The minutes ticked by in silence. I sat and stewed, consumed by thoughts of the man Liam had identified as my stalker and the work of returning to my tour. I picked up my phone and watched for a signal. Except for Liam’s super spy setup, we had been totally cut off. They don’t build cell towers in the middle of nowhere.

I fiddled with my phone. I was dying to start texting and calling Julie and the band. I needed to set things up so I could slide right back into my life. I opened the notes app and made a list:

The rhythm of the car’s rocking changed, and I looked up and out the window. We’d left the dirt road and had started moving faster on a paved surface, winding our way down the mountain. I realized Liam hadn’t said a word for miles. Together, we rode quietly through the night, the headlamps lighting the highway, which stretched toward the horizon.

“You want to tell me what happened?” I finally broke the silence and scooted across the bench seat, snuggling up to him as he drove. I leaned my head on his shoulder, enjoying the natural heat his body always emitted.

“What do you mean?” He glanced down at me and slid an arm around my back. A smile curled his lips as he returned his attention to the road.

I gazed up at him, my curiosity getting the better of me. “Your leg, Liam. Why didn’t you tell me about your leg?” I ran a fingernail up and down his thigh. “All those times I whined and cried about my life, and never once did you mention it.”

“It’s not really something I talk about.” I watched his jaw clench and his hands rock on the steering wheel.

“You didn’t tell me until you absolutely had to, Liam,” I sat up and faced him, tucking a leg up under me. “Why?”

“It was my third tour across the pond.” He gritted the words out. His lips pinched together, and he sighed out his nose before starting again. “My team had hiked all night. We were tired, and we hadn’t even started the mission.” He reached up and wiped a tear as it escaped.

I didn’t say a word, not wanting to interrupt his memories.

“As the horizon just started to brighten, we approached a small village. There was nothing but chickens and a few dogs wandering around. Our intelligence team had received reports… sightings of the Jack of Spades. He was our target. It was my job to find a vantage point. I was the team’s sniper.” He cleared his throat and looked down at me. Then he stared out at the road and remained silent for several miles. I could tell he was gathering his thoughts, and I waited for him to continue.

“I crossed a dirt road to take cover in a gulley. I needed a vantage point to monitor the residence we suspected was harboring Jack. I had just stepped into the gulley when one of my team members stepped on a roadside bomb.”

His words echoed through my mind, and I wanted to stop him before he went any further. I could picture the horror, the bomb blast, and the screams. It was a terrible vision, but I forced myself to hear him.

After a few moments he went on. “Two team members were killed instantly. Two others got injured when they were thrown back by the blast. I thought I was fine. I was on my back in the gulley. I thought I had escaped the worst of it, but when I tried to stand I couldn’t. My leg was hanging on by a strip of blackened flesh. It was so mangled I wouldn’t have known it was my leg if it hadn’t been attached.”

I gasped, the sound a mix of horror and sympathy. My hand flew up to cover my mouth, and quiet my reaction. Tears instantly filled my eyes.

“I lay there, trying to get up, but I couldn’t. I bled into the sand so long I must have passed out. When I woke up, I was in a military hospital in Germany, and my leg was gone.”

“Oh, Liam!” I cried out, unable to contain my emotions. I was devastated by his story. “Why? Why didn’t you tell me?”

His big shoulders shrugged. “It took months to heal and hours of agonizing physical therapy to get back on my feet.” He took a deep breath. “It was hard, but I did it. I got out in three months instead of six because I had a goal.”

I reached over and clasped his hand in mine, still shocked.

“Jeannie, my girlfriend at the time, had told me she was pregnant.” He swallowed, fighting to get the words out. “It was right before we went on that last mission.” He shook his head. “I was stunned. We’d been careful. I still don’t know how it happened, but I was determined to do the right thing. I wasn’t the first guy it had happened to over there, so I asked her to marry me over video chat. It wasn’t the least bit romantic, but I was determined that when she gave birth, I would be there to hold my son or daughter in my arms. She said yes, of course, and after we hung up, I made plans… big ones. We’d get married. I’d take them both back to the cabin I’d built. Life would be good.”

I sniffed. “What happened to Jeannie?”

“I’ve told you a little bit.”

“She was the fiancé that didn’t wait for you?”

“Yeah.”

“But you were injured.”

“I know, but that didn’t matter. She moved on.”

I never asked what happened to the baby.