Jace shook his head. “I tried to protect him, but an enemy combatant appeared from the other direction and—”
“And you let him die!” she yelled. “He was aperson. A son. A brother. And Ilovedhim. I really loved him…” Tears gathered in her eyes. “And he loved you. Hetrustedyou. You should have had his back.”
“I think about that moment every day,” Jace said softly. “And every day I wish I could have protected him.”
Surprise flickered in her eyes before she blinked, her expression switching back to anger. “But you didn’t.”
“I couldn’t. It will be a permanent scar that I carry for the rest of my life. I’m sorry.”
This time she shook her head vigorously, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Don’t. I don’t want you to be sorry. I want you topay. To feel the pain that I felt when I lost him. I want you to feel like your insides have been torn out and the ground beneath your feet has crumbled. I want you tohurtlike I hurt!”
“I feel all of that,” he whispered. “I watched him die, and a piece of me died with him out there.”
More tears poured from her eyes. “It should have been you.”
“It could have been me. It could have been any of us on our team. There are no guarantees on a mission. Every time an airman leaves base, we know we might not come home. And Dean was aware of that.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “But he counted on you. He looked up to you. To all of you.”
“And he was like a brother to me. I lost a brother that day.”
The gun in her hand began to shake.
Eastern stepped into the room behind her. “Put the gun down, Stephanie.”
She jumped at the sound of Eastern’s voice but didn’t lower her weapon. She shook her head. “No. I need to finish what I started. I need her to die like Dean died. It’s the only way for me to get closure.” There was less conviction in her voice now though.
“You don’t need to do anything,” Jace said quietly. “Dean’s gone, and no matter what either of us do, nothing will bring him back or take away the pain of losing him.”
She frowned, and it almost seemed like she was stuck, unsure what to do.
He stepped forward. “Dean wouldn’t want this. You know that. Lower the gun, Stephanie.”
Her chest started to tremble, the air loud on every inhale and exhale.
“Dean would want you to put the gun down,” Jace pleaded.
One more beat of silence…and her face crumpled before she dropped to her knees and began to cry. Loud, pained sobs. The second the gun left her hands, Eastern holstered his weapon and moved forward.
As he handcuffed Stephanie, Jace holstered his own Glock and turned before taking the gun from Elle’s fingers and setting it back in the safe.
Then he cupped her cheeks. “Are you all right?”
She nodded quickly, her gaze flickering between his eyes. “Are you?”
Hell no. He didn’t feel close to all right. But she was alive.
“I will be.” He tugged her into his chest, letting her breathe a semblance of peace back into him.
Elle leanedagainst the back of the ambulance as a paramedic checked her cuts. She wasn’t focused on what he was doing though. All her focus remained on Jace, who stood several yards away with two officers.
He was giving his version of events. She’d already told hers. It felt surreal, like she was retelling a story that wasn’t her own. Because this sort of stuff didn’t happen to her. She didn’t get run off the road and attacked and shot at. That was the stuff of movies.
Except today it wasn’t. Today it was her life.
She’d told the officers about her aunt, and Eastern had sent a deputy over to her house. They’d found Jewel passed out with ahead injury, and she was now in the hospital with a concussion and lots of bruises.
Guilt swamped Elle. Guilt and worry. All she wanted to do was go to her. Make sure she was okay.
