Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72617 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
“Good.”
I wanted to cover all my bases, so I sent Stitch a message to call me and did the same with Cotton. Once I was done, Torch looked over to me and asked, “So, what the fuck is going on?”
“Not sure.” I pulled up the image Mia had sent, then showed it to Torch. “She just found this on her boss’s computer.”
“Damn.” He grimaced as he leaned in for a closer look. “That’s fucked up.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Looks like... Shit, I don’t know what that looks like. Who the fuck is her boss?”
“Some photographer guy. I don’t know much about him.”
“You never looked into him?”
“He’s just a photographer. Mia edits for him and helps run the office. Some bullshit like that.” I shrugged. “I never had a reason to think he was anything but legit.”
“You do now.”
“Yeah, I’ll get Bones to look into him and see what he can find out.”
I called Bones, but like his father, he didn’t answer. I left him a message to call me. I dropped my phone into the console, and soon after, I was hit with sudden panic.
Mia was in a possible dangerous situation, and I wasn’t close enough to be there to protect her if something happened. It was a feeling that stirred the old memories that I worked so hard to forget, and in a blink, I was back with my platoon, holding Daniels in my arms as he took his last breath.
It was a memory that haunted me.
We were doing our morning run with the rest of the platoon. It was something we’d done hundreds of times, but on this afternoon, the locals were behaving strangely. They shuffled quickly from one place to the next, and there were no children in sight. I knew something was up and tried to say something to my captain, but I never got the chance.
We were taking a wide turn when a grenade came flying through the window. Lucas slammed on the breaks and we scrambled to get out, but it was too late. The grenade blew, and chaos erupted. We were trained to act quickly and follow specific protocols, but at a time like that, when the training becomes a reality, everything you learned is forgotten.
It’s a fight for survival for you and everyone in your platoon.
I was in the back with Azier and Dunkin, and we were thrown all over one another. There was shit everywhere, dust and shrapnel, making it difficult to see, but we could hear the members of our platoon whimpering and crying out for help. Without considering the injuries we’d sustained, we each started pushing through the wreckage and pulled the injured from the Humvee.
Lucas managed to call into the base for help, and it wasn’t long before the cavalry arrived. I was on the ground with Daniels, my best friend, urging him to hold on. He was already gone. There was nothing I could’ve done. I couldn’t have prevented that grenade from coming through that window. I couldn’t have shielded him from the shrapnel that ripped through his body, but the guilt of not being able to save him crippled me.
It was the same guilt I’d felt the night my parents were murdered.
It wasn’t rational or deserved, but I’d felt it all the same.
It had taken me years to put it behind me, but there were still days—like today—when all those feelings of hurt and regret came rushing back. I was sinking into the darkness when I felt Torch’s hand on my arm. “Hey, brother. You alright?”
“Yeah... Yeah, I’m good.”
“Looked like you were a million miles away over there.”
“Just thinking things over.”
“This thing with Mia has ya fucked up, huh?”
“You could say that.”
“So, it’s true. You two are a thing.” Without waiting for me to respond, he added, “Hmmm... I can’t really say I’m surprised. Women are supposed to be into guys who remind them of their father, and you couldn’t be more like Stitch if you tried.”
“Is that right?”
“Just telling ya like it is.” His tone turned serious as he said, “And I’ll tell ya another thing. You best get to claiming her. A woman like her won’t wait around for long.”
I didn’t respond.
Instead, I grabbed my phone and called Bones again. As soon as he answered, I asked, “Where the hell have you been?”
“Sorry, brother. I was...”
Without giving him a chance to finish his thought, I told him, “We’ve got a situation with Mia. It might be nothing, but you never know.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s her boss. She found some questionable images on his laptop. You got anything on the guy?”
“No. Just what she’s told us.”
“You didn’t look into the guy your sister was working for?”
“It’s Mia. She did the looking.” I knew exactly what he meant. Mia was not only independent and strong, but also extremely smart. She would’ve done her own research on the guy and probably knew everything there was to know about him, including where the guy was born and everything there was to know about his family. Bones didn’t sound concerned as he told me, “Besides, the guy’s just a photographer. I didn’t see a reason to look into him.”