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He was in the field, performing ghost work for Senator Coleman.
Everything shifted again and he was on a stage, blinded by overhead lights, hearing a female voice—the then-Vice President. “Ten years ago, we lost a valuable soldier in Afghanistan. A Navy SEAL with over thirty missions under his belt and more commendations in his file than any of you could fathom. He’s been hailed by his own men as one of the greatest SEALs to ever defend this country. For years, we didn’t know what had happened to him. He was declared Missing in Action. Senior Chief Justin Lugmeyer of SEAL Team Seven discovered Lieutenant Tephra’s location in a remote Afghanistan prison on one of his last missions to the area, and with the help of former CIA Operations director, Jonathan Brockmann, we brought him home.”
Home.He hadn’t been sure then what that meant. How it would feel. By then he’d lived so many lies, the VP’s version was just another story. Not the truth, but then the truth had never done him much good.
“Rory!” The sound of a familiar voice rattled him. It still wasn’t enough to pull him out of the past. He heard the gunshot. Felt his knees go out. Felt them hit the ground. Screaming erupted, glass shattered.
He shattered, frozen in time.
“Rory Tephra!” That lovely female voice was pissed. “Goddammit, get out of the fucking way!”
But he was waking up in the hospital, the meds in the IV warring with the pain raging in his body. At least the upper half. The numbness below his waist made him sick to his stomach. “You may never walk again, he heard the doctor say,but we’re making huge strides these days in this area. Surgery…physical therapy…” He tuned the guy out.
His life was over.
And what did he have to show for it?
Medals, commendations, respect.
They weren’t enough. Not nearly enough.
He’d given everything to his country and now he couldn’t walk.
He wanted to die.
Something hard whacked him in the shoulders, shocking him into the current moment. On his knees, he grunted and swiveled, swift as a fox. “What thefuck?”
Amelia was screaming at him, the sound of a car motor so close he could barely hear her. Muscle memory clicked into autopilot and he found the strength in his frozen legs to lunge.
Landing on her, he rolled them both over, smacking into the solid concrete wall behind them even as the car hit the pylon square on. His comm went flying.
The motor coughed and died. The driver tried to restart it. Again. He couldn’t see Hannah and Masden.
Fuck.
He’d never blanked during a mission. He could have died. Could have letAmeliadie.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
The car door opened and he shifted his body, ready to protect her until his dying breath. The guy probably had a gun, was going to finish them right here.
The headlights glowed, regardless the engine wouldn’t start. All he could make out was the outline of a slender figure.
With a hat.
Binni.
“You ruined everything!” she screamed.
He saw her raise her arm. Time once again slowed. “My team has this area surrounded,” he blurted without a trace of anxiety in his voice. The itch between his shoulders was a maelstrom of fire. “You won’t get away.” Shielding Amelia, he pushed to his feet, ignoring the numbness spreading down his legs.It’s only in my mind, he reminded himself.I amnotparalyzed!
The woman hauled her arm back and…
Hit him with her purse.
Not a gun.
He almost laughed.
