Broken Wings (The Broken Series Book 3) (54 page)

My
thoughts turned to Kadyn, who was an entire ocean away. I thought about our
trip to the Bahamas and the beach where I had made my decision to remain in Virginia.
I had been happy then. I had found a way to let go of my past so I could build a
future with Kadyn.

I
tucked my knees under my chin as I questioned whether Kadyn was ever meant to be
with me. I sighed as I dug my feet a little deeper into the sand. I was stalled
at another crossroads. I was having a difficult time moving forward because one
foot was still stuck in my past. The other foot hovered undecidedly at the
intersection. I felt… lost.

I
glanced over at Rafael as a little boy approached him with a plastic bucket and
shovel. The boy looked to be somewhere around the age of four. He had soft
brown eyes and caramel colored skin. Like Rafael, his dark hair fell past his
shoulder in waves. The boy shoved the bucket and shovel toward Rafael.

Rafael
waved to the boy’s parents, who were sitting just a few feet away. They smiled
and nodded as Rafael accepted the bucket. The boy watched completely enthralled
as Rafael scooped a large pile of sand into the bucket and packed it in. He
turned it upside down on the beach as he began building a castle.

I
sat mesmerized as Rafael and the boy worked side by side building the castle. Nine
buckets of sand formed the base. A second level took shape with three more
buckets of sand. Rafael worked on a third-story tower while the boy dug a moat
around the fortress. He transformed his shovel into a drawbridge by balancing it
over the top of the moat. He pointed at me as he grasped Rafael’s shoulder and whispered
in his ear.

My
heart stalled when Rafael’s eyes met mine. Tears welled in my eyes. The image
of him with that little boy clinging to his shoulder tugged mercilessly at my
heart.

The
boy called out to me in French. My brows furrowed as I tried to translate the
words.

“My
friend, Gabriel, would like you to join us. He’d like to borrow your broken
wing,” Rafael explained.

“My
broken wing?” I asked uncertainly.

Rafael
nodded toward my hand.

I
looked down at the large gray feather that I had been absently twirling in my
fingers. The feather had blown against my feet earlier. The quill had been
broken, so the feather was a little crooked at the top. “Oh. He wants my
feather?”

Rafael
nodded. He smiled as he patted a spot next to him in the sand.

The
little boy jumped up and down excitedly as I walked toward them. I held the feather
up, and he grinned. “
Oui!
”

I
kissed Rafael on the cheek as I dropped down next to him in the sand. I leaned over
the fortress and carved windows into the tower with the quill of the feather
before handing it to the little boy.

Rafael
nuzzled my neck as he wrapped his arm around me.

The
little boy drew in a deep gulping breath and locked it inside his chest. He rolled
to his toes and carefully stuck the quill into the top of the tower, instantly transforming
the feather into a flag. He stood back to admire his work, then squealed in
delight as he ran toward his parents.

Rafael
laughed as the little boy dragged his parents over to take a picture of him
with the castle. I brushed sand from my legs as we stood to move out of the way,
but the little boy grasped my hand. He reached for Rafael’s hand and tugged us
both toward the sand. We fell to our knees at the edge of the fortress as the
boy pulled us into the picture. He threw his arms wide as he perched half on
Rafael’s lap and half on mine.

His
parents laughed as they snapped pictures with their cell phones. The boy ran
off to fill his bucket with water while the parents spoke with Rafael. I watched
over the fortress while he filled the moat with water.

Rafael
handed me his cell phone as he collapsed next to me in the sand.

I
stared at the photograph the parents had texted Rafael. “It’s beautiful,” I
noted softly. “He looks so much like you, it’s like seeing…” My voice trailed
off as I hesitated to breathe life into the words.

Rafael
gazed down at the picture. “It’s a glimpse into our future.”

My
eyes slid closed as his words washed over me. “Gabriel is one of God’s angels.”

“Michael
is too,” Rafael mused.

I
shook my head in disbelief. “I was sitting over there feeling lost and
confused. I was questioning my future when Gabriel called me to you.”

