Page 94 of Fade (Fighting Fate)

“What happened?” she asked, worry and upset exuding from her very being.

“He’s alive,” I said, hating that my voice lacked the conviction I desperately needed it to convey. “You believe that, don’t you?”

She rushed forward, her hands seeking mine so she could grip them tightly. “Of course I do. What did Ryan say?”

I opened my mouth to tell her, but stopped short when I felt the warmth of wetness between my legs. My eyes widened with panic as thoughts of blood took over. “Oh no.”

Susan’s body language went into a state of high alert. “What’s wrong?”

Shaking my hands from hers, I started moving across the room. “I need the bathroom.”

My heart was thundering. Worry was taking over. What the hell was going on?

“Amy?”

I heard Susan’s voice, but I couldn’t stop. I needed to know what was happening to my body.

With hands shaking, I opened each door until I made it to the bathroom and locked myself inside. Swallowing against my nervously dry throat, I lowered my panties and prepared myself for the worst.

Relief was the first thing to hit. No blood. But then I was struck with confusion. My panties were definitely wet, and I knew I certainly hadn’t peed myself, so what the hell was it?

Cold fear swept through me the second my mind made the connection.

Oh, God, no.

My water had just broke.

Chapter 50

Daniel

Deployed time: 18 weeks

MIA: 8 weeks

Amy,

I don’t know how many days or weeks have passed since I last spoke to you, but I know it’s been too long. When I close my eyes I try to remember the way your voice sounded when you whispered to me, the way your eyes fluttered when you woke, the way your body felt under my hands. I’m scared that I’m going to forget, and I’m terrified you’re going to forget. Please don’t forget me. I’m coming home. I promise.

Love, Daniel

Senses returned to me slowly, and with it, a dull, aching pain in my head. Voices murmured close by, and the first thing my brain registered was the language. English. Forcing my head to lift and my eyes to open, I searched in hope, finding two dark figures barely three feet from where I lay. We were separated by bars.

“Where am I?” I groaned, my voice barely making a sound.

The murmuring stopped, and one of the bodies moved away.

I coughed, dust flying up around my face. Struggling to push myself up a bit more, I tried again. “Where am I?”

“Easy there, big guy. You’ve got a pretty big gash on your forehead.”

As soon as he said it, the pain intensified. I hissed and tried to sit up, only half succeeding when my body slumped against a wall.

Looking over at the shape of the body who was talking to me, I squinted, trying to make out his features. I wasn’t sure what his accent was, but in my haze, it sounded like it might have been Italian.

He cleared his throat a little. “And I couldn’t really tell you where you are, but if I had to guess, I’d say not far from Raqqa. Maybe half an hour. South.”

I nodded. That sounded about right. Using the wall for support, I slid closer to the bars. “Who has us?”

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