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“Then my guy knows a guy…”

Forty-Nine

DALLAS

It was just past midnight when I left my room, padding silently out into the hall. I was hopelessly restless. Not even tired. Mostly because we’d stayed up so late the last few nights, and I was getting used to a nocturnal schedule.

But it was more than that, too.

I wanted to see Kane.

I was shocked to find him at the end of the hall, once again staring out through the same big window. The light was eerie tonight. More purple than blue, with less moonlight than before.

Approaching him slowly, I wondered if I should speak out. He was shirtless again. And he seemed to be in a trance, almost even sleeping as he leaned against the old frame. But then I saw him shift, and his head turned back in my direction. I laughed silently at myself for ever thinking I could sneak up on a Navy SEAL.

“Anything good out there tonight?”

I stepped into him, and he slipped his arm around me. The movement was familiar, like we’d been doing it for years.

“Dust. Dirt. Desert.”

I looked outside with him. “Kinda boring.”

“Yeah.”

I wondered what it was, that kept him up at night. What kinds of demons he might be battling in his head. It could’ve been simple insomnia, of course. But it could’ve been worse.

Either way, I wasn’t about to ask. He’d tell me if he wanted to. Instead I sighed softly, and switched gears.

“Think we’ll get them before they get us?”

The hulking soldier barely registered the question, other than his mouth stretching into a tight half-grin. “Oh yeah.”

The way he said it was reassuring. With confidence, not bravado.

“The trick is getting all of them,” said Kane. The muscles in his shoulder’s flinched a little, even as I

admired them. “One way or the other.”

I opened my mouth and then closed it, realizing that my next question was foolish. I already knew exactly what he meant.

“You alright with that?” he asked.

I squeezed my body against his. “More than alright.”

“Good girl.”

God, he felt so amazing! So big and strong and self-assured. Physically he was a warrior. Emotionally, he and I made silent connections I couldn’t ever hope to understand.

I felt so safe with him. Safe being around him. And he was wise, too. He talked so infrequently it made every word he did say carry that much more weight.

You love him.

I really did! Just as I loved the others too, but in a different way. With Kane, our bond wasn’t something that needed to be ratified or constantly reassured.

Inside and out, he was the perfect man.

“I’ll never forgive myself,” he said abruptly, still staring out the window. “For what happened to Connor.”