Lexington, Kentucky
Two days later
The sun was beginning to set at the back of Alexander King’s home in Lexington, Kentucky. The golden light shining over the back of his sprawling horse farm made his heart feel warm. As he leaned forward against the stone railing of the oversized patio that overlooked his swimming pool below, the laughter of his niece as she splashed King’s sister made him feel whole.
King turned around and leaned his back against the rail. He watched as the table full of savages that he loved so much ate and drank to the sounds of some southern rock playing in the background. Sam, Kyle, Dbie, and Omari were there. Juice had accepted King’s invitation to join them and he brought Charlie and Luc along. Now they were all sharing war stories over some barbecue, bourbon, and wine. A few of King’s favorite things.
Yesterday had been a long one in Langley, Virginia. While Director Lucas shared the President’s gratitude in ultimately saving a lot of lives, he was incensed that King had decided to drop Raúl Ortega on his head. Against his direct orders. There had been a lot of red tape and a lot of rehashing all of the confusing events over the past couple of weeks. Thomas Bishop ended up being very helpful in clearing up who all the players were, and their roles in all the madness. King knew Sam was appreciative that Thomas was able to do that, but you would have never known by the icy chill that surrounded her when Thomas was in the room. She didn’t so much as tell him goodbye. If King had ever worried they might get back together, those worries were dead and gone.
Director Lucas was also unhappy with Juice and his team. King had to fight hard to get Lucas to drop the fact that Juice had unknowingly smuggled in the nukes on his illegal weapons shipment. King’s argument was that Marcus Christian and Ortega would have found someone else to smuggle them in. And if they had found someone other than Juice to do it, that a lot more people would have died. Because Juice and his team were as responsible as anyone for helping get that bomb disarmed in the end. If they hadn’t flown in on that helicopter, the nuke would have detonated.
Juice didn’t know it yet, but when everything was being scrutinized at CIA headquarters, Sam found out the real reason Juice had made such an error in judgment by taking Marcus’s job. His daughter had a tumor, and he had no way to pay for her surgery. King didn’t have kids himself, but he knew if his niece, Kaley, had something similar happening to her, and he couldn’t pay for it, he’d find a way. He wasn’t giving Juice a full pass, but he understood. And that’s why King was going to make sure all of Juice’s daughter’s hospital bills were taken care of. It was the least he could do.
The warm breeze, the soft music, the clanking of glasses, the laughter of friends, his family in the pool below, and the feeling of being home began to overwhelm him. When someone like him is in situations so close to death, on so many occasions, sometimes he can go numb to the feeling of danger. However, sometimes, it can make a man appreciate life and all the things that are important in it, in a way that no one else walking the planet ever could. He was trying to live in that moment for as long as he could before someone, or something interrupted it.
Sure enough, his phone began to vibrate. He pulled if from his pocket as he turned toward the setting sun, and the number calling his phone made his mind flashback to a dream he’d had not too long ago. One where he was at home and a faceless woman was there with a daughter of his own. His mind flashed to that dream because the woman calling him right then was who he believed that woman in the dream might actually turn out to be one day. If he had anything to do about it, at least.
Yesterday, amongst all the chaos, King couldn’t stop thinking about Natalie Rockwell. So, he finally had Dbie track down her cell phone number. Maybe it was his life flashing before his eyes while standing over that bomb, or maybe it was the fact that he thought about her that often every day when he wasn’t busy running for his life. But he just couldn’t stand it any longer. He had to know. And though he’d had her number since yesterday, he’d only just worked up the nerve to call her before everyone showed up at his house a couple of hours ago.
There had never been another time he could remember being afraid to talk to a woman, but Natalie was different. She was the woman he’d fallen head over heels in love with just a few years back. But after the terrible things that had happened, and the lifestyle that both of them led, they had never been able to rekindle that flame. There hadn’t been a day since the last time he’d seen her, that he hadn’t thought about her. And now the contented feeling he’d had a moment ago was miles away—replaced by a nervous feeling that only Natalie had ever been able to bring.
“Hello” King answered.
“Alexander King. It’s as if a ghost had come back from the dead and left me a voicemail.”
Her voice brought comfort. Though he knew she was probably a thousand miles away, she felt like home.
“Hello, Natalie. It’s really good to hear your voice.”
“Yeah? Well, before everything that happed just a few weeks ago to you in Mexico City, I thought you were dead. I went to your funeral. I’ll have you know, I even cried.”
He could hear her saying it with a smile.
