God, she was tired. Why didn’t she simply let go of that tree and fall to her death? “Because true love is worth fighting for. You are worth fighting for,” came another voice she wasn’t all that familiar with. It was hers, but then it was not. She contemplated that for a moment when the scene over the edge of that cliff replayed. In particular, the vision with Tar was now in full color as she acknowledged it for what it was: Demons and angels at war over Tar’s soul. However, it wasn’t that which gave her the will to live. She searched her memory and found what’d been missing—the will to fight. She decided to get help not for Lacey, E, or Tar, but for herself. A weight lifted as her hand stifled her gasp. Keeley still felt the complexity of her emotions, the very real battle she was in with her demons; yet it was no longer crushing her, suffocating to the point where she thought only death could bring relief.
Without a care in the world as to who would see her or what anyone else thought, Keeley hit her knees in that small hospital waiting room. Only two words she could mutter, “Thank. You.” But they didn’t seem to be enough and she found herself face down on that floor, crying out in the dark to continue this fight. Dredging up every single dark place inside her, begging for the light to shine and show her the way. She didn’t know how long she’d lain prone on that carpet. Her face was still wet as she finally rose to her feet. There was now purpose in her steps. She would live to fight another minute, and hopefully those minutes would add up to an hour. Then the hours would lead to a day. Maybe, just maybe, someday she could make it longer than that. But Keeley didn’t want to jinx anything, accepting the gift she was just given.
Mitch and Tar were in the dining room arguing again over the situation at hand. “I don’t give a flying fuck what orders are!” roared Tar. “My brother is in this godforsaken nightmare because of me!”
“No,” Mitch ground out through clenched teeth. “Chase made a choice. Don’t you ever forget it was his to make.”
Tar stood and paced. “He never would’ve if he hadn’t wanted to repent. His way of offering an olive branch.”
Mitch shook his head. “I stand firm on, still his motherfucking decision.”
Tar willed himself to find that place of calm inside. Every fiber of his being wanted to rage and tear things to pieces, but for what? Didn’t change the facts, and damn sure wouldn’t undo things. The feeling of impotence crawled along his skin finding just the right place to sink its nasty teeth into. To add to the fun, it’d brought along a friend. Failure wanted its pound of flesh too. It wasn’t that he thought one could never fail. He actually knew that most lessons were learned best through our failures not successes. However, when lives were on the line, when someone he loved was in danger, failure could not be an option. Lives were at stake. One wrong move, a miscalculation, and people were dead. Not just anyone either, his family. Tar might not have close ties, but blood bonds ran deep and thick no matter the circumstances. “What matters most is that we get him the hell out of there as fast as humanly possible.”
From the doorway a feminine voice demanded, “Faster.”
Tar glanced over his shoulder to see Lisa standing there with a deep V between her brows. Worry etched in every line on her face and seeping through each movement she made. He couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. Walking over to her, he enfolded her against his body wanting to protect, to shield her from this horror.
Mitch coughed out, “We’re doing everything we can to get your husband home safely.”
Tar couldn’t deny the emphasis he’d just heard on ‘husband,’ reminding him this was his brother’s wife. He distanced himself and continued to wear a spot out in the carpet thinking of how he could go into the field and not stay there with Lisa and Cole. Surely Mitch would see what a bad idea it was. The two friends locked gazes. Neither budging on their position: Mitch’s was to get Chase home safely as quickly as possible while following orders, meaning Tar stayed put and protected the wife and son. Tar’s was to get out there and save his brother from imminent danger and back home to Lisa, who so happened to be a woman Tar couldn’t deny he still loved to some extent. The latter brought with it a boatload of memories and feelings he didn’t want to revisit, now or ever. The past needed to stay where the fuck it belonged—on the battlefield of betrayal and heartbreak. He spun around, “Get me on the team that’s searching. Now,” he commanded.
Mitch met him toe to toe, “Stand the fuck down,” he ordered. “You’re under my command and don’t you ever forget that.”