White Dawn: A Military Romantic Suspense Novel Read Free Page B

a hand on my shoulder,” she said
dryly. “That’s going to threaten the security of the nation.”
    “It’s a weakness,” Garrett said flatly.
“While he’s thinking about you, he’s not thinking about security
and neither are you.”
    “That’s ridiculous.”
    Garrett stepped very close to her and
Carmen drew in a breath, surprised. He looked down at her. “He was
this close,” he said quietly. “So look me in the eye and then tell
me what you see in your peripheral vision.”
    She looked him in the eye, pissed as
hell. She couldn’t believe that Garrett was micro-managing her like
this.
    “No, lock gazes with me,” Garrett
demanded. “I’m trying to demonstrate something, so stop writhing
and look .”
    Carmen looked. She kept her gaze on his
gray eyes defiantly. “I can see movement from my right. And the
fire flickering.” The fire she wanted to be standing next to.
    “What’s behind me?” Garrett
demanded.
    She looked over his shoulder, but he was
taller than her. She couldn’t see anything. Her anger cooled a
fraction. “It’s not like we were making out,’ she said
defensively.
    “For a fraction of a second, your mind
wasn’t on the job,” Garrett said and his tone was cooler, too.
“That’s all the time the enemy needs to step out and take aim. When
are you going to get it through your head that I know what I’m
talking about?”
    Now she felt embarrassed. “You’re
right,” she said and it took all her courage to admit that. “It
won’t happen again.”
    Garrett nodded. “You’ve got an instinct
for this,” he said. “You’ve got natural talents and you’re smart.
Don’t let a stupid mistake get you killed. I don’t have enough
smart lieutenants I can rely on.”
    “Jeez, Garrett, is that a
compliment?”
    “And then you have to open your mouth
one last time,” Garrett said and sighed.
    There was a loud groan as metal gave way
and a cheer went up by the fire. They both hurried over to where
everyone was bent over the box.
    Angelo threw the lid back and someone
whistled.
    “Man…is that what I think it is?” Ledo
said and ran his fingertips reverently across the bright slabs of
metal in the box.
    “Silver,” Garrett said flatly.
    “The mine is shut down,” someone pointed
out.
    “Not anymore,” Garrett said. “They’re
pulling silver out of it somehow.”
    “It’s not even their mine,” Carmen said.
“Astra Corp leased the mineral rights on The Big Rock for
ninety-nine years.”
    “I don’t think Serrano has any lawyers
around to tell him that,” Garrett said. “Besides, I don’t think he
would care to know. The Insurrectos clearly think the mine and the
silver in it is theirs. Spoils of war.” He kicked the lid back
closed. “But why do they want it? That’s the million dollar
question.” He glanced at Carmen, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“Your Internet thing will be useful, after all.”
    Gracia stepped up beside Garrett. She
had deep, dark circles beneath her eyes from lack of sleep and her
black hair was highlighted with prematurely gray streaks. But her
face was the calmest face Carmen had ever seen. “Doctor, Zuzen is
getting worse.” She glanced around the fire and lowered her voice
even more. “I don’t think he’ll last much longer.” Her voice was
rough and naturally low, adding to the aura of peace around
her.
    Zuzen had taken a bullet in the upper
stomach a week ago. His screams of pain had kept everyone awake,
until one of the monks offered an herb from their gardens that
would make him drowsy and lessen the pain. They were so low on pain
killers that only the worst cases received them. It had been Gracia
who argued that Zuzen should not get one of the precious doses, for
he was not expected to live, when Garrett had been reaching for the
little medical box that carried the few supplies they had. Gracia’s
ruthless expediency had shocked Carmen.
    Garrett nodded at Gracia now. “I’ll be
there in a minute.” The