CHAPTER 18
The following morning,Hannah showered and dressed in jeans, a blue sweater, and sneakers. Her body hummed as she dried her hair and applied makeup. When she finished, she stepped back and stared at the woman in the mirror. She badly needed a haircut, and most of her products resembled dried clumps of color from misuse. Yet, she felt somewhat like her old self before…
“You can do this,” she muttered to herself. “Don’t let them win.”
“Hey. Do you know where my friend Hannah went? They didn’t tell me she moved rooms,” Scarlett greeted her from outside the door.
“Hi, Scarlett,” she said, slowly. “I’ve imagined what I might say to you. Thank you for visiting me.”
Scarlett beamed. “You have a lovely voice. It’s funny how I never noticed the tones in people’s speech until I went blind. You have a strong voice, full of courage.”
“Ha. I’m not half as brave as you,” she protested as Scarlett and Ice went to their usual seat.
“Bravery happens when you least expect it,” Scarlett said. “It took a lot for you to step out of your comfort zone yesterday.”
“It’s not bravery,” she denied.
Scarlett cocked her head. “Sometimes small steps lead up to one big one. When I came here, I felt terrified. If I failed, what kind of future would I have? The people here don’t give up easily. Most of all, I met Ty, and he taught me to see things through his eyes.”
“Cole asked me to meet your team. He thinks I’ll feel safer if I know how they protect everyone,” she told Scarlett.
“What do you believe?”
“I don’t want to fail. I can’t forget what happened. I’m safe as long as I’m in here. If I go outside, how can I tell the good from the bad?” Hannah asked miserably. “You’re strong. I heard how you rescued the kids and the senior citizens. I’ll never feel brave like you.” Hannah sat down and sighed.
“Don’t measure yourself against me,” Scarlett warned. “We’re apples and oranges. You seem to forget we’re here together. Both of us survived. Some of our brothers and sisters in arms didn’t. They gave the ultimate sacrifice. It’s our duty to live on for them. Patch says the team has taught him how to do this. I live in honor of Debbie, the woman lost to the fire. She encouraged me to have a good cry, pick myself up, and keep going.”
“They killed all the men riding with me,” Hannah revealed. “I feel guilty they died protecting me. In the end, it didn’t matter. I’m still a disappointment to my dad. It might’ve made his life easier if I had died. Then, he could say I died with honor.”
Scarlett pursed her lips. “I already don’t like your dad. I’m sorry to hear about your friends. Do you ever wonder what they might want you to do?”
“I didn’t know them. Their supply clerk got food poisoning. I went in his place. They made the routine trip hundreds of times without any issues. One of the units ran out of medical supplies, and they needed them desperately. I agreed to accompany themand I picked up another shipment along the way. The attack came out of nowhere,” she said, caught up in the memory.
Scarlett reached for her hand and squeezed it. “It happened the same way with me. Rocker pulled me to safety. I can still smell the scent of gunfire, flesh burning and the cries.”
“How do you deal with it?” Hannah asked.
“I attend meetings here and sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night. Ty sits and listens to me. I meet with Dr. Meyers and Kassie sometimes. It’s no secret around here, but they survived a kidnapping. Tess, Taco’s wife, got shot when Avie’s ex-husband kidnapped her. Samantha and her son were held hostage. The head nurse, Catherine’s ex-husband, got embroiled in some scandal, and the team rescued her from a fire. We’re not alone. They may not be in the trenches, but these women would sacrifice themselves to protect any member of their extended family. Have you heard of Victoria? If anyone dared to hurt Kassie or any of her grandchildren, they might as well have signed their death certificate.”
“Wow,” Hannah said quietly. “They all sound brave.”
“It doesn’t begin to describe them.”
“How did you get past your fear? Dr. Meyers says time heals, and be patient with myself. She asked if I forgave myself for living,” Hannah admitted.
“Yeah,” Scarlett nodded. “Hindsight always gives us a different perspective. In the moment, we did what we needed to survive. Now, we have a second chance to live our lives by our own rules. How do you want to start yours? I married a hot chef, joined the security team, and have wine parties with Gabby, Knight’s wife, Annabelle, and Claire. Ty’s mom, Cherise, takes me to the library and lunch every other weekend.”
“I can’t leave this room. The last doctor said I have paranoia. I worry the men will find me. Cole offered to have youaccompany us to the team building. He’s nice to me, but I don’t want him to see me freak out and start screaming.”
“One step at a time,” Scarlett reminded her. “We’ll figure it out. You’re my sister in arms and I never leave a sister behind. Patch, on the other hand, I might consider it for a hot minute. He’s the most aggravating man on this earth. When I got shot, they sent me to physical therapy. I returned to my room to find him sitting by my bed. He’d say, ‘All right, Sparky, now it’s PT time.’”
“But you already went,” Hannah said, confused.
“Oh no, to him it’s ‘Patch Time,’” Scarlett explained. “It means you express your feelings and he shoots you down with sarcastic remarks and tells you to get over yourself. Don’t worry, I have your six. He’s not getting his grubby paws on you.”
“He doesn’t even know me,” she insisted.
Scarlett shook her head. “He knows your age, weight, social security number and your last boyfriend’s name and address. Trust me, these guys can be very thorough.”
