Briggs leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. He lifted his index finger. “One, Thompson was taken while in the company of one of your command.”
Brody let his head fall forward.
Briggs lifted a second finger. “Lydia almost died trying to save him.” He lifted a third. “And one of your own tried to kidnap and / or kill her.” He dropped his fingers. “You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t want her to be alone with anyone of you until we catch this asshole.”
Rick let his arms rest on the table. “I have to agree. It wouldn’t be very diligent of us to leave her open for another attack.” Rick glanced at Brody. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
There were unspoken words between the two of them in that look, one she didn’t understand.
“I would never hurt her,” Brody growled. “Or let her be hurt by anyone.” He narrowed his eyes.
The general held up his hands. “All right, ladies and gentleman. I think it’s safe to agree that no one in this room would allow anything to happen to Lydia.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Brody mumbled, and Ridge elbowed him.
The general stood and leaned over the table. “Is there something you would like to add, Connors?”
Brody glanced at Rick with hatred in his eyes. “Not at this time, sir.”
The general straightened. “Good.” He glanced at Briggs. “Briggs, you get to train her, but make sure she knows what she’s doing. We don’t often need range practice, so we just use the firing range in town. They’ll be expecting you.”
The general walked toward Lydia and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Since we don’t know if Marlaina was working with anyone in the compound, I don’t want you to go anywhere unless you are accompanied by someone in this room.”
Lydia nodded. Trust was a bitch sometimes. Not knowing who was on her side made things difficult. She would have never thought that Marlaina would be capable of wanting to harm her, but she’d been wrong. Lydia glanced around the table. Who could she really trust of those sitting around her? Briggs and Rick. She’d liked to think that the other people around the table were her friends, but she’d made that mistake once, and it had almost cost her a price she wasn’t willing to pay.
Jaime stood and motioned for Lydia to follow her. “Let’s go get you some breakfast.” She glanced back at Briggs. “Come on, shadow. I know you’re always hungry.”
Briggs pushed from the table. Ridge followed behind them.
****
Rick stayed behind in the conference room with Brody. He wanted to reach over and strangle the bastard for implying in front of everyone that he had something to hide. The fact that he did was the only thing that stopped him.
Brody glared at Rick. “I don’t know what you’re hiding from her, but you better come clean before I find out what it is… and trust me I will.”
Rick lurched to his feet, and his chair went flying into the wall. Brody quickly got to his feet but not fast enough for Rick to lift him off the ground and pin him against the wall by his shirt. “Are you threatening me?” Rick dropped Brody to the floor. He barely had time to catch his balance as Rick stepped closer. “Your threats don’t work anymore, or have you forgotten I’ve got this foreign crap running through my veins.”
Brody gave Rick a mental shove away from him, forcing his back to hit the table. “I don’t care what you’ve got in your veins. I won’t let you hurt her either.” Brody walked to the door and glanced back. “Time’s ticking, Romeo.”
Rick put his palms on the table and let his head drop. How had he let it get this far without telling her the truth? It wasn’t Brody’s fault; it was his own. Heck, he couldn’t even be mad at the arrogant man since Brody was trying to look after Lydia’s best interests. If Rick were honest with himself, that was what he’d wanted all along. That was the reason for the talk in the hall before all hell had broken loose.
The thought of losing Lydia scared the crap out of him. She’d come to mean more to him than just an assignment. She’d gotten under his skin and into his heart. What little heart he had left. Her presence alone made the whole world a better place, and he was risking it all.
Rick drew in a deep breath and straightened. There was only one thing to do, and that was to tell her the truth. He dragged his feet back to his room, pulled out the duffle bag that he’d brought and started to shove his clothes inside. His heart was heavy. He knew she was going to hate him, and he couldn’t blame her.
Rick placed his bag by the door, pulled out a bottle of water, and downed the contents. His stomach was doing summersaults. This day threatened to be one of the worst in his life. If she didn’t forgive him, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do.