Wounded (An Aspen Series Novella) (Prequel to Relentless)

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This ebook is a work
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Branded (Retribution Series #1)

Cowboys and Angels (Aspen Series #3)

Lawless (Aspen Series #2)

Relentless (Aspen Series #1)

Moonlight and Margaritas

Sweet Vengeance

To my daughter, Sierra—

You are one of the greatest joys of my life.  Thank you for the smiles and
laughter, and for introducing me to The Doctor.

I love you beyond words.

Jerry Tierno’s new Camaro ate up the distance
between Salt Lake and his hometown of Aspen, Utah, like a mid-summer storm
rolling over the Rocky Mountains.  The miles of pine-laden canyons interspersed
with green valleys disappeared faster than he would have liked, even though he
was anxious to see his family.

If he could find a way to stop thinking about
her
,
life would be bearable again.

But how could he?  The last time he’d deployed,
he’d left Aspen believing Kimber Reynolds was his everything, and that when he
returned, they’d start their life together.

Believing that had made him the world’s biggest
idiot, along with the instant he’d taken his focus off the mission in
Afghanistan and had become the target of an attack.

He pretended he didn’t notice the three-bedroom
house nestled in a grove of aspen trees just off the highway as he passed it.  The
for-sale sign was still there, but that no longer mattered.

As he cruised past Aspen’s welcome sign, stating a
population of 250, he lowered the window and cranked up his stereo, trying to
drown out his cursed memories.  The sweet, summer air heavy with the scent of
freshly cut alfalfa filled his lungs, a complete contrast to the harsh desert
in a part of the world so far from his home.

He slowed as he hit the so-called city limits,
grateful to be back where life moved at a slower pace and every person he met
wasn’t a potential threat.  Hanging baskets of flowers and numerous displays of
the Stars and Stripes reminded him the small town’s celebration of America’s
independence was only two days away.

The vibrations and sounds of his loud music drew
the stares of a couple of his mother’s friends talking outside the market.  He
waved, knowing they wouldn’t recognize him in his new car, but wanting to be
friendly just the same.

Then he choked.  His foot slipped off the
accelerator as he caught sight of Kimber walking out of the coffee shop that
had opened a few weeks before he’d left the last time.  Hell, for all he knew, her
last name might be Cameron by now.

Wavy brown hair caressed her sun-kissed
shoulders, her unforgettable tan legs disappearing under a short, pink skirt.  She’d
probably been working in the city clerk’s office that day.

He remembered exactly what it felt like to kiss
those shoulders, to trail his fingers up the smooth skin of her legs.  The way
she walked, her scent, everything about her had been seared into his brain, and
he would have been able to pick her out of a crowd with a bag over her head.

As he passed, she turned toward him, their gazes
connecting for the briefest of seconds.  He swallowed past his choke and slammed
on the gas pedal.  His engine growled with delight as he pushed the boundaries
of acceleration, and he could suddenly breathe again.

He was
so
over her.  Over the pain.  Over
the wrenching heartbreak.  Rehabilitating from shrapnel severing his calf
muscle had been easier than getting over her, but he’d managed it.

Before he made it to the end of the little town,
a piercing wail filled the air.  He glanced in the mirror to find flashing red
and blue lights hot on his tail.

This wasn’t the homecoming he’d hoped for.  He
punched off his stereo as he pulled to the side of the road.  “Shit,” he ground
out.

He pulled the license from his wallet and dug out
his vehicle registration while he waited for the officer to approach his car.

“If it ain’t Jerry Tierno, back from the
trenches,” the older officer said as he took his license, not bothering to look
at it.

“Hello, Sheriff Reynolds.” 
Kimber’s dad
. 
Double shit.

Other than some gray lightening the dark hair above
his ears, the officer didn’t show much of his forty-something years.  “Didn’t
recognize the car, J.T.”

“I just bought it yesterday.”

“Kim said you’d be back before too long.  Healing
okay?”

He ignored the comment about Kimber.  “Yes, sir.” 
The reminder of his injury sent a recurrent pain through his left leg, and he
stretched it out, trying to ease the stress holed up in it.  He considered
himself damn lucky to have escaped with only a few patches on his body.  Some
of his friends hadn’t been so lucky.

“I heard they ambushed you good.”

Jerry inhaled a slow breath through his teeth,
hating how a casual question could send him right back to that place.  The
attack on their unit in a supposedly safe area had taken them by surprise,
catching some of them with their pants down.  Literally.  The ensuing situation
had been ugly.  Very ugly.

“We lost some good men that day.”

“Yeah.  I heard that, too.  I’m glad you weren’t
one of them.”

He caught a hint of sentiment in the older man’s
voice, and he fought against his own rising emotions.  If Kimber hadn’t
deserted him, the man would have become his father-in-law.  Despite her lack of
mercy, Jerry still admired and respected her dad.

Sheriff Reynolds handed his license back to him. 
“Son, I’m going to assume you were speeding ‘cause you were in a hurry to see
your mama after all this time, so I won’t give you a ticket.”