“Real tears?” King played back. “Or you just felt bad because Kyle might not survive without me?”
Natalie laughed. King’s stomach twisted. He’d forgotten how much he loved that sound. His mind’s eye could see her nose crinkle as she smiled at him.
“No,” she said, “they were real tears. I cried myself to sleep for a while. A lot like I did after I told you I couldn’t be with you a couple years ago. But I never stopped thinking about you, Alexander.”
They both were quiet for a moment.
“I’m sorry.”
It was all he could think to say.
“Hey, you did what you had to do,” Natalie said. “And I did what I thought was best for both of us by letting you go.”
“It wasn’t what was best for me.”
“Yeah, I don’t think it was for me either.”
“Why’s that?” King said.
“I did what was safe. Even though my mom’s advice to me when I first started dating was to never settle for what was safe. She said that’s not where true love lies.”
“I like your mom,” King said as the last of the sun was about to disappear. The golden light had given way to a brilliant read that covered the sky. “So if not something safe, then what?”
“She told me real love should feel like you’ve been hit by a bolt of lightning. And if I ever felt that, I should do whatever I could to hold on to it.”
“That sounds like great advice,” King said. “Was I ever that for you?”
“You were,” Natalie said, without a moment’s hesitation.
“You definitely were for me too.”
They both let a comfortable silence linger between them.
King said the only thing that came to his mind. “It’s been a while, Natalie. How do you know if you ever saw me again that you would feel the same way?”
King realized that the noise at the table behind him had stopped, and all he heard was the music moving through the evening air. He turned around to see what was happening and his cell phone dropped straight out of his hand. There, under the tiny yellow lights strung overhead, stood Natalie Rockwell. In the flesh.
Natalie took the cell phone from her ear and stared into King’s eyes. “Because I feel like I just got hit by a bolt of lightning.”
King was breathless as he rushed toward her. She matched his pace and they fell into each other’s arms. King couldn’t believe he was actually holding her. So much so that he moved back, placed her face in his hands, and took a good long look.
“It’s really you.”
Natalie smiled, shrugged her shoulders, then moved his hands as she placed hers around the back of his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.
The table full of the only people King loved in the world began hooping and hollering. King felt like he was back in that d
ream and there was no way it was real.
Natalie softly pulled away. “Lightning?”
“Lightning,” King said.
King looked over at the table. “Dbie, did you do this?”
Dbie smiled. “I can’t take credit. I actually blabbed about you wanting her number to Sam because I can never keep my mouth shut. Sam did the rest.”
King looked at Sam. Sam gave an unusually big smile. “She looks good on you, Xander.”
Natalie smiled and looked over at Sam. “Thank you.”
“Natalie!” King’s niece shouted as she raced up from behind them and jumped in Natalie’s arms. “What are you doing here?”
King was surprised his niece remembered her at all.
“I came to see your uncle for old time’s sake.”
“Good, are you going to stay?” Kaley said.
Natalie looked at King as she bit her lip. “Well, that’s up to your uncle.”
Kyle ran up and put his arm around Kaley and Natalie. “Oh, she’s staying Kaley. Now let’s celebrate a reunion that has been a long time coming!”
Natalie put Kaley down and tucked herself under King’s arm. He kissed her on the cheek and practically floated over to the table to re-introduce her to everyone.
King didn’t know what the next day would bring. He never did. But for once in his life, he couldn’t have cared less. So he went on to have the best night of his entire life.
He’d never been happier.
ENEMY LINES
Book five in the Alexander King series.
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ENEMY LINES
by
Bradley Wright
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Book five in the Alexander King series.
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I want to thank you, the reader. I love what I do, and no matter how many people help me along the way, none of it would be possible if you weren’t turning the pages.
To my family and friends. Thank you for always being there with mountains of support. You all make it easy to dream, and those dreams are what make it into these books. Without you, no fun would be had, much less novels be written.
To my advanced reader team. You continue to help make everything I do better. You all have become friends, and I thank you for catching those last few sneaky typos, and always letting me know when something isn’t good enough. Alexander appreciates you, and so do I.
About the Author
Bradley Wright is the international bestselling author of action-thrillers. POWER MOVE is his sixteenth novel. Bradley lives with his family in Lexington, Kentucky. He has always been a fan of great stories, whether it be a song, a movie, a novel, or a great television series. Bradley loves interacting with readers on Facebook and via email. Click on your digital platform of choice below and join in on the fun.
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Power Move (Alexander King Book 4) Page 19
