Page 54 of Clear Blue Sky

“Only because he was obligated to.”

Brandi’s heart dropped to the bottom of her gut. Her breath got stuck in the center of her chest. “What do you mean by that?”

“He was the commander of a six-man A-Team. You’ve met three of the men who served with him and were there when he found me.”

“So, there were two others on that mission.”

Nelson nodded. “Joe and Tony.”

“Do you find it strange that they aren’t here celebrating with the rest of the team?” Brandi asked.

“What’s off is the fact that Marcus lied about it.” Nelson rubbed his temples. “He told me they had family obligations and that’s why they weren’t attending Chuck’s bachelor weekend.”

“I take it you found out the real reason.”

“I had a buddy of mine do some checking and Joe and Tony asked for a transfer shortly after the mission in question.”

“You didn’t know that?” She set her wine aside and took his hand.

“I was in a hospital in Germany for a month. The only visitors I was allowed were my immediate family and a few key military personnel. They allowed Marcus to visit me once.” Nelson dropped his head back and closed his eyes. “For the longest time, I thought it had been a bad dream.”

“What did he say to you?”

“He whispered in my ear to regain my strength because when the time was right, he was coming for me. That it wasn’t a threat. It was a promise. That if he could have left me out there to die, he would have.”

The oxygen in Brandi’s lungs turned to thick smoke. “When did you realize that actually happened?”

“I was heavily drugged at the time,” he said. “I was in and out of consciousness and my memories of the time were more than fuzzy. But I heard the words clear as day. I opened my eyes, and he smiled this sinister grin and tapped my broken ribs. It wasn’t hard, but enough for me to feel the physical pain.”

“That’s cruel.”

“He’s not a nice man.” Nelson blinked, turning his head. “I wanted to believe that I was reliving what happened in the field. The crushing pain. The inability to take a full breath.” He placed his hand over his chest. “After Marcus left that day, I started having flashbacks to the moment that Marcus brought me back from the dead. I thought I was crazy, but my therapist believes that there’s a real possibility that my memories could be real.”

“And what is it that is haunting you?” Tears burned her eyes.

“It was almost like being jerked awake from a nightmare. I gasped for breath, only I felt like I was drowning. The first thing I saw was Marcus. He leaned over and told me it would have been easier for everyone if I had stayed dead. He said it would be okay if I gave up the fight and lay down like a dog. Or something like that.”

Her heart broke into a million pieces. No wonder Nelson had packed up his life and hid from his past. She stood, straddled Nelson’s lap, and cupped his cheeks. “That’s horrible.”

“I never stopped fighting to live. But I did do what I needed to do to put the past in my rearview mirror and forget all about Marcus, Roxy, and that part of my life. Only, they found me and are now threatening people I’ve come to care about. I’m not going to take that sitting down.” He ran his hands down her back, squeezing her ass. “The only thing I did wrong was sleep with Roxy when she was still married to Seth.”

“She told you she was separated.”

“That doesn’t make what I did right.” He arched a brow. “I didn’t care about her anymore. I didn’t even like her that much. I have no good reason for what I did except I wanted sex and she was familiar.”

“You had a long-term relationship with her at one time. It makes sense for people to fall back on that.” Brandi leaned in and brushed her lips over his mouth. “You’re not the only who’s done that.” She cocked her head. “Or do I need to remind you about Ethan?”

“That’s such a bad comparison.” He chuckled. “You weren’t using him for sex because you had me.”

She had to admit, Nelson had a point. She narrowed her stare. “Perhaps not. But I went back to someone I had known, not because I loved him, but because it was comfortable.”

“Versus someone who’s new and you didn’t know well at all. Someone who scared you.”

“Please. You don’t frighten me.”

“I believe the idea of us did, or you wouldn’t have gone back to him.” He brushed back a few strands of hair that had blown across her face. “I didn’t realize how much you mattered to me until that short break we took, but being in a meaningful relationship does make me want to run.”

“Why?” Her heart pushed to her throat.

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