She flashed him a hurt look. “That’s a nice greeting, considering I nearly got killed. And why did you bring Rory? I called you, not him. I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you alone for once.”
“I asked you what happened. If the other side has engaged, this could be a matter of national security.” Flint was stone faced. “And I brought Rory with me because he’s in charge of this operation, and you should be reporting any incidents to him, not me. That’s not what I’m here for, and you know that.”
Melinda’s hurt expression melted into anger. “I was upset because I had been assaulted, and because you and I were friends, you were the first person that I thought to call for comfort. I see now that was a mistake. I won’t make it again.”
Flint felt the sting of guilt. Was he over-reacting? Was he being a dick because she’d just yanked him away from Coral, and quite possibly ruined things between him and the sexy wolf shifter? He shouldn’t take his frustration out on Melinda. It wasn’t her fault that he was falling for the one woman he shouldn’t date.
“I’m sorry,” he said, more gently. “But we’re here for professional reasons, Melinda. I need to know what happened.”
She took a deep breath, and nodded. “I changed into bear form and went onto Metamorph territory.” Metamorph was a company based in Eastern Europe, specializing in pharmaceutical grade weapons.
At Flint and Rory’s startled looks, she added, “I know I wasn’t authorized to, but I was worried. Those missing people…God knows what’s being done to them. They’re suffering. I couldn’t stand it.”
Now Flint felt really badly. She’d done the wrong thing, but for the right reasons.
Rory, however, wasn’t having any of it. He was a strictly follow the rules kind of person.
“You trespassed on their property?” Rory growled. “You engaged them, and exposed us!”
“I didn’t!” Melinda protested. “I didn’t engage them. It was a bear that attacked me – an actual bear, not a shifter. I got too close to its cubs while I was out there, but I managed to get away from it. I was in bear form the whole time. And I found a squadron of armed men patrolling near their so-called hunting camp, at the ley line convergence area. Trust me when I tell you this, those men were military; they weren’t hunters. Let me give you the coordinates where I saw them.” She rattled off a list of latitude and longitude numbers, looking pleased with herself.
“That’s some good intel, huh?” she said happily.
“You disobeyed direct orders,” Rory snapped. “You put yourself in danger of being captured. If you’d been captured, you would have been taken into custody and identified as an Enforcer. They would almost certainly have moved their operation elsewhere, and that would have blown our best chance to rescue the shifters they’re holding, to say nothing of the larger implications.”
“Come on, Rory, I’ve always been a maverick. It’s what I do best.” She flashed a cocky smile.
Rory shook his head. “I can’t risk having this operation blown. I’m the officer in charge, and I am ordering you to pack your bags and leave immediately. You’re suspended from your position pending further notice. If anyone in town asks, we’ll tell them you were called back home on a family emergency. I’ll be writing up a report and recommending that you be subject to disciplinary action.”
Melinda’s eyes went wide with astonishment and dismay. “You can’t do that!” she protested. “It’s not fair! I brought back valuable intel!” She turned to Flint. “Come on, Flint. We’re a team, you and me. We work best together. Don’t let him do this to me! You’re the one who’s putting out all the money for the cover operation – if you say that I have to stay, he won’t make me go!”
Flint shook his head, feeling mingled regret and frustration. “I’m not going to attempt to usurp his authority. He’s the officer in charge, and honestly, Melinda, I have to agree with him. Your heart was in the right place, but you went about it the wrong way, and all the good intentions in the world won’t matter if you blow our operations. The only people who should be on our team are people who can follow orders. When you called me this morning, as it so happens, I was with someone. That person overheard you yelling about being attacked. I can only pray that you haven’t completely exposed our mission. If you’d called and reported it to the appropriate person, that wouldn’t have happened.”
Rory’s eyes flashed with anger and he skewered Melinda with an ice-cold glare. “That does it. I want you packed and out of here within the hour, and you will drive straight to headquarters. I’m recommending that you be permanently pulled from the field.”