"Absolutely Not."

Chapter 50: Envy

"I've been thinkin', Ghost."

Sat leaning back in the wooden chair across from Price with my elbows resting on the armrests, hands interlaced above my sternum, I counted down the seconds until I could leave. Do something other than have a conversation I didn't want to have.

Preferably something that involved having another round of reminding Kelsey just how much she fucking meant to me.

My dick twitched at the thought.

Fuck. Absolutely not. I would not be be getting a hard-on in front of my boss, of all fucking people.

"Careful," I muttered, my voice low with weariness, and a hint of boredom.

As I emanated the air of difference, he attempted to command the room by leaning on his forearms atop his desk, his expression nothing short of holding an amusement that had once sent a shiver down my spine when I was still green.

He shook his head as if he were amused by my dry comment. "About Kelsey being the bait."

Thank fuck for the balaclava or he would have seen how my jaw clenched or how a brow might have twitched. Maybe this was why fraternization wasn't really allowed. I mean, I understood why before, I wasn't completely ignorant to relationships obviously, but now I could empathize. I could comprehend the struggle, torn between heart and duty.

My tone dropped a bit to reflect my displeasure of where this was going. "And what about it?"

"Well," he cleared his throat, "I think we should consider laying down the foundation to the plan, solidify going through with it. We starved out a Shadow. It's only a matter of time before Graves discovers it."

At that moment, my heart dropped right down to my ass. This was why I initially refused Kelsey wanting to be used as bait — it just put a terrible taste in my mouth, leaving me with the tang of dread to power through.

I couldn't let myself get distracted, though, or have Price believe that I was. I didn't want to think what would happen to either myself or Kelsey if he calculated some sort of imperfection in his plan if my feelings were the root cause of said flaw. He knew, but he would pay any price as long as he got what he wanted.

And if that meant a few sacrifices? He'd pay it.

Ruthless son-of-a-bitch, and I couldn't help but to admire him for it even if caused my stomach to twist.

"You haven't sent back his body yet?" I asked as if I didn't already know the answer.

"No," he answered with a shrug, unbothered, "Sent 'im over to the next base to be kept in the morgue until it's safe to send 'im back. As far as Graves is concerned, the Shadow's still alive, and it'll stay like that until it's safe to do so."

I nodded. What else could I do? "So what do you want Kelsey to do? Assuming she'll still be willing." assuming that you'd want me to be the one to tell her, not you. It would be an easier blow, if the plan came out of my mouth, and not his.

Since her last plan went to shit, she'd have no say-so in any of the plan. All commands, all of the decisions, made by someone else seeing that Price probably didn't trust anything that popped in her head anymore. And a part of me didn't either, at least with stuff that revolved around her staying alive.

The girl had a tendency to risk her neck in every mission, and with her mental state twindling in a similar fashion as before, it was only a matter of time before she lost more than just a damn finger.

"Be bait," he continued, "Like I said. In Graves' eyes, she's been nothing but trouble, like being the reason behind Shadows dying, leading him on a fox hunt, the list goes on it seems. So, she gives herself up."