Page 48 of Tactical Revival

I nod. “I woke up to a note she’d set beside the bed.” Those moments come flooding back to me.

The pain of knowing she was gone.

The agony of being alone.

Of not knowing how I was going to survive.

“I was so angry. At myself. At her. At God. My phone was clear across the room, and I was still not walking, so I wasn’t even sure how I was going to call for help. And then my gaze landed on the worn Bible by my bed, and I said a prayer for strength. Less than five minutes later, my brother showed up. He had a key, and when no one answered, he came in.”

“I can’t believe she left you.” Tears roll down her cheeks. “Just lying in bed like that. Unable to take care of yourself.”

“God provided for me,” I tell her. “In that moment, when I felt that I had nothing left, I saw the Bible, and I turned to Him. I don’t know that I ever would have fully given myself over if it weren’t for that pivotal moment.”

“Still.” She shakes her head. “I don’t understand how she could just leave you like that. Turn her back on you and—” Margot closes her eyes. When she opens them again, she appears to be slightly calmer. “You deserved better, Jaxson Payne.”

“It’s silly, but I still wanted to try and make things work. After watching my parents’ marriage fall apart, I only wanted to get married once. I met Rosalie my senior year of high school, right after I joined the Marines, actually, and we got married right after graduation. I thought she was the love of my life. I kept trying to call her after she left, even though my brother kept telling me it was pointless. Then when I got the divorce papers, I found out she’d been cheating on me and was already living with someone else.”

“The father of her baby?”

“No.” I shake my head. “According to her, she met a man who introduced her to God. They got married, and now they’re starting their family.”

“I know it’s not the Christian thing to be so angry I want to scream at her, but I really, really do.”

I smile, feeling a weight lift from my shoulders. “She came here to apologize to me.”

“Seems like that’s in the water,” she jokes. “Your dad, too.”

I smirk again. “You’re not wrong there.”

“How is that going, by the way? I’m here—if you ever need to talk.”

“Thanks. He’s been trying to get me to agree to a meet-up, but he’s promised not to just show up again.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I wish I knew,” I tell her truthfully. “Until we find Lanetti, though, I’m not sure I can take on much more.”

CHAPTER 14

Margot

“So she just showed up?” Andie demands, shaking her head. “That’s insane.”

“She did. He handled it well, though.” I look from Andie to Eliza sitting beside her, then to Reyna, Lilly, and Bianca, who are all seated around the booth in Hope Diner. We try to get together for dinner a few times a month, but with Eliza and Lilly both having new babies, it’s been fewer and farther between our hangouts.

“It sounds like it.” Bianca shakes her head. “I knew Jaxson had been through some stuff, but I didn’t realize his wife had left him to die. That’s horrible. Surgery like that—I’m impressed he’s on his feet at all, let alone as active as he is.”

Since Bianca was a prominent surgeon when she’d been in the Army, I’m not surprised she understood what I’d told her about Jaxson’s accident. “I just feel so bad for him. Like, I just want to make him feel better.”

“Make him dinner. Ask him on a date. That’s how you can make things better,” Andie jokes.

“We’re just friends,” I insist, though the twisting in my stomach at the mere thought of sharing a romantic dinner with him says otherwise.

“Girl, we know you have feelings for him,” Reyna says.

“Seriously, it’s apparent,” Eliza adds.

“Just because you’re all happy and in love doesn’t mean I am, too.”

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