to do with a gun. In the bathroom, Boone had kindly left a brand-new toothbrush, which she used with his toothpaste. She needed a shower, but she had no clothes to change into. Not to mention the fact that she didn’t want to risk being that vulnerable when Boone was out, even if he was just on his front lawn.
Retreating to the bedroom, she thought she could at least change socks. Maybe find a T-shirt that wouldn’t be too big. Opening his top drawer, she found his boxers, which was kind of fun, especially the black silk ones, but no socks. Those were in the next drawer over. She grabbed a pair, and saw the edge of a picture underneath the rest. She pushed the socks aside, and her heart leapt to her throat.
It was a picture of Boone and Nate. Just the two of them. They were sitting on a bunk in an almost bare room. They had duffel bags by their feet, and light camo pants. They wore white T-shirts with their dog tags dangling from their necks. Nate had his arm around Boone, and they were both laughing. She’d never seen Boone look like that, not once. He was happy, goofing. Looking a lot younger, although she knew it wasn’t that long ago, because Nate had his goatee. He’d only worn it for a short while, about two years ago.
They were in the Balkans. Where everything had gone to hell. This must have been taken pre-trouble.
Just looking at her brother and the man he’d sent to save her, made her knees tremble and tears come to her eyes. She missed him, goddammit. Missed him so much it made every part of her hurt.
“That was a damn good day.”
She jumped at Boone’s voice, and a second later, at Milo rubbing against her leg. “Don’t do that.”
“Sorry. I thought you heard the door.”
Boone had showered. He looked awfully good in khaki pants and a gray T-shirt, with his hair a little damp, and he must have just shaved because his jaw was so smooth. She swallowed, remembering last night, how he’d made her quiver. She looked back at the picture, not wanting him to see the heat in her cheeks. “What were you laughing about?”
“It was stupid,” he said, plucking the photo from her fingers. “As I recall, it had something to do with a redhead who had a very particular talent. Something you just don’t see every day.”
“I’m sure it was highly entertaining, but please, spare me the details.”
“That’s for the best. Now how about breakfast?”
“Great. I wish I had some shoes.”
“We’ll pick you up a pair on the way to the vet. We need to see that RFID.”
“I just want it out of Milo,” she said, following him to the kitchen. Halfway there, she remembered. “I’ll be back in a second,” she said, then turned and went to the bedroom. She picked up the gun, which was heavier than hers, made sure the safety was on, then put it in her waistband. By the time she got back to the kitchen, Boone had poured her coffee. She pulled out the cheesecake herself.
“Is that what you’re having for breakfast?”
“Yeah,” she said. “So?”
“Lucky Charms weren’t bad enough?”
“I’m a displaced person. Cheesecake is required.”
He snorted as he went to an industrial-looking blender on his counter. He pulled out protein powder, two bananas, some yogurt, eggs, wheat germ, and some other things she couldn’t readily identify.
She figured she was having cream cheese, strawberries, milk, eggs. All yummy and good for her. All she needed was a fork, and she was set.
Milo curled up under the table and snuffled happily. He didn’t even blink when the blender whirred, having heard it so often at her house.
Christie dug in, and while she ate the absolute best food the planet had to offer, she thought about her brother. They’d had a weird childhood, the way most every childhood was weird. Dysfunctional mother, absent father, not enough money, too many upscale neighbors. But she and Nate had gotten along for most of it. He’d been wild, but in a very subversive way. He’d known in junior high that he wanted to join the army. That he wanted to fight, and win. So he had never gotten into trouble, even though he’d done a million things that should have gotten him kicked out of school, if not put in jail.
That’s why it had been so hard to accept that he’d gotten himself into a situation he couldn’t get out of. He wasn’t supposed to die. He was the one who saved everyone else. He was the hero, who always got the girl.
“Hey, you’re not shoveling that nasty stuff into your body.”
“Yeah, well, suddenly I’m not so hungry.”
Boone sat next to her, his giant shake in an equally giant glass in front of him. “What?”
“Just thinking about Nate. I still can’t quite get that he’s dead, you know? Like it has to be some kind of mistake. Nate was…”
“Invincible.”
“Yeah. I saw him die. We’d had dinner, and he was really weird. He looked like hell, and he was jumpy and he wouldn’t talk to me. I was so worried about him.” She lifted her feet up onto the chair again, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I thought maybe he’d gotten into drugs or something. It was the only thing that made sense, even though it didn’t.”
“You were there?”
She nodded, wishing the memory wasn’t so vivid. “The parking lot was almost empty. My car was near the restaurant, but he’d parked across the way. There weren’t even any lights near his truck. I hated leaving him like that. I told him to come stay with me, but he wouldn’t.”
She took in a deep breath, and it was as if she could smell the scent of spices coming from the Thai restaurant. Feel the warm night air. “He hugged me goodbye, really hard. Told me he probably wouldn’t be able to see me again for a long time. But that I shouldn’t worry.”
Boone scooted closer to her, but he didn’t touch her.
“I got in the car, but I didn’t start it right up. I was debating if I should try harder to get him to tell me what was going on. I watched him as he walked to his truck. I gave it up then. Right as he was getting inside. I decided he wasn’t going to listen to me, so I might as well go home. I put my key in the ignition, and that’s when the sky exploded.
“I was thrown to the passenger seat, and I hit my head. I think I was knocked out for a minute, but I’m not sure. All I know is that when I looked out of my shattered window, his truck was completely engulfed in flames. It burned so hot. The fire captain told me there had to have been an accelerant used, because the inside of the cab was almost completely melted. They found enough of him, though, so that I could bury him.”
“Jesus, Christie. I had no idea.”
She didn’t say anything. Or even think much. Just tried to remember his face. The details, like his eyes, the way he smiled. “No one from the army came,” she said, finally. “No one. We didn’t even get a letter. Why is that?”
“I didn’t know. Not until four months after. If I had, I would have come.”
She shook her head. “I’m
