Chapter 482
[ 514 words ]
Chapter 482:
The sheer audacity of it, the scale of his unilateral decision-making, left her reeling. Her mind was a whirlwind of shock and a rising tide of protest.
“But I never wanted to be a soldier,” she said, the words feeling weak even to her own ears. “It’s too dangerous…”
“Being where I can’t see you,” he cut her off, his voice dropping to a low, intense growl, “where I can’t protect you, is the most dangerous place you can be. If you had been with my unit during this earthquake, you never would have been in that building. I would never have let it happen.”
His logic was tyrannical, born of a deep, possessive fear. But underneath it, she heard what he was really saying. Don’t leave me again. The temptation of it, the promise of a future where they were always together, was a powerful, seductive pull.
𝖣i𝗌𝘤ove𝗿 𝘩𝗂𝗱d𝘦𝗇 𝘨e𝗆ѕ 𝘰𝘯 𝗴а𝗹𝘯𝘰𝘃𝗲l𝘴.со𝘮
Just then, Evelyn Reed walked up, dragging a duffel bag behind her. She was catching a different transport out. Seeing their serious faces, she grinned.
“You’d better think long and hard about this, Caroline,” Evelyn said cheerfully. “If you sign up, you’ll have to look at this ice-cold face every single day.”
Caroline stared at her, bewildered. “You knew about this?”
Evelyn nodded. “The Colonel spoke to me yesterday. Asked if I’d be willing to partner with you through the selection process, to show you the ropes. Of course, I said yes.”
She turned to Caroline, her expression becoming earnest. “Do it, Caroline. You’re a natural. The army needs people like you. And besides,” she added, her eyes glinting with mischief as she glanced toward a distant Ashley Wright, “we could team up to swat some very annoying flies.”
The support of her friend, the idea of having an ally in this strange new world, was the final push she needed.
She looked back at Jarrod, at his intense, hopeful eyes. The last of her resistance crumbled. She took a deep breath and gave a single, decisive nod. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
A look of profound relief washed over Jarrod’s face. He didn’t pull her into a fierce hug. He couldn’t, and they both knew it. Instead, he stepped close enough for his forehead to rest against hers for one stolen second, his braced arm trapped between them and his ruined left hand held carefully away from her body. The restraint made the moment more intimate, not less.
A horn blared nearby. A Jeep had pulled up, K.C. Bell at the wheel. It was time. The real departure was here.
K.C. Bell leaned out of the driver’s side window. “Sir, we’re on the clock.”
Jarrod nodded curtly but made no move to get in the vehicle. He stepped back from Caroline slowly, not releasing a hug because he had never been able to give her one properly in the first place. His right arm was still locked against his chest in the heavy brace, and his splinted left hand remained held stiffly away from her body. His gaze stayed fixed on her face. He was drinking her in, trying to commit every detail to memory.
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