Chapter 14 #2
Sophie gave her a squeeze. “Multiply that by combat trauma and training and you get a man who has been ordered to eat, breathe and fight. Not feel.”
Tears pushed at Elin’s throat. “I understand all that. I might even be able to live with it…if he’d given me the chance. But he vanished from my life. I grieved him.”
The ladies traded a look. “She needs to talk to Indika,” Sophie said.
“Who is that?”
“Apollo was on the Charlie team, then he switched to Alpha. She believed he was dead too. Then he came back into her life.”
She issued a shaky sigh. “I can’t wrap my head around all this.”
Kennedy offered a smile that was tender with sympathy. “They teach men like Mason that control is survival.”
“You blindsided him. Everyone in this house can see he’s head over heels for you.”
She wanted to believe it. But it was easier to deny—to stay angry because anger was easier than aching. She let out a soft snort. “He’s never said it. Right now, I’m convenient. I’m here. But there’s a big difference between geography and a real connection.”
Kennedy reached over and zipped the duffel shut. “If you really want to go, fine. You’ve earned that right. But don’t run just because it’s safer than waiting.”
Elin blinked, stunned by the word. “Safer?”
“Yes. If you stay and he breaks your heart again, you’ll hate yourself for hoping you can make it work. But if you leave before giving him the chance to show up, you’ll hate yourself for doubting him.”
Sophie moved toward the window, looking out where the chopper lights blinked through the mist. “You both have big roles to play, Elin. In a few minutes, you’re getting on that chopper with Liam. He’s probably already scheming ways to fix your relationship.”
She gave a soft, humorless laugh. “He’s not exactly the flowers-and-apologies type.”
Sophie turned from the window, her smile a little sad. “No. But he’s the action type.”
A barely healed crack opened up. The fissure that had been a deep gorge before was smaller now, but it still cut enough to ache. But what her new friends said rang true—Mason didn’t make promises lightly. He was built on promises.
And he’d promised to keep her safe.
He’d never given her the words she needed to hear—that she was important, that he loved her. But he brought her drinks and food when she worked too late. He insisted she rest.
And his eyes burned with unspoken emotion when he pushed deep inside her.
She straightened. “I need to find some of the control these men have. I’m going into a high-risk op. I can’t be weak out there.”
Kennedy shook her head. “You’re the brain of this operation. Mason can guard your six, but the mission only works if you trust yourself.”
Trust herself. That, she could do.
The raw edge of panic dulled to something quieter—resolve, maybe.
Con’s voice crackled over the intercom. “Charlie, on me. Birds are spinnin’.”
Her gaze dropped to the duffel. She left it zipped. There would be time to unpack her life later—one way or another.
Elin took off for the door with Sophie and Kennedy right behind her.
“You got this, Elin. You’re stronger than you think.”
Kennedy’s faith in her settled like armor, straightening her spine until she felt as solid as any of them. She might not fit the mold of a wife or girlfriend, but today, she was one of the team.
With every step Elin took toward the chopper, she drew in one deep breath after another until her pulse matched the rhythm of the rotors.
Outside, the world thrummed with controlled chaos.
She let the current of motion carry her forward into the heart of it all.
When she rounded the corner, she glimpsed Chase and Alyssa near the entrance, hands linked.
Alyssa laughed softly at something he said, her other hand resting protectively over her still-flat abdomen.
The sight twisted Elin’s chest, but this time the twinge came with understanding rather than envy.
This was what she wanted—a life that wasn’t defined by jobs or danger but instead by connection…and maybe even love.
Maybe she could have that too.
But first, there was work to do.
Then she looked up and saw him. Liam waited halfway across the yard, tall and strong and proud as hell. The man who owned her heart, to death and beyond.
The wind created by the chopper whipped at her hair, tugging strands from the elastic band. For a heartbeat, the world around her dimmed.
His gaze met hers.
Everything inside her stilled.
He didn’t speak, didn’t move, but the air between them vibrated.
Elin forced herself to focus. Her heart could wait.
The mission couldn’t.
The helicopter blades threw light and shadow across the lawn. The team rushed forward, ducking beneath the blades, and she followed Con, hyperaware of Liam behind her. She climbed aboard and Liam sat directly across from her, their knees almost touching.
The engines roared, shaking the floor beneath them. Then they were lifting off, on their way.
She looked out the side of the chopper as the mansion shrank below, watching until the base lights glowed like a constellation in the dark.
For a time, it had been her home—a home she might never see again.
Kennedy’s words echoed in her mind. You’re stronger than you think.
Liam was watching her again, jaw tight, eyes unreadable. But for the first time that night, she didn’t look away.
If this was the end—or the start of something new—she’d face it. Head-on.
The chopper lifted higher, slicing into the dark. Beneath the pounding blades and her racing heart, a new resolve steadied her like steel.
Whatever waited in DC—Cipher, Kent…heartbreak or hope—she was ready to meet it.