Bearing It All by Vonnie Davis Read Free Book Online Page A

drones? Can ye tell me that, Anisa?”
    “I was told by superiors, in confidence, that I was tagged for the French position on the secretive International Coalition Against Terrorism, or ICAT, because I was the definitive expert on drones.”
    “Okay, but that still doesna make complete sense to me.” He stood and paced in front of the fireplace, slicing the air with the edge of his hand. “I can understand the schooling and the extra training in drone construction.” The fingers of both hands slipped into the front pockets of his jeans. “But why the survival and training should ye be captured?” His brown eyes widened for a beat, as if comprehension struck him. “Ye were supposed to fly the damn thing, were’na ye? After all, ye flew it here. The plan was fer ye to fly low over terrorist outposts or camps and fire on them, flying so fast they wouldna see ye, and so low radar couldna pick ye up.”
    “You add things together quite well, although the truth is I’m certified to fly almost any small- to medium-sized aircraft. But you’re right in your assumptions. They were preparing me for capture and eventual torture should any part of our design fail.” God, when she put her training sequence like that, she sounded like an idiot—and a gullible one at that. Ronan was right. She’d been set up for a highly probable suicide mission, and her superiors knew it. She lifted her cup, found it empty, and set it back down.
    Ronan gathered their dirty dishes. “Want some more coffee? I’ll bring the pot over.”
    “Yes, please. You know, sharing all this with another person makes me realize how senseless I’d become. How focused I was on moving up in my military profession. All I could see was the big picture of my career, but not the details where the devil resides. I never took the time to think things through.” She glanced away and exhaled a long, slow breath. “My ego had gotten the best of me. I was sworn to secrecy and signed papers, so I couldn’t talk all this over with family or close friends. Now that I’m telling it all to you…” She ran her fingers through her short curls and, for a minute, allowed shame to wash over her. Being one of the highest-ranked women in the French armed forces was an intoxicating goal. Yet the joke had been on her.
    She held her empty mug out for Ronan. “Then I saw a memo that made me question everything.”
    He poured coffee in both their cups and set the pot on a pot holder on the coffee table. “What did ye see?”
    “I have the highest security clearance in my country.” She looked him directly in the eye. “Even though I want to tell you, I feel a strong sense of right and wrong, which is crazy considering all I did after I dug deeper and found more information.”
    He nodded. “Aye, I respect that. Tell me what ye feel comfortable with, then.”
    Anisa stared into his espresso eyes for several minutes and thought of all he’d done for her. Especially how gentlemanly he’d behaved last night, even though it was obvious she’d overreacted about a nightmare. Why not be truthful with a man her grandpa thought so much of?
    “I’m being silly. I’ve been labeled as a traitor and a terrorist, for God’s sake. It’s not as if I’m giving away any French government secrets, ones that will hurt national security. Surely, I can be honest with a man who’s taken me into his home, especially one with such a firm, biteable ass.” She fluttered her eyes just to tease him.
    A ruddiness crept across his chiseled cheeks. “I think we can keep me arse out of this conversation.”
    She wrapped her hands around her mug of hot coffee. “I’m sorry. My peeking at you last night is exactly how I got in this awful mess at work. Even as a child, I had my nose in everything. I was one of those kids who searched high and low for the hidden Christmas presents. Once I found the gaily wrapped packages, I’d carefully open them, slowly so as not to tear the paper, and peek. I