Page 44 of Tactical Lies

“I’ll find you, Izzy. I swear I’ll keep on those guys at Prey, make sure they don’t give up, anything I have to do, whatever it takes, I promise you, Iz, I won't give up. Not ever. Not for anything,” she vowed.

It didn't matter what the odds were because there was one thing she knew for certain.

Nothing on this earth would have made Isabella give up on her.

Nothing.

If their positions had been reversed, Izzy would do everything in her power to try to find her, even though it was obviously well outside her skillset as a nurse.

She owed her friend the same.

Over the years, Izzy had put into practice the dedication of her friendship. She’d been the support system Becca needed, and when—because her sanity depended on her believing there was hope even if it was only a teeny tiny amount—Izzy came home, she’d do the same.

For now, she was going to have to find a way to deal with being safe while her friend wasn't. There was nothing practical she could do for Isabella except keep checking in with Prey to see if they had updates and offer any information they might need that she might have.

Alone out there all she had was time.

Time to heal and recover.

Time to process what had almost happened in Cambodia.

Time to think about her future and what came next.

And time to think about the man who had stolen her heart the first time she ever met him, long before she even understood what it meant to fall in love and what part he was going to play, if any, in whatever her future looked like.

Chapter

Eleven

August 20th

12:32 P.M.

Finally, he was alone with his thoughts.

While he loved his siblings with everything he had, they weren't just his family, they weren't just his team, they were his best friends as well, they hadn't given him a moment’s peace since he got back from Cambodia with Becca.

And Connor needed some peace.

Needed time and space to figure out the mess of thoughts and emotions raging inside his head.

It had taken a lot of convincing, but he’d finally got all five of his brothers and two one-day sisters-in-law to leave. They’d been gone only about thirty minutes, and while he did admit it left his house feeling empty, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Well, it was, but the emptiness that clawed at his insides wasn't because his brothers had left, it was because Becca wasn't there.

There had always been an emptiness. Ever since he realized he’d lost Becca twelve years ago it had existed. It was an ache he’d done his best to ignore over the years, but never once tried to fill. How could he even think about filling a hole that was Becca-sized when there wasn't another person who was that same exact size?

He’d only ever wanted one woman, and he would only ever have one woman.

While he doubted Becca would believe him, he’d never had sex with anyone other than her. There’d been plenty of offers, he knew he had a good body, worked hard for it, and he’d been a SEAL, there were plenty of women who would try to sleep with him for that alone, but he didn't want another woman.

Only Becca.

Always only Becca.

So, he’d had to make do with his hand and his memories.

Not enough.

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