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The door flies open, and I quickly shut off my phone. “Taron!” Patton’s eyes are wide, his expression panicked. “Have you seen Marley this evening?”

My brow furrows, and I sit up. “No… he went on a fuel run after lunch, and—”

“He didn’t come back. Connor says he was at a fuel station that came under fire at sixteen hundred. It’s possible he was taken hostage.”

“What the fuck?” I’m on my feet, pulling a thick brown Cammie over my white tee. “Why would they take him hostage?”

“Guns, money, both.” Patton’s voice is fierce, and I know he’s worried. We’re out the door, heading down the hall toward the communications station.

Kidnapping a Marine is pretty serious shit. “How’s it being classified?”

“Don’t know yet.” He leads me into a large tent where Sawyer is already talking to the major.

He pulls back, coming to us. “His phone was recovered in a ditch halfway to Victoria. They’re waiting for contact.”

“So they’re expecting some kind of ransom?” I rub the back of my neck thinking of what this could mean.

“If they were going to kill him, they’d have found his body in the ditch. They think it’s some local thugs.”

Patton leaves us and goes to our field commander. I watch as they speak in animated tones. He’s asking for us to be assigned the rescue and recovery mission. Tugging at the back of my hair, I hate to think it, but the words come unbidden—so much for going home.

I want to hit somebody. I want to roar and throw things, flip tables and break something. More than anything, I want to find these thugs and beat the shit out of them. Sliding my hands over my face, I try to get calm, but all I can think about is Noel.

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nbsp; 17

Noel

August

A year.

One year I was able to speak to him whenever I wanted. I could see his face, hear his voice. Now it’s gone completely dark.

My insides tremble, and instead of crying, all I do is shake.

Marley was kidnapped. That’s as much as I know.

Taron called me, and his voice was strained. He told me what they knew and how it changed his ability to take leave.

Having the promise of seeing him, touching him, holding him, even for one day taken away was like having my bones crushed.

He told me Patton insisted they be assigned the rescue mission. He said no one would be more dedicated to Marley’s rescue than them. I told him I love him. He told me he wasn’t sure when he’d be able to contact me again.

We ended that call, and the clock started.

Two weeks pass in silence until my brother breaks it.

I’m sent a special number and a special code. It’s all very top secret and high security. My eyes flood with tears the moment I see his face, covered in a scruffy beard. He speaks, and his voice is a balm to my trembling insides.

“They let me call you since I’m considered the head of the house.” Sawyer’s voice is apologetic, as if he knows I want to hear from someone else, which I do, but give me a break.

“I’m so glad you called me.” I can’t help the fear in my tone.

“I don’t have much to say other than we’re okay.”

“That’s enough.” My throat aches, and tears blur my eyes. “Thank God you’re okay.”