN
Jordan placed his hands flat on either side of the large granite counter and hung his head over the washbasin. It was way past midnight, and the rest of the world had been fast asleep for hours.
His life was perfect: he had a beautiful family, his career was going the way he hoped, and his relationships with the people surrounding him were great.
But something was off. And he knew what the reason was.
Jordan looked in the mirror.
Who.
He had been staring at the ceiling in bed, only able to think of one thing; how it must feel to strip that golden cuff from Raven’s arm, the metal heated by her body, and slide it down slowly. Or better yet: take off everything but the arm cuff and—
Jordan shook his head. He shouldn’t think about that. Ashley was sleeping in the next room, for fuck’s sake—wearing his engagement ring around her finger.
He closed his eyes but could only see Raven, her dark lashes, her smile, her lips—those soft, soft lips—and his eyes opened wide again.
All evening, he’d done his best not to look in her direction too often or think about her. Six months ago, he had made a decision, and this wasn’t the moment to reconsider. That moment would never come.
But she had stolen his breath away, just like a year ago.
He had always found Raven attractive—but wow. She had re-awakened the exact feelings he had felt before at Hunter and Nikolai’s wedding. He nearly ended his relationship a year ago if she hadn’t disappeared again so soon—if she hadn’t felt like a dream from which he was woken roughly time after time.
Jordan didn’t know who he was kidding; himself or Ashley. Ashley, who had been nothing but patient while he had been sorting out his feelings. Like him, she had worked on herself and made the readjustments to be a better partner than before. And now that they were finally engaged, their relationship had a renewed sense of direction. This was the time to commit fully—to work on the family they had always dreamt about.
But something held him back.
The moment he saw her again, the world had disappeared around them. And his heart had thumped painfully when he’d seen Lieutenant Colonel Rudolfs by her side. He knew they were good friends, but he recognized the way Rudolfs looked at her, which wasn’t exactly friendly.
Jordan wondered if Raven felt the same way about Rudolfs. The thought appalled him, though he wasn’t in a place to say or think anything about it. Jordan straightened his back as he turned to the door when he heard a sound.
“Jordan?” The door cracked open a bit, and Ashley stuck her head inside. When she saw him, she opened the door and lay a hand on his cheek. “Are you all right?”
“Yes,” he whispered, covering her hand with his, guilt chipping away at his conscience.
Ashley didn’t believe him. “Did you have trouble sleeping again?”
He shook his head.
“Did something happen tonight? Did—”
“No,” Jordan replied firmly, cutting her off.
She was silent for a beat. “You know you can always wake me, right?”
Jordan nodded. “I know.” And put his hand on the back of her head to press a kiss to her brow. “I’ll be there in a sec.”
He didn’t deserve her. He didn’t deserve to lie next to her while he thought about another woman.
It made him sick.
A few breaths later, he silently crawled back into bed, and Ashley nestled against him. He listened to her breathing, which soon slowed down and deepened. As much as he craved sleep, it took a while before his brain finally dragged him under.
* * *
The doorbell rang while Jordan was making himself ready for work. Ashley had already gone to her office, so he walked through his apartment and opened the door—revealing Nikolai Zaregova.
“Nikolai,” Jordan said, but his expression indicated a question mark.
Nikolai smiled a little, though his body seemed tense. “I’m not staying—but I wanted to tell you something you might find interesting.”
Rubbing a hand over his chest, Jordan said, “You could have called, you know? But damn, Zaregova, what a way to make a guy feel special.”
Nikolai huffed a breath of amusement, but the emotion didn’t linger, and he clenched his jaw. “Domasc ordered Raven to go on a mission back to the shadow plains. Something about irregular activity in the field—I’m still looking into it.”
“What? Say that again.” That morning, Jordan had woken up anxious. The thought of Raven leaving again burned a hole through his chest. Even though she had promised him she wouldn’t.
“He blackmailed her into going, and it doesn’t sit well with me—especially since it’s Domasc.”
Jordan’s blood simmered with rage. “He did what?”
