Free Ashfall by Denise A. Agnew

General finally said, “Very well, MacDaniel. You’ll leave immediately. She doesn’t know you’re coming because I didn’t get a chance to tell her before the line went dead. Make sure you take enough firepower.”
    “That bad a situation, sir?” Ian asked.
    “She told me that armed civilians are wandering her area. It’s a gated community, so the National Guard and regular military units aren’t taking charge within the closed area. She said she’s safe for now, but who knows how long that will last.” For a second his eyes looked moist. “She’s all I’ve got, MacDaniel. If anything happens to her I’ll hold you personally responsible. Get outta here.”
    Ian stood, his bearing all military. “Sir.” He nodded at the other men. “See you on the flip side.”
    After the Scot left, the General’s attention landed on the remaining two men in the room. “You two will do regular duties tomorrow. Miss Andretti, I’m afraid it’ll be boring around here for you.”
    She held up one hand. “Oh, no. I brought my writing with me.”
    He leaned back in his chair, some of the tension leaving his craggy face. “What do you write?”
    “Romance.”
    He didn’t look surprised or intrigued. “I see. Anything I’d know?”
    She couldn’t help but smile. “Not unless you read romance, Mr. Graham.”
    He returned her smile this time. “Right. Well, even though I didn’t sanction your entry into our world here, you’re welcome. I don’t throw people out into the cold once I’ve taken them in.”
    “I appreciate that.” She threw in, “But I have one other favor to ask. I hear that Mark is great at fixing security systems and I’d like to hire him to fix the one at my house. I’ll pay for his time, of course.”
    Mark smiled. “I’m happy to take a look. I’ll need to go over the system and hopefully scrounge up the parts. Or it might be a computer problem. Either way, I can probably fix it.”
    The General nodded. “All right. It’s a paying job, and at least then you’ll be safe. I’m afraid it’ll have to go on the backburner until at least tomorrow night or the next day since the men have other contract work to do.”
    Pleased, Mally said, “Thank you.”
    The General turned a cooler gaze on Adam. “I ought to kick you out on your ass for the insubordination. Unfortunately, I’m short on good men. We’ll talk later about why you’ve gotten so damned cocky. Pick up your orders at the usual time tomorrow. That will be all.”
    Adam and Mark stood and so did Mally, but the General said, “Miss Andretti, may I speak with you privately a moment?”
    Unease stirred inside Mally as she sat back down. “Of course.”
    Adam threw her an inscrutable look as he left with Mark and closed the door.
    She didn’t waste any time in asking, “Why did I sit through that meeting? It seems like it was all Sentry Security business.”
    “It was. I wanted you to see what you’re getting yourself into.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “Look, Miss Andretti, I don’t want you to take this the wrong, but you’re a distraction to my men.”
    Anger replaced curiosity. “Why is that?”
    “Because you’re a woman. More than that, you’re obviously a major influence on Becker. He’s got an exemplary military record. That sterling reputation is one reason why I hired him. As an enlisted man he received numerous awards and commendations including a Bronze Star for extraordinary actions to save other’s lives in combat when the helicopter he was in went down. He won’t even acknowledge the damned thing. He says it’s because none of the other men in his pararescue team received the medal.” The General shrugged. “The man is modest as hell. Since he’s been working with me he hasn’t made one wrong step. As soon as he started talking to you on that damned ham radio his attitude went to hell.”
    All this information threw her. “How so?”
    “He’s mouthing off at me like I don’t sign his