He hesitated, realizing how exhausted she was. “I haven’t had dinner yet. Why don’t we sit down and I’ll get us some plates and warm the food up?”
“Okay,” she said, shrugging out of her knapsack and denim jacket, sitting both on the couch. “How are you doing, Dan? How’s the healing going with your left side?” she asked, giving him a concerned look.
“Good as new.” He set the platter on the counter, peeling back the foil. “What about you? Did you finish that assignment in Ethiopia? Is that why you’re back home?” He looked over his shoulder, watching her walk slowly into the kitchen and lean her hips against the granite counter, a good six feet away from him.
“No. I asked to come home. Tal got me a replacement.” She frowned and nervously licked her lower lip.
“At least you’ll be home for Christmas. That’s important; I imagine your parents are thrilled about it.” Dan was afraid to ask why she was home. He knew why. Sloan was a straight shooter. She was good for her word when she gave it. He couldn’t handle her answer yet. Like the thief he’d always been, he wanted a few precious, stolen moments with her. A last goodbye before he never saw her again. He pretended to look at the goodies Dilara had packed, but he didn’t have an appetite.
“She sent roast turkey, dressing, a container of gravy, plus boxes of cranberry sauce, and baked yams with caramel sauce drizzled over them.”
“Yeah, looks like one helluva feast, doesn’t it?” Dan managed a quirked smile in her direction. There was such dark seriousness in her eyes that it scared the hell out of him.
“There’s some baklava from Greece. Her cousin Angelo brought it with him,” she said, gesturing to the plate.
Dan couldn’t stand the tension radiating between them. He pushed the plate back on the counter, facing her. “Maybe later. I know you’re here for a reason. This isn’t a holiday visit to a friend. Am I right?” He leveled a look at her, watching her tense.
“No, you’re right.” She rubbed her eyes, allowing her hands to drop to her side. “I need to talk with you, Dan. I still have some questions that only you can answer.” She opened her hands. “Some things I know. Some I don’t.” Looking away, she forced out the rest. “You aren’t the only one hiding the truth.”
Dan scowled, confused. He saw regret in her expression. “I don’t understand.”
“I’d love some water. Could you get me a glass? We can sit down in the living room. This is going to take some time.”
“Sure, go choose a spot,” he said, more confused.
He brought the glass over to her, and she thanked him, sitting in one corner of the couch, back against it.
“I need to come clean with you, and then, if you feel like there’s anything left to talk about, we’ll continue at that time?”
Shrugging, he said, “Sure. What’s this about?”
“When I was pulled for the PSD assignment to protect you over in Sudan, there was a dual reason for it. While it was true that Zakir Sharan put out a hit on you, there was another reason.” Sloan frowned, rubbed her brow and whispered, “I was shown a report by one of the medical personnel you flew into a village for a week. I knew from the reports you’d handed in, that you flew them in, landed the helo, and remained on site. Part of the time, you acted as a translator.
“All that’s true,” Dan agreed, frowning. “What’s this about a report from one of the volunteers? I never saw anything about it.”
“You wouldn’t have. The doctor’s report said that you had beer on your breath. She said while you translated, she could easily smell it. She also wrote in the report that the night before, you woke up screaming and awakened all the medical personnel who were sleeping nearby.”
Sloan opened her knapsack and handed him a file. “I need you to read this, Dan. And then, we need to talk about it.”
He scowled as he read the lead physician’s report. Handing it back to her, he rasped, “Yeah, that’s all true.”
“Okay, what isn’t in that report that we should know about?”
“What am I being accused of?” he asked softly.
“Nothing…yet. When Tal told me I was to go undercover to see if you drank beer during, before, or after a flight, I needed to note it. When I was with you in Sudan, I never saw you drink, and I never smelled alcohol on your breath. I looked in all the garbage cans in and around the hangar and never found anything to indicate you drank on the job.”
Anger rose in him, but he swallowed it seeing the sadness in her eyes. “So your undercover work was twofold?”
“Yes, but I couldn’t tell you about it for obvious reasons. Tal needed to know, and she didn’t want to accept the doctor’s account without me investigating the entire situation first. Dammit, this is hard to talk to you about. I’m sorry it’s coming during the holidays.”
“You’re just doing your job, Sloan. I’m not blaming you for it.” How could he after all that he’d done to her?
“I reported to Tal there was no alcohol issue that I could see. She told me from her end, they were investigating your parents.”
Instantly, Dan tensed. “What the hell!”
“She had to. Like me, she was trying to clear your good name.”
He stood, giving her an anguished stare, unable to sit still. “You know what this feels like?”
“Yes, like I’m the colonel at that crash investigation firing you from a job you deserve to keep.”
“You’re right,” he snapped. “It sure as hell looks exactly like that.” Fury raced through him and yet, he found himself unable to remain angry. Sloan looked beat up, weary, and on edge.
“I asked Tal to send an investigator to your parents. They found your father, but couldn’t find a trace of your mother, Claudia. The investigator got a court order to go through your father’s medical data.”
“Sonofabitch! He’s an alcoholic! So I’m going to get hanged by this doctor’s report as a result? Like father, like son?” he breathed savagely, watching her wince as if he’d struck her. Regretting his snarls, he shook his head and held up his hands toward her. “I’m sorry. I’m killing the messenger. This isn’t your fault.”
“I’m not your enemy, Dan. I’ve been trying the last two months to clear your name. Tal had a report uncovered about you being ordered out of the Night Stalkers by that colonel. I could add some information that you’d given me to explain what happened. I hope you’re not upset that I did that because Tal’s ex-military and worked in black ops. She worked with Night Stalker pilots routinely. And when I brought the info to her, explaining your side of the story, she felt the same way you did: you got railroaded, and you didn’t deserve that demotion at all.”
Some part of him released the tension, and he forced himself to sit down at the other end of the couch. “That’s good to know.”
Nodding, Sloan said, “Yes. Yes, it is. Are you upset with me telling Tal the rest of that story?”
“I would’ve preferred if she’d come to me.”
“She couldn’t. She had that report, and it’s a big deal. Tal didn’t think the doctor was lying, but she wanted me to dig deeper to find out what happened.
“I could’ve easily told her if she’d just asked.”
Dragging in a deep breath, Sloan whispered, “This type of situation is delicate. You know you can’t always waltz up to the source and ask them. Tal is on your side, Dan. She’s pretty good at sizing a person up and felt that something else was going on. Tonight at the party, she asked me to come over and see you. She knows you and I have a connection to one another and felt it would be better for me to lay this out for you. She could have done it by calling you into her office and shutting the door, but her instincts were to let me handle this.”
“I’m still questionable as an employee, then?”
“Tal needs to clear this up once and for all. She can’t put you on another assignment otherwise.” Her voice became low with pleading. “Dan? Can you tell me about that incident? Do you have any memory of it?”
“Of course I do,” he growled. “It was only five months ago.”