Aaron’s response is not unusual, Holly reminded herself as she paced the hallway outside Aaron’s ward. Then why was she angry? And why was she here again, when he’d just kicked her out? To give him a piece of her mind? Why? What should it matter to her?

Before she could think about it any more, she strode down the hall and, in one fluid motion, pushed through his door.

His bed was empty.

Impossible, she thought.

And then she saw him: motionless on the floor, a dark stain spreading underneath his body. A stain that she recognized instantly.

Oh my God, the terrorists found him!

This first irrational thought was immediately followed by a more trained response. She assessed the situation in the few moments it took her to cross the room. She hit the button on the intercom system, identified herself and requested help.

She dropped to her knees next to Aaron. She spoke as she ran her hands across the back of his neck. “Aaron! Can you hear me?” As soon as she was certain he had no neck or spinal injury, she shook him gently. “Aaron, it’s Holly. Talk to me, Aaron.”

His arms snapped up, flailing for a moment before his good hand clamped onto her wrist””hard. His eyes were wide open, and in them she saw terror”¦confusion”¦ pain”¦

They engaged in a macabre tug-of war as Holly stated repeatedly, “Aaron, it’s me””Holly. You’re okay. Take it easy.”

After what seemed like a long time, she saw recognition seep into his eyes. But then he shut them tight, and his body went limp. He released her wrists and dropped his hands over his face. “Go away,” he whispered, his chest heaving.

“I can’t do that, Aaron.”

“You shouldn’t see me,” he said. “Not like this.”

Unexpected tears stung her eyes.

“This isn’t who I am,” he rasped.

“You asked me to leave once already,” she said. “And I honored that request. Maybe I shouldn’t have. So please”¦”

She locked her eyes onto his, which were open again. Surely he could see that she was close to tears, but she didn’t care. “Don’t ask me to walk away again.”

Getting to Know the Character”¦

I understand your amputation was the start of some problems for you.

I prefer to call them challenges.

Can you elaborate?

Let’s just say that I experienced some physical setbacks as well as some significant doubt and”¦you know”¦there was a lot of emotional stuff going on. And my career was very important to me, and suddenly that was in question.

What was the hardest part of your recovery?

I think the hardest part was being in a situation ““ for the first time in my life ““ where I really had no control. And I’ll admit: I hated it. There were times I didn’t handle that very well. Like the way I treated Holly after my amputation”¦

Read More about Aaron Bricewick’s rescue from terrorists here. Available everywhere books are sold (even in audio!).