gave a long-suffering sigh. “Maybe this should be the part where I point out that I’m the one with the training and you’re the one who is supposed to be heeding my advice.”
“I don’t do nice and easy,” Justice informed her.
She was not impressed. “Then it’s about time you learned. Just pretend you’re back in boot camp.”
Now he looked insulted. “There’s nothing nice or easy about boot camp. It’s twelve weeks of grueling and exhausting work meant to separate the cream of the crop from the rest.”
“You didn’t let me finish. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, just pretend you’re back in boot camp, only this time instead of your goal being to become a Marine, your goal is to increase your mobility. You’re very lucky that overall you’re in such good physical shape.”
“Lucky?”
She noted the bitterness in his voice. “Yes, lucky. I’ve dealt with patients who have terminal illnesses, patients who have been paralyzed by car accidents. Compared to them, you’re sitting pretty.”
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with here.” His curt words were like bullets. “I’m a member of the Marine Corps’ most elite force, which means I have to be at the top of my game. I have to pass stringent physical exams to return to my squad. These are men who can drop and do a few hundred one-handed push-ups without even breaking a sweat. My injury may seem measly to you…”
“It’s not measly, Justice. I’m sorry if I gave you that impression. The bruising and lacerations on your legs will heal with time. And your concussion was slight, although you should have rested and not been traveling out here. But the damage to your shoulder is very serious indeed. I wasn’t trying to belittle your injury or the effect it’s had on your life. I’m just saying that in the whole spectrum of things, it could have been much worse. You could have been paralyzed or killed when that car exploded.”
Justice didn’t tell her how he felt, that he might as well have been killed if his future as a member of Force Recon was gone. She wouldn’t understand, she couldn’t know how much who he was involved what he did. The definition of invincible was “incapable of being overcome or defeated.” That was no longer true. Which left Justice feeling incapable, period.
“I realize that a brush with death makes most people question things in their lives…” Kelly began when he interrupted her again.
“Marines aren’t most people. And this certainly wasn’t the first time I’ve had a brush with death.”
His words chilled her. She’d known his work as a Marine meant he was exposed to danger, but she’d somehow never considered the fact that he might actually die serving his country.
She had to take a sip of freshly brewed coffee before going on. She steadied her trembling fingers by wrapping them around her coffee mug. “Why do you do it? Why do you put your life at risk?”
“Because my country needs me. It’s what I do and what I’m good at doing.”
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