Acquiring Trouble

He smacked the horse’ s flank and turned to lay down cover for them. As he took aim at the rebels he turned to see the helicopter approach. Cade and Mariah would make it.
    Miles laid some more cover and when t he clip emptied he turned and ran as fast as he could. His vision became blurry with the pain, but he managed to reload his gun and take a couple more shots as the helicopter came into firing position. Loud gunfire erupted from the helicopter as the pilot shot at the group of rebels.
    “Captain!” Mariah shouted. “Look out!” She kicked her horse with her good leg and he knew she was coming toward him.
    “Stay back!” h e shouted.
    Miles saw th e group had split. Three men had gone wide and out of the helicopter’s range as it tackled the larger group. The men raised their guns and Miles fired off every round he had. He took two of the men down by the time he ran out of bullets.
    “Captain! Hop on!” Mariah yelled as she galloped toward him. The last man raised his gun and fired.
    “No!” Miles roared as he leaped to protect Mariah, but it was too late. Mariah fell from the horse and lay motionless on the ground. Blood blossomed from under her and Miles knew he had failed her and himself.
    Rage like he had never known overtook him. He was going to rip that bastard from limb to limb. H e slid the magazine into his gun and turned to attack whe n a bullet slammed into his chest. He fell to the ground beside Mariah’s body. His vision began to fade as he raised the gun and emptied his clip into the rebel.
     
    *      *      *

 
Chapter Twenty-Three
     
    “Miles! Miles, please wake up!” Morgan shook Miles as best as she could and cried into his ear. He had been flailing and mumbling in his sleep. She had woken up and found him drenched in sweat. She tried to wake him gently , but in a sudden movement he pushed her into the bed a nd threw himself on top of her.
    “Miles. Please, you’re getting heavy. I need you to wake up,” Morgan pleaded, but he didn’t move. He was still mumbling in his sleep and kept her pinned to the mattress. In her best boardroom voice she tried again. “Mil es! Wake up now. Do you hear me? That’s an order. Wake up right now!”
    His head snapped up, “Mariah?”
    “No, honey. It’s me, Morgan. Are you okay?” Morgan gently cupped his face with her hands. His normally hard face was covered in sweat and so pale . When Morgan looked into his eyes she felt like crying at the pain she saw behind them.
    Miles sat back on his knees and shook his head quickly trying to regain his composure. Bill whined and nudged Miles’ s arm before lying down beside him and resting his head on Miles’ s leg.  Morgan watched as Miles ran his hand over his face and through his hair. She could tell that he wasn’t quite sure what to do next.
    “Miles, do you want to tell me what that was about?” s he asked softly as she pulled t he sheet up to cover her chest.
    “Nothing. Just something that happened when I was overseas,” Miles answered as he stared out the open hotel window.
    “Miles? Who is Mariah? ”
    Miles snapped his head back to her, his eyes wide in surprise, “How do y ou know that name?” he accused.
    “Calm down. You said her name in your sleep before and after you threw yourself on top of me.”
    “No one. Not anymore. Did I hurt you?”
    “Of course not! But, don’t chang e the subject, Miles. Who is Mariah?” Morgan watched as Miles battled his demons. She could tell that he couldn’t decide whe ther or not to say anything more.
    “She’s the girl I killed,” Miles said simply, yet the shimmer in his eyes told her the truth.
    “I don’t believe that for one second. Miles,” Morgan took his hand in his and squeezed gently, “ there’s nothing that will stop me from loving you. I’ve been waiting a lifetime to be with you and someone as special as you deserve s to be loved unconditionally. I need you to know that Miles. You’re safe with me. You’ll always be safe with me. Safe to tell me my cooking is bad, that I really do look fat in a dress, and that at night when you close your eyes you r dreams are overtaken by darkness. Let me be your anchor. L et me be your lig ht to chase away that darkness.”
    Miles got up from the bed and strode naked to the window to look out at the city lights illuminating the night sky. His muscles bunched under the invisible weight on his shoulders. Morgan worried about him and longed to go to him, but