Free Code Name: Ghost (A Warrior's Challenge 1) by Natasza Waters Page A

Commander
added.
    What the frig? “Yes, sir.”
    “For the next five days,” the Commander
added.
    Great.
    Kayla’s lips bowed into a beautiful smile.
“Work before play, Petty Officer Callahan.” She winked at him.
    Oh, she wasn’t getting off that easy. “The
exercises will be over around eleven. I’ll come get you after your
shift.”
    “Petty Officer Callahan. Office ,” the
Commander ordered.
    What now?
    “Night, Red,” the Commander said, stepping
out of his way.
    “Night, men,” Red tipped a finger to his
head and left.
    “Close the door, Mace.”
    It was a definite order and the underlying
hum of agitation in the Commander’s voice wasn’t missed either.
“Sir?”
    “Ms. Banks is concentrating on her job right
now,” he began, strolling to his desk and sitting on the edge,
crossing his arms, then pinning a stormy gaze on him. “I suggest
you let her do that.”
    “With all due respect, Commander, I don’t
think she wants to study at twenty-three hundred hours after a full
shift. In fact, last week she worked two double shifts.”
    “I know her schedule, Mace.”
    He did? Kayla probably couldn’t move
an inch without him scrutinizing and looking for a reason to get
rid of her. “Sir—”
    “Mace, this is not up for debate.”
    “Sir, I asked her to dinner.”
    “You asked Ms. Banks to marry you.”
    “She said no.” The Commander’s scowl
deepened. If that wasn’t enough of a sign he was pissed off, the
bear trap jaw that could snap orders and your head off, took on a
rigid edge.
    “Although you don’t work together, there is
protocol.”
    “Protocol?” What the hell was he talking
about? There wasn’t any protocol, except within departments,
and only classified ones. “Sir, she shouldn’t be walking by herself
after work with the Shark roaming around.”
    The muscles in his arms tensed. “She’s
not.”
    “Yes, she does. I caught her doing it three
nights ago, and I’ve been walking her to the bus every night.”
    “I know that.”
    Holy shit! The Commander had been
following her? “Sir, um—”
    “Mace, I don’t want you fraternizing with my
Ka…with my staff. Do you understand?”
    Technically, Kayla and he did fall under the
Commander’s command, but Captain Redding was her direct reporting
officer. With him being a SEAL, and she working in another
department, they weren’t breaking any rules. “Sir, again with all
due respect, why do you care?”
    The Commander had leniency, but an order was
a different matter. “Because it’s not appropriate.”
    Appropriate! What the fuck was going on
here? “She doesn’t know anyone here, sir.”
    “I’m sure she’ll make friends.”
    “I never see her talking to anyone else. She
comes, she works, she leaves.”
    The Commander glared at him, working his
cheek at the same time. “I’m sure you have plenty of other women to
keep you company, Mace. Ms. Banks has enough on her plate right
now. She doesn’t need you chasing her skirt.”
    “Commander, she’s from another country.”
    “Obviously.”
    “She doesn’t have a family. I’m just trying
to be a friend.” Okay, so maybe he wanted more than that and knew
it was unlikely, but hell… “She’s got you glaring at her all the
time like you hate her and want her to leave.”
    His scowl disintegrated. “Did she say
that?”
    He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Maybe.”
    The Commander’s head swiveled toward the ops
room, and his brows flexed with concern. “That’s not my
intent.”
    “Maybe not, sir, but that’s how it’s coming
across.”
    “I’ll talk to her.”
    “She’s not concerned. She says she’s
survived far worse than you.”
    A rare grin cracked the Commander’s
expression. “Did she now?”
    “We’re deploying in a few days, and Kayla
doesn’t seem to take the threat of the Blood Shark seriously.”
    The Commander sighed, palming the edge of
the desk. “I know that, too, but I’m not sure why.”
    “She’s right in the