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Chapter Thirty Eight
Upon waking, the first thing he registered was the smell of bacon and eggs. The night had been a peaceful one. No night terrors or gut-churning screaming. His phone buzzed. MIT. Johnny reached over to take the quick call.
After pulling on a T-shirt, he wandered downstairs. The happy scene made him pause. Lizzy munched on a piece of toast as she laid out some plates. Freshly picked flowers sat in a vase; the bright blooms matched the cheeriness of her teal blue dress. Minimal makeup enhanced her ethereal beauty. He loved her whether she chose to go barefaced or chose to wear makeup, he knew the makeup made her feel girly, and it was nice to see that small sparkle twinkling in her wide blue eyes.
She plated a massive portion and plonked it down in front of him.
“Shit, girl, I’m going to have to double my PT on the course today, to get rid of this mountain of calories.”
“What course?”
“I built an out-course. It&rsqu
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Therapy started the next day with massages to the injury site to reduce scar sensitivity. Lack of mobility and stiffness were challenges to be overcome. The occupational therapist limited her activities, and Lizzy could see why. The hand was far from functional and would remain that way for three months. No gripping, twisting tightened objects or using the palm to push out of a chair. The surgery had removed and rerouted tendons and nerves, to aid with functionality, and to overuse the hand would cause damage.When her first session finally ended, and the therapist left, she shook with pain. John stepped through the back door as she gulped down a couple of pain pills.“You need to eat something.”“Yes, sir!”“Don’t get snarky,” he said, pulling out a loaf of sliced bread. “By the way, I need to run down to Salt Lake tomorrow. I’m meeting the team at Camp Williams. We’re looking at a
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When Lizzy woke, she dressed and snuck out of the house, not ready to face John. He was right, her behavior towards him was unfair. Why did she always mess things up? It was as if he fought for their survival and she pulled them to their demise.She assumed he’d have stayed overnight in Salt Lake. She’d guessed wrong and should’ve known him better. John would never have left her overnight and her misjudgment had got her in trouble.Lizzy sidled through the fence and wandered through the outbuildings on Charlie’s property. She greeted a couple of cowhands before walking past the barn.She paused, staring at the open doors. It’s just a barn. The smell of hay and farmyard animals drifted on the breeze, and her stomach roiled. Would she ever see stables and not think of the Scythian? Charlie’s actual stables sat two buildings down from where she stood, and from what Lizzy could see, the barn itself only held machinery and
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He must be around three years old, Lizzy thought as Gabe clambered into her lap. Darn her stubborn nature, she’d left this reunion for too long. The ragamuffin had grown. Lizzy ran a hand over his thick dark curls. She saw so much of Abby in the little man who even had his mother’s slightly stubborn looking chin.“Careful of Aunt Lizzy’s hand!” Abby yelled as Gabe tucked in his stubby legs and situated himself.Max chewed on a gummy worm and handed the kid a sip cup.The two women sat in the shade of the cottonwood chatting as John warmed up the grill. Lizzy played with Gabe’s curls. The last time she’d seen the tyke, he was around eighteen months. Now he was a whole little person with a clear agenda.Gabe yelled at his dad. Lizzy didn’t catch the garbled request. Abby rolled her eyes as Max answered. “I said no, Gabriel. Uncle Johnny doesn’t have any and I’m not going into town.&rdqu
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Balancing tentatively on the ball of her foot, Lizzy poked her head through the canopy of leaves. Wyoming was truly breathtaking. Silence surrounded her. Not true silence as she could still hear insects buzzing, the leaves rustling in the afternoon breeze and a bleating sheep answered by three more. The distant hills looked so clear in the waning light, the golden rays contrasting with shadowed crevices in the craggy mountainside. She missed climbing trees; she still loved it.Her head sank back below the branches, and Lizzy looked down. The branch she balanced on bent under her weight, and she transferred her foot to a sturdier limb. The new branch instantly disintegrated, almost melting into thin air. Before she could comprehend her predicament, she fell to the earth, bouncing through and over battering limbs. Just before she slammed into the ground, strong arms caught her and they fell, rolling down a steep hill at a dizzying pace.A scarlet blur filled her vision a
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Two days later, Max and Donnie rolled out, headed for training at Camp Williams with the newest team member, Dylan Jenkins. A local Utahan sniper from the 19th Special Forces Group. Johnny admired the laid-back soldier. Aside from his Army career, the operator embodied a reckless, surfer-like attitude as a well-known snowboarder in Utah. It would be interesting to see how their uptight team leader handled the Owen Wilson wannabe. Dylan’s long-range marksmanship and excellent skills in the field would make him a valuable MIT member—aside from the additional training lined up for him at MIT headquarters later in the month. At Max’s insistence, Johnny stayed behind with Lizzy. As they were still evaluating Jenkins’ skills, it wasn’t essential for Johnny to be at Camp Williams. If they needed him, they’d call.***“I forget how hot the summers can get in some parts of the States, is late May supposed to be this warm?” Abby gr
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The mattress creaked, waking Lizzy. She didn’t move, preferring to savor the safe moment. Cocooned in John’s bed and his love, she’d slept through the night and woken feeling at peace. It wasn’t quite morning, the hint of dawn scrubbed over by the sound of a storm sweeping in. Lizzy reached behind and felt the empty warmth as she heard John slam the window shut.Ray shifted next to her chest, and Lizzy snuggled deeper. “What time is it?”“Four thirty. I might as well get up; I need to check on the animals. This storm looks nasty,” he said before brushing his teeth at the sink.Lizzy dozed until the bed dipped, and he pulled his boots on.“Do you need help?”“I’m all good, Lizbug. If you feel like getting up though, I hear Abby banging around in the kitchen. I think Gabe woke her.”The wind howled as rain pelted against the window. “Five more minutes,” s
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Max hung up the call to his wife and strode into the meeting room. Abby wasn’t resting or eating as well as she should. Screw trying ever again for a third kid. This pregnancy was the most stressful shit Max had ever experienced, and that included going head-to-head with suicidal extremist bastards.Those worrying thoughts screeched to a halt as soon as Max saw his boss standing in the far corner. Max and Donnie had been pulled out of morning training and asked to meet one of their analysts—Jace Martin—on base. Jace was in the room but so was Colonel Jack Hearst. Was it to do with Slater’s replacement? Max doubted it, as he stood at attention. Donnie fell in beside him. The look on the distinguished MIT mogul’s face had Max’s skin itching.“Sir. It’s good to see you. What brings you to Utah?”“Erik, we’ve fucked up. Not just MIT but every agency in the northern hemisphere. Close the door and sit.&
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“The storm could’ve damaged the phone lines,” Donnie yelled over the thrumming blades. Max ignored the logic, knowing in his gut that his family was in trouble and Johnny was either disabled or dead.His teammate should’ve made mincemeat out of Muller’s slimy ass and contacted Max by now. None of the mobile phones were being answered, and the landlines were dead.The colonel’s orders were to allow local law enforcement and the FBI to run the mission. But if Max was the first to arrive, he’d ignore that directive, just as he’d ignored the orders to stay on base until SOCOM briefed a fully manned black ops team.Defying orders, Donnie and Max threw on battle rattle and relied on a friend and chopper pilot to give them a ride. Now MIT scrambled to cover their men’s asses. They’d departed on a mission on American soil that was not fully authorized. Max didn’t give a shit. His pregnant wife and child w
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