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“She hurt you in my book.”
“There’s always that.”
“Your father? He’s the one who hurt you?”
She coughed out an arctic chuckle, more theatrical than comical. “You meanThe Colonel? Yes, he was the one. He liked to inflict pain with whatever he could find. With whatever might entertain him, distract him, or pass the time in his miserable existence.”
Winters would love to kill the bastard. But not before he ensured the man relived each old wound he gave Mia. Winters channeled all his rage into his fists and tried to hide them in the pockets of his pants. Ripping shit off walls wasn’t going to help Mia now. Napalming an area a mile wide wouldn’t help either.
He had to listen. Had to figure out what might help. A rampage would only be self-serving. He’d do it later and rain fire from the sky.
“Honey—” His chest felt tight.
“Don’t honey me. Or baby. Or doll. I don’t need it, and I don’t want it.”
He tugged at his collar. “They alive?”
“Nope.”
“Good.”
She nodded. “Agreed.”
“All of your walls make sense.” He hugged her. Not with the intention of crushing her breasts against him, or wrapping her body onto his, but with the sole desire to console her, wipe away all the hurt and pain.
Mia laughed again, this time, into his chest. She was still very much pressed into his embrace. “My walls are nothing. I became a psychologist to figure out how to fix me. Helping everyone else is just a bonus.”
“We’re the sum of our parts. One thing doesn’t define us.”
“For you, okay. But I don’t know about me.”
How could she think such a thing?He pulled her from his chest, holding her in outstretched arms. “No, Mia. That’s where you’re wrong. That’s where all your schooling and studying left you hanging. Youareperfect. Youarestrong.”
“I’m not—”
“Everything about you is all shock and awe. You know what that means? Overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force. Tell me how you made it out of your childhood home to a military base? Tell me how you’ve made it through the last days with me, enemy crosshairs searching for your gorgeous smile?”
“But—”
“You wouldn’t have made it if you didn’t house a hell of a fight deep within your gut. And to top it off, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever set eyes on. Ever.”
Tears slid down the perfect slope of her cheeks. Her lips trembled, and she grew prettier with each passing second.
“I wasn’t asking for a pep talk.”
“That wasn’t one. It was the God’s honest truth.”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“We don’t have to.” Where did he go from there? “Forget it all, and tell me anything you want to. Tell me a joke, or your favorite food, or if you have a pet.”
“A reporter asked a sniper what he felt after he took a kill shot.”
“What are you talking about?”
A slip of a smile crossed her face. “Well, it’s not a joke. But it’ll get a reaction. A reporter asked a sniper what he felt after he took a kill shot. The sniper looked at the reporter and said?”
“I don’t know. He said… I don’t know.”