Hopeless Hero

I would stop at Angel’s Café to order one of her famous scones—the one thing I would actually be glad to do. I had looked everywhere, but hadn’t been able to find a bakery in New York that could beat Angel’s.

My mind drifted to the high school where my favorite English teacher still taught. Mrs. Lawson would be happy to see me; she, of all people, would be proud of how my life turned out.

I thought about the flower shop my mom and dad owned. It made me smile to picture them sitting behind the counter together. I hadn’t realized it, but I really did miss them.

As I finished packing, I realized it wasn’t exactly Savage that I was dreading, but the memories that awaited me there, rather. I didn’t want to become that heart-broken girl I’d once been again. I didn’t want to let everything I went through back then continue to define me.

I wanted to stay here, in New York, where I was strong and confident. Where I knew who I was.

Where I was safe.

I squeezed the pair of socks I was holding. With my eyes closed, I breathed slowly. Just the thought of being back in that town was hard.

Still, I had to remind myself that life in New York wasn’t perfect. There were things I missed from Savage that I could never get in New York—like Angel’s scones and judgmental looks from my Aunt Ira.

I could already hear her voice. “Met any nice guys in the city? No? Well, of course you haven’t! Everyone there is either a drug addict or only interested in whores!”

I smiled to myself at the thought. Thinking of Aunt Ira was actually the thing that resigned me to my fate. I was going back to Savage to spend an entire week with my family and I was going to face all their snide comments with a smile.

So what if I was still single? I was kicking ass and no one could take that away from me—not my family, not my hometown, and certainly not Zane Prewitt.

CHAPTER 3

Zane

The darkness pressed down around me. I forced myself to focus. This mission was too important to fail. There was too much at stake for me and my team; I couldn’t let them down.

I took a deep breath and remembered my training. The fear disappeared from my body. My breathing relaxed, my heartbeat steadied, and I took a confident step forward.

I knew what I had to do.

I walked half a mile before I heard the shot. My heart stopped as I whirled around, facing the direction it came from. It had come from my left, where I knew Leo was moving in the same direction as me.

No one knew where we were, so there shouldn’t have been any gunfire; it wasn’t that kind of mission.

It took a fraction of a second, just long enough for me to question breaking my orders, before another shot echoed around me. Then the third.

My orders were clear—if the mission is compromised, locate my team and return to camp.

Without a second thought, I took off running through the darkness faster than ever. My legs moving quickly beneath me, I felt like a wild animal bounding through the forest. The only noise I made was the rustling of my pants. Nothing and no one was going to stop me.

I closed the distance in less than a minute, my gun raised.

I saw him immediately, but he hadn’t seen me yet.

Without hesitation, I fired. He collapsed.

I spun around, checking for more, but everything seemed calm I turned my attention to finding Leo. My i

nstinct was to call out to him, but my training forced me to hold my tongue. Whatever happened, I couldn’t risk giving away my location.

Every noise I heard made my body tense. I felt like there were a million eyes on me and I expected to be shot each time my feet shifted. But there was no one in sight and I didn’t hear any gunshots for nearly five minutes.

I knew the rest of the team would be converging on me soon. I was the closest to Leo’s path, but McCoys and Logan weren’t far either. They would be there any second, and I still hadn’t located Leo.

“If the mission is compromised, locate your team and return to camp.”

Our orders were clear. I had to locate Leo before McCoys and Logan arrived so we could all get the hell out of dodge. We had to leave together, as a team.