Blurb: For Mike and Will, “No Flag” meant “come home alive”, but will their love survive what happens next?
Captain Mike Kelley does not
ignore his intuition, so when sexy bartender Will Hayes captures his heart,
Mike embarks on a mission to win him over to a Domestic Discipline
relationship. Will accepts with one caveat: Mike must promise not to renew his
Army contract. Mike agrees, and they spend a year building a life together,
getting married, and starting a business.
Only days before their café’s
grand opening, Mike receives news that threatens everything he and Will have
built. The Army invokes the Stop Loss military policy to involuntarily extend
his commission and send him back overseas. Will, left alone to cope with the
café, must rely on the support of old friends who may be no longer be
trustworthy. Through emails and Skype calls, Mike and Will keep their love and
structure alive…until the day a horrific terrorist attack occurs on Mike’s
outpost.
Mike awakens in a hospital with a
devastating injury and no his memory of the attack. As the only survivor,
Mike’s memory may be the key to national security. Mike struggles to cope with
his injury and Will struggles to support the man who always held him up. Both
fear they have lost their previous relationship. Will has Mike back rather than
a folded flag, but in the aftermath of war, can they rebuild the life they had
before? Especially when those closest to them may not have their best interests
at heart?
(July 7, 2012) The News
Bombs exploded on the evening news, one after the other.
Body parts flew past the camera. The headline across the bottom of the screen
read: “20 Army Intelligence Officers Dead.”
“Early this morning, a bomb exploded in the Army
Intelligence building, killing twenty American soldiers from Platoon 518,” the
blond newswoman reported.
Will Kelley squinted as the fuzzy security images played
behind the woman’s head, searching through the chaos for reassurance. Nothing.
His heart pounded and he tried to swallow, but found only dry air in his mouth
and throat. The female reporter described the weapons used and structural damage
done in vivid detail, which made for sensational television, but failed to
answer any questions for the people at home. Victims’ families had to be
notified before the media could release their names. So blondie would lose her
job if she read the list in front of her.
“What the hell are you doing, man? We open in thirty minutes
and you’re watching television?” Seth, his roommate, demanded from the doorway
of the living room.
“Answered your own question, didn’t you?” Will responded.
“Are you ready?”
“No.” Will did not take his eyes off the screen. “I’ll drive
myself.”
“When?”
The report flashed to an increase in allergies in children,
so Will switched to another station while typing “Attack on American S2
Building in Afghanistan” into Google. It wouldn’t be that easy, though. So Will
tried several more combinations of search terms before finding a video shot by
an insurgent involved in the attack. The camera shuddered. Focused on different
areas of the chaos. Men ripping clothes off soldiers. Looting. Bodies blown to
bits. A man removing computer hard drives. And only one face. On the severed
head of Major Evans.
“Will!” Seth jabbed him in the shoulder with a pen. Will
forced his eyes away from the computer. “What happened?”
“Mike’s platoon was attacked. Twelve survivors.”
“Shit,” Seth said. “Can you call…?”
Will took a slug from the nearby water bottle. “Who? No one
will talk to me. I’m not my husband’s family.”
Seth stared at him for a long moment and said, “I’ll have
Casey cover for you.”
Will stood and shook his head. “Why? I can’t do anything
here except watch the same videos over and over. May as well see if I can make
some money.” He shut his computer and set it on the side table. “Meet you
there. I won’t be too late. Promise.” He had to stop himself from scoffing as
the meaningless word left his lips.
“Will…” Seth began.
“You wanted me to move, I’m moving! Go. I’ll be there.” He
walked toward his bedroom, Seth’s gaze burning into his back. Stopping to throw
a glance over his shoulder, he added, “Don’t tell Casey. I can do without her
mother-henning me.”
“Will…”
“Please, Seth.”
“Sure,” he agreed.
“Thanks,” Will said as he climbed the steps and closed his
bedroom door. He leaned against the wood cutting him off from the rest of the
world. His eyes roamed the four walls decorated with band posters, a white
board, and his wedding picture. Will strode over and fingered the golden frame.
Behind the glass lay a photograph of Will and Mike in tuxes in the middle of
their first dance. Their smiles easily outshined the gold on the frame. Mike
had always been handsome with broad, built shoulders and muscular pecs, leading
to abs you could grate cheese on.
But none of that stood out to Will, not on their wedding day
of the year before. Mike’s blue eyes radiated a strength and hope. Will removed
his wedding band to read the promise inscribed: No Flag.
Please keep your
promise, Mike, Will thought as he took a deep breath and tore himself away
from the picture and the crushing memories it brought. He had a job to do tonight.
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