Page 71 of Dead Drift

He was hardly comparing himself with David or Joseph, but God had entrusted this fight to him. He knew that as surely as he knew of God’s love for him. Even now, even after all the compromises, God’s love held strong. It was an anchor in the storm. His anchor. It’d taken reentering his old life for God to finally break through his thick skull, but He’d done so. He’d revealed how strong His love remained for Luke. How strong it had always been.

Thank you, Lord, for your patience with me, for never ceasing to love me. Please equip me to serve you wholly. I pray I make it through this mission, and that I get to spend my life by Kate’s side. Amen.

Kate moved away from his massage and turned to him, studied him.

“Sorry, I was just . . .”

“I know you’ll say ‘distracted,’ but I don’t think that’s it.”

She knew him well.

“Oh?”

“No. You were thinking deeply.”

“And praying.”

She smiled.

“What?”

“I didn’t know. . . . You’ve been gone so long, I didn’t know—”

“If I still had a relationship with Christ?”

“I knew you did. To what extent is what I wondered.”

He raked a hand through his hair on an exhale. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. It’s not where it should be on my end, but God has held on tight and never let go.” He pulled her into his arms. “Just like I’m never letting you go.” He kissed her forehead.

She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. “Never again?”

“Never. I promise.”

“A loved one for a loved one” continued to run through Luke’s mind.

“What’s up?” Kate asked as she packed her things in their duffel.

“Just something tracking in the back of my mind.”

“Care to share?”

He did. Leaving out all the gory and heart-wrenching details, he explained only Ebeid’s words, and she quickly inferred their meaning.

“That’s what has you so spooked. You’re worried Ebeid’s coming after me because I’m with you.”

Especially now. Especially if he learned how deeply Luke loved her—that they were to be married. For her safety, he should have waited, but he could no longer deny the truth of what he felt for her. Couldn’t have stood in her presence one nanosecond longer and not asked her to be his wife. He’d spent the last seven years hunting Ebeid. He might not have caught him yet, but he wasn’t putting his life on hold any longer.

He shook out his hands, the image of her wounded and bloody replaying through his mind. “If he discovers how much you mean to me . . .”

“No offense, but I’m pretty sure he’s already fully aware of how you feel about me. He blew up my home after all, and attempted to do so with us in it.”

“True.” She didn’t pull punches—another thing he loved about her. He bent, kissing her ring, his fingers tracing over the small diamond. It’d been all he could afford back then. “You’ll definitely need an upgrade,” he said. “Now that I can afford one.” He’d give her the wedding of her dreams.

“No,” she said, holding it up so the sunlight bounced off its princess-cut surface. “It’s perfect.”

He smiled. She would think so.

“A loved one for a loved one.”