Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 70628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Katelyn gazes at me. She wants to take me up on my offer. I can tell, but she won’t.
She won’t because she meets her fiancé’s gaze.
And his blue eyes—they tell a different story.
He will not let this go. His reasons are somewhat of a mystery to me, but they strengthen my resolve.
I harden. I harden into a freaking statue.
Buck could have been killed. Gloria and Brian were killed.
Whoever sealed my fate those years ago is still out there. I will track them down. Not only for me, but for the man I love.
Yes, the man I love.
The confession inside my mind doesn’t surprise me.
It’s there.
As if it’s always been there and it always will be.
I love Buck Moreno.
So I’m in. I’m all in. I gather every ounce of courage, mettle, and strength I possess, and let the fierce determination surge through me like fire.
Hello, old friend.
Garnet is all in too.
1
BUCK
My head feels like someone is demolishing a building inside it, and my mind is pretty much pulp, but one thing is for certain. Waking up in a hospital bed is a hell of a lot better than waking up in the deserts of Afghanistan with an infected wound and a tired and aching body.
Hell, in Afghanistan, waking up at all was a boon.
Finding out where the hell I am? That would be a bigger boon. At this moment though? I’m happy just to have a comfortable bed.
My thoughts are incoherent.
I just want to know where Aspen is.
Nothing else matters.
Everything else is fuzzy, but I remember her. I know that I love her. And that I never told her.
Thank God I’m still here.
Thank God I can still tell her.
It won’t be like Amira. I should’ve told her I loved her, especially under the circumstances—in the middle of a battle zone when anything can happen…and it most likely will.
I should have told her. Instead, Amira died not knowing how I felt. Not knowing she was loved.
And now? If possible, I think I love Aspen even more.
Correction. I know I love Aspen more.
Aspen is my forever.
I click the button to call the nurse.
Then I try to remember everything else.
I was at Gloria Delgado’s house. I sent Aspen to the car…
I searched the place, grabbed Edgar…
Nothing after that.
Except…
A face in front of mine for a moment.
Damn.
It was Lucifer Raven.
Luke Ashton.
How did he get there? How did he get into Gloria Delgado’s house?
I could figure it out if my head weren’t so achy and full of mush.
Finally, a nurse in green scrubs enters my room. “Yes? You called?”
“Yeah.” My voice is hoarse. “I need to know…”
“What do you need to know, Mr. Moreno?”
I open my mouth to speak again, but the words come out in a garbled groan.
“Let me get you some water.”
I nod.
The nurse leaves and a moment later returns with ice water and a straw. “Here you go.” She holds it to my mouth. “Take a drink. It will help your dry throat.”
I suck in some water through the straw and—
It’s like a soothing balm coating my throat. I continue to drink until I’ve nearly drained the small pitcher of water she brought me.
She moves it away. “That’s enough for now. I probably let you take more than you should. We don’t know how your stomach will react.”
“My stomach’s fine.” My voice is still gravelly, but at least it’s easier to talk. “In fact, I’m starving.”
“I’ll check with your doctor to see if you can have some breakfast,” the nurse says. “Is that all?”
Is it? I called for a reason…
I clear my throat, trying to dislodge the gravel. Big mistake. Hurts like hell.
“No.” I wince from the scratchy pain. “When did I come in? Who brought me in? And I need to see someone. Her name is Aspen Davis.”
“Let me look at your chart.” The nurse sits down in front of the computer terminal at the head of my bed and taps the keys. “You were brought in by a man late yesterday afternoon. Doesn’t look like they got his name.”
“Was he blond?”
“I’m sorry. It doesn’t say here.”
“And what happened to me?”
“The head laceration was the most serious thing. You had lost quite a bit of blood, and your blood pressure was quite low when you were brought in. We got your head stitched up and gave you a small transfusion. You also have a mild concussion.”
“And Aspen? Aspen Davis?”
“There’s a note here that you were asking for someone named Aspen, yes. But we don’t have a number for her.”
“My phone.” I reach over the side of my bed, grasping.
“You didn’t have a phone on you when you were brought in.”
“ID?”
“Yes, you had your wallet on you.”
“Who would…” I shake my head.
“Does it hurt to talk?”
Is it that obvious? I nod.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll try to find this Aspen Davis for you. Anything else?”