Blake. She swallowed tightly. His name is Blake.
There was a tense silence following her words. Blake, was killed in action three days ago. I m sorry. He won t be back.
She wouldn t look at them. She could feel the three men watching her expectantly.
His last wishes to me, were if anything happened to him, that I make certain you were provided for until you marry or decide to leave the house on your own. An allowance, the farm
Go away. She stepped back to close the door.
Ms. Danvers. There was no stopping his entrance into the house. I understand this is all very shocking to you. When you re ready to talk He handed her a card.
Anna accepted the stiff piece of paper automatically, staring down at the printed name and number.
The house is yours, unless you decide to leave or to marry. Those were Blake s wishes, written out and witnessed by me before the mission. I ll contact his lawyer and when you re ready to talk. Please call me.
She nodded. Ready to talk? She didn t want to talk. She wanted to scream, to rage. She wanted to know why fate had ripped her dreams apart so cruelly. She wanted to know why Blake couldn t come home
They left. Three men dressed in angels white, leaving the small porch in slow steps, heads lowered as Anna stared down at the paper. Blake was gone.
Three Days Later
Bethesda Naval Hospital
She ll be okay. She signed the papers, but it wasn t the house she wanted. She s a pretty little girl. Commander Ridgeway sighed heavily as he stared at the bed-ridden patient.
Blake s face was still heavily bandaged, the facial scars from the shattering of the transports windows and yesterdays surgery would take a while to heal. He would never look the same. Even the young woman who had been waiting for him wouldn t recognize him when the reconstructive surgeries were complete. But all in all, that would be a blessing. His enemies knew what he looked like. Knew his face and his name. His protection and any one he cared about, lay in the lie that he had died in the hell hole they had barely rescued him from.
You didn t make her cry? The voice was hoarse, tight with pain.
We didn t make her cry, Blake. She was very strong. A real lady, son. You would have been proud of her.
She had cried. Endlessly. Brokenly. The papers she had signed were strained with her tears. Her parents had stood behind her, her mother fighting her own tears, her father watching helplessly.
She s strong. Blake whispered.
She is at that. Ridgeway shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Docs say six months and you ll be free. We ll have the specifics on all this by then. The rest of the unit is healing, hiding. You re all presumed dead in that blast until we capture Demorga. A year tops, and you should be home again.
Silence met his words. Blake had been the most heavily wounded. The forceful impact of the explosion into the window of his transport vehicle had sliced his face to ribbons..
Even with reconstructive surgery, there would be scars. And changes. The face he had always known as his own would never be his again.
Blake was silent.
Blake. Is there anything you need? Ridgeway could barely stand the silence. He could only imagine the pain, the doubts going through the boys mind.
Hell, his discharge had been approved right before the mission. Rather than leaving them a man short, or working with an unfamiliar replacement, he had agreed to go in to help capture the gun running bastard supplying terrorists with weapons. It was supposed to be easy. But Demorga had been waiting on them.
I m fine Commander. Blake s voice was rough, but controlled.
Ridgeway sighed heavily. I ll let you rest now son. You get better. We ll keep an eye on your girl, just like I promised. You just get better.
He had to get better. Demorga may know exactly who the men of the small unit were, but what Blake knew was even more important. He had seen Demorga himself. No one else had. Intelligence on the bastard was scarce, and pictures, as far as they
There was a tense silence following her words. Blake, was killed in action three days ago. I m sorry. He won t be back.
She wouldn t look at them. She could feel the three men watching her expectantly.
His last wishes to me, were if anything happened to him, that I make certain you were provided for until you marry or decide to leave the house on your own. An allowance, the farm
Go away. She stepped back to close the door.
Ms. Danvers. There was no stopping his entrance into the house. I understand this is all very shocking to you. When you re ready to talk He handed her a card.
Anna accepted the stiff piece of paper automatically, staring down at the printed name and number.
The house is yours, unless you decide to leave or to marry. Those were Blake s wishes, written out and witnessed by me before the mission. I ll contact his lawyer and when you re ready to talk. Please call me.
She nodded. Ready to talk? She didn t want to talk. She wanted to scream, to rage. She wanted to know why fate had ripped her dreams apart so cruelly. She wanted to know why Blake couldn t come home
They left. Three men dressed in angels white, leaving the small porch in slow steps, heads lowered as Anna stared down at the paper. Blake was gone.
Three Days Later
Bethesda Naval Hospital
She ll be okay. She signed the papers, but it wasn t the house she wanted. She s a pretty little girl. Commander Ridgeway sighed heavily as he stared at the bed-ridden patient.
Blake s face was still heavily bandaged, the facial scars from the shattering of the transports windows and yesterdays surgery would take a while to heal. He would never look the same. Even the young woman who had been waiting for him wouldn t recognize him when the reconstructive surgeries were complete. But all in all, that would be a blessing. His enemies knew what he looked like. Knew his face and his name. His protection and any one he cared about, lay in the lie that he had died in the hell hole they had barely rescued him from.
You didn t make her cry? The voice was hoarse, tight with pain.
We didn t make her cry, Blake. She was very strong. A real lady, son. You would have been proud of her.
She had cried. Endlessly. Brokenly. The papers she had signed were strained with her tears. Her parents had stood behind her, her mother fighting her own tears, her father watching helplessly.
She s strong. Blake whispered.
She is at that. Ridgeway shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Docs say six months and you ll be free. We ll have the specifics on all this by then. The rest of the unit is healing, hiding. You re all presumed dead in that blast until we capture Demorga. A year tops, and you should be home again.
Silence met his words. Blake had been the most heavily wounded. The forceful impact of the explosion into the window of his transport vehicle had sliced his face to ribbons..
Even with reconstructive surgery, there would be scars. And changes. The face he had always known as his own would never be his again.
Blake was silent.
Blake. Is there anything you need? Ridgeway could barely stand the silence. He could only imagine the pain, the doubts going through the boys mind.
Hell, his discharge had been approved right before the mission. Rather than leaving them a man short, or working with an unfamiliar replacement, he had agreed to go in to help capture the gun running bastard supplying terrorists with weapons. It was supposed to be easy. But Demorga had been waiting on them.
I m fine Commander. Blake s voice was rough, but controlled.
Ridgeway sighed heavily. I ll let you rest now son. You get better. We ll keep an eye on your girl, just like I promised. You just get better.
He had to get better. Demorga may know exactly who the men of the small unit were, but what Blake knew was even more important. He had seen Demorga himself. No one else had. Intelligence on the bastard was scarce, and pictures, as far as they
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