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I pushed the heels of onized breath

Standing fro, I pulled my sweat-­soaked clothes off my body and threw the the water on as hot as it would go, I paced anxiously as I waited for the roo spray I gritted an relaxing under the relentless pelting, and I restedas I tried to forget

Soo? I couldn’t fking let go They were gone My oneand I hadn’t saved them I’d had to see their wives, their children, and their families when I’d returned I’d had to look one of their very pregnant wives in the face and tell her I hadn’t been able to keepher husband back

There was no letting that shit go Not when the only reason I was here, instead of in the ground with theered the ambush--­and was knocked unconscious while they were all captured I should have been paying better attention I should have seen it coo"

Stepping out of the shower, I grabbed a towel and was dryingquickly toward it, I frohen I saw the name on the screen I swear, it was like he kneas not the time to talk

But for some reason, I still answered

"Yeah?"

"Steele! How’ve you been?"

I sat down on the couch and bit back a sigh "Good What’s new in the Saco house?"

There was silence for a few hth and sat back on the couch, running my hand over my face "I asked what’s new in the Saco house"

"And I asked if you had a fking night flashbacks, I have to sleep at soot to talk to someone"

"Don’t need to They won’t understand All they’ll do is piss me off because they’ll act like they kno I feel They’ll act like they knohat I went through And why? Because they have a godda to anyone"

"You can’t do this to yourself You can’t live like this I thought--­I thought you said it was getting better"

I stared blankly at the ceiling and shrugged even though he couldn’t see me "It is" He didn’t respond, and I didn’t expand on that for a few moments "It’s her, Saco I don’t knohat it is about her But when I’ No round an and Parker, and the struggles I’d gone through just to get Reagan to give us a chance I just hadn’t told him that she also made all the bullshit disappear, because at the ti," he said suspiciously