Page 267 of The Curse Trilogy

“Are you sure you’re capable of performing your duties if she’s on the road with you? I’m only asking because this is important. Your future is bright, and it has been noted in the past you can’t think while in her presence. If you can’t be the captain I know you to be, then I’ll request a backup interrogator for this,” the man sternly interjects.

On the road where?

“I’ve never not done my job, and I’ve been on the road with her before. If it pleases you, I’ll keep it strictly professional. Araya is the only one capable of going through these men. They’re very skilled in the art of lying, and most of them would rather die than roll over on someone else,” Brazen tacks on.

What? What the hell is he talking about?

I clumsily lose my grip, and my head pops the door before I catch my balance.

“Someone is out there,” a man whispers, and I take off down the hallway to duck behind an oversized artificial plant just as I hear the door creak open.

I hold my breath and remain perfectly still, though I don’t know why. It’s not like Brazen would be pissed at me for showing up at his room after he asked me to come, but I don’t want to stay here. Especially not now that he’s already having a hard time explaining about us.

“It’s nothing. It must have been another door,” Brazen causally murmurs while shutting the door behind him.

I release my breath, and then I walk on down the hall to one of the largest rooms - other than Hale’s. I sigh as I knock, and I hear grumbling stirring behind the door as Clay gets out of his bed.

His groggy eyes show worry and surprise when he opens the door for me.

“Araya? What’s wrong? Are you alone? I told you not to-”

“Whoa. Whoa. One thing at a time,” I chuckle out.

He sighs out, and then he crosses his arms over his chest.

“Why are you here alone?”

“That’s the one you’re leading with? Okay,” I snicker. “Let me in, and I’ll tell you.”

He narrows his eyes at me, and I smile as he ushers me in. His white tee shirt and flannel pants are almost comical. Poor Clay has lost his sexy in his old age despite the fact he barely looks older than twenty-five.

“I’m here alone because there wasn’t a guard. There hasn’t been one all night by the way,” I say as that crosses my mind.

“It’s possible the guard detail was lost in the shuffle. I’ll remedy that immediately. Now, is something wrong?” he asks a little softer.

“Yes… Very… My roommate is Ty,” I growl, and he instantly bursts out laughing, all of his anger washing away.

“Well that is too coincidental. He had to have somehow engineered that,” he roars out through his laughter.

“Thank you, Commander Obvious. Anyways, I shot him. I’m sure there’s some sort of probationary time frame for my being alone with him, so now I need a new roommate.”

He laughs more while shaking his head.

“He didn’t file a complaint, so there are no probationary measures necessary. Sorry, but Ty is your new roomy.”

“Then I’ll file a complaint on myself for shooting him,” I exasperate.

“You know you can’t do that,” he snickers out.

“Then you have a new roommate it seems, Commander,” I playfully add while pulling down a glass.

“That’ll be fine. I’ve got two beds, and you’ll be going on a detail tomorrow which will take at least a week to complete,” he says with his eyes bright and his smile still intact.

“Detail? What detail?” I ask while filling the glass up with water.

“I need you to join Brazen and a team of others to do a ground-running interrogation. You’ll be flying through suspects from a major lead gathered by the southern region. You’ll be in tents for the week so you can stay mobile. Mobile homes attract too much attention for this sort of run. They’ll know the United is hidden within and you’ll have runners. So grab your camping gear first thing in the morning… or in a few hours rather.”

I yawn as I lean over the bar, and I grumble under my breath.