The Stars Above Us: A Contemporary Military Romance by Maggie Gates

Author:Maggie Gates [Gates, Maggie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-03-01T18:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

Nathan

All activity on the base stopped the minute we pulled the convoy through the secured entrance. Soldiers froze in stride as I kicked the door open and slid out of the back of the Humvee. I turned around, reached in, and took Becks’s hand, helping her down.

We had procedures for when a soldier dies in combat, but a civilian? That had to mean at least a mountain and a half of paperwork I had to sort through. Then there was the fact that we went into combat with the knowledge that our brothers and sisters might not make it out. But Becks? In the blink of an eye she had lost the person who meant the most to her and she didn’t have years of military training to help her cope with it.

The evac vehicle pulled through the gates a moment later and I signaled for Deacon to hold off on unloading it until I got Becks away from prying eyes. I didn’t want her to see Charlie’s body. Not now. Really, not ever. The carnage was brutal. I knew from firsthand experience that some people never came back from witnessing that kind of violation. Good thing she was tough as nails.

“We’re gonna go back to your room now,” I said discreetly as I put my hand on the small of her back and began to lead her away from the convoy. Becks turned her head towards the evac vehicle and her feet faltered. “Right here, Red,” I clipped, snapping my fingers to gain her attention. “Eyes on me. Just look at me.”

Slowly, Becks turned and looked up at me with those sapphire eyes. She trembled like a baby deer, but gave a weak nod and took another step.

Since the moment I met Rebecca Davis, she was never quiet. Well, except for when my tongue was down her throat. Hell, I had even heard her talking in her sleep during more than a few restless nights. But for the first time since she had chased me across the base on day one, jabbering like a mockingbird, she was silent.

My mind kept replaying the moment I looked her in the eye and told her that Charlie died. I watched the life drain right out of her. For all intents and purposes, Becks died right alongside Charlie.

We rounded the corner, my arm sliding around her waist as we neared her room. Becks froze mid-stride. The door to my and Charlie’s- my room- was open. Our beds had been hastily made due to the middle of the night wake up call. Charlie’s bags sat on the floor surrounding the footlocker, other personal effects littering his side of the room. Whatever paralysis had incapacitated Becks in the Humvee was no match for the tsunami of grief that washed over her.

All at once, she crumbled to the ground, sobbing and gasping for air. My arms caught her before she collapsed into the wall. I lowered her down to the floor and pulled her head against my chest, my knees straddling her hips as she wept.

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