Heartbroken

By Mackenzie Williams

A government contract gone wrong leaves a group of coworkers stranded on a makeshift base overseas. Tempers begin to fray as the days turn into weeks. For Charlotte Smith, the wait is made bearable only by Easton Bardot. With each passing day, she's falling more and more in love with him.

Easton needs to get home. His father is dying, and time is running out. Desperation leads him to do things he's not proud of so he can bribe his way home sooner. When it's not enough, Charlotte does something so uncharacteristic, Easton wonders if he can forgive her. Can he forgive himself?

When they both finally get back home, will they still be a couple? Will they even still be friends?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight
• Release date: Jan 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9780369505149

Book preview

Chapter One

Charlotte giggled, tucking her hair behind her ear. Easton!

What? Easton smiled.

She was momentarily entranced as she took him in. This was the real smile. His smile was the one thing in this place that could lift her spirits instantly. It was a smile that reached his eyes, making them sparkle. It was a smile that was genuine and full of joy. She didn’t know why it was so special to her, but it was.

Charlotte craved this reaction from her friend. Easton shook his head, and the gorgeous smile faded. She felt the loss immediately. Charlotte, herself, was not one to show a lot of emotions, especially joy. When she was with Easton, though, it was different. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

Well, system admins are the most boring of IT professionals. Charlotte smirked.

Hey, I’m a system admin.

I know. She gave him a mock serious look.

You just hurt my feelings. He presented her with a pout, but his eyes gave him away.

Charlotte huffed out a breath. Her eyes widened as she said, You hurt my feelings all the time!

I know. His expression was serious for a second before he again gave her his big smile.

She mirrored it with another giggle. This situation they found themselves in was rough and mostly unpleasant, but these small moments with Easton were her whole world. She’d give up almost anything for these conversations.

Remember that time at the office when you got locked out in the courtyard for like an hour? She smiled before taking a drink of her water.

No. When was this? He grinned and raised an eyebrow. Are you just bringing up stuff to point out my stupidity now?

She placed her hand on her chest with an I-can’t-believe-you-just-said-that expression. Charlotte then started to laugh, and Easton echoed her. He lightly elbowed her in the arm. She tilted her head, just admiring him for a moment.

He took a sip from his water bottle and stepped back from the table, taking it with him. All right, I have to go.

Come on. I might not get to see you for a while. She pouted and not in a fake way.

Sorry, he said with a knowing smirk.

She knew he was aware of how much she needed to see him. Charlotte, however, was unsure how much he used this against her. It was a fun cat-and-mouse game, at the very least, in this prison.

She turned toward him, away from the table. Fine. She stomped her foot with a suppressed grin. Let me know when you have more time.

Goodbye, Charlotte. Easton tilted his head to the side with a twinkle in his eye.

That was another thing she loved about being around him. He always called her by her full name. Almost everyone else called her by one of her nicknames, but not Easton. For some reason, it felt so intimate when he addressed her by her full name.

Bye. She twisted her hips in a flirtatious way.

He gave her one more small grin before turning away and leaving. She stood there for a bit, watching him get swallowed up by a group of people walking the same direction. She sighed, grabbing her water bottle, then turned away from the tall table and headed back toward her barracks.

They’d been here for two months now, an abandoned airfield. Tarp City was its nickname. That was because most things were covered by light tarps. Outside, some paths were partially covered by them. How over one hundred people had been stranded at an old airfield in a hostile country was a long story.

What it boiled down to was the American company they’d worked for had pissed some people off. The entire work staff had been evacuated here to keep them safe. Now they were all waiting for their rides home. A lot of red tape and government bullshit was involved, so this was not an easy or quick process. Of course, as with anything, the people at the top got out first. People at Charlotte’s level would certainly be here another month or so.

The worst part of being here was no communication. They heard very little from the top and nothing from the outside world. It had everyone on edge. As expected, people’s personalities had begun to morph. There was more of a mob or prison mentality coming through, and it was getting worse by the day.

Char!

Charlotte slowed and turned around to find her friend Jessica jogging toward her.

Hey, what’s up?

When the other woman caught up with her, they both leisurely walked together.

Did you hear? They got a special delivery of meat and beer for the holiday.

Holiday? Shit. It’s almost Easter. The days didn’t matter here.

Yeah. I think this is a way for them to calm us down since people are all getting more unsettled with how long this is taking. Either way, there’s going to be a special dinner tomorrow.

Charlotte did feel a little lighter after hearing this news. Not much happened around here. Awesome.

