Chapter 27
The elevator shot upward and Jessa’s stomach lurched.
This time her discomfort had nothing to do with morning sickness and a whole lot to do with the building they were in.
The Alpha squadron headquarters of HERO Force looked like any old building from the outside, but once they went inside those front doors, it could only be likened to itself, with long governmental hallways, retinal scanners beside every other doorway, and overhead lights that gave everything an omniscient glow.
She hated this building. She had always hated this building.
Cowboy shot her an understanding look, but Jax seemed oblivious to her distress.
She hadn't been here since Ralph was alive, and even then her visits had been infrequent.
There was no reason for her to come to HERO Force, and it wasn't a building that was easily accessible for people who weren’t part of the team.
The elevator came to an abrupt halt, the doors opening to an area lit by a blue security light.
Oh God, I hate this so much.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Andersson. The team is waiting for you in conference room three."
Jax nodded almost imperceptibly. "Thank you."
The receptionist eyed Jessa with obvious curiosity, and Jessa wondered if the other woman remembered she was Ralph's wife or if she was simply shocked to see another woman inside the hallowed walls of this testosterone castle.
Jax bent at the waist and stared into a scanner, the doorway beside it sliding open with a whoosh, and he stepped back for Jessa to enter before him.
Her legs were quaking as she walked, memories flitting through her consciousness. A memory of her husband teased the edge of her mind, Ralph explaining why they were going wheels up just days after returning from a mission.
We have to extract the girl as quickly as possible.
Extract the girl, and easy euphemism for the type of mission she knew well. You couldn't be married to a Navy SEAL for long without understanding extraction was a fancy word for going after the bad guys, guns blazing, your life on the line for someone else's in the dark of night.
The last time there'd been an extraction, Ralph had come home with a shiny new bullet hole in his leg. Jessa might have hated this, but she’d loved the man, and God knew the man loved the job.
They rounded a corner and several desks came into view. A young man stood up and bent his head in recognition. "Mrs. McConnell, it's good to see you again."
"Thank you." Her stomach rolled, and she wished she could vomit. Perhaps then she would feel better, purge herself of this awful feeling that HERO Force instilled in her to this day.
She met the empty stares of the others around him, people she once knew casually who now seemed to see straight through her.
I’m a reminder of everything that could ever go wrong.
Jax stopped walking and turned to her. "Why don't you wait in my office?"
She didn't know where that was, which in and of itself was a reprieve. She nodded.
He lowered his voice. "I'll have someone stationed outside the door."
"In case I try to leave."
"Yes."
She narrowed her eyes. "I wonder what your loyal HERO Force subjects would think if they knew you slept with Ralph's wife?"
His eyes narrowed. "Ralph is gone, Jessa. Dead men don't have wives."
"You son of a bitch." She stole a glance at Cowboy, who had moved several steps away and was pretending he could not hear. "You can be as much of an asshole as you want to be, but don't you ever say that about my husband again."
"What? That he's dead? Or that I shouldn't have to act like he's alive when his widow is carrying my child?"
She reached up and slapped him across the face. For a moment, he registered no reaction at all, then he grabbed her by the elbow and marched several yards down a hallway, pulling her inside a dark room and turning on the lights.
He bit out his words. "You do realize the irony here is that nothing I said is untrue. Ralph is dead and gone. He is no longer married to you, remember? Till death do us part. Now you might miss him, but that does not mean we did anything wrong when we slept together. So don't imply I have something to be ashamed about in front of my coworkers, or even God himself, because I don’t—”
"Let me go."
"And you don't, either. Even though you planned all this, and right now you can't forgive yourself for doing it, you did not betray your husband."
She yanked her arm away from him. "I don't need your absolution."
Jax stared at her, his hard eyes giving nothing away. "Suit yourself." He walked out of the office, closing the door behind him.