Feeling like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, Eli froze. Had he heard him right?
“What mission?” he questioned.
“I’m sorry, bro. It’s classified,” Vince replied apologetically, followed by a heavy sigh.
He closed his eyes, trying to think. Classified meant the expected survival rate for the mission would be less than forty percent, and that was probably generous. His younger brother could not go on that mission.
He couldn’t let that happen – not to his family.
“Can you do something about it?” he asked hopefully.
He knew Vincent would try his best to help. They'd been buddies for a long time. And Eli had saved his life on more than one occasion back when he was still active duty.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Vincent replied hesitantly. “But I’m only doing this because I owe my life to you.”
“Give the mission to another team,” Eli said after a moment of silence.
He knew it was a selfish thing to ask. But he couldn't afford to lose a family member. Everything he was doing now was for his family's sake.
Whatever happened, he would never let his family perish.
“I will,” Vincent responded.
“Thanks, dude. Thank you.”
“No problem. I’ll call you again.”
Turning, he opened the bathroom door, only to find Meredith pressed against it. She was shocked, and it was obvious she'd been eavesdropping. He was certain she'd heard everything.
Anger surged through him.
But it quickly vanished when he got a good look at her. She had nothing but the blanket wrapped around her body. She looked like a child who'd just gotten up from bed.
“Please keep this a secret,” he mumbled while picking up his clothes.
Everything was getting more and more complicated.
Why in the world was this happening to him?She nodded her head, unable to speak a word. She was clearly shaken up by what she had heard. Welcome to the dark side of politics, he thought as he watched her wrap the blanket tighter around herself, reminding him for all the world of a shroud.
Chapter Twenty-Four
True to her word, Meredith kept quiet about the conversation she'd overheard. But the strike went south, and soon it was all over the news.
A SEAL and civilians had died in the attack.
And it sounded so bad.
She felt remiss as a journalist for not writing about this, especially when she had inside knowledge. But she'd made a promise. And she wasn't about to break his trust for an article.
She didn't have the courage or the desire to end whatever it was they had. She couldn't call it a relationship, she knew that. But it was more than just sex to her.
During a press conference, the strike came up almost immediately when they opened the floor to questions. She could tell Elijah was struggling to find the right words to say.
They asked if he would condone these kinds of strikes if elected president.
She tried her best not to cringe.
It was a tricky question.
He answered in the safest possible way, referring to his experience as a SEAL and stating that his actions would depend on the situation and the intel available to him.
When the conference was over, she went to grab a bite to eat with Ava and Miriam. She had work to do, and it would hopefully distract her for a few hours.
Ava and Miriam started chatting about the conference. Both of them had noticed how tense Elijah's body language had been when they'd questioned him about the SEALs. Meredith decided to stay out of the conversation. She opened her laptop and started composing an e-mail to Mitch.
It would be better if she kept silent.
She was afraid her tongue would give her away.
“What about you? What do you think?” Ava asked, nudging her.
“I… don’t really know. I’m not very familiar with the military,” she murmured softly, trying her best not to choke on her words. “I grew up in a civilian family, as you guys know,” she said quietly.
Yep, she didn’t know a thing about the military in general. But she knew something – particularly on the current issue.
“Oh come on. He must have told you something,” Miriam said while rolling her eyes.
“What do you mean?” she asked with a frown.
“I mean, he seems to like you,” Miriam answered while Ava snickered.
Meredith froze. Had they really been that obvious?
Bored with the lack of substance in her replies, Ava and Miriam went on with their business in silence – just like everybody else was doing. She was glad she was able to shrug off their questions.
She hated lying.
But she’d do it – for Elijah.
After lunch, Meredith and the rest of the group went back to the hotel and headed to their own rooms. She was not sure if she could rest since her mind was filled with questions. Why was she keeping his secret? What would happen to her? To him? What would happen to them? Would everything be over in just a night?
Would it be just a night to remember?
Like an answer from heaven, there was a knock on her door. She quickly opened it and saw Elijah standing in front of her. He looked stressed.
“Hi,” she whispered, checking the hallways.
“Hi,” he replied hoarsely.
Without a word, she pulled him inside her room. She then sighed after locking the doors. She had a lot to ask him. But she didn’t know where to start.
“Did you eat?” she ask.
It was stupid.
“Yeah, a bit,” he replied.
“So…”
“I’m keeping your promise, Meredith. Nobody has to know about what you heard the last time,” he spoke in between heavy breaths.
And that was enough for her to understand that he was still hesitant to trust her words. She'd promised him, hadn't she?
“I promised, didn’t I? So get your act together because everybody thinks that your answers regarding the issue are weak,” she retorted, feeling a bit insulted.
“What did you say?” he asked, alarmed.
“Nothing. There was nothing I could comment. Because seriously, I don’t have any idea what to say,” she responded while gritting her teeth.
Elijah sighed in relief. And it made her more annoyed. Was that the only thing he wanted to talk with her? What about her? What about them?
“Thank you,” he mumbled sincerely. “I’m just worried. I’m sorry for doubting you.”
“It’s okay,” she responded, trying to keep her tone neutral.
She was trying her best not to burst out crying. She never should have expected anything from him.
Sex.
It was just sex.
What was she thinking? She was the one who'd surrendered to him. She didn’t have the right to feel bitter about it. He'd just granted her wish.
“I trust you,” he said before planting a kiss on her forehead. “Thank you,” he added before turning on his heels, leaving her frozen in place.
With that very simple gesture, Meredith felt a whole lot better. Maybe she was just overthinking things. She thought she should be more considerate of his situation.
For now, she should be content with whatever they have.
Chapter Twenty-Five