The two came to a halt in front of the building where she and five other women slept. It was small, smelly, and dusty, but it was at least safe. So far.

Are you going to ask Easton if he’s going? Jessica playfully poked Charlotte in the arm.

She gave her a crooked frown. Yeah, if I ever see him.

That was another thing about Easton. He always seemed busy. Maybe she was more obsessed with him because he was somewhat inaccessible.

What’s going on with you two, anyway?

The question had her spirits falling. It was a hard one to answer and a painful one to contemplate.

Same as always. A little flirting with no action.

Jessica tilted her head and gave her an understanding expression. Well, at least you have that. What do I have? Mark?

Both women laughed. Mark was the office creepy guy. Not dangerous, just creepy.

Well, I got to go. Some paperwork crap. I’ll see you later. Jessica waved.

All right. Charlotte turned to enter her barracks.

Once inside, she walked to her cot and stood there, thinking. Yes, she was grateful she had Easton, even if she was never certain how she had him. Coworkers, friends, possibly more? Another problem with Easton was that he was so friendly and chipper. Those might not sound like bad qualities, and they weren’t. Others enjoyed his company almost as much as Charlotte did. This was part of the reason she had to fight to get time with him, and it was a source of anxiety and angst for her. If he really liked her, would he carve out more time in his days for her?

She shook her head. Well, at least I get beer tomorrow.

Chapter Two

Hey, man. What’s up? You want to kick the ball around? Edward, a coworker, came up behind Easton.

Sure. Give me like ten minutes. Easton pointed at the tent he was headed toward.

Kicking around the soccer ball in the grassless area at the end of camp was one of the few releases in this place. He sighed as he headed into the brown, ugly tent. Inside were a few tables where people had set up makeshift workstations. Part of the delay for everyone getting out of this country was clean-up. There were documents and systems that needed transferred or destroyed.

Mr. Birmingham, you needed to see me?

Easton stood in front of the table where the man was busy scribbling something down in a notebook. He was in his mid-fifties and always looked like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Easton understood how stressful this situation was, but he was generally in good spirits. Sometimes it all took him down a dark path, but fortunately, these trips were usually short.

After another minute, the other man finally looked up from his work. Easton, hey.

He shuffled through a stack of papers, eventually pulling out one and handing it to Easton. He took it, starting to read.

Not a huge rush because we have a few other things in limbo, but when you get the chance, I need those purged.

Purged? Easton looked up at the man.

Purged. Mr. Birmingham was already back to writing.

Sure thing. He folded up the paper and tucked it into his pocket. Let me know if I can do anything else.

The other man waved without looking up. Easton shook his head and turned to exit. He headed back to where he could see his friend dribbling the soccer ball. Just then, someone slapped him on the back.

Easton, you kicking around the ball? It was another guy they worked with, Austin.

Yeah, you in?

Sure, I have twenty minutes before my next meeting.

Austin was on the committee that was trying to organize this disaster of an exit plan. He was pretty tight-lipped most of the time about it. His team was working with the US government to stream-line the process. A few military personnel had recently arrived to help. Easton assumed they were underwhelmed with how well the civilians had been doing with their evacuation plans.

When they got close, Edward shot the ball over to Easton. He stopped it with his foot, did a few dribble kicks before booting it back. Truthfully, basketball was his sport, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Austin ran off to the side with his hand up. Edward passed it to him. Easton took a moment to look up at the open sky. On paper, it looked like a beautiful day.

Easton! Edward called out just as he shot him the ball.

He jogged off to the side to retrieve it. This was a great physical release. As he slowly returned to the others with the ball, a bit of sadness worked through him. Their lives had all been suddenly uprooted, and sometimes the grief took over.

Right now, he was missing his old workout routine. That might sound trivial, but when something like that was taken away and not an option anymore, it just reinforced the situation. The three friends played around for another ten minutes before Austin excused himself. Edward picked up the soccer ball and started a conversation with Easton.

So, have you heard anything from home? Edward tucked the ball under his arm.

No, and it’s getting worrisome.

A week before their lives had swiftly changed, Easton had heard that his father was in the hospital with what had started as gallbladder issues but hadn’t ended there.

Sorry, man.

Yeah, all I can hope for is that Austin and his group get us out of here sooner rather than later.

I know. He cocked his head to the side. Well, on a lighter note, is that girl still stalking you? Edward’s lips lifted into a smirk.

Stalking? He laughed. Charlotte?

Yes. Edward jokingly punched his arm.

She’s harmless, and she’s a friend.

"Okay." Edward turned, starting to walk back to camp.

He followed. What?

"I’ve seen the way