“Thank you, sir.”  There was no way he could tell
the man it was because he was trying to outrun the memory of his daughter.

“Do it again, and I’ll slap a ticket on your ass
so big you’ll be working two jobs to pay it off.  Am I understood?”

A smile cracked on his lips, and he quickly
buried it.  “Yes, sir.”  The old man loved to play hard ass.  For the longest
time, he and his buddies had been deathly afraid of the cop.  The day Jerry had
shown up on his doorstep to pick up Kimber for a date had been one of the most
terrifying days of his life.  At least up until he’d joined the army.

The man tipped his hat and headed back to his
white Tahoe.  Jerry waited while he turned around and drove to his hiding spot,
preparing to catch the next sucker who decided to speed through his little town.

Instead of continuing through Aspen to his parent’s
house, Jerry turned into the parking lot of Sparrow’s Bar and Grill.  He needed
something to fortify his spirit before he faced the rest of the world.

Kimber stood outside Rumors Coffee Shop, stunned. 
The hot July sun beat down on her, melting her caramel frappuccino.  She’d
walked over from City Hall on her afternoon break for her favorite treat and
found herself completely unprepared for the shock of seeing Jerry.

Moments had passed since her father had sent him
on his way, and still, she couldn’t move.  She had no idea if her father had
ticketed him for his illegal behavior.  All she knew was when they parted ways,
Jerry didn’t come back to see her.  The stark reality hit.  He might be home,
but he was never coming back to her.

Her insides shook, leaving her with a sick
feeling.

But he was home.  He was
alive
.

Her prayers had been answered.  It remained to be
seen if he could forgive her, but at least he was alive.

And he hated her.

Jerry had caught her gaze and then raced away as
though he couldn’t get far enough from her fast enough.  He might as well have
wrapped rusted barbed wire around her heart.

“Hey, Kimber.”

She was pulled from her daze as Tara Dixon and
her mom passed by on the sidewalk.  “Hi, Tara.  Hi, Mrs. Dixon.”  Tara had to
be close to nine now, the same age Kimber had been when her mom had been killed
by an escaped convict.

What she wouldn’t give to have a loving mother
she could go to for advice right now.  Thank God she had her best friend,
Noelle.

She turned around and went back in the coffee
shop, knowing Noelle would help her figure out how to proceed with the next
minute of her life.

The sunny café didn’t seem as cheerful as it had
when she’d been inside a few minutes before.  Noelle looked up as she entered,
a strand of silky, blond hair falling into her face.  “Forget something?”

She shook her head.

“Kimber?  Are you okay?”

She blinked and tried to breathe.  “He’s home.” 
For the longest time, she’d wondered if she’d ever see him again.  She knew
from the local gossip that he’d survived the attack, but he’d been so far away,
so far out of her grasp, and it seemed she’d never see his beautiful face again.

Noelle stared at her for a moment, confusion on
her face.  Then clarity dawned.  “Jerry?” she whispered.

Kimber nodded.  “What do I do?”  She fell into
the closest chair, not sure her legs would continue to hold her.  “I’ve been
waiting for this moment for months, and now I’m lost.”

“You talk to him.”  Noelle came around the front
of the counter and sat next to her.  “Tell him you screwed up.  Ask for
forgiveness.  You know you’re not the same girl he left behind.  You’ve grown. 
You’ve started your foundation for military wives.  He needs to know this.”

“It’s not going to help.  He hates me.”

“No.  He might still be angry, but once you
explain things, he’ll understand.”

She bit her lip until it hurt and shook her
head.  “I just saw him outside.”

Noelle widened her eyes.  “What did he say?”

“Nothing.  The second he saw me, he sped away.” 
His rejection drove a hot, searing pain into her.  She deserved it, but it didn’t
make it any easier to take.

“He was in a car?  You saw him driving?  Maybe he
didn’t see you.”

She nodded, trying to keep her fears and grief
inside.  “He saw me.”

Noelle’s expression turned sympathetic.  “Oh,
honey.  Maybe he needs some time.”

Could she hope that’s all it would take?  “He
looked good, Noelle.  So good.”

“Yeah?”  Her friend smiled.

“Yeah.”  The moment she’d heard of the deadly
attack on his unit, her world had collapsed beneath her.  She’d known then she
couldn’t live in a world without him no matter how many nights she’d have to
stay awake worrying and wondering.

 “He has a new car.  A hot-looking black Camaro.”

Noelle’s smile grew bigger.  “Really?  Not that
he’d
need it to look hot.”

Hot.  Handsome.  Loyal.  No longer hers.  She
deserved every shattered piece of her heart.  She’d had a good man.  The best. 
She’d let her fears and loneliness get the best of her, and she’d let him go.

“You have two choices, girlfriend.  You can fight
for your man or walk away.  It all depends on how much he means to you.”

That brought some of the fire back in her.  “
You
know
what he means to me.”