Page 95 of Forged in Deception

Even when–especially when–he got a glimpse of how brilliant and passionate she was.

Just as he was considering silencing her fury with another amazing kiss, a fresh bolt of lightning struck somewhere outside the cabin.

This one was close.

He could smell it.

There was no time to breathe deeply, or to touch the floor of the cabin, or even to pray.

The thunder boomed ferociously, rattling the old windows in their frames and making the light of the candle in the middle of the table flicker.

He gripped the edge of the chair until his knuckles were white, trying to ignore the fear that was currently trying to steal away his happiness at finally getting to kiss the girl of his dreams.

“Hey, are you okay?” Karlin asked, reaching over to rest a hand gently on his shoulder. “You’re shaking.”

He tried to shake his head no, but unfortunately, the rest of his body decided to shake at the same time.

“Here, have some water,” she said, reaching over and grabbing a plastic bottle sitting nearby. He took several long swallows, all the while listening for the inevitable sound of the next lightning strike. This time, he wasn’t going to be surprised.

By the time it came a minute or two later, he was breathing calmly and the shaking had passed.

“Sorry about that,” he muttered, looking down at the table.

She reached over and pressed a fingertip against his chin until he looked up into her concerned blue eyes. “I’m pretty well acquainted with PTSD and other traumas,” she said. “You have nothing to hide from me. I promise.”

He wanted to tell her he didn’t have either, but of course, that would have been a lie, and he chose instead to keep his mouth shut as she continued.

“I used to have a lot of panic attacks,” she said softly, glancing toward the window as another nearby jolt of lightning shot through the sky. “They used to be really bad. Sometimes they’d happen at work, and I’d lock myself in the supply closet.”

“That’s awful, Karlin,” he said, glad that the conversation was shifting away from his own problems. He hated the idea of her seeing him as weak, even if it was true. “I’m so sorry. Do you…want to talk about what caused them?”

He cringed at the way the sentence came out.

He wanted to be supportive, but apparently, the whole sharing-your-feelings thing was harder than he thought. He was used to leaping into action. Having to simply sit still and listen was a very different beast.

She offered him a weak smile. “Private security operative, Oscar-worthy actor, professional class clown, and a therapist too? Be still my heart.”

For a brief moment, he considered silencing her with another kiss, but before he could, she continued, clearly trying to change the subject.

“Anyway, it’s going to be dawn soon, I think,” she said. “We need to get out of here. We need to get help. I hate the idea that Paul could be out in this storm somewhere.”

She looked troubled, and he could see that the rims of her eyes had gone red. Clearly, her teasing words hid something deeper. He just hoped he could get her to share what it was.

He nodded. “We will, but let’s just get warm for a little while longer.”

The thunder was still coming every few minutes, and though it would be dangerous to go out in it again, especially when it was still dark, that wasn’t his main reason for wanting to wait.

He didn’t trust himself not to have another panic attack.

And if he lost control again out there at the wrong time, he could put both himself and Karlin in danger.

She didn’t argue.

Instead, she inched her chair closer to his, leaned onto his shoulder, and started to cry.

KARLIN

Great. Just great.

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