Page 22 of Resisting Temptation (Men of Honor 3)
“Faith,” he sobs, “my dad took her at her camp in the middle of the night. They shot her friend.”
Terror grips my chest like a tight vice, making it impossible to breathe. It’s a feeling I’ve only known one time, and it was one I had never wanted to feel again. Amongst my fear was the darkness that I’ve kept locked away since that awful morning ten years ago, and it was threatening to claim me again.
I grab the kid’s arms with desperation. “Take me to her, show me where she is, okay?”
The kid nods, yet there is hesitancy in his eyes that I shouldn’t have ignored, but I did because all I cared about was getting to her.
I let Jaxson convince me to go back to camp to get backup before going off half-cocked. Only, the Admiral refused to let us go in after her because of the other mission he had lined up, and said he would notify the proper authorities. Sawyer and Jaxson both had to restrain me from strangling the son of a bitch.
The three of us rushed back to our rooms and loaded up with our weapons. That day we made a decision and walked away from the one thing we thought we would do for the rest of our lives. And instead of going on the mission that was assigned to us, we led one of our own, and it turned out to be our biggest one yet.
For me, I had walked into it with only one goal: to find her and kill every fucking person who dared to hurt her. Only the closer we were led to our destination, the more we realized something wasn’t right, and by then it was too late. The ambush came out of nowhere. There were thirty of them and three of us. We had managed to kill over half of them before they got the better of us.
The last thing I saw and heard, before darkness took me, was the kid crying out an apology. “I’m so sorry. He said he would kill her if I didn’t do this.”
That day my life irrevocably changed for the second time. I, along with the two men I considered brothers, had managed to live through what would be the worst week of our lives. And the only thing I regret was not realizing the set-up sooner. Because I knew if I had to live through it all over again, to save the only girl who ever mattered to me other than my sister, I would do it again in a fucking heartbeat.
CHAPTER 6
Faith
2 Years Later
A horn blares from outside, letting me know Katelyn has arrived. I rush down my stairs and scoop up my water from the kitchen table. I decide to forgo a jacket and my wallet, figuring I won’t need either. Even though it’s only May, the weather is much warmer here than what I am used to in Montana, and Katelyn said the self-defense class we are taking is free, since it’s a trial run by her friends’ husbands.
Heading out the door, I lock up behind me and start down my steps toward Katelyn’s little Honda Civic. The sun shines bright and warm with a promise of a beautiful day, and the moment my cousin comes into view a big smile graces my face. She wears a matching one of her own.
As soon as I get in her car, and close the door, she wraps me in a hug and gives me a big kiss on the cheek. I squeeze her back and feel my throat go tight. I have missed her so much and I’m so glad we are finally back together again.
She leans back with a bright smile. “You ready for this? I promise the view will be delightful. Wait until you get a load of these guys.”
I chuckle, not surprised by her comment. “Yes, I’m ready. Is what I’m wearing okay?”
She takes in my usual workout gear: yoga shorts and matching tank, before giving me a nod of approval. “You look perfect. Like always.”
I roll my eyes. Yeah right. The two of us may be cousins, but we look nothing alike. Where I have dark red hair, she has dark brown. My skin tone is lightly sun-kissed, hers is golden. Where my eyes are green, hers are a chocolate brown. She looks like an Amazonian and I look like, well… the opposite. I start braiding my long hair over one shoulder in a loose braid as she backs out of my driveway.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me. You are flawlessly beautiful and you know it. What I wouldn’t give to look like you without makeup. Hence why I am wearing makeup to a self-defense class.”
“You don’t have to wear makeup either, but you do. And I only look as good as I do thanks to your beauty advice.”
“That is true,” she agrees, making us both giggle. She looks over at me. “Girl, I still can’t freaking believe you are here; that we are once again in the same town. I know it’s been three weeks but it still hasn’t sunk in yet.”
“I know. It hasn’t for me either.”
“How are you settling in here? Are you liking being on your own?”
“I’m really liking it. My parents and Papa are finding it difficult, but I see them almost every day, which makes it a little easier. They know how important it is for me to do this. The town itself seems great, from the little I’ve gotten to see of it. And the best part is being close to you again. I am so glad this opportunity came up for Dad. I really needed this change,” I admit truthfully.
She reaches over and covers my hand. “Things are going to be great here, Faith, a fresh start for you. And you will love my friends. I know I tell you how hot their husbands are, but seriously, my friends are just as beautiful, inside and out. You will fit in with us perfectly.”
