Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
I scrunched my nose. I’d wanted to sit with Beckett…
I couldn’t fucking say that, and I knew he had a point. Furthermore, I was developing an attachment of some sort to him, but he was my mentor, instructor, and superior. The fact that he’d had lunch—and breakfast—with me before didn’t mean anything. Both he and Coach found ways to have one-on-ones with everybody.
“I’ll tell you what I told Miguel—it’s important to build a team,” he said. “Despite that our work tends to be lonely, it’s crucial that you can function well in a team when the situation calls for it, especially in the field. Because chances are you won’t get much practice before it happens.”
Ugh. Fine.
“I guess I can talk more with Tanner,” I muttered. “Oliver’s all right too.”
“Oliver dropped out.”
Whoa, what the fuck? I peered up at him, surprised.
He inclined his head and gestured for the elevators. “Both he and Monica talked to Coach after breakfast. They’re done.”
“Christ,” I mumbled. “I thought it’d be months before we saw the first one.”
“There’s always someone who drops in the beginning,” he answered. “But in the end, it doesn’t matter. They would’ve dropped for one reason or another later on.”
Fair.
I stood in front of the elevators and watched the numbers go higher and higher, and I had a feeling we’d be here a minute or two. “Why don’t we take the stairs?”
“Because you’re at the right age to start giving a fuck about your knees.” He didn’t miss a beat. “Going up is fine, but down is reserved for emergencies.”
I eyed him up and down and stopped at his knees. Seriously? Don’t get me wrong, I knew all about the injuries we sustained in the Army, and I hadn’t exactly walked away scot-free. I’d pulled muscles, fractured bones, and dislocated a shoulder. Fun times. I used to be able to do thirty chin-ups; now I was lucky if I could pull off twenty before my shoulder acted up.
“Don’t look at me like that, punk,” Beckett said. “I’m not that old. I’m just aware of when we start damaging our bodies—and you need to take care of yours unless you plan on retiring at forty.”
I bit down on my lip to hide my grin, but he obviously saw it anyway, and he gave me a light shove as the elevator dinged with its timely arrival.
“Damn kids,” he muttered and walked in. “Luckily for me, I plan to attend your first martial arts session tomorrow. I’ll face you on the mat, boy.”
Oof. Was that a promise? Because I could think of worse things than grappling with Operator Bo Beckett.
I folded my arms over my chest and leaned back against the wall. “No dinner or drinks first? Cold.”
He snorted. “You won’t be so cocky after tomorrow.”
I wasn’t cocky now either. I was just having fun.
I smiled to myself.
Seconds later, we ended up in the basement, and immediately when the doors opened, a young girl lit up like a Christmas tree and flew at Beckett. Operator Payne stood there too, and he smiled at the exchange.
“Hi! You’re late, Uncle Bo!”
Well, this was an experience. Beckett picked the girl up with a grunt and claimed he was never late. In fact, he said, he was always on time.
Was she really eight, though? She was so small. When I’d been eight years old, my mom sure as fuck hadn’t been able to carry me on her hip. And I wasn’t precisely tall either.
The girl was definitely a Beckett. She had the same light brown hair and slanted grin. She had dimples too, unlike her uncle. Same eye color, blue and green.
My first impression of Beckett as an uncle made me wonder why he viewed himself as clueless with children. He asked her all the right questions and rolled with the punches when she rambled about her sleepover at Auntie Kat’s.
“She told me she’d send a box of those cookies,” Beckett said. “Did she?”
Operator Payne held up a container. “I may have sampled one.”
“Fuck yeah.” Beckett grinned and accepted the box. “You ready to meet my recruit, mouse? He’s gonna keep an eye on you a couple hours every day.”
I clasped my hands behind my back, and the girl eyed me curiously.
“Say hi to Leighton,” Beckett murmured against Alex’s cheek. “You’ll have to be nice to him. He has so much homework that he can barely manage.”
“Hi, Alex.” I smiled politely. “For the record, it’s your uncle who’s given me the homework. It’s his fault.”
Alex gasped and turned to Beckett. “Why are you giving him homework?! That’s so mean!”
Checkmate. I could do this.
Beckett faced Operator Payne. “That backfired on me.”
August 9th, 2024
My first babysitting round wasn’t until the next day, and while the other recruits made fun of me for my “lame-ass duty,” I didn’t mind it, actually. Alex was a cool little girl. I didn’t need to use baby talk, and she had a chip on her shoulder.