Merciless (Option Zero 1)

“From the beginning. I was working for a tech company in New York. Ash offered me a job, and I’ve never looked back.”

Jules wanted to ask more, but didn’t want to sound like an inquisitor. So far, Rose had been amazingly open, but Jules knew that the majority of people working for OZ did so in anonymity.

Leaving the op center, they headed down a long hallway, back to where the tour had begun.

“Your room okay?”

“It’s lovely. Whoever decorated the place is very talented.”

A smile curved Rose’s mouth. “Thank you. I never got to explore those talents in my previous career. Ash gave me carte blanche to decorate as I wanted.”

They stopped at the door they’d entered through, and Rose tilted her head toward a set of double doors. “Through there is a gym, swimming pool, rec room, and an indoor shooting range. Feel free to use them anytime.”

Though tempted to explore more, Jules resisted and walked out into the sunlight with Rose. The facility’s double doors blended into the forest so well, only a person who knew what they were looking for would be able to find the place.

“What happens when there’s a heavy snow?”

“We do what we can. Many of us can work from home if necessary. But if they get snowed in here, there are barracks where they can stay.”

“I probably need to take some time this afternoon and look for an apartment in town.”

“Ash told me you wanted to do that, but there’s no real hurry, unless you’re adamant about it. You’re the only one living in the house right now.”

“Ash doesn’t live there?”

“No. He’s got a house a couple of miles away.”

Having a little additional time to look for an apartment would be good, but she had an ingrained need for privacy and her own things.

“If there’s nothing going on this afternoon, maybe I’ll go—”

Rose glanced down at her watch and shook her head. “Looks like that’s out. Ash has called an ops meeting for two o’clock.”

Jules looked at her own watch. She had yet to get used to the way Ash and the team communicated with each other. Sure enough, the text indicator light was on. She touched the screen, and Ash’s words appeared. The text was short and terse, giving an impression of urgency.

Ops meeting. 14:00. Mandatory.

Since that was a half hour from now, she thought to go back inside and take a look at the gym. That idea disappeared when another text message appeared on her screen, this one from Ash but only to her.

Jules, need to see you ASAP. My office.

Despite all the stern warnings she’d given her heart over the last couple of days, she couldn’t keep it from leaping with joy. Excusing herself from Rose, Jules took the path back to the main house. The closer she got, the less excited she became. What if he had found out something? She knew she was living on borrowed time, but had hoped to have more. After seeing the inner workings of OZ intel, she knew that time might be even shorter. OZ had ways of finding information people didn’t want discovered.

She and Ash had stayed in the hotel two more days after their discussion of her nightmares. Apparently wanting to make sure things weren’t awkward between them after that, he hadn’t asked any questions more personal than what she wanted from room service and what kinds of movies she liked.

She was aware that Ash had worked most of the time they were there, either on his phone or laptop, but in the evenings, they would watch television or a movie. It had been a relaxing, stress-free time and just what she had needed to recover. Her injuries were almost completely healed, and her nightmares had even gone away.

Spending that extra time with Ash had only increased her awareness of him and how silly and hopeless those feelings were. That didn’t keep them from occurring, though, and she had treasured those days of peaceful bliss.

As she knocked on the door, she couldn’t help but wonder if the peace was at an end.

* * *

Ash watched J

ules as she entered his office. The downtime had made a big difference in her appearance. The recovery time at the hotel had been the right thing to do. The news he was about to impart might change that healthy glow, which was exactly the reason he wanted to see her before the ops meeting.

“Heard you got a tour of OZ. What do you think?”