Navy SEAL Romance: MC ROMANCE: Axel (Bad Boy Alpha Male Military Romance) (Military Suspense Protector Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page B

this.”
    She grabbed his hand and uncurled his fingers. Placing something cold in the palm of his hand. She then gave him a weak smile before closing his fingers back up and hurrying to her car.
    “Don’t be a stranger,” she called from the driver’s seat.
    And she was gone with only a long plume of smoke floating up from the exhaust to signal her departure. David felt the metallic object in his hand and recognized it immediately. He felt the jagged edges and immediately, his eyes began to fill with tears. He couldn’t stop it and the pain only got more intense when he opened his eyes. Sitting in his hand were Damian’s dog tags, and they were as shiny and clean as the day he got them.
    He headed inside and slammed the door closed. Holding the tags to his face, he let his tears fall onto them, as he held his head in pain. So many thoughts were swirling in his head. The day they all died never left him and it was time the truth came out.
    He pulled out his phone and gripped it tight. With Officer Brady’s number at the ready, he held the phone to his ear and…. there was a knock on the door. Must be Suzanne again , he thought. Yet, as he opened the door, he stood face to face with Marie.
    “Oh! How did you find me?” he asked, perplexed.
    “Your address was in your file.”
    “Oh yeah; of course,” and he went silent, embarrassed that she caught him crying.
    “Have I come at a bad time?” she reached to hold him, but he pulled away.
    “Sorry, it’s just… a lot on my mind.”
    “I can see that, David, but I’m here to help you. Please, won’t you let me in?”
    He slumped in resignation. Looking down at his phone, he could see Officer Brady had answered his call.
    “Hello?”
    They could both hear the older man’s voice from the phone.
    “I guess I have a lot of explaining to do,” David hung up the phone and gestured for Marie to enter. “I’ll tell you everything.”
    Once in his living room, he couldn’t help but spill out all his secrets. He held Marie’s hands tight as he spoke with his words catching in his throat. But, with her encouragement, it soon became easier to talk, and it wasn’t long until he felt the great relief come from offloading all the heavy memories that were holding him down.
    “Damian,” he was still clutching onto the dog tags. “He wasn’t well.”
    “In what way?” Marie leaned forward to hug David.
    “Because I was the only one who returned, they all assumed I killed our own men… but it was Damian.”
    “Are you saying he murdered your troop?” Marie was dumbfounded and reeled back.
    David nodded.
    “He was so unwell. The pressure was too much. We’d seen things out there you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy, but we lived through it every day,” he shook his head and gripped Marie tighter. “It was the hottest day when it happened. Up there on those dusty mountains with the sun shining down on you, it can feel like you’re not even on earth anymore. It was then that I noticed a change come over Damian. He started to talk funny, just say the strangest things. Then, he would become agitated and pace up and down for hours and hours. I was looking through my binoculars out onto the valley below when I heard the pop of gunfire behind me. I thought we were under attack, but when I turned round, I saw Damian shoot everyone down.”
    “Jesus,” Marie was devastated. “That must have been so awful.”
    David didn’t answer. There was a long silence, as he looked into space, his mind churning as he decided whether he should let Marie be privy to his greatest secret.
    “I killed him,” he whispered. “It was either him or me. My reflexes made sure it was him.”
    Marie didn’t say a word. She just held the man tight, as the grief shook through his body.
    “I understand,” she kissed the side of his face. “You don’t need to say anymore,” and David turned his head, brushing his lips up against hers.
    They kissed sweetly, as they held each other.