Page 22 of His to Unwrap

“It will pass.” Her touch is soothing, and with it, the fog begins to lift. “It’s getting better.”

“This is why you needed time. Upstairs.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you, angel.”

She shakes her head and wipes a tear from her eye. “I thought you regretted last night. I should have stayed and listened.”

Strength is starting to return to me, and I thank God this attack was short. I bring her hand up and press a kiss to her fingers, then place them over the scar on my scalp. “Shrapnel.”

She traces the jagged edge, wincing.

“The attacks cause severe fatigue and brain fog. The doctors said they may go away in time. Being here seems to help. I’m having them less frequently.”

“You’re so strong, Ezra.”

I don’t understand how she sees me that way. “I’ll never regret our time together, Madison. Even when you leave.”

A tiny smile tugs at her lips. “What if I found a way to stay?”

My heart skips a beat. “Is that a possibility?”

“Yes. I came here trying to figure out what was next, because I knew I didn’t want to work in a restaurant anymore. Last night, when I made dinner, I decided to film it for my followers and showed them how to make an easy meal with few ingredients. It was just for fun, but the video is going viral. They’re sending me ingredient lists and asking me to make more videos. It’s exciting to think of sharing my skills in a different way. I have some details to figure out, but the important part is that I can make the videos from anywhere.”

“Even a cabin in the mountains of Montana?”

Her breath catches. “Would you want that? Us, I mean?”

I slowly pull her into my lap and wrap my arms around her. “You’re mine, angel, and I’m yours. I’m in love with you.”

Madison wraps her arms around my neck and presses her lips to mine. After a long kiss, she says, “I love you too, Ezra.”

“You’re the best gift I’ve ever won at an auction.”

She laughs and cuddles close. “You’re my favorite Christmas present too. After breakfast, maybe we should finish decorating the tree.”

I nod in agreement, sliding a hand up her silky thigh beneath the hem of her flannel shirt. “Later I’ll unwrap my gift under it.”

Her eyes heat and she touches her forehead to mine. “I like the sound of that. I’m yours to unwrap all year long.”

Epilogue

Ezra

Three months later

“I know it doesn’t look like much, but that’s kind of the point.” I’m standing in a one-story cabin that until last week, was home to a family of raccoons. Everett and I shored up the windows and doors, and cleaned it up. The rest is up to Anson.

He stands beside me, almost preternaturally still in the dim interior. His black hair and clothes only add to the aura of danger he carries. “It will work.”

“Good.” With the help of our buddies at Citadel Securities, Caleb, Everett, and I were able to purchase quite a bit of land on the mountain, including some old cabins like this one. My hope of helping some of the men we worked with in the past, menwho were also injured, is finally coming to fruition. I just never expected Anson would be the first to come.

He spent only a year with us in Delta, then suddenly he was switched out. We never knew where he went, but there were rumors he’d been recruited into a group even more secretive than our special ops unit.

Anson drops a thin black backpack onto the floor at his feet and offers his hand.

I shake it, hiding my surprise. In the year he was with us, we sweat, bled, and fought together. I never saw much emotion in his eyes. It was like the switch had been flipped to off. The gratefulness I see there now hits me in the chest. “Anything you need, I’m just a call away.”

He nods and tries to pull his hand back but I grip it tighter. “I mean it. Anything at all.”

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