The Navy's Ghost (Bad Boys of Beta Squad) Read Free

will I be able to return to active duty?”
    Meecham bit her lip and glanced up at Whittleton. Chris’s CO took a deep breath and looked her over carefully. She hoped she hid the grief ripping through her.
    When he said nothing, Meecham cleared her throat. “There’s a lot that needs to happen before then.” She glanced down at her clipboard. “There’s two weeks of bed rest to heal from your surgery. If the muscles and bone have knitted enough, you’ll be cleared for physical therapy.” Meecham raised her gaze and hit Chris with a stern look. “How long it takes is up to you and your willingness to follow the therapist’s orders, but I’d say you’re looking at six months of recovery.”
    Six months. After six months she’d be so out of phase with her squad, it’d be like being a rookie all over again. They waited for her to respond, but she couldn’t think of anything to say.
    “What this means in the long run is you won’t be back in the Teams. You’ll be awarded the Purple Heart and be assigned restrictive duty until you have a clean bill of health.” Whittleton’s gaze filled with sympathy.
    And there it is. Chris’s throat closed, but she forced air through it anyway. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
    “I’m sorry, Ensign.”
    She didn’t want his pity. “Yes, sir.”
    Chris wished she could crawl back into unconsciousness to escape the horror of her new life, but her visitors appeared to have no intention of leaving. The pain in her leg spiked and added to the general misery assailing her mind. At least they hadn’t court-martialed her for her stupidity in the warehouse.
    “There is some good news.” She met Whittleton’s gaze, his sympathy underlying the words.
    “There is, sir?” Damn, had her voice cracked? She needed some water. She quickly scanned the room, but she found nothing, not even a vase of flowers.
    “Yes. As soon as Master Chief Castle heard you were injured, he put in the request for you to be transferred to the Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training facility here. He wants you as an instructor as soon as you’re fully recovered.”
    The lieutenant commander waited for her reaction and Chris struggled to find coherence.
    “An instructor, sir?” Is he serious?
    “Yes, training the new BUD/S recruits .”
    Chris’s mind shifted to Master Chief Castle. He requested me? Surprise slid through her, pushing back the pain a little. The master chief had never given any indication he valued the “Little Navy Jane” in all the time she’d been there. Last she’d seen him, he’d saluted her ironically as he’d pinned her new ribbons to her chest. As the chief instructor for the BUD/S training in Coronado, he chose who would serve under him and it was a short list. She’d never been able to read him even after leaving his ‘tender mercies’ four years earlier.
    “Are you sure, sir?”
    “Pardon, Ensign?” Whittleton blinked.
    “Do you think it’s a good idea for me to be an instructor, sir?”
    “Why wouldn’t it be?”
    “I’m a woman, sir. It was bad enough when I was a recruit. Do you see the new recruits, green and cocky for being chosen for BUD/S training, taking a woman instructor seriously, sir?”
    “Why wouldn’t they, Brickman?”
    She said nothing for a long time.
    “Are you afraid, Ensign?” Whittleton demanded.
    “Sorry, sir?”
    “I said, are you afraid of some green and cocky recruits?”
    “No, sir, I’m not afraid.”
    “Good to hear, Ensign. As soon as you’re cleared for physical therapy, you’ll start your rehabilitation and Instructor’s school. You’ll learn the ropes from Command Master Chief Castle though you still report to me.”
    “Aye aye, Lt. Commander, sir.”
    The door to her room opened and a female nurse entered the room. The others turned at the interruption, giving Chris a chance to hide the enormous wave of pain sweeping through her. She clamped her lips together to keep from mewling piteously, but the agony in