Page 28

Sasha sighed heavily, exasperation painted across the lines of her face.

“Child, you jump from one assumption to the other, leaping from one theory to the next. It’s a bad habit to be in.

If you ever expect to survive the political game you are stuck in, it would behoove you to stop following whimsy and stick to the facts. ”

Just the mention of me living a life in the same political chaos I grew up in caused acid to climb up my throat. “Don’t get me wrong, but your question seems pretty simple to me. I want to talk about rescuing Jacob and you shoot back that you’ve already done it.”

“Wrong again, child. You assumed I had done nothing to keep my end of the bargain in your brother’s rescue.

Your assumption is wrong. That’s what I was pointing out.

Never did I say I had already completed my end of the bargain.

You lack focus and attention. You need to listen to the words that are spoken and hear the unspoken message without allowing your emotions to cloud the message you receive. ”

“Well, sorry if I’m not used to deciphering cryptic half-truths—”

“I would think you would be an expert after living in the Presidential Palace.”

Oh, she had me there. “Okay, whatever, Sasha. I’m not here to do this with you. What have you done so far to save my brother?”

Silence fell between us for a moment until Sasha shifted in her seat.

“I have people working on the mission as we speak. We’ve taken the information you retrieved from the Admin Job and have determined our best course of action.

I hope to have the mission parameters defined, and the team selected and ready in less than four weeks. ”

My annoyance lifted. Three to four weeks felt like ages to wait for my brother, especially since there was a gala I was going to have to attend before then.

But, in reality, I knew less than four weeks was a quick turnaround for an operation like this.

I had to give it to her…she was doing her part.

I nodded, relaxing a bit. “Okay, that’s…that’s great, actually. Thank you.”

Sasha tipped her head. “You’re welcome.”

“How soon will you pick the team?”

“Well, we have less than a month to get this mission underway. And to be successful, our team will need every second we can afford them to prepare. I hope to have them selected this week.”

This week? “Oh…” This was all a pleasant surprise.

I didn’t know how to explain it. I came in here expecting to push Sasha into doing something to help my brother, only to discover that she was already on it.

And then, not only was she on it, she was going to be selecting a team this week, which was great news.

But then…why did I feel so weird about it?

“I’m glad to see that I have not disappointed you, child.”

“Yeah…” My mind was trying to decipher why I wasn’t happier about the news. I sighed, trying to clear the thoughts from my head.

Knock, knock.

“Come in,” Sasha called. The door opened, and a man pushed a small trolley into the room with a teapot, cups, sandwich, and an assortment of fruit.

“You can just bring it over here,” she motioned.

“Thank you.” The man set the trolley beside us and quickly left the room, closing the door behind him. “Tea?”

I nodded and watched Sasha pour the caramel-colored liquid into a cup. I reached for the sandwich and took a nourishing bite, my mouth watering and stomach cramping at the smell of food.

Oh god, this is so good.

“There you are, child. Better?”

I closed my eyes, chewing, relishing the taste. I nodded a couple of times and then opened my eyes, covered my mouth, and said “thank you” around the bread, meat, and cheese melting on my tongue.

“Good. Now, is there anything else I can assist you with? Or may I return to my work?”

“Mmm…” I mumbled as I finished chewing and swallowing. “Yeah, sorry I bugged you.”

“Not at all, child. I understand.”

“So,” I took another bite and spoke through the mouthful. “Are we training here?” I swallowed. “Or is there another training facility where we’re going to prep?”

Sasha sat up, brows furrowed. “Training? Training for what?”

“Training for the mission…to save my brother,” I added. “You know, prepping for it?”

Sasha’s eyes flickered as recognition dawned on her face. “Ah, I understand. Well,” she said as she cleared her throat. “The team will prepare here on base.”

I leaned over and plucked a grape on the fruit tray, popping it into my mouth and loving the sudden burst of cool, sweet juice dancing on my tongue.

“So, am I going to move back to the barracks for the training? Or are they going to drive me every day? Seems like kind of a long haul to drive back and forth each time.” I popped another grape into my mouth.

Food was undeniably better than nourishment pills.

Unless it tasted like crap. Then I would take a pill any day over nasty stuff.

Sasha shifted in her seat, her gaze looking away from me. “You’ll be staying at the estate.”

“Okay. Seems like a waste of gas, but fine.”

This time, Sasha sat up straighter as her gaze shifted to me. “Mara, you won’t be joining the team on this mission.”

That’s when I started choking on the stupid grape.