Page 136 of One Last Stand

“Lord of the Rings. J. R. R. Tolkien. He wrote it about Aragorn, the ranger who roams Middle Earth. He wanders but is not lost because he knows his mission and his purpose. And follows it without being double-minded.”

Axel pulled with him. “Double-minded?”

“Something my father used to say. Constantly being tossed by regrets or what-ifs . . .” Shep looked back. It seemed that the darkness and the forest had simply swallowed Judah.

They came out onto the path, the chopper’s light pressing against the darkness, like a beacon. Willis roused, and only when they pulled up to the chopper did Shep realize that the man had started to weep. Again.

“It’s okay, man,” Shep said. “You’re safe.” He and Axel loaded Willis in, then he climbed in beside him as Boo took his vitals. Shep bundled him up more as Axel closed the door and Moose kicked up the rotors.

The man reached out, grabbed Shep’s hand, his grip tight. “Thank you for not giving up.”

Shep froze. Then nodded.

He sat back in the seat, donning his headphones as the chopper lifted off the ground into the night.I give up.

Aw.The words were a knife right into his chest.

“Are you still on mission?”

Oh no. He closed his eyes.Stop.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

Still his father, in his head. But maybe that was the one thing he’d forgotten in all this. He’d been trying to sort it all out with his own understanding, his own ways.

Below them, the forest had turned dark save for one small light, a cabin on a hill, not far from the trail.

“Are you still on mission?”

Fine.Yes.Because the one calling, the one path that felt right despite the route, had always been London.

Still was London.

And maybe—well, he was a rescuer. Her rescuer.“You like rescuing me?—”

He did. He loved being the guy who made her smile, but it wasn’t just about him swooping in to save her from Tomas—it was the way she laughed at his jokes and kept up with him when they were working out and even argued with him over a movie plot.

It was the way she made him believe that he was her hero.

Even though she was clearly able to take care of herself.

So yes. Hedidlike rescuing her. Because somehow, in letting him, she rescued him right back. Made him into a man he wanted to be.

The kind of man who showed up.

And kept showing up.

He looked at Axel, and then, through the mic, said, “So, you still in the market for a condo?”

* * *

“You’re missing Alaska.”

London looked over from where she sat at a small bistro table, nursing a macchiato and reading a book. She put it face down on the table and looked up.

Oh. Prince Luka was attached to that male voice. She sat up, about to rise and curtsy, but he held out his hand. “We’re in public, and this isn’t a formal event, and all that is optional anyway until I’m crowned. But may I?” He gestured to the chair opposite her.

She nodded.

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