Clear Skies Without You

For three days straight, Joe partied at clubs, hoping Fiona would finally decide he was more trouble than he was worth.

Instead, she showed up in her crisp military uniform and, under the curious stares of everyone around them, calmly dragged him home.

Then he deliberately crashed his car through the fence outside a commanding officer's house, hoping that would convince her he was a hopeless disaster.

Fiona simply went over herself, apologized, paid for the damage, and quietly made the whole thing go away.

No matter how much trouble Joe caused, she was always there behind him, cleaning up his mess without a word.

This time, he'd gotten arrested for fighting.

Fiona had just finished a three-day emergency assignment. She hadn't even changed out of her uniform when she rushed over to bail him out, her eyes bloodshot from exhaustion.

Watching her stand there, visibly worn out yet still perfectly composed, Joe felt a rare urge to explain himself.

He wanted to tell her that this time, he really hadn't started it. The other guy had picked a fight with him first.

But before he could say anything, Fiona walked up and gently took his hand.

There was a tiny cut on one of his fingers, so small he hadn't even noticed it.

She had.

She pulled a small first-aid kit from her uniform pocket, disinfected the cut, and covered it with a Band-Aid.

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

Every excuse and argument Joe had prepared died in his throat.

Fiona looked up at him, her gaze calm and steady.

"I don't care how much trouble you get into or how big a mess you make. I can handle all of that."

Her fingers still rested lightly against his hand.

"All I care about is whether you're hurt."

Are you hurt?

The words hit Joe harder than they had any right to.

Something slammed into the softest part of his heart, tearing straight through every wall he'd spent years building around himself.

All his life, whenever he got into trouble, his father only yelled at him for embarrassing the family. His stepmother would put on a show of concern and tell him to behave himself.

Not once had anyone ever asked him if he was hurt.

If he was okay.

His voice came out hoarse.

"Fiona, I'll marry you."

Something seemed to flicker in her dark eyes.

"But first, I need to ask you something."

His usual pride surfaced, along with the possessiveness that had always been part of him.

"Is there anyone you love but can't have? Because if you're going to be my wife, I want all of you. Your heart can't belong to anyone else. Not in the past, not now, not ever. There can only be me."

Fiona met his eyes without the slightest hesitation.

"No."

Then, after a beat, she said, "There's only you."

And so Joe married her.

Hemsouth City's wildest trust fund kid married the military's famously cold and untouchable rising star.

Before long, a saying started making the rounds among Hemsouth City's elite:

Mess with anyone you want, but don't mess with Major General Fiona Spencer's husband, Joe Kingston.

Because no matter how much trouble Joe caused, the famously stone-faced major general would always be there to clean up after him.

Joe believed it too.

He thought he'd actually done it.

He thought his fire had melted her ice.

Until one day, when he went to the military base to bring Fiona some documents she'd left at home.

As he approached the training grounds, he spotted a group of officers gathered together. They seemed to be having some kind of social event, and the atmosphere was lively.

Fiona stood surrounded by several colleagues. Apparently, she'd lost a game and they were making her answer a personal question.

Someone called out, "Major General Spencer, come on! What's the biggest lie you've ever told?"

The chatter died down.

Everyone looked curiously at the commanding officer known for being almost painfully disciplined and honest.

Fiona was silent for a moment.

She picked up her cup and took a sip before finally answering.

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly enough to reach Joe, who had just arrived at the entrance.

"Someone once asked me if there was anyone I loved but could never have."

She paused.

"I told him no."

Joe froze.

The words hit him like a bombshell.

She'd lied?

There was someone she loved but could never have?

Then why had she told him there wasn't?

Why had she married him?

A chill shot through his body, leaving him cold to the bone.

He was about to storm over and demand an explanation when a soldier hurried up to Fiona and whispered something in her ear.

For the first time, her normally composed expression changed completely.

She shot to her feet.

Without even explaining herself to the people around her, she grabbed her uniform jacket from the back of her chair and rushed out.

She didn't even notice Joe standing at the entrance.

As she passed him, her shoulder slammed hard into his.

She didn't react.

It was as if the rest of the world had ceased to exist and only one thing mattered.

Joe staggered from the impact.

His shoulder hurt.

But nowhere near as much as his chest.

Swallowing the pain and the questions churning inside him, he followed her.

Fiona jumped into a military jeep. The engine roared to life, and she sped away.

Joe immediately hailed a car and followed.

They eventually stopped outside an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

Fiona and the soldier rushed inside.

Joe followed and stayed hidden in the shadows.

Inside the warehouse, a vicious-looking man had a knife pressed against another man.

The hostage wore a simple shirt and slacks. His face was deathly pale, as though he might pass out at any moment.

The instant Fiona saw him, all the color drained from her face.

"Let him go!"

There was a faint tremor in her voice, almost too subtle to notice.

The kidnapper gave a twisted laugh.

"I knew I picked the right guy! Everyone says you're crazy about that reckless husband of yours, Joe Kingston. But I know the truth."

His grip tightened around the hostage.

"The man you really love is him. Xavier Blake!"

Xavier Blake?

Joe's heart sank.

The kidnapper shouted, "During that operation at the border, you got my men killed and crippled! Today, I'm going to make you find out what it feels like to lose the person you love!"

The veins stood out on the back of Fiona's hand, but she forced herself to remain calm.

"I'm the one you want revenge on. Let him go and come after me."

"Let him go? Sure."

The kidnapper kicked a dagger across the floor.

It clattered to a stop at Fiona's feet.

"Stab yourself in the heart. Then maybe I'll consider letting him go."

"No! Fiona, don't!"

Xavier's eyes turned red as he frantically shook his head.

Fiona looked at him.

And in that single look was a depth of feeling Joe had never once seen in her eyes when she looked at him.

Then she bent down, picked up the dagger, and without a moment's hesitation, plunged it into her chest, aiming for her heart.

Hidden behind her, Joe clenched his fists so hard he barely managed to stop himself from crying out.

She'd actually done it.

For another man, she was willing to kill herself without even hesitating.