The Mammoth Book of Special Ops Romance by Trisha Telep

Author:Trisha Telep
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Constable & Robinson
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Don’t Walk Away

Shiloh Walker

One

The woman he loved held a knife at his throat.

He was on his knees, on a fucking filthy street, and she stood behind him. Close. So close he could smell her skin. So close he could reach out and touch her . . . finally.

Except there was the small matter of the knife in her hand. And he suspected she probably hated his guts. Somehow, he doubted the knife was her way of telling him how much she missed him.

He wanted to see her. But he held still. Her hand was shaking. He could feel it, feel the sharp edge of the blade pressing into his skin. If he moved too quickly, she just might lay his neck wide open.

“Fucking bastard.” It was the first thing she’d said since she’d come up behind him. It was dim in the narrow alley tucked between two low, squat buildings, but Ethan Raintree had no trouble recognizing her voice.

“Hello, Celeste.”

“Bastard.”

“You already said that. Are we going to stay like this all night or are you going to use that knife?” he asked. Part of him wondered if she could. Could she use it on him?

“Don’t tempt me,” she whispered. There was an underlying thread of steel in her voice. His heart broke a little at the sound. She’d been so soft once, so untouched. No more. The ugliness of his world had bled over into hers.

Yes. She could use the knife.

But she lowered it instead and backed away.

Slowly, Ethan came to his feet and turned to face her. The sight of her now did the same thing to him as it had the first time he’d seen her. Nearly eleven years had passed since then.

It had been ten years since he had walked away from her. It had been the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he hadn’t had much choice. After he’d destroyed her life, leaving her alone was the least he could do.

Eleven years . . . she’d changed.

He had as well, in some ways. But he still loved her. If he didn’t love her, he wouldn’t be here, on this day, in this sad, run-down excuse for a town. Belle, Texas—

It was anything but “belle”. Ugly as sin, poor as dirt and still struggling to catch up to the current century.

He was only here, because he’d known she’d be here, too.

It was 2 July, the anniversary of the day her grandmother had died. Every year on the second day of July, like clockwork, Celeste travelled to Belle, Texas to visit her grandmother’s grave.

Ethan knew. Every year for the past nine years, he’d been here on this day if at all possible. Before he had left the army, he’d missed the date twice. In the five years since then, he hadn’t missed it once.

Up until now, she hadn’t ever seen him.

Judging by the look on her face, she wasn’t overly pleased about running into him now. What in the hell was I thinking? he wondered. She’d been leaving

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