down and saw Warren Shipley’s name.
“Hello, Warren?
“Yeah, it’s me, Mia. Got some news.” His voice was calm yet firm. “You sitting down?”
I beat it to the nearest chair and plopped down, pressing the phone close to my ear. “Okay, yeah. I’m ready. Did they find him?” My heart started pounding out a violent thudding that I swore I could feel in my fingertips and all the way to my toes. It was as if my entire body was one big heartbeat.
“They got him, but the entire mission was ugly. A lot of lives were lost.”
I closed my eyes, sending up a silent prayer for all those that didn’t make it. “Tell me what happened, and where is Wes?”
“He’s safe, being treated in a secret location.”
A weight the size of a two-ton anvil lifted off my chest, replacing the worst of my fear with a much smaller weight. Now I just needed to lay my eyes on him. Kiss his lips. Hold him close and reclaim what was mine…forever.
Then Warren’s words registered. Secret location? “What? I need to see him!”
He cleared his throat. “Honey, you can’t. Not yet. They treat the victims medically, and then they will debrief them about what they might know about the terrorist cell. Any information they have could be incredibly powerful to help fight the war on terrorism. This group was particularly heinous, honey. The things they were doing to women and children not of their faith, you couldn’t imagine. That didn’t even include the eighteen tourists that were secured and saved through the raids.”
“Eighteen tourists? I thought it was just Wes and the five remaining crew members.”
Max sat down next to me and put a hand to my knee. It was bouncing like a five-year-old on a trampoline. Maddy sat on my other side and clutched my loose hand, kissing the top. I gripped her hand and held it close to my face, taking solace in her warmth and presence as I listened to Warren.
“Doesn’t matter. How is he, do you know?” I waited with bated breath for any scrap of information on how he was.
“All I know is that when the team struck, they started killing hostages. Apparently, they decided that if they were going to die, they’d take the vile Americans and their religious propaganda with them. One man was used as a human shield. He was dressed in their clothing, forced to hold an unloaded gun and walk out of the hut they had him in. The snipers had no idea he wasn’t one of the hostiles. They killed him and the man leading him with a gun at his back on first sight.”
“Jesus.” My heart clenched.
Warren’s voice got low. “Honey, the things they did to that woman, that actress, I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.”
Gina DeLuca.
Fuck. I hated the woman—not because I had any right to hate her, but because she’d had a casual sexual relationship with Wes at one time. She had been getting what I wanted from him but wasn’t strong enough to go for myself. Even still, I didn’t wish her any real harm. Maybe for an ugly picture of her eating a hot dog to appear on the local smut mag but not to be mistreated by the hands of sick and twisted men with nothing but an axe to grind.
“Is she uh, okay?”
Warred blew out a long breath. “Physically and mentally, no. Will she live? Yes.”
I blinked away the tears, trying to hold it together as best I could. “Did anyone else make it?”
“Hold on.” I could hear Warren sniff and blow his nose in the distance. “I’m okay, Kathy, talking to Mia. Gotta finish this. Yes, some tea would be helpful. Thank you, dear,” Warren said to Kathleen.
Kathleen was the woman he’d finally admitted he was in love with after all these years. They were together, and it made me happy knowing that even second chances at love happened in this world.
“Sorry, Mia. Even at my age, this stuff never gets any easier to say.”
“No, I can’t imagine it does.” I took a breath, squeezed Maddy’s hand, and swallowed. “When is he coming home, and when can I talk to
“Hello, Warren?
“Yeah, it’s me, Mia. Got some news.” His voice was calm yet firm. “You sitting down?”
I beat it to the nearest chair and plopped down, pressing the phone close to my ear. “Okay, yeah. I’m ready. Did they find him?” My heart started pounding out a violent thudding that I swore I could feel in my fingertips and all the way to my toes. It was as if my entire body was one big heartbeat.
“They got him, but the entire mission was ugly. A lot of lives were lost.”
I closed my eyes, sending up a silent prayer for all those that didn’t make it. “Tell me what happened, and where is Wes?”
“He’s safe, being treated in a secret location.”
A weight the size of a two-ton anvil lifted off my chest, replacing the worst of my fear with a much smaller weight. Now I just needed to lay my eyes on him. Kiss his lips. Hold him close and reclaim what was mine…forever.
Then Warren’s words registered. Secret location? “What? I need to see him!”
He cleared his throat. “Honey, you can’t. Not yet. They treat the victims medically, and then they will debrief them about what they might know about the terrorist cell. Any information they have could be incredibly powerful to help fight the war on terrorism. This group was particularly heinous, honey. The things they were doing to women and children not of their faith, you couldn’t imagine. That didn’t even include the eighteen tourists that were secured and saved through the raids.”
“Eighteen tourists? I thought it was just Wes and the five remaining crew members.”
Max sat down next to me and put a hand to my knee. It was bouncing like a five-year-old on a trampoline. Maddy sat on my other side and clutched my loose hand, kissing the top. I gripped her hand and held it close to my face, taking solace in her warmth and presence as I listened to Warren.
“Doesn’t matter. How is he, do you know?” I waited with bated breath for any scrap of information on how he was.
“All I know is that when the team struck, they started killing hostages. Apparently, they decided that if they were going to die, they’d take the vile Americans and their religious propaganda with them. One man was used as a human shield. He was dressed in their clothing, forced to hold an unloaded gun and walk out of the hut they had him in. The snipers had no idea he wasn’t one of the hostiles. They killed him and the man leading him with a gun at his back on first sight.”
“Jesus.” My heart clenched.
Warren’s voice got low. “Honey, the things they did to that woman, that actress, I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.”
Gina DeLuca.
Fuck. I hated the woman—not because I had any right to hate her, but because she’d had a casual sexual relationship with Wes at one time. She had been getting what I wanted from him but wasn’t strong enough to go for myself. Even still, I didn’t wish her any real harm. Maybe for an ugly picture of her eating a hot dog to appear on the local smut mag but not to be mistreated by the hands of sick and twisted men with nothing but an axe to grind.
“Is she uh, okay?”
Warred blew out a long breath. “Physically and mentally, no. Will she live? Yes.”
I blinked away the tears, trying to hold it together as best I could. “Did anyone else make it?”
“Hold on.” I could hear Warren sniff and blow his nose in the distance. “I’m okay, Kathy, talking to Mia. Gotta finish this. Yes, some tea would be helpful. Thank you, dear,” Warren said to Kathleen.
Kathleen was the woman he’d finally admitted he was in love with after all these years. They were together, and it made me happy knowing that even second chances at love happened in this world.
“Sorry, Mia. Even at my age, this stuff never gets any easier to say.”
“No, I can’t imagine it does.” I took a breath, squeezed Maddy’s hand, and swallowed. “When is he coming home, and when can I talk to
Similar Books
