—- Chapter 13 Shards of metal slammed into the man’s back, slicing through his skin and leaving deep, bloody gashes. He didn’t even flinch; he was just letting out a low grunt, gritting his teeth. “It’s not safe here. Come with me.” He led Elizabeth back to the tent. It wasn’t until they got inside that she saw the full extent of his injuries. Blood soaked through his shirt, and the shrapnel wounds were deep, some down to the bone. She quickly pushed him down into a chair. “Don’t move.
I need to treat your wounds.” He didn’t resist. Elizabeth carefully cut open his shirt, her hands steady as she removed the embedded fragments one by one with a pair of tweezers. Her focus was absolute. Once she finished dressing the injuries , she finally noticed the black mask covering his face. “Your face…” she murmured. “Burned. Didn’t want to scare anyone,” he said quietly. —- Elizabeth pressed her lips together, unsure of what to say.
She was just about to thank him for saving her when Pamela suddenly burst into the tent, practically dragging her aside with excitement. “Ellie! Did you see his face?” “What?” “That guy! He’s the comms specialist I told you about! Did you see what he looks like under that mask?” Elizabeth shook her head. “He said his face was burned. He wears it so he won’t scare people.” Pamela’s eyes widened in surprise, then she sighed in disappointment . “Ugh, I thought the mask was just for mystery.
Turns out he’s hideous.” ” “Pamela, don’t say that,” Elizabeth scolded gently. He could’ve been injured in war. We should respect that.” Pamela stuck out her tongue playfully, but said nothing more. Three days later , the war paused -at least for now. The rescue team didn’t immediately move to the next warzone. Instead, they stayed behind to continue treatment for the wounded.
—- It was then that Elizabeth finally began to notice that the comms specialist was always there, quiet and never far from her side. The man had saved her life on the battlefield, and out of gratitude, Elizabeth had been kind to him. But as the days passed , something started to feel off. His mannerisms, the way he spoke, even his voice… it all reminded her far too much of someone else. Elizabeth told herself she had to be imagining it. Daniel was engaged to Cheryl.
There was no way he’d show up ina place like this, surrounded by war, chaos, and death. And even if he wanted to, how would he have found her? Not far away, Daniel watched her from a distance, his fingers slowly curling into fists. He had crossed long journeys to get there, and the moment he saw Elizabeth, his heart filled with overwhelming joy. But he held himself back. Instead of approaching her, he chose to wear the mask and stay close in another way. He was afraid his presence would only bring back painful memories.
—- And now, she was starting to avoid him. Had she figured it out? Daniel’s thoughts were a tangled mess, but reality didn’t give him time to untangle them. That night, the communications base was hit again. Technically, Daniel-working under a false identity – had no obligation to join the emergency repair team. But against all expectations, he volunteered. His handler nearly had a heart attack. “Mr. Woolridge, the front line is insanely dangerous! You’re only here to put on an act!
There’s no need to actually risk your life!” Daniel shot him a cold glance. “Who said I was here to put on an act?” He hadn’t come all this way just to find Elizabeth. He came to make things right. If dying on the front line was what it took to pay for his sins, then so be it. The handler failed to stop him. Worried Daniel wouldn’t make it back alive, he rushed to find Elizabeth, ready to finally tell her the truth about who the masked comms specialist really was.
But before he could reach her, a devastating report —- came in from the communications base. There were heavy casualties , three specialists were missing , and one of them was the man in the black mask.
