Relentless (Option Zero #2) - Christy Reece Page 0,18

would feel it was worth it if you could help even one person. I can promise you that you helped a lot more than that.”

“Thank you. I—” Brenda stopped when someone called her name. As she looked over her shoulder, her entire demeanor changed. She held out her hand to the tall, stocky man standing a few feet away. Aubrey had met Brenda’s fiancé the day before. The two were so much in love. The naked emotion on John’s face when he looked at Brenda was almost too painful to watch. To be the recipient of that kind of love had to be a glorious feeling.

Brenda went into John’s arms and he held her close. A heaviness lying on her chest, Aubrey stepped away. If she didn’t get out of here, she’d soon be in tears. She was happy Brenda had found the love she so deserved but the emotions were too much.

Calling out a goodbye and a promise to send her a link to the finished work, Aubrey walked out the door. She drew in a cleansing breath of air.

As her team high-fived each other and talked about where they wanted to go for dinner, Aubrey stared into the darkness and remembered a beautiful, golden voice making a promise that would never be fulfilled.

When had she stopped thinking of him every day? It had been a gradual thing. At first, she had been desperate to find out what had happened to him. When she didn’t get those answers, she learned to live with the memories of their short acquaintance. The timbre of his voice, the way he’d pause while telling a story, to give her time to absorb the nuance. She loved how he could make her laugh. There had been so little to laugh about then, but somehow Lion had managed to do that.

Now she heard him only in her dreams. He seemed a million miles away, a fantasy that couldn’t be real.

“Aubrey? Did you hear me?”

Jerking herself from her reverie, she smiled at Owen Waters, one of the cameramen. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“We’re going for dinner at a Tex-Mex place Harry says he went to a couple of years ago. Says their margaritas are incredible.”

She loved her team, but she needed some time to herself. The long drive back to LA would give her that. “I need to get back to the hotel. I’ve got a meeting with Lawrence Medford tomorrow and I want to be ready.”

Owen grimaced. “Better you than me. Heard he was an ass the other day.”

“He was, but that’s to be expected. Once he realized he couldn’t sway me, he got nicer. I think we’re going to be able to work something out.”

“That’s a relief. The footage we got tonight was amazing. This story needs to be told.”

She agreed. Brenda’s story and so many more needed to be told.

“It’s a long drive back. You want me to go with you? Keep you company?”

Owen was the newest member of her team. It wasn’t the first time he had indicated he’d like to know Aubrey on something other than a professional basis. He was a nice guy, but getting personally involved with a coworker was never a good idea.

“Thanks but the alone time will do me good. I’ll call you guys tomorrow after the meeting and we’ll make plans then.”

“Okay, well…have a safe trip back.”

She waved at the rest of the team as they loaded their equipment into the vans. “Great job tonight, guys. See you soon.”

Amid a loud array of goodbyes, Aubrey got into her rental car and started the engine. She waited until her team had driven away, and then turned back and looked at the house where Brenda lived. What an amazing woman she was, an incredible survivor. She had endured and won.

How many more were out there? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? She knew the estimates, but that’s exactly what they were. Estimates. Only God knew how many there really were. She did what she could, but making films to inform people only went so far.

Not for the first time, she thought about the man she’d briefly met a few years ago in Kosovo. Over the years, she’d met many men she’d found attractive, but few had stayed in her memory the way this man had. Which was strange since he hadn’t even said a word. She didn’t know his name, where he lived…knew nothing about him other than he rescued people from horrific circumstances. Something about him had not only