Connell. The general, in his blue-plaid hospital gown, was the only one not dressed in camo attire. Sara wasn’t used to seeing him in anything but his casual uniform, jeans and T-shirt during off hours, or, occasionally, something more formal.
“By now it should be secured in an area within the base’s main parking garage, sir,” Drew said, leaning toward him. “Lieutenant McLinder went with Sergeant Connell to rent a special flatbed vehicle to move it, and they arrived back at the base just in time for the lieutenant to accompany me here.”
The general nodded his approval toward Sara. The gingerness of the movement might not have been obvious to the others in this room who didn’t work with him daily, but Sara could tell that he was in real discomfort—and trying to hide it. They all were doctors but she knew the general better than any of them.
She was his primary aide and hoped she would continue in that position for a long time to come.
But maybe not where he had intended, most recently, to station himself—Ft. Lukman.
An image of Sergeant Jason Connell flashed through Sara’s mind, and she willed it away. If they didn’t return to the base housing Alpha Force, then she would never see the gorgeous, devil-may-care noncom again. In either of his forms.
Either of his forms? Heck, the fire in the general’s car had taken precedence in her mind over all else—even pondering how strange, and outrageous, the reality of shapeshifting was.
Not seeing Jason again would definitely be for the best.
“What’s the next step, then?” the general asked. “I presume you’re having the remains examined by someone who’ll be able to tell me what happened to the damned thing.”
“I will, sir,” Drew said. “I’m just having a little difficulty deciding on the right kind of forensics team for this. I of course don’t want to use a civilian team, and because of the...well, delicate nature of the units stationed at Ft. Lukman and their relationship, I want to be sure I get the right kind of expertise in place, with complete discretion. And honesty.”
“In other words,” Simon said drily from his seat on the opposite side of the general’s bed, “you want to bring in someone who won’t either be ready to reveal any unusual things he may see—like shapeshifting—or afraid to point fingers at our new best friends, the Ultra Special Forces Team.”
Simon was a tall man, whose straight, dark eyebrows matched his wavy, thick hair. Sara had noticed how often he shot glances toward his wife. She knew they were newlyweds, and had also heard, as a result of the general’s grumblings, some of the awful details of their kidnapping while on their honeymoon.
Fortunately, other members of Alpha Force, primarily Simon’s brother, Lieutenant Quinn Parran, and Grace’s aide, Sergeant Kristine Norwood, had helped to bring them home— although their involvement hadn’t been strictly in accordance with military protocol. That hadn’t pleased the general—but Sara thought his irritation had been more for show in his position as commanding officer of Alpha Force than his real feelings.
What Simon had just said worried Sara, who liked everything military to be by the book. That included all units being...well, ordinary—even if she already knew that Alpha Force was anything but.
Plus, all military units should unquestionably keep any rivalry under control for the good of the country.
Assuming rivalry was what was going on at Ft. Lukman. If so, it was way out of hand in the event it had been the reason for General Yarrow’s injury.
“You think they’re responsible for this?” Sara demanded, recalling how Jason and she had already discussed that possibility. Her initial experiences with members of the USFT unit, in the cafeteria, in the BOQ and otherwise, hadn’t been especially cordial. In fact, she’d sensed a lot of animosity from that team without understanding why...although maybe they simply mistrusted another military unit alleged to have woo-woo stuff affiliated with it, like shapeshifters. She could understand that. But all military troops had to act for the good of the country, not in accordance with their own suspicions or misgivings.
Surely no one within the USFT would intentionally do something to harm the commanding officer of another unit...would they?
Simon appeared ready to say something affirmative in response to Sara’s question, but the general waved his hand dismissively. “Unknown, at least for now. That’s why we have to be sure to handle the investigation appropriately.”
“Do you have any suggestions about who should investigate your car, then, General?” asked Grace, who was seated beside her husband, opposite Sara.
Before he responded, Sara broke in. “I have an idea, sir. At least for starters. We can keep it low-key at first, but there’s someone stationed at Ft. Lukman who apparently has an excellent background in working with cars. If we get him to do more than just move the vehicle—”
“You’re talking about Sergeant Jason Connell, aren’t you?” Simon’s tone was neutral, but there was something troubling about the way he avoided looking toward Drew—cousin to the soldier under discussion.
“That’s right,” Sara agreed. “I understand he’s an expert in fixing automobiles. As long as he doesn’t do anything to obscure any evidence needed to be confirmed by a neutral third party, why not have him start the investigation? Major Connell already directed that he take a lot of confirming photographs while the car was still at the scene of the event. They can be shown to whoever conducts the official investigation later, too.” She didn’t call what had happened an accident. With that intense a fire, she suspected it was anything but.
“I don’t mean to insult your cousin, Drew,” cut in Grace, her gaze now on the major, “or offend you, but—”
“But you’re going to, anyway.” Drew turned to Sara. “You’re probably not aware of the full situation with Jason, Sara, but—”
“But he’s a car thief,” broke in Simon.
“Was a car thief.” Drew’s expression darkened as he turned toward the lieutenant. “He enlisted in the military and joined Alpha Force as part of his penance for past misconduct.”
“Right. It didn’t hurt that joining up kept him out of prison.” Simon was smiling now. “Hey, we understand. Far as we know, he’s now a model soldier. A fine member of Alpha Force. We’ve seen him do great things with the unit’s automobiles that need servicing. But—”
“I assume you’re not suggesting that he could have been the one to somehow booby-trap my car, are you?” asked the general drily. “Why would he?”
“Why did anyone?” countered Simon. “Assuming it wasn’t just spontaneous combustion.”
Sara tuned out of the discussion for a moment, digesting what she had just learned. Sergeant Jason Connell wasn’t merely a car lover and outstanding mechanic. He had apparently been arrested, and maybe convicted, of being a car thief. He must have agreed to join Alpha Force and throw himself under the scrutiny of his well-regarded cousin Major Drew Connell, a commissioned officer and a medical doctor to boot, to keep himself out of prison.
And this was the guy Sara had found so sexually exciting?
Hell, even if he was sexually exciting, everything she learned about him made him even more of a wrong choice for involvement.
Even
