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And Indika. Figuring out how to earn her trust again, followed by all the events leading up to this point.
He was really team-less now. Aimless too. If he stopped in at HQ, would they even allow him in the door? He’d officially signed release papers. He was a free agent.
Oz’s offer to join his team stood, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to step into a new position.
What then? Driving around the city looking for a chance to save the world wasn’t a day job. Neither was that basket of dirty laundry waiting for him at home.
He pulled up a few blocks from the Blackout headquarters and parked. He wouldn’t attempt entering. Since he was out of the loop now, he had no clue if the team was even in the city.
He still had plenty of contacts he could find out from, but it wasn’t his business anymore.
He slumped in the seat, staring at the street. This empty section of town had no traffic and nobody out walking dogs. No children playing in back yards.
It never hit him so hard—the differences in the two worlds. Suddenly, he realized how damn impossible it was for him to mesh them. The other guys did it so seamlessly. How? By switching off the warrior side and opening their hearts to the women they loved.
Hell, Ramsey had a kid and now Sparrow had one on the way. Apollo had given up on those things, but they were within reach…if only he could find a way to have it all.
Those other guys—maybe they had abilities he didn’t possess. His skills all fell under the category of duty. He wasn’t trained to be a boyfriend, a lover, a husband.Fuck.He should just go home and do the damn laundry. It was more productive than analyzing himself.
He headed across town to his place. But before he knew it, he was passing the block where Indika’s building had stood. The block was still barricaded after three weeks. Cleanup of the site hadn’t begun yet, but all the residents were accounted for. Thank god at that time of day, many were at work and not in the building when it fell.
Apollo didn’t want to even think about what could have happened that day. It sent him into a tailspin every time his thoughts got away from him.
Unable to look at the wreckage any longer, he drove home. He’d focus on each day. Today he had chores to do and then later he’d pick up Indika from work.
An idea hit. A special dinner. He’d buy all her favorite foods and put her favorite movie on. He ran with that thought, ending in lit candles in the bedroom and the covers turned down for them…
It was a goal of sorts. It wasn’t hunting terrorists or saving people, but putting a smile on Indika’s beautiful face was another kind of triumph.
Shewas everything that the man in him needed. But the fighter in him was like a caged lion ready to leap out.
He just needed to figure out how to combine those two halves.
EIGHTEEN
Indika was surrounded by coworkers delivering their well wishes before she even reached the office door. That carried her to the elevator. Several people asked questions about her injury even though, knowing how the office worked, the rumors already spread weeks ago.
She received a lot of questions about the stabbing and how she was doing. She patiently responded to everyone, smiling and nodding. Telling the very basic details that needed to be told because the last thing she felt like doing was reliving what happened to her. Before she ever reached her office door, she was mentally exhausted and ready to go home.
Home—something she didn’t have at the moment. All her possessions were gone. The only thing she really regretted losing were family photos, but they were copies anyway. She could get duplicates made.
When she opened her office door, Brown was leaning against the desk, a huge, welcoming smile on his face.
Happiness filled her. “It’s so damn good to see you.” She shut the door and walked as fast as her cast would allow, to hug him.
He brought an arm up to give her an awkward squeeze. They never embraced, but the occasion seemed to call for it. Besides, life was short. If the past month taught her anything, it was how quickly things could take a turn for the worse.
Stepping back, she smiled at her partner.
“So? How are things?” he asked.
She issued a short laugh. “You mean like getting stabbed, then blown up and trapped under a pile of rubble?” She stuck out her casted leg. “You can’t even sign it for me.”
“Too bad. I had the best saying too.”
Her smile widened. “What’s that?”
“Heal fast, badass.”
