Of all people, how can you do this to me? he thought glaring at Troy before he disappeared. But it wasn’t Troy he saw in his mind’s eye. It was Dev, the Devil, Shulte. The one member of his unit who had warned the PMC unit they were coming, not that it mattered. They didn’t believe him. Devil had been a cocky SOB until Marshall put a bullet in him.
Once the vision of Dev was gone, he was able to hear Troy; able to feel Troy. The shouts of ex-soldiers faded away; the cries of the kids still haunted him. He thought they would always be there like seagulls in a parking lot. A reminder to never forget. Never stop fighting for them. It made him sick worrying about how they were doing now.
At least with the fucking ball gag gone he could ask Troy for help in finding them. He’d put one on the bastard, but knowing Tee, he’d get off on the idea.
What surprised him the most was that he talked him down from hurting anyone. Maybe there was something to Tee’s therapy after all. He was willing to find out, especially if it meant he could remain sober, clean and with Troy. Shit, he needed to apologize to his uncle too. So much to make up for.
“I need — ”
“Shh,” Troy began. “Your throat is probably dry. There’s time. You’re okay. You’ll have time to do what you need to do.”
Dry was an understatement. The Sahara had more water than his throbbing throat. Guess he pulled a few muscles in straining to get away. Well, he wasn’t trying to get away now.
Marshall found himself tightly in Troy’s strong embrace. He’d pull his forty-five calibers when needed to protect Troy just as he knew his lover would pull out all the stops to protect him when the time came. He had no doubt they would stand back to back facing all odds, whatever force may try to separate them and show the world what true honor and sacrifice looked like. With one last long look, he leaned into Troy’s touch knowing he was just where he wanted to be.
Always and forever.
Bibliography
EVIL HOURS A Biography of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder by David J. Morris
The PTSD Breakthrough The Revolutionary, Science-Based Compass Reset Program by Dr. Frank Lawlis
Articles:
PTSD: National Center for PTSD; Moral Injury in the Context of War by Shira Maguen, PhD and Brett Litz, PhD
The Moral Injury Project by Syracuse University
Stars and Stripes Opinion piece submitted to the Washington Post by Thomas Gibons-Neff
Moral Injury Toxic Leadership, Maleficent Organizations, and Psychological Distress by Michael D. Matthews, Ph.D.
About the Author
Amazon Bestselling Author Hope Daniels grew up in a small resort area in Michigan where she and her husband still live today. As the third child of four, she had an exhaustive imagination. From straddling the back-porch railing as a wild cowgirl, to saving the world as Wonder Woman, complete with homemade bullet stopping bracelets. She was always taking what she read and making it as real as she could, now if she could just find the wolf shifter of her dreams…
Love of reading began at an early age, due to a first-grade teacher living next door, and her own father reading bible stories to her before bed each night. It was cemented in elementary when she discovered scholastic books, specifically Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague. Her love of horses and reading has never diminished, even after her husband took her to Chincoteague Island for their honeymoon.
Daniels loves to write in multiple genre which includes her short in the Amazon Bestselling Anthology’s Black Magic (A Women of Urban Fantasy Production), and in the Encompass Ink’s All You Need Is Love Anthology, now a novella series. She is also the co-author to the Magical Forces series books Hell In Heels, Hell On The Heart, Hell Of A Family Yule and Hell of A Night with Author Alicia Dawn. Additionally, she will soon be launching a contemporary erotic series with Lavish Publishing titled the Wylde River Series.
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Always and Forever: An Echo Rescue Series Novella Page 8