Rafael
gently turned my face toward his. “Maybe God is trying to tell us something.”

My
heart stalled when I saw the look in his eyes. “Maybe,” I breathed.

His
lips hovered over mine. He paused as he gazed deep into my eyes. “I think the
world just stopped.”

Everything
grew quiet as the chaos, confusion, and pain that had marred my life slipped
silently away. I felt it then… an overwhelming sense of peace. The world came
to a complete stop as Rafael’s lips met mine. I felt a faint vibration in my
chest as his soul tugged gently at mine. For a second, I panicked. Then, I
simply let go. As our souls entwined, I knew… I was finally home.

#
# #

I live in Northern
Virginia with my football-crazed husband, two beautiful daughters, two
psychotic Shih Tzus, and two freakishly large goldfish. I teach courses in
international relations, foreign policy, peacekeeping, and human security at
the American Military University. I also work as a reading tutor at my
daughters’ elementary school. What can I say? I still love school. Reading has
long been my passion, so I belong to not one but two book clubs, which I fondly
refer to as my “good girl bookclub” and my “bad girl bookclub.” Suffice it to
say the “bad girl bookclub” is the one that decided to read Fifty Shades of
Gray.

I’ve been writing for as
long as I can remember. In my childhood, I loved writing poetry, song lyrics,
and short stories. Somehow, this morphed into supreme court briefs, government
reports, congressional bills, journal articles, and op ed pieces as I grew
older. And now? I’m writing romantic suspense novels. God only knows why.

Thanks for reading this
third book in the broken series. Keep reading for more information on book four
in the series. I love hearing from my readers, so please stop by ksruff.com,
drop me a note, and let me know what you thought about the book!

in a broken dream

book four
in the broken series

One long string of broken dreams… that’s how Kristine
Stone views her life. After a deadly altercation between the SVR and the
Russian Mafia claims the life of someone she loves, Kri returns to Virginia
feeling hopeless and lost. She discovers her best friend, Cenia, has become
engaged. Cenia asks Kri to be her maid of honor. Kadyn is asked to serve as the
best man, and the two former lovers are thrown together once more. Maxim makes
an unexpected appearance, and Rafael is on a mission to win Kri’s heart once
and for all. A brief trip into Mexico threatens to derail everyone’s plans when
Cenia and Kri find themselves stuck in the middle of a gunfight between
opposing drug cartels. Kri faces yet another abduction and is left questioning
whether her life will ever be anything more than a broken dream.

and just in case you missed them…

the broken road

book
one in the broken series

Montana girl Kristine Stone was strong enough to
break out of an abusive marriage, but is she strong enough for the road that
lies ahead? For the first time in her life, Kristine finds she is able to
control the direction her life takes. Haunted by her ex-husband and a newly
acquired stalker, she decides to leave Montana to work in the US Senate.
Kristine issues a moratorium on dating the moment she decides to move to DC.
This does little to deter Kadyn Rand, the Air Force Captain, who threatens to
tear down every wall she’s ever built. Still, someone from her dark past
refuses to be ignored, and Kristine finds herself in yet another fight for her
life.

Air Force Captain Kadyn Rand is too stoic to be
swept away by much of anything, but a vulnerable woman from Montana manages to
do just that when she finds herself alone and in danger in DC. Kadyn tries to
earn Kristine’s love and her trust, but he soon learns it will take much more
than that to save her from her past.

beautifully
broken

book
two in the broken series

How many times can one woman be abducted? That’s
the question burning Kristine Stone when she finds herself staring down a dark
and dangerous man from her past. When she refuses to leave with him, he forces
her hand by threatening to kill the man she loves, along with thousands of
others. Kristine fears his terrorist connections will enable him to make good
on this threat, so she complies. She thinks she has it all figured out. If she
takes the path of least resistance and does everything this man asks, he will
eventually tire of her and let her go. Despite this well intentioned plan,
Kristine discovers just how seductive this man can be. She is forced to choose
between the love of two men and stands to lose everything in the end.