Chapter Sixty-Seven

Twenty minutes later, Rory joined Nina and Westlake by the large indoor pool. She was doing laps like possessed, and her temporary bodyguard was keeping track of their surroundings.

If speed and determination were any indication, Lena was definitely back.

The events of the night played in a loop through his mind, so it took him a moment to become aware that someone else had entered the pool area.

A young female soldier crossed over to him. It was Sergeant Hoffman, Colonel Johnson’s personal assistant. One who was damn good at her job, he had learned during a tour of the well-run base.

“Agent O’Donnell, Colonel Johnson would like to see you in his office,” she told him.

“Sure,” he said. “Give me a minute.”

Nodding, the young sergeant stepped back.

“Lena!” Rory called, getting up and nearing the far end of the pool.

Having finished another lap, she stopped and held onto the coping to peer at him through foggy swim goggles. “Yeah?”

“I’m going to the colonel’s office,” he said. “Westlake is gonna stay with you. Will you be all right?”

“Of course. What am I, five?” She was out of breath but still managed a sneer.

An annoyed look was the last thing he saw before she dove under and resumed her workout. She was doing fifty laps, even if it killed her.

Sometimes he worried about her…well, most of the time actually. She constantly pushed herself to the limit, training whenever she could. Even on the road, she’d been doing sit-ups, push-ups, and jogged at every opportunity. The high-tech training facilities here at the base had only made her more obsessive.

It was a good thing Octavia added nutritional supplements to her hardy diet, otherwise she’d be in real trouble. But pushing herself like this was dangerous. He would much prefer to see her take it easy, relax as she healed. But no, that wasn’t in Lena’s nature.

“I’ll be back,” he said.

With a nod at Sergeant Hoffman to lead the way to Colonel Johnson’s office, he wondered if Admiral Creighton had anything new to report on Creed, and why he was after Rory.