Page 24 of Dark Flame

“Not your fault. A lot of us are in that boat. It doesn’t mean we won’t find love somewhere else, with someone without a gift. It just means the one we were chemically aligned to be with is no longer here.” He sighed as they stopped on the ridge to look out over their work.

“I’m here. Alive for a reason. We all are. There’s someone out there for us, and if not, well, I’m okay with that too.” The silence of the valley swept across the now barren ridges. They took in a slow long breath, and Nash spoke once more.

“I was a Marine, MARSOC,” he said casually.

Flip watched his expression change, his stature taller and straighter.

“I loved every moment of it. There was this village. It was full of children and women. The men were working in the mountains. Herders mostly. The Taliban set the village on fire, locking the women and their children inside the huts. I couldn’t… I couldn’t just watch it happen.” The pained look of horrid memories filled his face, and Flip knew.

“You called in the rain,” said Flip quietly. Nash nodded, staring straight ahead.

“I did, and I’d do it again. Problem was it was the middle of fucking summer. There I was with my arms stretched to the sky like some pagan, and the rain fell, dousing the flames of the village. No one wanted to talk to me, find out what happened. No one wanted to come near me.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked back at their work. “I was shipped home a few weeks later. I would have given my life for any one of those men. Still would. I don’t blame them for being scared but damn! We’re brothers, right? I know you know what I’m feeling, Flip. I hid my gifts from everyone for as long as I could. I thought no one would see me, that they would chalk it up to some freak storm. It just wasn’t my day.”

Flip nodded at the other man, knowing that he felt the same.

With that, he turned, walking back up the hill toward the others. Flip and Nat stood for a long while, just staring out over the valley. The work they completed was satisfying. For the first time in a long time, Nat felt useful, as if her gifts were a blessing instead of a curse.

“I feel bad for him,” she said, snuggling into Flip. “He’s lost so much. His love and his brothers, his military brothers. How could they do that?”

“I know, baby. I feel bad for him, too. I’m not sure how people just give up on others so quickly or themselves. Nevertheless, he is right. Someone else will be out there for him and for the others that have lost their other half.” He kissed the top of her head and gave a playful swat to her behind. “Come on, beautiful. Let’s get some food.”

“Food! You’re always hungry, aren’t you?”

“Damn straight, and sometimes it’s not just for food,” he growled. Nat screeched and took off up the hill with the man of her dreams chasing behind her.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

William Groome looked out over the turquoise waters of the Pacific. The white sand of his little Mexican beach home looked like crystals in the morning light. It was heaven on earth. Or purgatory. Anymore, he couldn’t tell which.

Once a respected and revered military officer, he was now shamed and humiliated. He ostracized himself from his colleagues, knowing that he would never be allowed to return to Washington or the military. He had no friends, no family. Only enemies. At least one enemy.

Karena Viskoff.

Once upon a time, he was a man that had dreams and visions of accumulating a vast army and empire, which he would control with the woman who made his loins stir. No more. He saw the witch for the woman she is. Evil, pure to the bone evil, and shame filled him once more.

He wasn’t sure when it all changed for him. One minute he was all in, one hundred percent on board with her plan, and then the next minute, well, the next minute, he regretted every move he made. She’d sat on the boardroom table, her legs split apart, begging him to take her right there in front of everyone, and his stomach rolled. He couldn’t do it any longer.

He knew that the other men, Tom Cullen, Dan Henry, Uri Bellum, and Norris Fredericks all got out alive and, last he knew, were helping the gifted. He should have gone with them. He should be helping them too. But right now, he was wallowing in his own pity and self-deprecation. He needed a little more time to do that before he could be of any use to them.

He wondered where the woman disappeared. She wasn’t one to give up, and if he knew anything about Karena Viskoff, she found a way to survive and a way to exact revenge on her perceived enemies.

If you were smart, asshole, you’d be proactive and find out where she is before she finds you.

“Yea, if I were smart.”

William suddenly had a horrific thought. What if she were looking for him? She wouldn’t let his rejection of her go without punishment. It wasn’t her style. He humiliated her in front of the other men, and she was not going to forget that any time soon.

Looking up and down the beach, he scanned the horizon for signs of boats. His tiny home was built on a small piece of land, water on both sides, and only a small dirt road leading in and out. There was no other way in. He could easily see cars coming in. He’d installed extensive security when he purchased the place years ago.

The water was a different story.

He wouldn’t have three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vision of the water without cameras. Resigning himself to the fact that the area was clear for now, he grabbed his keys and headed to the old jeep. Better safe than sorry. He would pick up some additional cameras and install them in the trees, all pointing out to the water. Any boat within a hundred yards of the shore would sound alarms for him.

It was the best he could do. For now.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

As days turned into weeks, the team developed a sort of rhythm with one another. Everyone had a job to do and, without complaint, performed.

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