I missed her.

God, I missed her.

Her hair. Her smile. Her laugh. Her scent… Cinnamon. It followed me everywhere.

Closing my eyes, I imagined how different things would have been had she not found out, or if I had been truthful with her when I realized I was falling for her. Would she have walked away? Would I still have been shipped across the ocean while my brother attempted to neutralize any threat? Was that really what he was doing? I certainly had my doubts.

A renewed sense of determination washing over me, I opened my eyes. Instead of blindly following orders, as I had been doing since day one of basic training, I did what I believed to be the right thing. I clicked on the email, bracing myself for what it contained.

Her words piercing my soul, bleeding me dry, it felt like all the air had been sucked from the room as I struggled to breathe. I could picture Mackenzie in my head…sitting on her bed, wearing a tight black tank top and boy shorts, what she always slept in, tears soaking her face as she wrote these words to me. I thought I was doing what was right, giving her space so she wouldn’t be faced with a constant reminder of her biggest mistake. I was convinced my presence would cause her pain. I never imagined my absence caused her even more.

I continued to read her words, the stabbing ache in my heart growing more pronounced, more intense. I had been a coward, justifying my reticence to get in touch with her on the grounds that it wasn’t safe to do so, and even if it were, how a simple phone call couldn’t fix this.

Nearing the end of her email, a lump formed in my throat as I soaked in the last line, my eyes glossing over those final words. Despite it all, she still loved me. Screw following orders. It was time I followed my heart. This was a second chance for me, and I refused to ruin it.

Printing out the email, I folded it and placed it in the pocket of my shirt, over my heart. A light feeling about me, I was about to launch the video chat session with my brother, then decided against it. He knew me. He would pick up on the fact that something was amiss, that I wasn’t being truthful…that I was happy. Alexander was good at what he did and I knew he would say something that would make me second-guess my decision to abandon my post and return home.

Disconnecting my laptop, I rummaged through the office, grabbing everything I needed and throwing it into my pack. I opened the door and Eli noticed the crazed look on my face almost immediately.

“Everything okay?”

I shook my head and reached into my pocket, shoving the folded email at him. He started reading, his eyes darting from the email to me and back again. “We’re leaving,” I said sternly.

“Back to camp?”

“No. We’re leaving the country. We’re going home. It’s time I try to make this right.”

“What about your brother’s warnings?” he asked smugly, throwing my own excuses back at me.

“None of that matters anymore,” I insisted, my voice full of passion as we dashed out of the communications building and into the truck. “The only thing that does is giving Mackenzie what she needs… The truth heard straight from me. If she still turns me away after that, then fine. But she still loves me, Eli. I’m not going to let what we have slip through my fingers. Not again.”

I should have done this months ago.

Mackenzie

“ARE YOU SURE YOU don’t mind, Brayden?” Standing in his office at the law firm, I stared out the windows and onto the streets of Brownsville, my eyes glued to that same dark sedan that had been tailing me off and on for the past few days.

“Of course not.”

“I know I need to get a new car eventually,” I said, sauntering back toward his desk. “I can’t really fit a baby seat in my little convertible, can I?”

“Don’t worry about any of that, Mack. If you need to swap cars with me for a while, I’m fine with it. Believe me. I think James would love cruising around in your convertible.” He winked.

“Thanks, boo.” I stood on my toes and planted a kiss on his cheek. “You’re the best. I’ll make sure to fill it with gas.”

“Don’t even think about it. But if you need gas, here.” He reached into his pocket and handed me a stack of bills.

I held my hand up. “Brayden, I don’t want your money.”

“Well, I don’t, either. So if you’re not going to use it to fill up my car with gas, you can go buy my little nephew some toys or…whatever babies need.”

I laughed at how little he knew. Hell, I didn’t know much more. I had been looking online at all these baby stores and was completely overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of everything. I didn’t know the purpose behind half the stuff. I thought all I’d need would be a stroller, a car seat, and some diapers. I soon found out how wrong I was. For something so small, babies required a ton of stuff.

“I’m serious,” he insisted. “You need to start thinking about getting some things for that little guy.”

“It could be a girl.”

“Whatever,” he said, brushing me off. “Let me take you shopping this weekend.”

“Brayden, I–”

“If you don’t want me to buy you anything, I won’t. But you should at least have a registry so people can buy your baby things he’s going to need.”

I rolled my eyes, sitting in the chair across from him. “Like who? You and Jenna are the only people who give a shit about me.”

He glared at me. “That’s not true and you know it. Stop with the pity party, Mack. It’s getting old.” His normally light and buoyant voice turned harsh. My spine straightened and I did a double take.

“What do you–”

“You know damn well what I’m talking about,” he shot back. “I get it. You’re pissed. You’re angry. You’re hurt. But don’t let what happened between you and Tyler become who…you…are.”

I slouched into the lush chair, placing a hand on my stomach. “But it has, and I don’t know how to change it.”

“You don’t have to change who you are, Mack. You know the best revenge, don’t you?”

“What’s that?” I tilted my head and his eyes softened, reminding me of the special bond we had that I didn’t have with anyone else in my life…Jenna included.

“Living a happy life, Mack. People love you. Your employees. Your friends from college, who you’ve cut out of your life. You’d be surprised how many people will be at your side to support you if you’d just let them. I know you love the challenge of trying to prove you can overcome any obstacle, but it’s okay to let other people do things for you once in a while.”

I eyed him, the sincerity in his gaze warming my heart. “Fine. We can go shopping. I know how much you love it.” I winked, easing the tension between us.

“You know me so well, baby girl.”

Spying the time on the clock behind Brayden, I stood up from the chair and grabbed my purse. “I’ve got to get going. I’ll drop your car off before my doctor’s appointment tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay. Call me when you get to wherever you’re going.”

“I will.” I placed one more kiss on his cheek and left his office. Taking the elevator down to the garage beneath the building, I found his mid-size SUV, hoping the change in vehicle would throw off my mysterious tail.

Getting behind the wheel, I checked my rearview mirror as I pulled out of the garage and onto the street, relieved when the dark sedan idling against the curb didn’t follow. However, almost immediately, a nondescript gray compact car pulled out from beyond the sedan and came to a stop behind me at a light. I squinted my eyes to see the man driving the car bore a striking resemblance to Wyatt, one of the security guards at my condo building. Was he following me, too? I hated that I was paranoid, but I couldn’t risk anyone finding out about my father.