Atlas.
He’d gotten pretty good at reading her expressions. Same thought crossed her mind and there was a hint of fear, too. They’d both been ready for a scuffle but neither of them had been prepared to let Atlas go. He’d brought them together.
They moved for the front door in unison.
*
Lyn nabbed her laptop bag on the way out the front door, letting David get a step ahead of her. He’d outdistance her regardless, with his ground-eating stride and longer legs. When he didn’t, she was silently grateful. The partnership between them wasn’t gone, despite his telling her to leave earlier.
Please don’t let this be over yet.
They’d barely started to explore what was between them and had only made partial progress with Atlas. She wasn’t ready to leave either of those unfinished.
The two men at the front gate were standing next to a blocky SUV, bare to the point of utilitarian. But then, she was used to the rental SUVs with frills and extra features. It wasn’t obviously a military vehicle as far as she knew but it didn’t look like the usual thing an average person would buy, either.
Add to it their stance and general attitude and Lyn figured they had to be military. Spending time around David, Brandon, and Alex had gotten her used to the body language. Neither appeared to be particularly intimidating and, in fact, wore such neutral expressions she studied them even more closely.
David probably saw more than she did. Whatever this situation was, and she had her suspicions, she was glad she was side by side with him. Standing up to these men alone would’ve been a lot more of a challenge.
The men waited for them to approach rather than coming to meet them. When David came to a stop, so did she, at a distance slightly farther away than would normally allow for comfortable conversation. Already there were irritating undercurrents being exchanged between David and the strangers. Glances and minute frowns. Dogs and cats weren’t the only ones that got into pissing contests.
“David Cruz and Evelyn Jones?” the older man asked, but it sounded more like a statement than a question. He knew he had the right people. “Sergeant Zuccolin. I have orders to retrieve the military asset known as Atlas. Came through early this morning. Captain Beckhorn has been notified.”
Lyn preferred straightforward souls like David, Alex, and Brandon. This man talked more like a politician despite his brevity. His tone was too pleasant. He spoke as if they were all good friends and this wouldn’t be met with any protest of any kind.
“I’d like to see a copy of those orders, Sergeant Zuccolin.” David’s tone was flat.
The older man clenched his jaw. “I’m sure Captain Beckhorn has forwarded them to you electronically.”
“To be honest, there may have been a lag in communication.” David made it sound as if that sort of thing happened all the time. “He only called as we were informed of your arrival. I had to choose between coming out to greet you and speaking to him. If you men wouldn’t mind waiting a few minutes, I’d be happy to call him back to hear what he has to say.”
“There’s coffee up at the main house.” Lyn regretted mentioning it immediately. Both strangers gave her the once-over and dismissed her from consideration. The look was so incredibly familiar from her childhood and the occasions when her father had brought guests to the house. She cursed herself for not choosing something with more impact to say first.
A person has seconds to establish an impression. In terms of appearance, she was slight and definitely a civilian. On opening her mouth, she hadn’t had any great contribution to the conversation. Anything she said from here on out would barely be heard.
Damn it. She had better social skills than this.
The only reason she could think of for being this off-balance was the discussion with her stepfather directly followed by her aborted faceoff with David. Too many thoughts were churning inside her head and she hadn’t had a chance to resolve anything. She’d need to shove all that aside and quickly.
“Waiting won’t be necessary.” Sergeant Zuccolin glanced at his companion, who stepped over to their car and retrieved a folder from the passenger side. “We brought a hard copy.”
“Appreciated.” No irritation in David’s comment or expression. These men were all going on minimal auditory or body language cues. Poker would be torture with any of them.
David read through the orders. It took a few minutes and they all waited. She cheered inwardly as he took the time to look for the loophole. There had to be one.
Then as he looked up and met her gaze, she realized it was because he couldn’t find one. The men had come here and could afford to wait because there wasn’t anything David could do. She stared at him. Opened her mouth.
He shook his head once. Brief. Barely a movement. He was giving up.