“We. I’m just as responsible for them.”
“I made the decision that day. Not you. You were barely alive and not in a position to fight.”
Her eyes lower.
“We’ll find them, Angelina. I won’t give up until we do. None of us will. Damien is very determined when it comes to fighting the WSSO. Has been since before Ransom was taken.”
“Can you at least start calling me Angel again, Garrett? If nothing more, I’d like to think we’re friends.”
Friends. Fuck, that bites, but it’s what I insisted on. I can’t be objective in training her if I’m her lover. I’d go easy on her, miss teaching her something that could make the difference between life and death.
“I didn’t love Marla,” I spurt out for some unknown reason. “But you were right about me. I feel guilt over that day, because I trained her. The one thing I told her over and over is never go anywhere without backup. She didn’t listen.”
“You rescued me without backup.”
My jaw tightens because the irony isn’t lost on me. “Different circumstances, but you’re right. I was as wrong as Marla but I didn’t end up dead. Maybe if I’d been less of a friend to her and more focused on being the hard-ass she deserved, she’d still be alive. I won’t make that same mistake with you.”
“What happened to her, Garrett? I’ve only gathered bits and pieces of the story.”
I scrub my face, not sure if telling her is a good idea, but I can’t lie to her either. “The day before I was scheduled to leave on an op, Marla disappeared. I couldn’t find her. Was going nuts looking for her. Couldn’t pick up her scent trail... nothing. Damien sent half his trackers out looking for her and still nothing. A full day passed and still nothing. We needed to expand the search, but I was scheduled to go on the op. Damien ordered me to remain here. He said I was too concerned about Marla to focuson my job, that I’d endanger my team and risk the chance of mission success. So I stayed behind.”
I fall silent, only now recognizing how deliberate, how calculated Marla had been. If only I’d realized what Marla had been planning.
“She knew about the op. Headed there before the team. Took my place. Did everything I’d been scheduled to do. And died because of it.”
“She did nothing like you would have. She covered her trail, went ahead of the team—without backup—and probably didn’t have all the intel you had either. Or had she been part of the strategy meetings?”
I shake my head. “She only knew the basics because I told her, and only then because it was part of her training. Understanding the strategy, for when she would go out on an op. I never thought she’d?—”
“Steal your op?”
“Yes.” I swallow hard. “She shouldn’t have been the one who died, Angel. That should have been me.”
“Oh, baby, you can’t think like that. It was out of your control. Just like what happened to me.”
When she caresses my cheek, I cover her hand with mine. An intense fear grips me, making it near-impossible to breathe. “Promise me you won’t go after those shifters I left behind.”
“Weleft behind,” she corrects me.
The blood rushes from my head and my stomach knots. She’s going to go after them, just like Marla.
Suddenly, her hands are gripping my face. “Garrett, you need to listen to me on this. I admit, I considered trying to rescue those shifters, but then I realized what a bad idea that would be. Yes, I want someone to rescue them, more than anything, but it has to be shifters who have the skills. I won’t risk what could be their only chance of rescue.”
“But all this training?—”
“It’s because I’m tired of being vulnerable and useless, just as I told you. Why else would I be putting up with your crazy demands for five-mile hikes and climbing trees? Shifting to my wolf form while in a tree… that’s not natural, baby.”
“Not natural, but necessary. Doing the unexpected could be what saves you. Thank you for putting up with me, Angel.”
A beautiful smile fills her face. “You’re back to calling me Angel. I missed that. I missedyou, Garrett. And it’s okay if you only want to be friends. I just don’t want to lose you.” She kisses my cheek a second before she shifts and leaps into the woods as quiet as any shifter I’ve ever trained. Three weeks ago, I heard every branch, leaf, and patch of snow she stepped in. Now… nothing. She’s a quick learner, my Angel.
Sometimes I wonder if she could be mine, but I pushed her away. Despite her warm smiles, my Angel is working hard taking control of her life. Once she does, she’ll no longer need me…
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
ANGEL
Where did I leave that other boot? I bend over and search under the bed again, then check the neatly folded pile of blankets by the fireplace, where Garrett sleeps. Every damn night.
