Gunner laughed. The sound caught Drew off guard. As far as he knew, the guy never laughed.
But then, as far as the rest of the agents seemed to be concerned, Drew didn’t feel, either.
Ice in my veins.
No, he had fire in his veins right then.
“Why don’t you take some friendly advice from someone who’s been where you are...?” Gunner’s lips twisted in a wry smile. “Don’t just stand back and let the thing you want the most slip away from you.”
The fire burned ever hotter inside him. “But what if I’m not right for her? She needs someone—”
“Let her decide what she needs. Who she needs. Go for what you want.” Then Gunner turned away from him. “I’m going home. My wife is waiting for me.”
His wife. His very pregnant wife. Gunner had a wife who loved him—and twins on the way.
“How did you—?” Drew stopped.
Gunner glanced back at him.
“Weren’t you afraid? That what we do... Weren’t you scared that it would spill over on them?”
But, no, Gunner’s wife, Sydney, she was part of the EOD. She’d worked for years in the field. She knew all about danger. “Never mind,” Drew said, shaking his head. “I shouldn’t have—”
“I was more afraid,” Gunner admitted, voice low, “of trying to live my life without her.”
Drew thought of his life. The missions. One after the other. Coming home.
Being alone.
He’d looked forward to his visits to the EOD office—because I knew I would see Tina.
Is that what he wanted to happen? Would he return to only seeing Tina every few months? He’d keep his emotions sealed off and try to go on with his life without her?
He’d watch life from the outside? Day in and day out, he’d long for what he couldn’t have.
I told her there would be no going back. Because he didn’t want to go back to a life that didn’t involve Tina. He needed her far too much.
He walked down the corridor. His sisters were in a private room. Police guards made sure they weren’t disturbed.
Paige had gotten stitches. Kim and Heather had been bruised, but otherwise unharmed. They’d been very, very lucky.
He stepped into the room with them. Shut the door behind him.
No one spoke at first. Drew realized that he didn’t know what to say.
He hadn’t been in a room with the three of them since—
“I miss you,” Paige told him. A bandage was on her neck. On her arm. White bandages against her skin.
“We all miss you,” Kim added in a soft tone.
Drew swallowed. No ice.
“Why don’t you ever come home?” Heather asked him.
He didn’t have a home. Not anymore.
Paige walked toward him. The baby. The kid sister. Did she know that he’d kept every letter she’d ever sent him?