Page 112 of Lethal Weakness

“What?”

“They needed someone who had very few connections, far from home. Your height and build lined up with what they wanted, and somehow they got exactly what they desired. A little girl that looked like their lost daughter.”

My hand goes to my stomach, squeezing my gut. I was a pawn… This whole time they manipulated me. “This was my life they were screwing with. How could they?”

“They’re evil.”

“Is that why you think they are still coming after us?”

“They spent that much time and money on this; they’re going to want their investment back.”

“They can’t have her.”

“They’ll be dead before they have the chance.”

I search his eyes but only see the dark sky reflected in them. “You’re going after them?”

“As soon as you’re settled here with Aunt Kay. I’m going to hunt each of them down and put a bullet in their skull.”

“Killing people doesn’t scare you?”

“Killing has never been hard for me, Linden. After I lost my parents, that part of my psyche was wrecked. My empathy was gone. That’s why they forced me out of the SEALS.”

“Why would they do that?”

“I was a liability because I was too good at killing. I was exactly what they turned me into, and what they needed me to be, but when I watched my entire team get slaughtered, I didn’t flinch. I failed my psych eval because I was prepared to kill whoever they needed me to, even if that meant dying at any moment. I didn’t fear death at all.”

“But you have emotions. You’re not a killing machine.”

“I am, though. I will kill anyone without any hesitation if I think they deserve it. No judge, no jury. That’s why we’re chosen. Project Obsidian operators work in the gray, and won’t be missed when we inevitably disappear or are killed in the field.”

“Jack,” I utter, kissing him forcefully. “I will miss you, though. Avery and Kay will miss you. You aren’t alone anymore.”

He doesn’t respond, but his thumb strokes my cheek, and I lean into it as he kisses my face gently, tucking me against his chest.

We swing back and forth on the bench for a few silent moments. I never imagined the arms I’d finally feel safe in would be the arms of a trained killer.

Jack would never hurt me, though, even when he has every ability to do so, and I can finally accept that what Turner did to me was never my fault. Nothing I did should have elicited his abuse towards me…

I didn’t deserve anything he did to me.

“Mommy?” Avery’s voice calls from the back door, and I twist in Jack’s arms.

“Yes?”

“Can I eat ice cream wiff my pizza?”

“Sure, honey.” I smile, feeling Jack chuckling against me.

I rest my forehead against his. “I guess we should go inside.”

“Yeah, we can finish this later.” His hand skims my side and down the outside of my thigh.

“There’s more?”

“There’s always more.”

“Will a day ever come when there’s only good news to tell?”