Page 3 of The Lost Soldier
“I can’t believe you would think that of me.” She coiled into the sofa.
“How else would you know? Besides, I could tell someone was following me. I’m trained to know these things.”
“It was me who was following you.”
He arched a brow. “So, you admit it.”
“Why are you being such an asshole? Why can’t you admit I was able to sit on this sofa yet see you clearly half way across town.”
“Because that’s crazy talk. I don’t know how you did it, exactly, but this needs to stop.”
She opened her mouth, but slammed it shut.
“I wish things were different, but I can’t be with a woman who thinks she’s a psychic. That’s crazy.”
“You’re calling me nuts?” She bolted from the couch, fire in her stare. “You’re seriously going to sit there and—”
“I’m sorry things didn’t work out.” He rested his ankle over his knee, doing his best to act as if he didn’t really care about Savanah. As if the air she breathed wasn’t his lifeline. “I’m being deployed tomorrow anyway and will be heading to a non-disclosed—”
She picked up the tall, vanilla-scented candle she’d bought him last month and hurled it across the room. It landed square between his legs.
He doubled over, groaning.
“If I never see you again, it would be too soon.” She spun on her heels, slamming the door, leaving him with his humility, pride, and heart tumbling onto the floor.
He cursed himself a million times, but the second she was no longer in sight, another piece of him died. His heart filled with coldness.
But if she didn’t love him.
She wouldn’t die.
CHAPTER 1
Present day…
Reluctantly, Savanah Raven took the hand that Chad offered as she climbed down from the cargo hold of a C-130 at a military base near Seoul, South Korea. The summer heat smacked her skin like the mist from a waterfall. Her muscles cramped after being bumped around for hours in nothing more than a metal seat and a harness.
Half of the flight, she tried to sleep. The other half, Captain Edgar Scott, better known as Scottie, briefed her and Chad via phone on their mission to locate the missing SEAL team. Brett Radcliff, her now handler from the Projection Project had also been part of the call. For the duration of this special operation, Savanah was now considered an employee of the Projection Project, a division of G.A.C. or the Global Alliance Coalition. She was consultant to the United States Military and Project Firewalker, run by Scottie and over seen by General Mallard.
At her side, her ex-boyfriend who refused to accept his abilities as a psychic and not just any psychic, but one of the most powerful supernatural men in history, and one of fourbrothers who would, when connected to the chosen sisters, reinstate the Collective Order.
Taking quick strides across the tarmac, she pulled her long, blond hair into a ponytail, twisting it at the top to make a messy bun. Her boots clinked on the pavement in unison with Chad’s. Her heart hammered between their footsteps.
The tiny airport was nestled in the jungle, so all she could see was lush vegetation everywhere. It was thicker than anything she’d ever seen in the states. And greener with tall trees and huge leaves the size of a small person dangling overhead. Large bugs speckled the thick air and buzzed in her ears.
One of the military men that had been aboard the C-130 tossed Chad a set of keys before opening the passenger door of an army Jeep. She climbed up, her ass totally ecstatic to be graced with a cushion.
“Follow the directions to the cabin and await instructions,” the man said. “Don’t leave the cabin until told. You’ll be only a few klicks from the North Korean border. Scottie and his men will be in touch.”
“Thanks,” Chad grunted, slipping the key into the ignition. The engine rattled to life, then jerked forward.
She let out a long breath, dropping her head back. In the last twenty-four hours, she and Chad had talked around each other, but not really to each other. They’d listened to the most recent reports of where the SEAL team had last been seen. They’d gone over all the intel and talked with a dozen people regarding their mission: Use her abilities to find the team.
And help develop Chad’s talents.
Every time Scottie had brought up Chad’s psychic powers, his body tensed, but he didn’t argue. He didn’t deny his talents, nor did he call her a freak, liar, or any other thing he’d accused her of in the past.
But the bitterness he projected in his silence said it all.
