Thank you for your patience…

I know you guys have been waiting a while for this, and I’m grateful for your patience after write, rewrite, edits, etc.

Angels and Assassins 2: Under His Protection

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Despite the decisions of his comrades, he still firmly believed that the lives they’d made for themselves were not conducive to relationships. There was too much at stake, too much that could be left behind. Yet, in a way, he envied them the risk. They all knew what they faced each time they touched down, swam, or parachuted into a new zone of combat. Still, they’d fallen in love, had children. Unfortunately, one of them had already succumbed to the hazards the job could encounter. What had been left behind in his wake had been more than grief; there were two sons that would never truly know the person their father had been, a widow that struggled every day to deal with the loss of a great love and five “brothers” who would no longer be whole.

“I’m not sure,” he said, answering her unspoken question.

Both brows lifted in hope. “But…for now?”

“For now, I’m home.”

She was in his arms before he had a chance to notice she’d stepped from behind her desk. Her body was soft, her scent light, her grip strong. He held onto her with the same fervor. They didn’t have to speak the words. It was amazing what two years of just a person’s voice, the sharing of their secrets, hopes, wishes, and fears could do.

She stepped back, straightening her outfit. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I—”

He pulled her back to him. More. He needed more. She felt too good, too delicate, too feminine in his arms. Her palms, first cold against his back, warmed against his skin. She inhaled and then sighed with contentment, enjoying the embrace just as much as he did.

He kissed the top of her head. “Tapley?”

“Hmm?”

He bent close to her ear. “Run.”

Photo by Tanja Heffner on Unsplash