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Her eyes opened wide and she juet me to a phone so I can call in to work Joan will be worried sick if I' to have to worry, then We won't beany calls"

"But I have to" She clutched his ar around his biceps

David suppressed a shudder of sheer ain and it felt even better this ti addicted

His body's response was as irritating as it was predictable He had to get over his jones for this girl and fast

"Listen, if you call Joan, you could be putting her in danger I'm sure the Swarm had you under surveillance before the attack It's likely that they knoho your friends and faht contact It's even possible they could somehow trace the call back to us as well And if not, then they hunpleasant means"

"But I wouldn't tell her where we are" Her voice was frantic, pleading

David steeled hi She needed the truth so she wouldn't do anything dangerous "It wouldn't matter if she knew or not They'd still hurt her I know you don't want that"

Her hands went limp and fell away from him His arm burned in fury at the loss of her touch David clenched his teeth and held his ground

She nodded, bowing her head, but not before David saw a single tear glitter behind her glasses

It was his undoing He ordered his dick to shut the hell up and pulled her into his arms She was stiff and cold, but she didn't pull away Finally, her arainst his throat

"I hate this," she whispered Her war hi co more, but he held his balance "I know But it will all be over soon" He prayed it wasn't too ht with tears, her nose pink "And then what? I know I can't go back to ain the next time someone finds a bit of ciphertext like this one All I kno to do is what I've learned in school, which is entirely unique, and any job I could get would be like a red flag, even if I changed ned breath, which pressed her s caress "I'll never again get to work in acade to her now, but he did try to soften the bloith a quiet, understanding tone "If you want to continue doing the sa, the only safe option you'll have is to work for the government, probably in a secure facility under their protection"

"I can't do that After this one job, I'ain"

"The military isn't all that bad, Noelle"

Noelle shook her head, led curls sway over the back of David's hands He had to grip her waist hard to keep fro herhis resistance a new kind of hell "It may be a necessary evil, but I have to stand by my conscience, f have a responsibility to ensure that no hars I create, and I just don't trust the military to share that responsibility withthat David had spent his life doing She wasn't the only one who shared the opinion that the military was evil, but public opinion had never really bothered David before He'd done what he thought was right End of story

Even when ithe'd worked for because he kneas no longer going to be able to lead his team safely His emotions made him a liability

His voice was a little oing to a hell of a lot of trouble to keep you alive"

She pulled away and stared up at hi they want Monroe illing to have me executed if I didn't cooperate That isn't exactly a friendly organization"

"We're not designed to be friendly We're designed to get the job done, no matter how unpleasant it may be"

"I'll do this one job, but after that, I' else, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night"

David grunted "And I can't sleep at night knowing there was so to help protect the lives of innocents"

"As long as you get to choose whose lives get protected and whose don't"

David felt his lip lift in a near snarl "I didn't choose for my wife to die The Swarm did that Don't stand there and act all sancti about"

A wave of guilt spread over her features "I'ine what it must be like for you to lose the woman you love"

David's eyes slid shut and he willed hiht rein He couldn't afford to lose it right now, no rieved for his Mary "I know you're not happy about this situation, but I need you to cooperate and get this code broken as fast as you can Whether or not you agree with the s out there, you 're part of that strategy now"

"I know, and I will do the best I kno, just don't expect this one job to becoaway I won't ever work for you guys again"

"Don't make any decisions about that now You'll have plenty of time later to decide what you want to do when there aren't people trying to kill you"

"That's justas I'roup--be they the US government or otherwise--there will always be someone out to use ain"

She was right David just wished she hadn't been sure it out so soon

"Listen," said David, forcing his voice to quiet to a soothing tone "It's after two in the s will look better when you're not so tired Maybe not great, but better"