Rising Tomorrow (Roc de Chere Book 1) by Mariana Morgan (essential reading txt) 📕

the kitchen, but as her irritation mounted, she refilled her coffee mug and sat down again, willing herself to wait in silence for what was to come. But then the bastard simply stood up, took his coffee with him and left, all without a single word, and she could take the wait no more. She followed.

‘And the CO was not available because…?’ Gonzalez prodded. He knew he had never actually given Ingram permission for the shot of nano-painkillers, though he had been about to accept it when she jammed the syringe into him anyway.

‘Because he was pulling one of his crazy stunts, performing a partial nano-transformation on his conscious body until said body could take no more and required a dose of heavy painkillers, sir!’ Ingram replied without missing a beat, and Gonzalez flinched, surprised. Ingram was never someone to wrap her thoughts into pointless pleasantries before speaking, and she knew Gonzalez approved of honesty as the quickest method of efficient communication, but that bite was unusual even for her.

‘Excuse me, Sergeant?’ he said. It came out colder and with more emphasis on her Leech rank then he really wanted, but he couldn’t help himself.

Part of him already knew what was coming next. With there being a bounty on his head, and the MIS having issued a detain-on-sight order, he couldn’t claim command authority based on his military rank. At least not officially. As Major Toscano, she outranked his police rank of DCI, which they both knew was only still valid because Wagner hadn’t wasted time on officially demoting him. The fact that he had remained in command so far was based on an unspoken agreement, not hard facts or regulations. Yes, he was the most experienced operative, with the greatest amount of knowledge and contacts, but he also had exactly zero official authority.

Until last night, the chain of command hadn’t been questioned. After what Wagner did to Megan, and how he had flaunted it in front of Gonzalez, things had changed. Ingram must have determined that he was no longer fit to be in charge.

‘I said, the CO was not available because he was pulling one of his crazy—’ She cut herself off with a sigh. She had never wanted to fight him for command, but from his expression it was obvious that that was what he expected.

Surely he knows me better than that. Heck, I don’t even want to be in command. While I might have outgrown my Leech rank years ago, I know my damn limits. I know I’m too hot-headed, too hasty and too personally invested to lead.

‘I’m sorry, sir,’ Ingram said, breaking the awkward silence. ‘We all needed rest, especially you, and I acted without thinking. Or without consulting Lieutenant Rivas.’ There, I said it. I apologised, damn you.

Gonzalez studied Ingram intently. Legally, he couldn’t stop her from pulling rank on him. One call to the MIS would technically get her reinstated as Major Aisha Toscano, even if getting a new BCC to go with it, or undoing the cosmetic nano-transformation her body had been through, would take a bit longer.

‘Do you want the command?’ he asked openly. Wagner had really fucked with his head; he was turning paranoid for no reason.

‘No, sir!’ Ingram replied so fast it was obvious she didn’t even want to think about it. That she had already thought about it and had no reservations about supporting the status quo.

‘But you won’t stop overstepping your authority and arguing with me if I’m about to pull one of my crazy stunts, will you?’

‘No, sir!’ Ingram grinned wide, eyes twinkling. That she could do. Would do.

‘Good. Just try to maintain some level of propriety next time, or you may find out just how hard I can smack back,’ he threatened, but his own eyes were twinkling as well.

‘Yes, sir,’ Ingram agreed readily. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

He felt somewhat sheepish for having thought she might yank command away from him. He knew her better than to suspect she would want to mess with the chain of command, especially with everything else going on.

He had wanted to sort out her official Leech status from the day she arrived at Roc de Chere, but he hadn’t found a way to do it. He had lost his authority to give a battlefield commission the moment the MIS relieved him of command. And as a police officer he couldn’t give a battlefield promotion or a commission, since the Police Forces didn’t have battlefield advancement options. Well, they didn’t even have a battlefield, now that he thought about it.

Ingram herself could technically contact the MIS to have her officer rank reinstated, but if she did, they would order her to either arrest him or to give them their location. And he knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t do either, which would lead to her being charged with treason and relieved of duty along with him. He couldn’t let that happen, so he had no choice but to leave things as they were.

Ingram had known from day one that she might end up stuck with the Leech identity for a while. She had known the risks and the consequences, and even since her arrival at Roc de Chere it hadn’t been something they needed to discuss. But even if officially he couldn’t offer her a rank corresponding to her skills and experience, he could make damn sure he treated her like the second-in-command she had been for over three years now. Someone he could bounce his ideas and plans off, and someone who offered good advice even at the expense of pissing him off from time to time.

He gave her a reassuring nod and a smile, one that he hoped conveyed a clear ‘welcome back’, before moving on to the next item on his agenda.

‘And you!’ Gonzalez turned his attention to Rivas, who looked deeply uncomfortable to be intruding in what should have been a private conversation. ‘She might have taken responsibility for the sleeping