“That’s why you sat down across from me. After I waited patiently through that analysis of the KC-46 crash at JBER, you balked me every time I tried to talk to Miranda.”
Yet another shrug.
“You do that again and I’ll—”Susan certainly wouldn’t be challenging a Spec Ops warrior herself, “—sic Sadie on you. She has very sharp teeth.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Commander.” But Holly’s mood didn’t lighten for even a moment.
“Okay, why?”
Holly started that shrug, caught herself, but didn’t look up from her hands. “Nothing in those reports about how I transitioned from SASR (Special Air Service Regiment down in Australia) operator to NTSB, was there.”
No point in denying it. There wasn’t.
“Not a whole lot of folks know this outside of the regiment.” Holly again stared out the empty window as she spoke. “I lost my team. Sole survivor. Not my fault—I know that now—but my commanders weren’t impressed at the time.” Then she made a face somewhere between a grimace and half smile. “Especially as I gave them little choice in the matter. I also probably shouldn’t have attacked the unit commander at the funeral in an attempt to take all of the guilt on myself. At least that’s how Mike explained it to me. Mostly fits.”
“So you jab at authority every chance you get.” Susan would be angry if Holly’s pain wasn’t so clear to see. She wondered if Holly could see it herself. “No matter how stupid that is?”
“Well, a girl’s got to havesomefun.” She didn’t sound as if she was having much.
There was one more piece, and now that she could see through the chaff, she could make a good guess at what it was.
“Mike Munroe getting too close?”
Holly studied her hands again, flexing them, not in fists, but more as if she didn’t recognize them.
“I’ll keep my hands off him, though he is very pretty.” Susan tried to make it funny, but Holly didn’t react to that.
“He is.” She kept flexing her hands as if they hurt.