Page 7 of Scarred Sunrise

He held out his hand for her to take, and the dogs growled louder. “Come with us. You know this isn’t right. Help us stop her and put an end to this evil for good.” He couldn’t see her eyes, but he knew she was wavering.

“You need to leave. Now.”

Zack’s voice in his ear made him look towards the dark building. It would take them a while to establish a line of command now, precious minutes they’d lose because they had no free will and could no longer think independently.

Smithy felt the men at his back watching, waiting, keeping him safe as he tried one more time to save this woman who wasn’t who they thought she was. Lost, broken, Rhea had taken advantage of her in the same way she had everyone else. Pity filled him, warring with the anger and fury he bottled up.

Her head swung towards the approaching shouts. “Go, I’ll buy you some time.”

“Come with us,” he begged not wanting to leave her here.

Nazareli shook her head. “No, I have work to do. My job isn’t over yet.”

With those words, she turned and ran towards the soldiers, the dogs at her heels. Smithy sighed, failure a heavyweight on his chest.

“Move.”

Simon pushed him towards the gap in the wire. Crawling through, they ran into the night, the trees and forest giving them cover until they got to the road where a dark van was waiting for them. The door opened and the four of them jumped inside and sat on the seat along the side of the van, a smiling Jace clapping him on the shoulder with a grin on his face. Zack turned from the driver’s seat, a frown on his face as he looked him over before seemingly satisfied, he put the van into drive. Will sat beside him, barely looking up as he monitored the others and coordinated the assault with smooth finesse.

“Good to have you back, man.”

Smithy swung his head back to Jace, who looked relieved, and he regretted the pain he’d caused him and hoped he understood why he’d done what he had.

“Where are the others?”

Jace cocked his head. “K and Nate are making sure nobody followed you out. Jack and Reid are drawing fire on the other side, but they set a charge which should go off in,” Jace tipped his head as an explosion rocked the van, “Now. They’ll meet us at the chopper, which is five clicks out. Dane and Daniel are covering Nate and K.

“Liam flying the chopper?” Smithy asked as he caught Stoner watching him.

Smithy ignored him, knowing that they were probably waiting for him to have some sort of mental breakdown. Honestly, he was surprised he hadn’t either, his mental state wasn’t good but the techniques Peyton Lawson had shown him helped.

The woman was a PTSD counsellor and physiologist with interest in Special Forces operators. He’d only had one session, but she seemed to know her stuff. He just wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about everything he’d gone through and open himself up to that level of vulnerability. It was a cop-out, and he knew it, but the truth was, the thought of allowing his weakness to show made him break out in a cold sweat.

“Yes, he is.”

Smithy leaned his head back against the cab of the van and closed his eyes, taking his first deep breath in weeks. Tiredness began to hit him as the days without sleep, nights on guard waiting for them to attack him when they realised his deception, that never came, caught up with him.

The van began to bounce, and he opened his eyes to see they were driving on grass now, the chopper a dark silhouette in front of them.

As they stopped, he saw someone get out of the chopper, the smaller profile indicating it was a woman. He wondered who’d come with the team and knew it wouldn’t be Lucy. With her and Jace almost losing the baby a few weeks ago, Jace had grounded her indefinitely. He wondered what it must feel like to have the woman you loved more than life carrying a child you had made together.

Regret filled him as he thought about the pain he’d caused the one woman he’d never wanted to hurt. So much pain it would never be repaid, but suddenly he wanted to. The men—his friends—had dragged him back from his suicide mission tonight. He knew in his heart he wouldn’t stop until the evil of the Divine Watchers was snuffed out for good. It was his penance for the sins he’d perpetrated, and he’d gladly walk that line.

As he got out of the van, he saw the woman begin to run and instantly recognised the slight limp in her gait, guilt hitting him in the gut as his eyes shot to Jace. “What’s she doing here?”

Jace shrugged. “She said you needed her and honestly, friend, I agree.”

The rest of his words were lost as her body hit him, her arms going around his neck as she buried her head in his neck. The scent and feel of Lizzie in his arms centred him as it always did. She was his guiding light, his beating heart—at least what was left of it. Bending his head, he kissed her hair as she cried, his arms tightening around her as he absorbed her sobs. His own wall of ice cracking at the pain and anguish he could feel pouring from her.

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her everything he felt. That he loved her, that he’d always loved her. That he regretted walking away from her but most of all that he was sorry, but he didn’t say the words, afraid to open that door and hurt her again.

Lizzie pulled back, and he noticed the others had moved away to give them privacy. Her large dark eyes were luminous with tears, but the strength of her character shone from her. He’d always known who the real warrior was between them. She’d shown him true power from the moment they met.

“I called you.”

Smithy frowned. “I turned the phone off.”

“You gave up on me, on us.” Her voice broke, and she swallowed. “You lied to me.”

He shook his head. “It wasn’t a lie.” He stepped back and let go of her, needing the space between them as the words she spoke shredded him.

“You weren’t going to sacrifice yourself to kill Rhea Winslow?”

He shut his mouth, not willing to tell her another lie. His silence said all he didn’t, and her head dropped as she hid her eyes from him. He wanted to demand she look at him; he deserved every inch of her anger.

She raised her head and he almost stepped back as he saw the fury in her eyes. He’d never seen her look at him that way, and it hurt. He rubbed his chest to ease the ache there, wanting her love, not her anger.

“I can’t do this alone, Ty. I love you. I always have and always will but right now, right this second, I hate you too. You need to learn to love yourself before you can love anyone else. Maybe I’m wrong, perhaps you aren’t my soulmate after all, because the other half of my soul wouldn’t keep hurting me as you do.”

Lizzie using the name Ty, along with her words, left him open and bleeding on the ground. He wanted her to take the words back. She was his soulmate. He knew it, had always known it. He kept his mouth closed, afraid he’d beg her to keep fighting for him and knowing it was unfair.

Her lips turned down at his silence. “You can’t even admit it now, can you? I hate you, Ty Smith. I love you, but I hate you. Stay away from me until you stop being a coward and decide to fight for your future.”

With that, she walked towards the chopper, her back straight, her head proud, and he knew he’d fucked up bigger than he ever had before. Pitying looks from the other men made him feel worse as what he’d lost began to filter into his mind.