Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 39424 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39424 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 197(@200wpm)___ 158(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
I wrap my arms around my legs and settle my chin on my knee as I wait for him to start talking.
“I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry, Chloe.”
I hold my breath and wait for him to continue. Is he apologizing for the other night? For five years ago? Or all the time in between?
He clears his throat. “I’m sorry that I left here five years ago and never called you or wrote you.”
I hold my legs a little tighter, afraid to move. I’m waiting for relief to set in. He’s finally apologizing, but it doesn’t feel the way I thought it would feel. I turn my head to look at him, and even though he’s not looking at me, there’s so much anguish on his face, and I feel the need to give him an out. It pains me to say it, but I murmur the words that I’ve tried to convince myself of the last five years. “It was one night. I was a fool to believe it was anything more.”
He finally turns to look at me. “It was more than that, and you know it, Chloe. I fucked up.”
He grits out the words, and I know he feels what he’s saying. I don’t know why I’m giving him outs and making excuses for him. “You didn’t fuck up. It was one night, and in the heat of it, you made promises.”
He nods. “Yeah, promises I intended to keep.”
I throw a hand up. “Okay, so what happened? You left and never thought of me again. What happened?”
He turns and sits facing me fully now. “You know that’s not true. I don’t know how you knew about the picture I carry of you, but you saw it. You know I’ve thought about you. I’ve thought about you every damn day since the day I met you.”
He rams his hand through his hair and pushes the hood off his head. “I went on a mission, Chloe. The day I left here, that’s what I was doing. I didn’t have a choice. It was a mission I couldn’t turn down and not just because I didn’t want to disappoint my boss or anything. I had to go because people would die if I didn’t.”
I bite my lip and stare at him wide-eyed. I knew he was in the military and he worked for Walker sometimes. And everyone knows Walker has mercenaries that help people. I don’t want to know, but at the same time, I have to. “What happened?”
“It was in Afghanistan, and it was supposed to be routine. In and out.”
I almost reach for him but stop myself. “And what happened?”
“You don’t need all the details. You don’t need to have those images in your head, but I was hurt, and I almost died. I was in rehab for two years.”
I swear my heart stops beating, and I gasp. “You were hurt? Five years ago? Why didn’t anyone call me… why didn’t you call me?”
He rolls his eyes and spits the words out. “Right, I was not going to put that on you. It was hell, Chloe, and I wasn’t bringing you anywhere near it.”
“But…”I start, and he’s quick to respond.
“I couldn’t call you like that. I was barely conscious, and even though I said your name over and over in the hospital bed, thankfully no one knew who you were to contact you.”
I gasp, knowing that he wanted me with him and I wasn’t there for him. I knew that one night with him meant something, but after five years, I’d convinced myself that I was a fool. “It was five years ago, Elias. I understand maybe why you wouldn’t call me right away, but what about after? Why didn’t you call me when you were better?”
He blows out a breath, and he’s back to looking at that damn oak tree in my yard. “My life was shit. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to work again, and even when I did start working, I had a lot of catching up to do. I worked my ass off for a year to get my shit together. I had a plan to get a job, get a house here in Whiskey Run, and make it to where you couldn’t refuse me. I was going to do what I had to do make things right.”
I throw a hand up in the air. “Well, what happened? Is this it? Where you followed me around and then refused to talk to me? Was that your way of trying to get back with me?”
I’m so confused I can’t make heads or tails of it all.
His head is in his hands with his eyes closed. I take the time to really look at him, and seeing the scar that goes from his hairline down his cheek makes me sick to my stomach knowing he was hurt. His voice is strained and gravelly. “It took me a while to get a job, but Walker eventually took me on full-time on his Ghost team. I was getting into the groove, saving money and finally able to support myself. I had a trip planned here after the next mission I had.”