I scooted even closer to where our legs touched and rested my hand on his thigh. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”
He grabbed my hand and squeezed, like me being there was enough to reassure him. The connection we shared hadn’t changed as much as I thought it had, and that filled me with hope.
“I was in the convoy with four other guys from my unit when we were ambushed. Our vehicle took contact by an RPG.”
He glanced at me before giving a small chuckle. “Sorry, military jargon. A rocket propelled grenade.”
He must’ve seen the confusion on my face. I mouthed an, oh, before gesturing for him to continue. “The vehicle flipped on its top. I was the gunner.” His eyes studied me. “The one who stood through a porthole in the top of the humvee with a belt-fed weapon system to engage targets.”
I nodded, showing him I understood. I may not have known a lot about the military, but I did know that he had come milliseconds away from death.
His eyes shifted as he stared past my shoulder, as if he was reliving it all again. My chest twisted at the pain on his face. “My comrades pulled me inside just in time. We were tossed around as it rolled down a ravine. I don’t remember much from the head injuries… but I know I was dragged from the burning humvee. Several of us were medivaced out, and I was in and out of consciousness.”
He paused for a couple of minutes, but I could see the wheels turning in his mind. I’d read about all his dangerous escapades in the letters, but nothing quite came close to this. Not from seeing the raw anguish in his eyes or the way his body had stiffened from the memories.
“When I woke up at the hospital, I was wounded from shrapnel, those fragments from rounds and explosives. Burns covered thirty percent of my body. My hands, right arm, and half my torso.”
I glanced at his hand, sure enough burn scars covered them. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed earlier.
“The shrapnel tore my leg up so bad that after multiple fucking surgeries, they had to amputate due to infection.”
I gasped. I hadn’t known they’d tried to save his leg.
He ground his teeth together before letting out a harsh breath. “That wasn’t even the worst part. Two of my friends, my brothers, died. They hadn’t made it out of the humvee. Another friend had similar injuries to me and lost his arm. My buddy, Oliver, was the one who’d pulled me out of the humvee and helped me during recovery. He was the only one who’d visited me in the hospital.”
My brows bumped together. “Your mom didn’t come?”
He gave a half-smile. “I didn’t tell her. I stopped contact with Ma when I stopped contact with you.”
My heart plummeted. He’d gone through that all alone aside from one person. “Is Oliver your best friend?”
He nodded. “He’s a piece of work, but yeah. Wouldn’t be alive without him. He’s a good man.”
I forced a smile. “Good. I’m glad you had someone to rely on.”
He shrugged. “So, what now?”
I climbed to my feet and pulled his hand until he got up. “I’m making lunch. What do you want?”
Something flashed in his eyes as he stared at me. “Thank you, Evelyn.”
“For what?” I glanced down, noticing we hadn’t let go of each other’s hands.
He pulled me into his chest and wrapped two strong arms around me. I inhaled the spicy scent and sighed. “I’ve missed you so much.” The words tumbled out of my mouth without a barrier. Panic swelled inside but was extinguished with his reply.
“I missed you too.”
Despite the heaviness in my heart, it fluttered at the feeling of my body pressed against his. I sunk into the warmth of his chest. I couldn’t believe I was in his arms, and I never wanted to move.
The sound of breaking glass woke me up from my spot on Evelyn’s couch. My eyes blinked rapidly as they adjusted to the darkness of her living room. She’d convinced me to stay over after a few glasses of wine at dinner, and I was sure as hell glad I did. I grabbed my prosthetic and jerked it on before getting up to investigate the sound.
Her kitchen window was shattered. Glass decorated the porcelain sink, glittering from the moonlight outside. A baseball-sized rock was among the shards with words scrawled in black marker on the surface. I glanced around the kitchen before pulling my phone out.
“Flynn? Are you alright? What was that—” Evelyn froze and her eyes widened as she saw the window. Her gaze shifted to the mess of glass in the sink.
“The sound woke me up. I’m calling the cops now.” I dialed 911 and put the phone to my ear.
As I spoke to dispatch, Evelyn walked over and picked up the rock with trembling fingers. The lady told me she’d send a unit over and to call back if anything else happened before getting off the phone. I stuffed the phone in my sweatpants pocket.
Evelyn gasped and dropped the rock back in the sink with a loud bang. There was a distance in her eyes as she peddled backward, bumping into the kitchen counter like she hadn’t expected it. Her head rolled with the impact. The color drained from her face, and her eyes squeezed tight. Her voice comes out thin and distant. “No. No. No, Not now.” Her breathing became erratic, gasping like there wasn’t enough oxygen in the air.
I pressed a closed fist to my lips. Seeing fear shake her to the core stirred something dark inside me. I wanted to make it go away. I glanced at the rock in the sink and back to her before picking it up and reading the
