Love in crossfire

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ut's fire flickered out. Burnt wood and shattered trust were the scents that William left behind when he left. She didn't weep. No, not yet. She

in the dark. She shut her eyes and let fantasy and memory blur. With just a glance, Smith-strong, unpredictable, and irritating-had a way of entering her space. He didn't ask for help. He asserted. And despite Maria's stubbornness, that possessive gaze made her give way. She wanted to feel his hands again pin her wrists above her head, to give in without losing her power, and to taste the wildness that they shared that no words could describe. She imagined straddling him, her hips grinding in rhythm to his breath, both of them lost in the desperate need to devour each other. He was

chool. Although her beauty made things easier, it was her determination that kept her going. Maria was working three jobs, bribing her way through bureaucracies, and stitching her own wounds after midnight while the majority of her classmates were complaining about their lack of sleep and finals. She chose her partners carefully-men who could provide her with shelter, safety, or protection. She was unable to afford the luxury of love. If not, then Still, beneath her steely exterior was a ghost-carrying woman. She never mentioned Brazil. She never talked about her sister, who disappeared during a drug raid, or the boy she left behind, who taught her how to lie and kiss simultaneously. She was known for her calm hands and sharp eyes in the hospital. Under her direction, no patient died unless they were already too far gone. She never got scared. She never violated protocol, at least not in public. She occasionally broke the rules in private to assist patients without documentation. She had witnessed what occurred when the system failed the weak. She would not permit it to occur again. The objective was not to meet Smith. He was bold, arrogant, and wounded in a way that mirrored her own long-forgotten wounds. He didn't realize how far from angelic she was when he called her "angel." However, William was the first to see her. William, with his sad eyes, military posture, and overflowing library and burden-laden mind. She hadn't anticipated feeling drawn between them-two brothers unit

ly. "Going someplace?" With raised eyebrows, the do

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We have movement. We also have a traitor in our midst. requesting immediate assistance." Maria con