Peyton didn’t need the details. She could feel the effects of the incident through Kai. Her eyes stung at Kai’s loss and the horrible memories that he carried inside him. Softly, she asked, “And Tina?”
“She bled out on the way back to base.”
Peyton stepped in front of Kai and wrapped her arms around him. He wouldn’t want her condolences or her sympathy. And if he looked into her eyes now, she knew he would see too much and turn her away. “How long had the two of you been together?”
His arms encircled Peyton and drew her closer. He rested his cheek on top of her head and breathed her in. Some of the cold left him. “Seven months.”
“You meant a lot to each other,” she said. “Did you love her?”
His response was immediate. “No. I cared for her. I enjoyed her company. I believe she felt the
