Page 19 of Finally, Our Forever

Reece

I walk out of Maci’s house, unable to think straight, pissed that her ex has been an abusive asshole towards her. Why can’t she see it for what it is? Abuse. Am I the only one who has seen him treat her this way? Someone should have done something about him by now. She’s not even giving me a chance to make this better. Most of all I’m angry at myself that I’m the one that made her doubt me. If I had had the balls years ago, we wouldn’t be in this situation.

Yeah, I’m just furious with everything. Opening my black Chevrolet Silverado 3500 lifted truck, I hop in and slam the door. I sit in Maci’s driveway for a minute, trying to clear my head of this morning. If we’d never opened that door, I would still be in there with my woman and Bennett. I can still taste her on my lips, still hear her cries and see her face when she came. Motherfucker!

Finally, I get my shit together and pull out of her driveway, making the short distance down the road to the stop sign. I punch the steering wheel a few times and end up hitting my Bluetooth call button. It beeps at me, waiting for me to give it someone to call. The only person I want to talk to right now is my girl, and she thinks she’s gotten rid of me. Although I’m going to give her space, she will never be rid of me. The bond that we share is deeper than even I built up in my head. We were always meant to be together.

My truck beeps at me again, “Call Kingston,” I say. ‘Calling Kingston,’ my Bluetooth chirps at me.

“This is Kingston,” he says in a gruff tone.

“Hey man, it’s Atwood.”

“Atwood, I didn’t even check to see who was calling, brother.” He sighs. “It’s been a long day.”

I laugh, “Isn’t it always? It’s only two-thirty, Kings. What have you been up to on a Sunday?”

“It’s this case with the missing woman. Something about it is bothering me. Why would a happy woman leave her husband? It doesn’t make any sense. I’ve been chasing every lead we have. I’ve had Spader here in The Den with me, running leads for hours, but we have zilch.”

Instead of turning right towards my parents’ house, I turn left towards the compound. “I’m coming in. I’ll be there in fifteen.”

He chuckles darkly. “You want to work on a Sunday? What the hell is wrong with you that you’re willing to come in on your day off? Wait, does this have something to do with your girl? Did you get to see her yesterday?”

I sigh into the phone, knowing he’ll have something to say about the events from this weekend. “I’ll tell you about it when I get there.”

“Alright, see you soon. Drive safe, brother.”

Adam Kingston was the Team Leader of the Special Reaction Team I was on in the Marines. You get close with guys you depend on to cover your ass and make sure you don’t get dead. We were on the SRT for over two years together, along with the rest of the team. Kings had built the team with men he knew he could count on in any situation. We all became a unit, a family of sorts, in a world where family and friends were non-existent. After a particularly hard mission, Kings decided enough was enough, and got out. The rest of the team followed within a few years of each other.

I was the last. When I did, I was so fucking misplaced. I felt lost, and there was some crazy shit running around in my head. I couldn’t get right, and didn’t know what to do or who to turn to. I was bumming it at my parents’ house for a few months when Kings got hold of me and wanted to meet up to talk. I was still dealing with my demons, so I wasn’t sure if I was ready to meet up with my recent past. Although I owed this man my life, he represented something I wanted to leave back in the sand pits. I couldn’t tell him no, so even though it wasn’t the easiest thing, I met with him. It was the best decision I’d made since getting out.

****

---