Read Online Covertly Strong (The Strong Series Book 1) by N.A. Alcorn - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: N.A. Alcorn
Tags: Strong Series, Book One
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just couldn’t handle the ridiculous distance anymore. That always seemed like the better choice in reasoning rather than trying to comprehend that he might have stopped loving her.
Her family didn’t move back to the States until after she had graduated high school and was getting ready to head off to college. That was when her father finally retired from his Navy career and when her parents settled down permanently in San Diego.
She pulls her unfocused eyes back to the present as her brown gaze takes in the letter, scanning over the masculine handwriting. “My Meli.” The sentimental nickname spurs so many memories from deep inside her soul. She can still picture the tattoo. His tattoo.
She stands in front of her bedroom mirror, lifting up her T-shirt and gazing at the ink on her rib cage. Her tattoo—the permanent reminder of him . Her brown eyes stare at the reflection, her fingers tracing the black ink as she remembers the day she got that tattoo—one month after her parents died. She still doesn’t quite understand why she did it. Maybe it was because it was supposed to be a happy reminder of a time in her life when everything was right. Maybe it was supposed to bring her some sort of closure.
But it never did.
The tattoo merely serves as a painful reminder of her past—a permanent scar of what could have been. The black ink signifies that, at one point in her life, Nixon West was her world, her entire reason for living, for breathing, for waking up every single day. And now, it only seems to make her feel angry that their love was wasted. A love that was so undeniable, so tragically beautiful, was just thrown away.
As ridiculous as it sounds, she’s never really gotten over him. And she’s never moved on—never opened her heart up to the possibility of anyone else. Her love for Nix seared her, claimed her, and left an imprint on her heart forever, and the fact that, over fourteen years later, she still finds her chest aching over thoughts of him is evidence of this.
Just reading through his letter has Sloan feeling like the young girl she used to be—a girl who she has tried so hard to forget. God, just forget about him. He is just a memory now, she strives to tell herself. She slides the material of her T-shirt back down and focuses her thoughts on her parents, desperately trying to put Nix where he belongs—in the past.
She remembers her loving mother and father.
She remembers the time they spent together after her dad retired. She lived in their San Diego home for two years before she moved across the country to finish undergraduate school at Georgetown University. Her parents loved her with everything they had, and she’ll never forget the last words her father spoke to her.
“Sloan, your mother and I are so proud of you, baby girl. So goddamn proud. I love you, sweetheart, and I can’t wait to come out and visit you for Thanksgiving.”
They died two days later.
Tears prick her eyes again. The liquid emotion slowly seeps past her lids and spills down her cheeks. She hates that she’s allowing her mind to dwell on the past—to think about Nix and her parents. It’s uncommon for her to reminisce, but lately, the past has been on her mind. Sometimes she wonders if she’s missing out on living life to the fullest by constantly hiding behind a façade…
The telltale ringtone of her Blackberry buzzes on the coffee table, pulling her focus away from her long walk down Memory Lane. It’s the call. The call she’s on standby for every second of every day.
“Yes,” she answers immediately.
“2555 Seaport Drive. Meet time is thirteen thirty-five. Black Range Rover will be waiting for you at the south entrance.”
Instantly, the line goes dead.
This is the standard protocol. Only one person knows the number to the phone—Chief Dubois. This is the man who hired her, the man who saw her potential and trained her to be one of the CIA’s most valuable agents within the Clandestine
Her family didn’t move back to the States until after she had graduated high school and was getting ready to head off to college. That was when her father finally retired from his Navy career and when her parents settled down permanently in San Diego.
She pulls her unfocused eyes back to the present as her brown gaze takes in the letter, scanning over the masculine handwriting. “My Meli.” The sentimental nickname spurs so many memories from deep inside her soul. She can still picture the tattoo. His tattoo.
She stands in front of her bedroom mirror, lifting up her T-shirt and gazing at the ink on her rib cage. Her tattoo—the permanent reminder of him . Her brown eyes stare at the reflection, her fingers tracing the black ink as she remembers the day she got that tattoo—one month after her parents died. She still doesn’t quite understand why she did it. Maybe it was because it was supposed to be a happy reminder of a time in her life when everything was right. Maybe it was supposed to bring her some sort of closure.
But it never did.
The tattoo merely serves as a painful reminder of her past—a permanent scar of what could have been. The black ink signifies that, at one point in her life, Nixon West was her world, her entire reason for living, for breathing, for waking up every single day. And now, it only seems to make her feel angry that their love was wasted. A love that was so undeniable, so tragically beautiful, was just thrown away.
As ridiculous as it sounds, she’s never really gotten over him. And she’s never moved on—never opened her heart up to the possibility of anyone else. Her love for Nix seared her, claimed her, and left an imprint on her heart forever, and the fact that, over fourteen years later, she still finds her chest aching over thoughts of him is evidence of this.
Just reading through his letter has Sloan feeling like the young girl she used to be—a girl who she has tried so hard to forget. God, just forget about him. He is just a memory now, she strives to tell herself. She slides the material of her T-shirt back down and focuses her thoughts on her parents, desperately trying to put Nix where he belongs—in the past.
She remembers her loving mother and father.
She remembers the time they spent together after her dad retired. She lived in their San Diego home for two years before she moved across the country to finish undergraduate school at Georgetown University. Her parents loved her with everything they had, and she’ll never forget the last words her father spoke to her.
“Sloan, your mother and I are so proud of you, baby girl. So goddamn proud. I love you, sweetheart, and I can’t wait to come out and visit you for Thanksgiving.”
They died two days later.
Tears prick her eyes again. The liquid emotion slowly seeps past her lids and spills down her cheeks. She hates that she’s allowing her mind to dwell on the past—to think about Nix and her parents. It’s uncommon for her to reminisce, but lately, the past has been on her mind. Sometimes she wonders if she’s missing out on living life to the fullest by constantly hiding behind a façade…
The telltale ringtone of her Blackberry buzzes on the coffee table, pulling her focus away from her long walk down Memory Lane. It’s the call. The call she’s on standby for every second of every day.
“Yes,” she answers immediately.
“2555 Seaport Drive. Meet time is thirteen thirty-five. Black Range Rover will be waiting for you at the south entrance.”
Instantly, the line goes dead.
This is the standard protocol. Only one person knows the number to the phone—Chief Dubois. This is the man who hired her, the man who saw her potential and trained her to be one of the CIA’s most valuable agents within the Clandestine
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