Nikolai just looked at him. “She’s going, Jordan. But something about this feels wrong. That’s why I’m coming straight to you. I suspect he’s tapping the communication channels.”
“Like hell she is,” Jordan snarled. “Overrule his decision. Go straight to Domasc if you must.”
He shook his head. “You know I can’t. She needs to go to keep her job, and give me time to look into it.”
“What if it was Hunter?” Jordan asked stonily. “Would you let her go?”
A muscle in Nikolai’s eye popped as he grimaced. “Raven, like Hunter, can hold her own. Just thought you wanted to know.”
That she’s going again, leaving again, but this time not of her own accord.
“That’s not an answer to my question.”
The General cocked his head at his tone. “She means that much to you?”
Jordan took a deep breath. “Thanks for letting me know.” Before he slammed the door in his face.
He walked back into his apartment, collecting his things before he nearly ran to the building’s underground parking lot. His patience was running thin, and his whole body itched to take this matter into his hands and fix it.
After a drive that went by in a blur, and the slamming of several doors, Jordan barged into Domasc’s front office at the main base, his secretary standing in a hurry. “Lieutenant General Locke.”
Jordan looked at the Lieutenant. “I’m here to speak with Chief General Domasc. Please let him know I’m waiting for him.” He had no time or patience for pleasantries; he was single-minded.
“The Chief General has no time,” she quipped, but Jordan wasn’t so easily deterred.
He shrugged and kept standing in the room, a pillar of restraint. “Tell him I’m waiting here.” Let’s try this the professional way first.
The secretary seemed distressed. Clearly, Domasc had given her direct orders not to interrupt him. Eventually, she rang the phone and called Domasc. She spoke softly. “Sir—yes sir, I know, but—”
Jordan could hear Domasc’s low voice booming from behind the door, but he kept his gaze on the secretary the whole time. Making a call was better for everyone.
“Lieutenant General Locke is here to speak to you… It seems urgent. He’s very persistent. Sir.” She hung up the phone, and Jordan stepped closer to her. Her lips folded into a firm line. “I’m afraid he really can’t—”
Before she had finished that sentence, Jordan blew out a frustrated breath and barged into Domasc’s office—under a loud shriek from the secretary.
He was greeted by Domasc’s blasé expression, although he detected a slight twitch in his eye. The Chief General looked back to his paperwork, scribbling something before he lay down the pen and leaned back in his large leather chair—fingers lacing together.
“Lieutenant General Locke.” He made a clicking sound as he pronounced Jordan’s last name. “What is so urgent that you ignored a direct order from your commanding general?”
Jordan couldn’t help the anger flaring up as he beheld the general. He hated the man. So. Fucking. Much. There weren’t many people he despised more than him. “I received word about a classified mission set for the shadow plains.”
Domasc’s expression betrayed nothing.
“What is it, and why are you sending my soldiers there without my knowledge?”
“Let me stop you there.” He waved a hand in front of him and leaned forward in his chair—resting his hands on the desk. “I get the feeling you forget your place, Lieutenant General Locke. As you mentioned, the mission is classified, so I can’t speak on it. Nor should your soldiers have been blabbing about it.”
“They didn’t.”
“What do you want, Lieutenant General?” Domasc asked, and Jordan knew he had hit a nerve.
“I don’t think I have to remind you who my father is, Chief General Domasc.” Jordan hated using his father, but in this case, he didn’t feel like beating around the bush. “It would serve you to just put my fucking name on that list and make me the commanding general of this mission.”
Domasc’s face nearly exploded with rage. “Are you threatening me, boy?”
How about returning the favor? “Just stating facts, sir. That’s all.”
The Chief General stared at him; fury engraved in the lines of his face.
Jordan stared right back. The times of respecting this motherfucker had long since passed.
The moment seemed to stretch while Domasc shifted in his seat, and Jordan recognized the moment the General decided not to fight it.
“Consider it done.”
The moment those words had left his mouth, Jordan nodded. “Sir.” Before walking out of the room, leaving behind a seething secretary.