Chapter 8 - The Ghost from the Past
The line crackled with heavy, oppressive silence.
Fleet Admiral Richard Hayes was a legend in the Pentagon, but to me, he was just the man who abandoned our family for his career.
“A suspended clearance for a Lieutenant Commander is a mess, Nora,” his deep voice rumbled through the speaker.
“I know you can override it, sir,” I said, keeping my tone strictly professional.
“I can, but you know I do not grant favors without a return on investment,” he replied coldly.
I closed my eyes, already knowing what he was going to ask of me.
“The black-ops deployment in the South China Sea,” I stated, referring to the suicide mission I had declined last month.
“I need my best tactician leading that strike group, and you are the only one who can pull it off,” he confirmed.
If I took the assignment, I would be gone for at least a year, operating completely off the grid.
I looked through the terrace windows and saw Lily leaning against Ryan, looking at him with pure, desperate love.
“Clear his name right now, and I will take the deployment,” I agreed without hesitation.
“Consider it done, Commander,” my father said, the satisfaction evident in his voice.
“Pack your bags, because your extraction chopper leaves at dawn.”
The line went dead, leaving me standing alone in the chilly night air.
I took a deep breath, steeling myself for the reality that I was leaving my sister just as we had found each other.
I turned around to go back inside and deliver the good news to the couple.
As I reached the doors, the heavy iron gates of the restaurant courtyard screeched open.
A massive black SUV with tinted windows and government plates rolled onto the cobblestones.
The doors opened, and a squad of elite security personnel stepped out into a protective formation.
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From the center of the detail, my father, Admiral Richard Hayes, stepped out into the courtyard.
“I thought I would deliver the clearance papers in person,” he announced loudly.
