Page 2 of Seven

“What?” My blood ran cold. “I don’t understand.”

“We did what was best for our daughter.”

“But...”

“Holt.” His voice hardened, and his eyes met mine. “I know this is difficult, but you and I both know this thing between you two was never going to work. You could never give her what she needs.”

“But I can.I will.I made it into pilot school, and...”

“And what? She’s just supposed to wait around for the next year and a half?” he scoffed. “I don’t think so. Not my daughter.”

“I love her,” I answered with my voice shaking. “And she loves me.”

“Give it a couple of months, and you’ll get over it. Then, you’ll see this was the best thing for you both.”

“You’re wrong. I’ll never get over her. She’s everything to me.”

He didn’t respond.

He just turned and walked away, leaving me standing there, feeling like my entire world was crashing down around me. Rooks still wouldn’t look at me, and I left there feeling like I had nothing to live for. I tried calling her a million times. I wrote her. Emailed her. I tried every way of contact I could think of, but I never got a response.

I felt lost. I was just going through the motions.

I had no drive left in me, so I opted out of pilot school and never looked back.

Flying might’ve been my dream, but it wasn’t going to drown out the ache Tallie left behind. I needed something that would match the chaos in my chest, so I changed my path and headed for the front line—where precision and focus could cut through the noise in my head.

Becoming a sharpshooter wasn’t just a choice—it was survival.

I didn’t have to think about the heartbreak or what I’d lost.

It was just me and my target.

Seven men in seven seconds—that wasn’t luck.

It was me proving to myself that I could still hit what I aimed for, even when I’d lost the one thing I’d wanted most.

1

SEVEN

“Hey there, handsome.”

“What do you want, Misty?”

“Nothing. I was just...”

I glanced up and found Misty leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed and a soured look on her face. “Just what?”

“Have you checked next week’s schedule?”

“Not yet. Why?”

“Keeley’s overbooking herself again,” Misty huffed. “I get that she needs the work, but I don’t want to deal with her drama when she can’t make it in for her shift.”

“I’ll look into it.”

“Okay, great, but can you keep this between us? I really don’t want to get into a thing with her.”

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