Temptation (Simon Riley x OC reader)

8.

That evening remained persistent in my mind. Price really knew how to put up a convincing facade, he should've been an actor. It was just a stupid joke, but it left a sour taste in my mouth. He laughed with me but he knew. He knew my dirty secret. A phase of my life I wasn't proud of. I took drastic measures to make sure no one would EVER find out. Yet it was all for nothing.

I looked at myself in the mirror of the bathroom. My hair was messy and the bags under my eyes evident. I washed my face and combed through the nest of hair that had formed on my head overnight. After about 25 minutes of agony and trying not to scream I managed to put my hair in a braid, leaving it alone for now.

I tied my boots and wore my vest, my home country flag patch displayed on my chest proudly. It rained and thundered outside, yet that didn't stop the training soldiers from following through with their usual routines. I envied their dedication yet worried for them. The door vibrated, the sound of knocks coming from it

"Yes yes, I'm coming."

I opened the door to see Soap smiling happily at me

"Morning there, pretty lady. Ready for your first day back on duty? Hope you've rested up"

"Oh right- time flies by when you have nothing to do"

I joked and earned a chuckle from him. He always knew how to cheer up someone, even if he didn't know it. Such a cheerful and sunny person could only be defined as John McTavish

"Mother Nature is mourning"

I blurted out whilst we walked towards the briefing room. Soap turned to me with a confused look

"What do you mean?"

"The weather. It's rainy and dark. I like to think it's because Mother Nature is mourning someone"

"That's one way to say the weather is shit"

We finally arrived at the room where the rest of the group was in. Price was talking to Gaz, Ghost was leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and tired eyes.

"Great. We're all here. Let's begin."

Price projected the first slide on the wall in front of us. There was a photo of Hassan walking with a briefcase. He was wearing glasses to hide his identity, black clothes and a bandana tied tightly to his left arm

"Hassan has been spotted making deals with cartel. We have reason to suspect the missiles are being transported by them on US soil."

He changed slide and another photo was projected. A map of a Mexican town in the middle of nowhere, wilderness surrounding it

"He has a hideout spot in Las Almas. We'll be meeting up with Colonel Vargas for support. Soap and Ghost, you two will take the east side of the property. Me and Gaz will take the west side. Vargas will lend his men to us and help out with wiping out the enemy resistance"

"What's my role in all this?"

I raised my hand to ask, noticing none of the plans included me at all

"I'm glad you asked, Kat. Unfortunately a sniper is not needed in this phase of the mission as it will be an easy in and out operation, but we will need you to infiltrate the base of El Sin Nombre. A cartel boss that keeps his identity concealed. He has eyes everywhere in Las Almas, so your help will be crucial. If we don't find Sin Nombre, we won't find the missiles. I'll give you more information on it when we get to Mexico. All clear?"

Price finished speaking and I nodded, the rest of the team nodding in unison as well

"Ghost. All clear?"

I almost forgot he was there too. His eyes moved to look at Price, letting his voice be heard

"Affirmative, sir."

His mood seemed grumpy, groggy almost. Was he just tired or was something on his mind? I shouldn't push it, he still hates me. But something in me is telling me to at least try to explain what happened and work it out. If we begin arguing on the battlefield we might as well get killed

I waited for everyone to leave until Ghost turned to walk out as well. I put my hand on his arm to stop him

"Wait Ghost. Could we talk?"

"What do you want."

Again with that cold tone

"Don't be like that and listen to me. What happened throughout this week was nothing but an accident. I didn't intend to kill you when I used a real bullet. You know my skill. I have a Medal of excellence for my sniping accuracy for fucks sake. There wasn't a single chance I could've... killed you"

It tasted strange to say such a thing. He was unpredictable, despicable and annoying. He angered me to no end but I had no reason to kill him

"You made a mistake and paid the price for it. That doesn't mean I'm your friend, Katarina-"

"I didn't see your face."

Ghost snapped his head towards me. He looked like an animal, ready to attack

"Shut it up."

"Ghost I didn't see your face. I didn't see anything. I don't want to see."

"I said shut up!"

"No! Stop telling me to shut up! Stop acting as if my words would burn you! I'm trying to make peace so we can work together"

He raised his hand in a fist, but instead of hitting me square in the face, he pointed the gloved index finger at me

"Listen closely you crazy bitch. I don't give a shit what you want. You can pretend and bat your lashes all you want, you can even miss on purpose and shoot yourself for all I care but don't you dare..."

"Don't I dare do what? Speak to you? Don't I dare tell the truth? Tell me, Ghost. What are you so scared about"

"I'm warning you. Shut. Your. Mouth"

I scoffed and shook my head in disappointment at his stubborn Behavior. Childish. It got on my nerves how he refuses to acknowledge the problem with us, instead deciding to choke it down and forget about it. That's not how a team should be working. At this rate we could seriously get each other in danger

"You're a coward, Simon Riley."

"The fuck did you just say?"

"I said you're a coward. You avoid speaking to me, you push me away when I try to explain and apologize. What have I done to you?"

"A bitch like you shouldn't be in this team. You sit on your ass all day, barking like a dog for someone to pay attention to you"

"Excuse me?"

How dare he speak to me so rudely? After I put in the effort to make amends and solve things? You know what. Fuck you too.

"How dare you say something like that? Are you even listening to yourself, you sound like an angry child"

"Oh I sound like a child? That's why you felt the need to fake your exhaustion and get a signed bed rest? Doesn't that sound a bit too hypocritical"

"You don't know shit."

"I know enough. You begged the doctor to sign it. If you can't handle the job, get the fuck out of my way."

Ghost gave me one last glare before leaving me alone in the briefing room, slamming the door behind himself on the way out. I sighed, rubbing my forehead. How will I fix this too? No. I'm done trying to glue all things together. He's a grown man. He can look for me when he'll get back to his senses.