Stone Cold Heart by Lisa Hughey Read Free Book Online Page B

everything that's going on."
    "What about interception?"
    "Code is easy. No names, no specifics, so anyone listening shouldn't have a clue." Colin flexed his fingers on the wheel. "Our intentions are covert. But you know things go wrong."
    Jess asked the question that was bothering her. "So who gets into power with LeRoy gone?"
    "Antoine D'Aramitz." Colin released a tight breath as if her question indicated her compliance. "He's a non-denominational religious leader who champions the common people."
    "But who decided that he would get power?" Jess demanded angrily. "Our government?"
    "Whoa, whoa." Colin slowed down the truck. "Where did that come from?"
    "One of the reasons I left the FBI was to get away from playing God," she said bitterly. She'd told her brother that. So why the hell did he send her here?
    "Do you really think that LeRoy, a corrupt leader, who is stealing precious resources from his injured, starving, stricken citizens deserves your compassion?"
    "Who's to say that whoever replaces him won't be worse?" Jess argued.
    Before Colin could answer, they'd arrived at the distribution site.
     
    ***
    They'd spent the day handing out seed packets and water purification tablets. The people had been so grateful for the small bags of seeds that Jess felt guilty about the warm MRE of beef stew she'd gulped down. And she only sipped at her water after watching a mother who gave her kids a drink first, even though it was clear from her split and cracked lips that she was terribly dehydrated.
    Throughout the day, she had been by turns amazed and awestruck at Colin's ability to put people at ease.
    Jess had been a little uncomfortable. The life of sniper demanded that she was more of an observer rather than someone who interacted with people. She'd perfected that role over the years. The outsider looking in. It had begun at age eight when she and her mother went to live in her father's house with his existing family and continued through her time in the FBI as a female sniper in a male-dominated field.
    So six months ago, she'd made the decision to live her life differently. To be engaged. To be present. She'd known going in that adapting to this new life would take her out of her comfort zone. She relished the idea. But old habits were hard to break and she found herself watching rather than participating. But because she was constantly watching, she noticed details that others overlooked.
    She'd seen Colin's conspiratorial smile with the tiny boy who had hidden in his mother's skirt. Colin's gentle hug for the woman whose husband had perished. Colin's grave sympathy and compassion for the grandmother whose daughter was missing. He'd treated the men who stood in line with dignity and gave them the respect the deserved for taking care of their family, without the pity that Jess saw reflected on many of the other workers' faces. He calmed the fears of the children when the aftershock hit.
    And then Colin had stepped in front of her when the crowd waiting for their supplies got a little unruly. Jess had been bemused by the fact that he was trying to protect her . She was the one with the pistol and he'd still shielded her from the crowd and herded her back toward the cab of their truck in case they needed to hop inside to shelter from the crush.
    After a full day of handing out supplies, the constant battle between smiles so hard her cheeks hurt and an innate need to release her sorrow with tears had taken a toll. She was exhausted.
    Because of the mini-riot, they were behind on their schedule.
    "We need to get back before the curfew," Colin said. They hopped in their truck and headed back to the main seaside town.
    The sun was low in the twilight sky, bright yellow at its center bleeding to a deep red on the edges. The sky rippled with waves of blue, purple, and pink, the colors spectacular from the pollution of the quake. Beauty from destruction.
    As they rounded a bend in the makeshift road, they almost ran into the truck