The Warrior Code by Ty Patterson Read Free Book Online

Beth’s case, it was as if the hard disk had been wiped clean. I had a faint hope that she would come through this without any side effects, though, of course, the doctors warned me that was highly unlikely. Beth not recognizing me, not remembering anything, was still a body blow for me. It took weeks for me to accept that this was how life would be now.’
    She laughed without any humor. ‘You know, in all this, I never had the time to mourn Dad. Mom and he had no other close relatives; it was just them and us… so there wasn’t a family support system for me after the shooting and during Beth’s recovery. The cops, mainly the SWAT guys, became my support system, really. Dad’s team members’ families kept me company every evening and brought me food. One or another of the guys' wives stayed with me throughout. Life became a blur for eight months; it was only when the last operation was performed on Beth and the doctors said that now it was up to her body and her brain that I started taking charge of our lives. Of course, in those eight months, I tried to fill in the blanks for Beth, tried to reconstruct her life.’
    Beth smiled at her sister. ‘Many people, heck almost every one, looked at me as if I was some creature in a zoo. Some of the stupid fucks even tried to test my memory. Meg nearly shot some of them in the ass. I don’t know how I would’ve turned out if she hadn’t been around.’
    A tear rolled down her face. ‘We started off in life as twins. After all this shit, we started off as friends, who also happened to be twins.’
    She wiped her face and smiled apologetically. ‘I rarely visit those days. Not because they were traumatic – they were – but because I have realized how irrelevant the past is. One doesn’t need a past to start a new present and a new future.’
    Zeb leaned back and looked at her. She had lost her memory, that which gave life its fragrance, and had made a new start for herself despite that loss.
    He had striven to forget his past and had made a new life for himself.
    He understood her. He knew just how difficult it was to let go of the past.
    Or not have one.
    In that one fleeting moment, he committed himself to them, determined to see this through to the end. 
    Beth’s voice turned lighter. ‘Meg was flooded by media calls, requests for interviews, and several book and movie deals came out of the woodwork. One agent even managed to breach the security perimeter in the hospital and approached her with a contract. Kelly punched him on the nose and sent him packing.’
    Meghan patted her arm. ‘When Beth was back home, we talked for a long time about what we were going to do with our lives and then made some decisions. We sold our home – Dad’s home – which, luckily for us, was mortgage free, and Dad’s service benefits kicked in, so financially we were good. I got a job offer in Boston to work in a graphic design agency, and we decided to move there. It would be a clean break for us, away from the past, an opportunity for Beth to start anew.
    ‘We moved to Boston in January of the following year and have been there ever since. I quit my job after one year and started our design business. Beth and I are equal partners. She looks after the financial side of it, and I look after the design part of it. I don’t know if the partnership would have worked with the old Beth. Twins working together – I’ve never heard of it.
    ‘But the new Beth is my friend, my sister, my business partner… she’s my everything.’
    Something in Zeb’s face made her smile. ‘Oh, we both go on dates and have  separate and active social lives, but neither of us has found anyone serious.
    ‘So that’s us, Mr. Carter.’ She corrected herself a second later. ‘Zeb.’
    ‘Tell me about the business,’ he said, as if he had tuned out their story.
    They both giggled and then laughed when they couldn’t hold it back any longer. Seeing his expression, Beth explained. ‘We had a