Page 18 of Inevitable
I realized almost immediately that we had some incredible chemistry that I’d never experienced before.
Seconds ticked by, and Colin didn’t answer my question.
It was a simple question, but something told me that the answer must be…complicated.
Chapter 6
Marshall
The question should have been easy to answer, but I really didn’t want to talk about my injury right now.
Hell, I never wanted to talk about it, but it wasn’t like Emma wasn’t going to notice once we stepped out of this shithole.
Since I didn’t want to explain my injury when we were hightailing it for safety, it was better to tell her now.
“I had to retire early,” I told her in a clipped voice. “Not long after you and I met in Virginia Beach. I was injured on my next mission. They managed to save my leg, but I couldn’t continue with my duties as a SEAL commander after I recovered. I have a pretty bad limp, and my leg is a mess.”
“Oh, God, Colin,” she said, sounding horrified. “Tell me honestly, how bad was it?”
Fuck!I lied my ass off every single day when I was doing my job and gathering information, but I’d never been able to lie to Emma. “Pretty bad. I almost bled to death before I got to a hospital. I really don’t remember that much after the injury. I was unconscious until I woke up from my first surgery. That was the first of several surgeries. I was in the hospital and then rehab for a long time.”
Emma reached out and put her hand on my forearm to comfort me. “That must have been difficult emotionally and physically. I’m so sorry, Colin.”
It had been forever since this woman had touched me, but I still felt that same spark of awareness that I really didn’t want to feel fourteen years later.
It had always been that way with Emma, but it wasn’t fucking possible that I still felt that awareness of her all these years later.
It had to be some kind of memory response.
“It’s not your fault,” I said stoically. “You weren’t the one who tried to kill me.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that pain. I wish I could have been there for you.”
“No, you don’t,” I said morosely. “I was a prick, Emma. I hated my life, and I was a miserable person to be around. My job as a SEAL commander meant everything to me. The only thing that got me through that time was pure stubbornness. I wanted to get as healthy as possible, even if I couldn’t be a SEAL commander anymore. That injury changed me. I’m not the same man you knew fourteen years ago.”
“Yes, you are,” she said stubbornly. “You’re still a guy who’s willing to give yourself up for someone else. You’re still putting other people before yourself. Don’t tell me you’re not the same man. You’ve been dedicating yourself to helping other people with Last Hope. Difficult times might change us, but you’re still the same guy. You found another purpose in life. Maybe you couldn’t be a SEAL commander, but you found a way to do something else that’s meaningful to you.”
I let out an exasperated breath as I reached for her food. “You always did try to find something positive in everything. Eat. You’re going to need some energy for tomorrow night.”
She took the pouch and the spoon I put into her hands.
I’d eaten MREs for years out in the field, and most of them tasted like crap, but I knew it was the most nutritious thing I could give her.
Luckily, the light was so dim that she couldn’t see what that food looked like.
“It’s good,” she said after she’d tried it. “It’s something Italian.”
I let out a sharp bark of laughter. “You’re only saying that because you’ve gone three days without food.”
“You’re probably right,” she admitted. “Any food would taste good right now. How long is the hike out of here? I was so drugged that I don’t really remember how far it was to get here.”
I really fucking hated to think about the way Emma had been treated by her captors.
Yeah, I’d been relieved that she wasn’t raped, but those bruises on her face had made me want to kill the bastards that had left those marks on her face.
They’d also given her enough drugs to make her forget her trip to this shithole.
She could have died from an overdose.
