The Man Who Faked His Own Death

The conversation continued, drifting down the hallway, each

?" Mark asked. "You jus

d to town to look after my brother's grieving widow and his... other grieving widow. It' s perfect. Ava and I can b

planned his escape with the same meticulous detail he used to plan firefightin

ue his dream. I thought of the nights I'd spent waiting, praying he' d come home safe. I had built my

t the soft, sorrowful grief from before. This was a jagged, angry wound.

m stepped inside, his face etched with co

eyes scanning my face. "I brought you

The shock, the rage, the utter devas

rong?" he asked, putting the cu

who had always been there, a steady presence in the background of my life. He had proposed once, years ago, before Ryan. I'

. A way forward. A way to prove to Ryan, and to myself, t

n. My voice was raspy

Do you remember what you asked me, a long t

but he nodded slow

er still on

isbelief. "Scarlett..

my voice gaining strength with

w, brilliant smile spread across his face, a sunrise after

hick with emotion. "God, Scarle

tark contrast to the cold emptiness I' d been feelin

moment. "A small ceremony, just us. We can find a house, a new pl

es, a promise of a future I hadn't d

shadow fell acros

oked

is arm. She was weeping theatrically onto his shoulder, and he was stroking her hair,

I sa

alking away from the destruction he ha

oo. He didn' t understand the full picture, but he saw the woman I' d been

on mine, a silent q

d as steel. "Let's start planning