AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Maybe I’m going in to retrieve his body?
But I don’t care. I watched my younger brother die; I held him in my arms, and a part of myself died that day too. A part of me that never will come back. And if anyone is going to be there for my older brother when that happens, it will be me.
Ironic, really.
I get to be the brother that holds both the youngest and oldest brothers in the family as the light disappears from their eyes, leaving a hole so deep in our family that it can never be filled. A cavern of heartbreak, never to be fixed.
My heart skips a beat as anxiety and remorse sit like cement in my gut. Regret surges through my veins, causing me to gasp, unable to take a full breath.
My blood curdles thinking about what’s to come, but I shake my head at the anxiety that grips me, determined to remain strong.
But I’m different now, I’m stronger, I’m not the boy I once was. I’ll be the man my family needs me to be. The father my sonlooks up to. The man my wife deserves. I’ll be their everything, as I always should have been.
“I can do it,” I reply with conviction in my tone. “I can fucking do it!” I say with sheer determination and confidence in myself.
A heavy sigh fills my ears. He’s worried about me, I know he is, and I’m grateful, truly, I am. Oscar is the one brother who sees me, sees my struggles with my mental health. And I’m not about to let him down either. “Very well. As previously discussed, head straight toward the basement, the team will cover you.”
“Understood.”
The helicopter lowers, and the pilot turns to face me. “Ten seconds.”
I gift him with a nod, lick my dry lips, and unclip my seatbelt, then, before the helicopter has fully lowered, I’m out the door like my ass is on fire.
Gunfire sends a rush of adrenaline pumping through me, and my mind now focuses on getting into the building and, more importantly, getting my brother out.
We’ve been informed they have a chopper on the scene too, one I’m hoping we can take out before they try to use it.
My boots crunch the gravel as I run toward the door Oscar described. Slamming myself against the wall, I lock eyes with one of our men. He’s been briefed about his role and knows he’s going in first.
He nods in my direction, and I respond likewise, then he swings open the door and immediately a gun fight ensues. Heavy footsteps come from inside, so moving lower, I crouch, then glance around the corner, lifting my gun and taking aim at the two men filling our guy with bullets. My mind doesn’t have time to register the loss, and I press my earpiece against my ear, unable to hear if Oscar is speaking or not. “Man down. I’m making my way toward the staircase.”
Keeping low and my gun in hand, I work swiftly through the corridor. After memorizing every detail Oscar gave me, I’m on a mission to be as quick as humanly possible.
Every second counts, I know that only too well myself.
Every fucking second.
The staircase is notably silent, and a sliver of uncertainty ripples through me, causing me to hesitate, but all of that uncertainty is banished when I lock onto the lifeless body of my brother surrounded by a pool of blood.
Chapter
Three
CON
The air is knocked from my lungs as my chest constricts, yet somehow, my legs move. My body feels heavy, weighed down by dread with each step I take. The echo my boots cause on the metal staircase plays as background noise to my heart beating so fast I feel the familiar effects of my panic attacks. Briefly, I close my eyes, taking a moment to gain clarity.
I refuse to go back there, to my nightmare, the one where I stand by and do nothing as my brother dies in front of me.
Dropping to the floor beside my brother, I roll him over to face me. He’s missing his bulletproof vest. I grit my teeth, annoyed with him, but knowing he must have given it to Tia to protect her, takes away the bite of anger I feel toward him. Blood pumps out of him, so much so, I’m unsure of how many wounds he actually has.
“Con? Are you there?” Oscar’s shrill voice breaks through the sound of the erratic heart beat in my ears.
Quickly, I take out my knife, using it to cut Bren’s pants and use the material for compressions. “Yeah, he’s bleeding out.Somewhere in his chest.” I clear my throat. “Multiple places in his chest.”
“Med team is on its way. Is he alive, Con?”
I still, stopping while tearing his shirt open. I squeeze my eyes closed at the pain lancing through my chest, it’s so strong it renders me useless, and I hate myself for it.
