Page 53 of Under Fire

She looked up, seeing him dangling the chain with the ring. Something awkward settled between them. A reminder. Timidly, she stood, reaching out and taking it from him. She didn’t miss the crackle in his eyes as she did. She tucked the necklace into the pocket of her pants, never leaving his gaze.

Flipping his crumpled shirt over one shoulder, Warren then turned to jump out of the tent, silent and serious. As he leaped out, she saw that same long scar on his naked back—the one she’d seen at his pool. It was a reminder of how little she knew about him.

Following him, she found herself standing beside him in the packed dirt as he yanked his shirt on. He bent over beside the Humvee. She ran her fingers up the side of his back where the scar was, close to it but not touching. Even in the dim moonlight, she could see it wasn’t well stitched. She could have done much better, even as a student.

“How did you get this?” she asked.

He shot up immediately, brushing her off—trying to stifle the wincing in his face. His pain was clear, and his expression warned her not to go there, not to bring it up. A little surprised, she stumbled back as he motioned to her car back near the entrance.

“How long did it take you to drive up here in that shitbox?” he asked.

A little smirk crossed her lips as she replied, “A lot longer than how long it took you to drive me up here for the engagement party…in your big, fancy truck.”

Warren stopped, grabbing her to him one more time. The stars glimmering overhead, a gentle breeze rustling the Yucca trees behind them, he held the small of her back, pulling her into his embrace. She trailed her fingers up his biceps and shoulders, then grazed the stubble on his neck and chin, like she was trying to memorize him. He said he was leaving soon, and she could only guess he’d be going far, somewhere inaccessible. He couldn’t easily come back, couldn’t be there if she needed him. She’d be alone again, trying to protect herself.

He dropped his head to give her a kiss, slow and sweet. Caring. Wishing. Butapologetic. She felt a strange magic, like that moment belonged in a movie.

Then he moved back, pulling his keys out of his jeans.

“Ready?” he asked.

“As I’ll ever be.”

“I have to leave once you get home,” he explained.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be seven days?”

“That was the idea.”

Alisa took in a deep breath, mustering courage, processing thoughts. Feeling a little out of it from the sex and the heat, she stumbled to get the words out, but she eventually did.

“What happened? Why’d you drop the check and run?”

“Alisa, it would be all fun and games until someone gets hurt,” he said. “We jumped in too deep, too quick. It was a mistake.”

“Are you afraid of hurting me?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t be. You can’t hurt me,” she lied.

“I can,” he replied, “and I will.”

He crossed his arms. She found herself nodding, too dazed to argue. Something in the back of her mind set off alarms, trying to get her to say something. He opened his mouth to continue, but stopped himself, then nodded at her curtly.

“We’d better get going,” he said.

“Okay.”

He pivoted and marched toward his truck, leaving her leaning on her car. She pursed her lips to blurt out more, but she fell mute. The way he had gazed so intently into her eyes just threw her off, making her cave back into herself. Everything she’d struggled with at the hospital splashed across her mind, along with other words screaming like a hurricane, throttling her to speak up for herself.He doesn’t understand. I need help.

But she just watched him walk away, knowing she had to let that be their grand finale…as unceremonious as their beginning.

* * * *

As Alisa made her way back to the city, watching Warren’s truck through her rear-view mirror was both agonizing and comforting. Part of her wished she could abandon her car off a cliff and jump in with him, settle in with him and never have to face her real life again. She tried to focus on driving and stop thinking about him.

Music didn’t help her mind get off her confused, conflicted feelings, and the long trip down from the mountains only made her insane. She just felt so powerless, stuck between a man she couldn’t have and a man who had her under his thumb. The feeling of being so powerless only exploded as she pulled around her block.

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