Page 51 of Destiny Reclaimed
Her hackles raised. How dare he call hersweetheart.That was Jack’s nickname for her, not this man’s. In that instant, she realized exactly how awful she’d been to her husband recently. She’d been so distraught over losing her brothers, she hadn’t been thinking clearly. Appreciating all she had, despite her tragic loss. Add the baby and hormones to the mix and she couldn’t think straight at all. But, the second this strange man called her sweetheart, it shocked her perspective when it came to Jack back into somewhat of a state of normal, and she realized her outlandish request for him to travel back in time and change history.
She needed to get home. Talk to her husband. Apologize. Undo all the grief she’d caused him over the past month. What a horrible person she was to ask—demand—he travel back in time to bring her brother back and risk losing his family’s history of which they were so proud. All the while knowing a change could alter numerous other events and people’s lives. What if bringing Gary back meant another person died in his place? And, what if that person was destined to do profound things for the greater good that would then not occur.
She’d been so selfish, blinded by her depression and need to reformulate her family, she hadn’t fully given the potential consequences of history-altering any weight.
Her heart leaped into her throat. This morning, when she walked past him in the bedroom, the yielding look in his eyes let her know she had her husband on the cusp—close to granting her wish.
The stench of shame clung to her. She needed to get home to her husband—to apologize—make sure he didn’t cave to her wishes.
Pressing her hands to the seat of the chair at her sides, she pushed herself upward, but her arms went slack and she fell back against the unforgiving wood.
A deep, evil chuckle sounded in the distance. “This will be too easy. See you soon, sweetheart. You’ll be mine in no time. I can’t wait to see how your precious Jack Cornelis copes with living my life.”
Gwen’s heart seized. The blood froze in her veins. What did that mean?
Chapter Fourteen
Jack’s gaze piercedbetween the shuttering blades of elephant grass and landed on a troop who took aim at him, and the soldier who helped him to carry Gary Tebon to the chopper. He glanced over his shoulder to see if perhaps the troop aimed at an enemy behind them, but he saw no one. His pulse soared. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he pivoted on his right foot to shift his body to shield both Gary and the other soldier. Pain ripped through his shoulder as he tumbled to the ground landing hard on the other two.
His vision blurred. Someone tugged at his arm. “Come on, Jack, you gotta get up!” The voice was authoritative, yet soft. Not that of a typical soldier.
His extremities shook as he struggled to get onto his feet. His sight came back into focus. A tiny soldier who couldn’t have been more than five and a half feet tall, and all of one hundred and thirty pounds yanked him up and helped him to drag Tebon to the chopper. He glanced over his shoulder. The soldier that had been helping him carry Gary, lay dead.
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Jack’s eyes poppedopen. He gasped. A slicing pain shot through his left shoulder. He pulled in a series of quick breaths. Sweat drenched his entire body. His muscles ached from tension. He darted his gaze around. It took a minute to realize he was in his bedroom. The apartment above the store in which he worked. He blew out a relieved breath. The grizzly scene was just a nightmare. The same dreadful dream he dreamt nearly every night.
With his palm, he wiped the perspiration from his forehead and face.
The memory of the bullet he took in Vietnam played through his mind again as if it were on a film reel and the dingy white ceiling served as a screen.
With as painful as that was, he would do it again for Gary, his best friend’s brother.
Jack fluffed his lumpy pillow, rolled over, and sank into the warped mattress in his tiny bedroom. A slight glow from the streetlight shone through the threadbare curtains covering the small window. He closed his eyes and covered his head with the pillow, but he couldn’t escape the movie—scene.
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