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"Stella, I’m sorry I had to leave you" Her
"And Dad and the boys"
"All of you I thought I could have this job, stay in the field, and have reen eyes took on a faraway look "Until my cover was blown and the only way I could ensure our family’s safety was to disappear"
"I wanted to co back, the ache of abandon us the option to join you when you built your new life?"
"Even if I could have justified putting you at risk, your brothers were in college And ould have happened if you said no? Once you kneas alive, I would have placed you in danger for the rest of your life" Her shoulders braced again "I ry with me Blame me Hate me But I will always believe I made the best possible choice under the worst possible circuent you are, sift through it, and you’ll come to the same conclusion"
Herway Melanie Carson--Annie Johnson--had ent she would never be, the kind she didn’t want to be
Stella squeezed her eyes closed and… accepted
"What do I call you?"
Her ically That didn’t ht or not, the decision hurt immeasurably
"My name has been Annie Johnson for fourteen years I don’t knoho I will be after this"
"Okay, then" She shoved her chair fro her mom, she said, "For what it’s worth, Annie, Melanie, whoever you are, I forgive you"
Stella slipped out of the door past her uard and back to her final e of the bed, Jose tugged off his coe into et back to work security for the outdoor festival Her head had to be reeling after the confrontation with herthe bus ride from the airport to their quarters
Not that he’d expected her to talk about it in front of his team and other operatives And now that they were alone? She was still putting up walls, and he needed to get through to her before they launched this last phase of the mission Especially when she’d made it so clear she was ready to be done
Frustration simmered on so many levels So an outdoor celebration in this volatile region But he here he was sent, carried out the assigniven He didn’t know any other way to live He was fast realizing he didn’t kno he could live without Stella in his life These past days together again had to nize that?
He thumbed the buttons on his sweaty ABU--Airital camo uniform, but a clean version with a bulletproof vest and his maroon beret His role dictated he stand out as a security force Stella, on the other hand, would be blending in
She pinned her braid into a bun on the back of her head She wore her standard black pants and tank top, her bulletproof vest, and a kanga resting beside her on a chair He recognized that length of cloth well He’d bought it for her on their last date
God, how could they be so good together and so wrong for each other? But without a doubt, he couldn’t miss the sadness on her face He pulled off his sweat-stained unifor on his pants, his eyes never leaving her
She reached for her Kevlar vest and stopped short "Is there a problem?"
"Problem? Hell yes, there’s a proble the vest fro it aside He cupped her face "I don’t kno I’ain"
She blinked in surprise, then reen eyes "Maybe ere destined to fail fro with everyone, and I don’t kno to be anyone’s friend"
Surprise rocked hiet about it" She eased his hands down "Could you please stop trying to be so nice? We can’t just pretend to be friends, or even just pick up where we left off And I’ to myup those walls again "I know And I want to be supportive"
She tugged on her bulletproof vest like arainst hi you can do for ed his hand aside "You’re not listening to me I Need Space"
"Dae of her out there in the line of fire in her current unsteady state scared the shit out of hi in the line of fire in this ion isn’t safe, so you don’t have the luxury of ‘space’"
"You forget I’ent" She strapped on her 9 ood that did when you got taken by warlords and had to callfear for her safety pushed hi that’s happened between us has been re cos for a wo a white picket fence and babies"
"Don’t you daretoe to toe with hi to help you because I love you" The words burned like raw alcohol in his gut "You don’t seeet it You broke my heart Not some flowery, roain, clearer You brokeheart"
"Oh God, Jose, I’m sorry" Her face softened and she swayed toward him "You know that I love you too"
"Fine" Like that made a bit of difference