Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Blink stared off into space.

Kevlar and the others weren't going to be happy. Not at all.

Hell, Blink wasn't all that happy himself. Not to be traveling to the Middle East without his new SEAL team, and not to be going back to the place where he'd watched his previous team members get killed and injured.

But when his commander called him in the middle of the night and told him to pack his bags, that's what he'd done.

Since he'd been in the exact place where the new team was going, and since their mission now was exactly the same as his had been on that fateful day what seemed like a lifetime ago, Blink was going along.

Visions of his friends and teammates being blown to pieces threatened to overwhelm him, but Blink forced himself to do the calming breathing exercises he'd learned from his therapist. This time, things would be different. They were more prepared. Smarter. Less likely to underestimate the people they were dealing with.

But none of that really mattered. Blink wished Kevlar was here. Hell, all of them. Safe, Preacher, MacGyver, Flash, Smiley. He'd bonded with them already and trusted them to have his back without reservations.

While the men he was traveling with now were fellow SEALs, they weren't his team. But he'd do his duty, then go home and hopefully not have anyone too mad at him. Although it wasn't as if he was being given a choice.

Blink's mind wandered to Remi, wondering how her newest cartoon was coming along. He hadn't understood the allure of the talking taco character, but he'd started reading her older stuff and found himself laughing out loud at times. Thinking of the woman he'd saved from certain death made him feel good deep down inside. He couldn't save his former teammates, but he'd done what needed to be done to save Remi.

And Wren…she was one tough cookie. Safe had told them all some of what she'd gone through when she was a child, about being drugged by her own mother to keep her quiet and out of the way while men were at the house. It was unbelievable and sickening.

He was happy for his teammates that they'd found strong women.

That's what he wanted. Someone he could let down his guard with. Who could be comfortable with his quirks…the fact that he didn't like to talk all the time. Someone he could trust with his innermost demons. But he wasn't sure he could ever trust anyone like that. Not even his teammates. He would give his life for them, but talk to them about the shit swirling around in his head?

No.

"Touchdown in thirty!" one of the SEALs called out.

Blink wasn't even sure of all their names yet. He'd been sent on this mission with no new information and had spent most of the flight being given as much intel as possible by the other SEALs. Now he was returning to the one place he wasn't sure he was ready to face again.

But again, as an employee of the United States Government, he didn't have a choice. It was decided he was going, so here he was.

Gritting his teeth, Blink did his best to push any and all emotions as far down inside him as he could. It would be the only way he was going to get through the next several days.

Josie England had pushed any feelings and thoughts she had so far down inside her brain, she was simply going through the motions of living. Hell, what she was doing wasn't actually living at all. She wasn't even sure why she was still fighting to stay alive in this hellhole.

She'd tried to keep track of how long she'd been there, but it became almost impossible, so she'd long-since given up.

When Ayden had begged her to come visit him while he was on R&R in Kuwait City, she'd said no. But he'd asked again, then again. He wouldn't stop.

Their relationship was over, and not because Ayden had been deployed. He was younger than her by five years, and she knew for a fact that he was sleeping with one of the women in his platoon. Why he'd wanted her to fly halfway across the world to see him when he was already getting plenty of pussy was beyond her.

But she'd allowed herself to be convinced. Telling herself that it would be an adventure. When else would she ever visit Kuwait? Never.

So she'd gone. Intending to have a heart to heart with Ayden. He didn't love her and she didn't love him, but for some reason they were both holding onto the relationship.

And as a result of her weakness, here she was. In some dim, dilapidated cell, deep in the heart of Iran. Time had no meaning here. She'd been thrown in here and basically forgotten. She couldn't remember the last time anyone had brought her any food or water. The only reason she was still alive was because of the slow-dripping water along one wall of her cell. It took three days to fill the metal cup one of her captors had thrown at her when she'd first arrived. It had bounced off her head, and Josie was sure she'd probably needed stitches to close up the small laceration the sharp rim had caused. But of course, that wasn't happening here.

So she had water, a hole in the floor to use as a bathroom, and that was it. She was still wearing the bikini and coverup she'd had on when she and Ayden had been taken captive.

Looking down at herself, Josie scowled. Skin and bones. That's all she was. At four foot nine, she'd been a petite person to start with. But now? She was literally wasting away.

Her new life was a mixture of boredom with doses of extreme terror. Anytime anyone opened the door to her hellhole, she expected she was about to die. She felt more animal now than human. Growling at anyone who dared show their face, literally baring her teeth. Doing her best to seem more dangerous than she was.

Because the truth? She had no defenses. She was completely at her captors' mercy. No one was coming for her. Josie wasn't sure anyone even knew she was here…or cared. She wasn't a soldier, wasn't an actress, wasn't in politics. She was a normal person who'd found herself in the most fucked-up situation possible.

Curling into herself, Josie huddled against the wall at her back. The drip drip drip of the water into her cup used to annoy the crap out of her, now it was her only companion. The only thing keeping her even slightly sane.

Staring at her dirt-encrusted toes, she prayed for something to happen to end her torment. An earthquake, World War III, someone remembering she was there and coming in to kill her. She didn't care at this point. All she knew was that she couldn't continue to do this. To waste away in this cell. Forgotten and discarded. She'd rather die than stay here another minute, day, second.

Just as she had the thought, the door at the end of the hall was flung open. It scared her so badly, she jerked hard enough to hit her head on the concrete behind her. The light streaming down the hall hurt her eyes.

Blinking to try to clear her vision, Josie braced. This was it. Someone was coming. They were either going to kill her, torture her, bring her food…or maybe, just maybe, release her.

To her surprise, no one even looked at her in the small cell. She was still huddled in a ball in the corner, so maybe they didn't see her? They certainly acted as if they didn't know she was there. They were talking excitedly amongst themselves in Persian as they entered the cell next to hers, dropped someone on the ground with a loud thud, then proceeded to kick the shit out of whoever it was.

They only stopped because someone from outside the hallway door called out. A man spat on the person, then they left as quickly as they'd appeared. Leaving Josie once more.

She huffed out a breath. Okay, she was glad they didn't notice her. Because the last thing she wanted was to be treated like whoever it was they'd put in that other cell. But…she would've done practically anything for even the smallest crust of bread.

The darkness seemed more complete now. Being plunged back into the shadows after seeing light for the first time in…days?…made Josie want to cry. It felt more oppressive now. More dangerous.

Then she heard something from the cell next to hers.

A quiet groan.

Scrambling up to her knees, ignoring the pain from the random pebbles on the concrete floor, she strained her eyes to stare into the cell. Wondering if whoever had been brought in was a man or woman, military or civilian, or some poor local who'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

" Fuck ."

Josie froze. That answered her question. It was a man. And surprisingly, he'd spoken English.

Life as she knew it had suddenly been turned on its head. Again. Someone else was finally here with her. Another prisoner. The thought both terrified her and gave her hope. But hope was a dangerous thing for someone in her situation. A forgotten, nobody-important American.

Only time would tell what this new addition to her living hell would mean.

Can you believe I'm not making you wait until the last book in the series to get Blink's story? But hold on…it's going to be a doozy! Blink has to find a way to get them both out of that prison…which will be easier said that done! Find out how it plays out in the next book in the series, Protecting Josie