“I’ll pick up a Ridgeburger from Maggie’s for you and then swing by the drugstore.” One of my errands I had to do today was grocery shop.
“You’re the best,” he said.
“Love you. I’ll be home soon.” Lila wasn’t going to like leaving, but I would drop everything for Ethan.
After I disconnected the call, I returned to the group. “Lila, we need to head out.” I regarded Jace. “Glad you’re okay.”
I tried not to look him in the eyes, but I couldn’t help it. I swore I felt like I was looking into the crystal-blue waters off the South Pacific.
“Thanks for being there just in case I’d fallen,” Jace said, removing his gloves.
Slinging my backpack over my shoulders, I dropped my gaze to his ring finger—no wedding ring. “You really should rethink rock climbing.”
He chuckled, a sound that reverberated through me. “Not in my nature.”
It made sense that he did things that defied gravity. After all, he was a fighter pilot.
“So, Monroe,” Jace said in that husky voice that gave me goose bumps, “I feel like I owe you a coffee or something for coming to my rescue.”
I waved him off. “Not necessary.”
A phone trilled, interrupting anything Jace was about to say as he plucked his cell from a side pocket on his athletic pants.
I tipped my head at Lila. “We need to go.”
Lila said goodbye to Dax while Jace had the phone to his ear. I started up the trail, my pulse beating like a wild drummer in a rock concert.
“Hot damn,” Lila said, catching up to me. “What was that between you and Jace?”
“Absolutely nothing.”
“Uh-huh. What I saw was fire between you two.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t try to fit a square peg into a round hole, if you know what I mean.”
“No such thing with you and Jace. I say there’s a match made in heaven.”
“He’s military, so that’s a hard no.”
“Keep lying to yourself,” she said. “You should take him up on coffee or a roll in the hay.” She laughed.
“Not a chance.”
As we left Devil’s Hollow, I couldn’t shake the way Jace had looked at me like he’d found a crack in my carefully constructed armor.
2
JACE
The base clinic smelled like antiseptic and disappointment. I’d been here too often lately and not for anything heroic, just petty shit like rock climbing injuries, checkups, blood draws, and the damn incident report that refused to die in the system.
Fucking G-LOC.
The word alone dragged me back.
The roar of the engines. The crush of Gs. The world narrowing to a tunnel.
“Pull up, Blitz!” Tate’s voice had cut through the static, sharp and panicked but too late.
