05 Desperate Match Read Online Free PDF Page B

sounded and it opened before Shep could respond. Rowan’s older brother, Adam, poked his head in and then fully entered the room, leaning back against the now closed office door.
    “Loren and I support Rowan,” he said, crossing his arms over his wide chest.
    “Shut up, Adam. You don’t even know what this is about,” Shep said, practically growling.
    “Don’t care. I got my brother’s back,” Adam said.
    Rowan grinned at him, then turned his serious face back to Shep. “Shep, you didn’t see her back. Covered in bruises.”
    “Actually, I did see her back. Cameras, remember. And I also saw that you pushed her away when she tried to initiate sexual relations.”
    Rowan winced, hating that there’d been people watching his first interactions with his potential match.
    “She’s not your match, Rowan. No matter what the DNA tests read,” Shep said.
    “We don’t know that,” Rowan argued. “Jill’s been in an abusive relationship for six years. She can’t stomach the idea of having sex with anyone. Maybe when she’s calmer someday in the future, we’ll fuck like bunnies.”
    Adam coughed out a laugh, but his father frowned and shot him a look.
    “Sorry, Dad,” he muttered.
    “What am I supposed to tell the media?” Shep asked. “If it gets out that we’re harboring a married woman who is a possible match to one of our soldiers, they’re going to rip us to shreds. They already think we’re playing God. We can’t give them the ammo that we’re breaking up marriages.” He held up a hand. “Don’t talk to me about extenuating circumstances. Those don’t make good sound bites, and Congress is going to hand me my ass on a platter if I let this happen.”
    Rowan glanced at the floor. Maybe Shep was right. Was it really worth putting everything on the line for a woman he’d met that morning? Jill had said it: they were strangers. Why should he help her when she was nothing to him? But then he remembered her shaking hands as she’d tried to pleasure him. And the fading bruises on her back. Yeah, it was worth it. He had to help the woman. He turned to his right. “Dad…” A look passed between them. He and his dad hadn’t always been close. Had in fact spent the last thirty years separated. But if anyone could get Shep to listen, it’d be the commander’s best friend.
    William Blacker sat straighter. “Peter.” Commander Shepard sank back in his chair and silently looked at Rowan’s dad. “Peter, this is the right thing to do. Screw the media. Screw public perception. We were bred to help US citizens. Let’s start with one who needs us most.”
    Rowan’s eyes tracked Shep’s body language as he listened to Dad’s words. He couldn’t tell if the message was getting through. Finally, Shep sighed. “Fine. The woman stays on a trial basis.”
    Rowan jumped up, grinning.
    “She stays with you, Blacker. In the bachelor apartments. No solo apartment for her. We don’t have the space.”
    He lost his grin. Jill would hate living in his tiny one–room apartment, and he hated that he’d given up his privacy to live with a stranger. “Fine.”
    Adam tried to help. “Shep, they’re not matched yet. You can’t put a woman in there.”
    Rowan used his slightly taller body to maneuver Adam out of the room. “Don’t push it,” he said in an undertone to his brother. “We got more than I expected.” William, Adam, and Rowan circled in the hallway outside Shep’s office. Jill was in the cafeteria with Loren, Adam’s fiancée. He hoped she’d relaxed enough to eat, because she’d been thin to the point of fragile.
    “Thank you, guys,” he said to his dad and brother.
    “No, thank you ,” William said.
    “Me? What did I do besides bring a potential shit–storm onto The Program? We’re in enough trouble with the government already. Shep was right, there’s going to be trouble if this story ever goes public.”
    “You reminded us of our mission, of why we exist, so, thank you,