from the truth.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair, leaning his elbows on his thighs. “Look, I suspected they would pin what happened in Albuquerque on a terrorist group, but I worried it would get pinned on some fringe group who had never caused any real trouble. At least with the Cavallo, we know that not only do they deserve the incrimination, but the members probably aren’t even alive to care after Aiden and Alex finished with them.”
Emma shook her head, looking away from him. “That’s not the point, Will!”
“What is the point, Emma? That you don’t think you’ve beaten yourself up enough over what happened? Does it ease your pain to smother yourself in guilt?”
“That’s not fair! You didn’t destroy half that city!”
Will sat up and said with an icy calm, “No, Emma I didn’t. I just murdered forty kids and listened to them scream as they burned to death.”
She sighed, her shoulders relaxing as she closed her eyes. “You didn’t murder them.”
“And you didn’t murder those people in Albuquerque.”
He could argue with her about this all day long and it wouldn’t change a thing. Nothing could take away her guilt but the passage of time. Unfortunately, time was a luxury they didn’t have. Will stood and eased toward her, grabbing her hands. “Do you remember that night in the cornfield when you asked me if you would ever stop seeing the face of the man you shot?”
“Yes.” She choked on the word, looking down.
He dropped her hands, and tilted her chin up, staring into her eyes. “I told you it would always be there, but it would ease with time. Remember?”
She nodded, tears filling her eyes.
“This is the same thing. What I did in Iraq is always with me. Every day. But something makes the pain more bearable. Do you know what it is?”
“No.”
“You. Your love for me. Your belief that I’m worth saving. You make the pain bearable. Let me do the same for you.”
She buried her face in his chest.
“All of this is going to get worse, Princess,” he whispered into her hair. “You have to find a way to accept the pain and the guilt and move forward, otherwise it’s going to eat you alive. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for Jake. You’ll never save him if you don’t.”
The newscaster’s voice broke into their moment. “Meteorologists are still trying to explain yesterday’s freak storm in Napa Valley.”
Emma pulled away from Will and turned her attention to the screen.
“A tornado touched down yesterday afternoon in the Napa Valley, killing twenty-five people. While the tornado itself is an odd occurrence, the path it took is particularly unusual.” Footage of rubble strewn across the landscape appeared. “The tornado appears to have jumped from an F2 to an F5 within a matter of moments right before destroying a house. Then it returned to an F2 status until it struck another home as an F5. And as though that wasn’t strange enough,” —the footage switched to an aerial view— “after the tornado destroyed the first house, it’s almost as if the funnel cloud’s path purposely sought out the homes it destroyed. Then just as abruptly as the storm appeared, it disappeared.” A meteorologist’s face filled the screen. “We’ve never seen anything like this. There were no colliding fronts, no indication that anything like this would happen and consequently no warnings were issued.”
Will tensed. “Alex.”
Emma’s face paled. “No, it was Jake.”
He paused for several seconds. “Why do you think Jake did this?”
“Because this afternoon, right about the time that tornado touched down, I felt Jake. He was afraid and he felt guilty.”
“You know Jake would never purposely hurt people.”
“No, he’d never do something like this on his own, but he’s with Aiden. Aiden might have forced him to do this.”
“Why?”
“Maybe as practice, like you and I have been doing? Testing his
“I know. I’m sorry.” Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair, leaning his elbows on his thighs. “Look, I suspected they would pin what happened in Albuquerque on a terrorist group, but I worried it would get pinned on some fringe group who had never caused any real trouble. At least with the Cavallo, we know that not only do they deserve the incrimination, but the members probably aren’t even alive to care after Aiden and Alex finished with them.”
Emma shook her head, looking away from him. “That’s not the point, Will!”
“What is the point, Emma? That you don’t think you’ve beaten yourself up enough over what happened? Does it ease your pain to smother yourself in guilt?”
“That’s not fair! You didn’t destroy half that city!”
Will sat up and said with an icy calm, “No, Emma I didn’t. I just murdered forty kids and listened to them scream as they burned to death.”
She sighed, her shoulders relaxing as she closed her eyes. “You didn’t murder them.”
“And you didn’t murder those people in Albuquerque.”
He could argue with her about this all day long and it wouldn’t change a thing. Nothing could take away her guilt but the passage of time. Unfortunately, time was a luxury they didn’t have. Will stood and eased toward her, grabbing her hands. “Do you remember that night in the cornfield when you asked me if you would ever stop seeing the face of the man you shot?”
“Yes.” She choked on the word, looking down.
He dropped her hands, and tilted her chin up, staring into her eyes. “I told you it would always be there, but it would ease with time. Remember?”
She nodded, tears filling her eyes.
“This is the same thing. What I did in Iraq is always with me. Every day. But something makes the pain more bearable. Do you know what it is?”
“No.”
“You. Your love for me. Your belief that I’m worth saving. You make the pain bearable. Let me do the same for you.”
She buried her face in his chest.
“All of this is going to get worse, Princess,” he whispered into her hair. “You have to find a way to accept the pain and the guilt and move forward, otherwise it’s going to eat you alive. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for Jake. You’ll never save him if you don’t.”
The newscaster’s voice broke into their moment. “Meteorologists are still trying to explain yesterday’s freak storm in Napa Valley.”
Emma pulled away from Will and turned her attention to the screen.
“A tornado touched down yesterday afternoon in the Napa Valley, killing twenty-five people. While the tornado itself is an odd occurrence, the path it took is particularly unusual.” Footage of rubble strewn across the landscape appeared. “The tornado appears to have jumped from an F2 to an F5 within a matter of moments right before destroying a house. Then it returned to an F2 status until it struck another home as an F5. And as though that wasn’t strange enough,” —the footage switched to an aerial view— “after the tornado destroyed the first house, it’s almost as if the funnel cloud’s path purposely sought out the homes it destroyed. Then just as abruptly as the storm appeared, it disappeared.” A meteorologist’s face filled the screen. “We’ve never seen anything like this. There were no colliding fronts, no indication that anything like this would happen and consequently no warnings were issued.”
Will tensed. “Alex.”
Emma’s face paled. “No, it was Jake.”
He paused for several seconds. “Why do you think Jake did this?”
“Because this afternoon, right about the time that tornado touched down, I felt Jake. He was afraid and he felt guilty.”
“You know Jake would never purposely hurt people.”
“No, he’d never do something like this on his own, but he’s with Aiden. Aiden might have forced him to do this.”
“Why?”
“Maybe as practice, like you and I have been doing? Testing his
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