Page 24 of Faith
“She’s not.”
“I know, but it doesn’t matter. She’s alive. And you’re going to keep her that way. I know you will.”
Zeke nodded, all those emotions fighting to get out. “I love her. I will do anything for her. And for you.”
“Then do this. Keep her safe. Don’t let anyone ever touch her again.”
“Done.”
6
Nina wokeup and looked around the room. A smile lifted her lips when she remembered she was safe. In Monty’s office with him and Zeke right next door.
She sat up and looked through the glass wall to where the two men she loved were huddled together and in deep discussion. Nina didn’t know how long she’d been asleep, but she felt like she couldn’t get enough rest. Between the emotional toll of detailing the last twelve years of her life and the lack of restful sleep for almost that long, Nina was exhausted.
But she was safe, and that was really what mattered.
Since Monty and Zeke were working, she decided to look around Monty’s office. He didn’t have pictures on his desk and had very few personal items throughout the office. There was an old picture of her, maybe a school picture, on the bookshelf behind his desk. She picked it up and tried to remember the innocent girl she once was.
Teenage Nina wanted to play soccer in college. She was an excellent defender, sweeper since her freshman year. She’d been scouted as a sophomore and knew she could have gotten a scholarship.
But she walked away from it all for her brother. And walked right into a hell she never expected.
Nina returned the picture to its spot and smiled when she caught sight of another photo. Monty and Zeke were standing on a beach, arms around each other, and smiling like they’d won the lottery. She hadn’t seen either of them smile since she’d been back. Not like that. They looked happy. Free. Relaxed.
“That was the day I became a SEAL,” Monty said from behind Nina.
She spun, embarrassed to be caught snooping. “Sorry.”
Monty shook his head and walked closer. He stood next to her and stared at the photo. “You can look at anything. I was so happy that day. It was hard to get through that training. I wanted to quit so many times, but I kept going.”
“Was Zeke a SEAL, too?”
Monty nodded. “He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but after you… He decided to join me. I knew I wanted to be a SEAL, so he signed up. Went through training after me, but he was there the day I got my trident.”
“You two look happy.”
Monty breathed a laugh. “We were. We felt like we were doing something. Making a difference.”
Nina looked up at her brother. A ghost of that smile was on his lips, but the shadows in his eyes were different. Darker. “But you came back.”
Monty looked at her. He held her gaze for a moment, then nodded. “I hated leaving when I did. It killed me to walk away knowing you were out there.”
“There was nothing you could have done,” Nina whispered.
“Maybe not, but it ate at me until I could come back here.”
“I thought it was the best thing for you.”
“I know. And maybe it was. I just wish we’d been able to talk. God, so many things… Fuck, Nina, you’re here. And all you’ve been through...”
Nina put her hand on her brother’s arm, letting his warmth and strength soak into her. “There were so many others worse off than me. I don’t know why she liked me, but I was lucky. It could have been so much worse.”
Monty swallowed thickly, his throat working with the effort. He drew a breath and shook his head, pinching his nose and squeezing his eyes shut. “I want to kill her for what she put you through.”
“Me, too,” Nina admitted.
Monty exhaled a laugh and pulled her into his arms. “At least we agree on that one.”
