The air is heavy with the scent of the damp dirt as snow piles around them at random as the grave beneath her feet is too fresh, too raw to be real. She stands stiff and unmoving as her hands clench so tightly, her nails bite into her palms.

A month ago, the doctors said her mother was going to be fine. That the surgery had worked and that all the cancer had been removed. That she had more time....

“I loved you!” I shouted. Of course I’m met with silence, “I love you…” I trail off as I run my hand down my face.

“I’ve loved you since we first met, but of course, I never had the strength to tell you till now. And now it’s to late.” I murmur as I turn to face her. The wind whispers through the cemetery, carrying the faint scent of rain-soaked earth. The sky is gray, heavy, pressing down like ...

“What do you mean you both lost the package?” I almost yell, having to check my temper. This isn’t the time to lose it.

“Well Boss, he was there one minute then gone the next, we scourged the whole area for two hours but he was nowhere to be seen,” Randell slowly responds, his lips pressed together. I know he was worried about me shooting him but this wasn’t the time or place for that either.

...

Looking back ten minutes ago, I probably should have thought through what might happen if we jumped out of the air plane. Now Dean and I are 900 feet above ground, hurling to our deaths.

The wind roared in my ears, a deafening howl that drowned out every rational thought. My stomach lurched as I plummeted, limbs flailing, weightless and completely at gravity’s mercy. I barely caught a glimpse of...