Page 7 of GAF Factor

Eva’s face shuttered as she took a step back. “I…”

“Don’t you dare tell me you’re sorry. I know you’re not. You would do it all over again if you could.”

I could feel the axe coming down as Eva walked out of the room and the door shut behind them. Now, it was just me and my beloved. Only, she didn’t look like she loved me very much at the moment. In fact, if I had to guess, I would say she wanted to take that cannula made from the Funyuns bag and shove it up my rectum.

This required a lot of finesse.

“Don’t you dare open your mouth and try to sweet talk your way out of this. You’re an ass.”

Okay, finesse might not be on my side right now.

“Anna—”

“And don’t patronize me either. Do you know what it’s like to find out that you’ve disappeared, and then to get a phone call from the hospital, telling me that you’re out of surgery? That you specifically told them not to call anyone until you were in the clear? Do you think so little of me?”

“I think the world of you,” I answered honestly.

“Your actions say otherwise.”

“My actions are the only reason I can live with myself,” I snapped. “You know me, Anna. I know I don’t have to explain this to you.”

“Try,” she gritted out.

I shifted my sore body, wincing when my side pulled. “Cash is the only man who gave me a chance?—”

“I don’t want to hear this.”

“Too fucking bad,” I snapped. I never got mad at my wife. She was the light of my world, but right now, she needed to fucking listen. And based on the shocked look on her face, she knew it. “When I was dishonorably discharged from the SEALs, Cash took me in. No one else would look past that, but he saw something in me. He saw past the darkness and knew there was still something inside me worth fighting for. And all those times I was lost to the dark, he knew I had to find my own way. I would be gone for weeks at a time—watching you. I came back when I was ready, and not once did he judge me for it. There is no man on the face of the earth who has done more for me, and I will not stand by as that man throws away his life and his family because he’s hurting too bad to pull himself out of the darkness.”

“And what if he can’t?” she whispered. “Eva said he’s gone.”

“Then I will fucking hunt him down and drag him back here,” I promised.

“And what about me?”

The tears in her eyes were my undoing. I never could deny Anna a single thing, and as she stood in front of me, begging me to choose her, I knew this was going to take some work. “Just give me some time.”

She walked forward and pressed her hand to my chest, leaning in and pressing a kiss to my lips. “Be safe.”

“You know I won’t.”

She smiled, stepping away from me. “I’m afraid I might have done something.”

“What?”

She winced and I knew it was bad. “I’m so sorry.”

3

ISLA

Three days had passed.I waited for the darkness to recede, but it never did. Kavanaugh was there every step of the way, making sure I had everything I needed. He laid down with me at night, never crossing the invisible line I had drawn between us. He never tried to hold me or kiss me. He was just there.

Waiting.

My dreams were filled with darkness. It wasn’t scary necessarily, but I woke in a panic, always thinking I was back in that storage container, surrounded by tea lights and Christmas decorations. And every time, I searched for IKE, but he wasn’t there.

I grabbed my phone off my nightstand and scrolled to his number. My thumb hovered over it, but I pushed down the urge to call him.

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