Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“It’s going.” As I sat down, I motioned my hand toward his bottle of whiskey. “Skipping the beer straight to the rye?”
“Needed something a bit stronger.”
“Having a hard time of it?”
“You could say that.” He took a sip before adding, “This whole thing has turned me for a loop.”
“It’s gotten to all of us. I can only imagine how it’s been with you.”
He shook his head. “Beckett was a pain in the ass, but he was my brother, and I would’ve done just about anything for him. But that whole thing with Amy was a cluster. You know?”
“It definitely was.”
“Looking back, I can’t help but think we should’ve just gone on and dealt with the Assassins the second all that happened. Maybe then, Beck would still be here and...”
“What’s done is done. We can’t go back.”
“Don’t start with that bullshit! I know we can’t go back!” he roared. “I know I can’t change anything! I’m saying it should’ve never happened! None of it! He should still be here! And if we’d just done what we should’ve done, he would be! And I wouldn’t be sitting here feeling like...”
He grabbed the bottle of whiskey and flung it at the wall behind us, shattering it into a million pieces. He sat there for a moment, just staring at the mess he’d made, then stood with a stricken look on his face. “I’m sorry, brother. I just can’t do this right now.”
Without saying anything more, he turned and walked out the back door. Damn. I should’ve just left it alone. I took it as my sign to call it a night. I took my beer and finished it off before tossing it into the trash. As I started for the door, I gave Ghost and Gash a nod, letting them know I was leaving.
I went straight to my room, took a long hot shower, and when I got out, my worn-out mattress was calling my name. I slid under the cool sheets, and as I settled back on my pillow, I had high hopes for a good night’s sleep. But as soon as I closed my eyes, my phone chimed with a message.
I quickly grabbed it, and my chest tightened when I saw that it was a message from Shep. He was sending me what he found on Jenna, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to read it. She’d been lingering in the back of my mind since I’d left her at my place, and I had a feeling that what Shep sent was only going to make matters worse. Damn. It had been a long time since a woman had gotten under my skin the way she had, and I didn’t like it—not one fucking bit.
Jenna
The details of that day had etched themselves into my memory—the way the sunlight filtered through the trees, the distant sounds of a lawnmower, the brim of his hat, the remorse in his eyes, and the somber voice cadence. They haunted me in my dreams, especially when I was going through a rough patch, so it was no surprise when I dreamed of those familiar words...
“Hello. Are you Ms. Jenna Clayborn?”
A navy officer stood on my doorstep in his freshly pressed uniform, and I could tell by his stoic expression that he was about to deliver some terrible news. I knew what was coming. He was going to tell me that Jeremy had been killed in the line of duty and had left me alone to give birth and raise our daughter.
It was news I didn’t want to hear, and I had to fight the urge to close the door and force him to leave. I swallowed hard, then answered, “Yes, I’m Jenna. How can I help you?”
“I’m Officer Simon Reynolds. I’m here about Sergeant Jeremy Graves.”
Everything around me stilled as he spoke. His words fell like lead, and my hopes and dreams disappeared in the silence that followed. My fingers trembled as I clutched the doorframe, bracing myself as my world crumbled beneath me.
I watched his mouth as he offered his condolences, but I hadn’t heard a word he’d said. I was too lost in disbelief to respond. I was too busy trying to figure out what I was going to do.
I loved Jeremy.
We’d met in high school and became best friends.
I was going to marry him.
We were going to have a family together.
Neither of us had great lives. His father was an abusive asshole who ran off his mother. My folks were both drug addicts who barely survived the day, much less took care of me and Steven. Jeremy joined the military as our ticket out. He had it in his head that we wouldn’t have to stay in the projects with the gangs and constant killings and that we’d have a chance at a real future together. Even though I wasn’t happy about him enlisting, I went along with it. I thought I’d just have to bide my time until he came home.