War Dog

Chapter 14

I bypassed my room and went to Ghosts. His scent seeped out around the door, filling my lungs as I breathed deeply. My ears picked up his uneven breathing on the other side of the door, confirming what I had suspected. I knocked gently on the door, an by the way I could hear his breathing change he'd heard it, but didn't move. "Come on Ghost, you know I'm the only one at this base who would even dare come knock on your door, and I know you know there's no point ignoring me until I go away." I wait at the door, my keen ears picking up on his shuffling movements but never making his way to the door. 

I give him a moment before I continue on. "Ghost, I don't know why the set up tonight triggered your PTSD. I recognise someone having flashbacks when I see it that starkly. I can only imagine half the stuff that you've seen as an SAS operator. You've seen so many personalised nightmares come to life." I breathed in deeply and leaned my head against the door, eyes closing. 

"I dismissed you too quickly earlier. I should have checked on you sooner and I am sorry for my callous attitude."

My apology is what seems to finally get Ghost moving. I can hear his footsteps fast and I move away from the door before he flings it open. He stands in the doorway, arms crossed and the blazing scent of his anger singeing my sinuses. I back away, eyes wide at the anger flashing through his eyes. His normally chocolate brown eyes calm or bottomless pools of darkness now lit up like molten honey. "You think I am mad with you?" His words come out in a low hiss. His tone conjures up images of a rattlesnake, low and angry. A warning. "You got shot and I had a complete breakdown in the middle of a fucking training session." He slams his hand against the door frame. "You're my fucking responsibility, and here you are looking after me instead of the other way around!" 

I stand in front of him staring up at him, my expression flat and bored, arms crossed against my chest while I wait for him to finish his little meltdown.

"Am I boring you?" He growls, and if I hadn't worked around hybrids who could growl deeper I'd almost be intimidated by the sound. 

"Actually, yes." I say, my tone just as flat and bored as my expression. I push past Ghost into his room without asking for permission while his momentary surprise at my words leaves him unmoving.

I stand carefully in the middle of the room not touching anything with my muddy body.

"What are you doing?" He growled again, more exasperated than angry. 

"Invading your space. Just be glad I'm not a full canine. My instincts are going nuts to roll around in your sheets." That seemed to get a choked chuckle out of him as he no doubt imagined me rubbing my filthy body all over the pristine white sheets just like a dog would if given the chance.

"Now, if you're quiet done having your hissy fit, how about you tell me what the problem is?" I see Ghost cross his arms and glare at me silently intending on waiting me out. I shrug and nudge a foot closer to his bed, my own expression a blank innocence as I watch his eyes dart to my foot and back to my face. His eyes squint at me in warning, but doesn't say anything. I step closer, his entire body posture stiffens up in warning. I grin at him, and he moves towards me, hand out to grab me. As he moves I leap towards his bed, arms outreached aiming to land dead centre. Only for his arms to catch me around my middle, dragging me backwards without even so much as a grunt of effort. 

"Fuckin' 'ell." He grumbled, but I could sense his foul mood breaking like a storm on a summers day, his amusement peeking out like a sun coming out of hiding from behind the storm grey clouds. "Fine, ya wanna know so badly, we were on a mission. Las almas. We'd been betrayed by our own command. One of our allies started shooting us. Soap and I managed to get away. I'd made it out quickly, but Soap hadn't been quick enough. He was left to find his way to my hide out. In the process he opened a door that had been trapped." I nod, figuring something similar had happened considering the way he had frozen as I was shot point blank in the chest. "The shotgun was rigged in a very similar manner. I heard everything over the open comms. I heard Johnny go down. Fortunately, his tac-vest protected most of him, but he still found his way to me bleeding to death."