Home - COD Simon Ghost Riley X Female OC

Chapter 17

Soap and Ghost were picked up. The bodies of the cartel men were left behind.

Price informed them that their scouts had been injured and left behind but not killed. And not before taking out a handful of the coyotes which likely saved the Lieutenant and the Sergeant a lot of heartburn. Or worse.

Everyone back at camp was on edge. None of what Halcon had given them was reliable intel and while they had prepared for multiple things, the gang of night riders was low on their list.

"We go back. Regroup." Price stated. "Take care of our men. Prepare for her return trip."

They were silent on the trip back. They had failed.

All that was running through Ghost's mind was the fact that the falcon was still on the base with Mariana. And that nothing seemed to be going to plan. And that this bought him some time to try and convince her to get out while she still could.

They rolled in quietly, without announcing themselves in case they were compromised. It seemed possible that their previous locations had been. He jumped from the truck and removed his helmet, leaving it behind. He didn't wait around for medical to check him out or to help unload.

He walked through the kitchen and then the halls to sleeping quarters. He looked inside her room but it was empty. He walked past the library but no lights were on. He stood in the dark hall for a moment. He had days worth of dirt and grime to wash off. He needed to rest. But he needed to lay eyes on her, to know she was alright.

Mariana had taken advantage of the warmer spring evenings a lot, throwing on a jacket and walking the grounds. It was always quiet when the men were gone and she could regain some strength while letting the open sky soak into her skin. She hoped it might give her some of its light and strength.

That night was no different, except as she walked back through rows of vehicles to the garage, she heard one of the big metal doors slam. She stopped, wondering if someone was coming out for a break, like her, and whether she should avoid them. Leave them be. She stood still for a second, listening for them to take a seat or light up. Neither happened so she kept walking.

She stopped again, hard, when she saw him. She froze, watching for a sign that it was really Simon, that he was really standing there. But he was already walking toward her alarmingly quickly. Her heart sped up with his footsteps. He reached where she stood at the edge of the yardlight in just a few strides.

"Simon?" She asked quietly, suddenly very nervous as to why he seemed so serious. As to why he was there at all.

He thought he would feel relief when he saw her but he just felt urgent. He gripped her arm above the elbow and pulled her back into the shadows between two vehicles.

"Where were you?" He asked her, his voice low.

She knit her brows, confused. He was confused by the question, too. Where else would she be?

"I was just out here." She waved her arm toward the yard. "I went for a walk."

Good. She could use the exercise. "I was looking for you."

He faced her, and such a small space separated them. Her head felt light all of the sudden.

"I'm sorry." She shook her head once, meeting his eyes, dark beneath the mask and his lowered brow. He began to pull off his gloves and she swallowed. "I didn't know you were back."

He wished he had snapped a photo of her the heartbeat before she noticed him. Just out of the light, she had her eyes on the sky as usual. She belonged there. This land was her legacy, her home, and it was beautiful to her. Her bright eyes were always wide open to drink it in.