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Suddenly, someone yanked me from behind and tossed me down the hall just as a fireball ripped through the door. The blast that followed would have killed me in a half a second. Heat washed over me as I protected my head, then I scrambled to my feet and looked straight into the eyes of the guy who just saved my life.
“The girls are dead. The entire place is rigged,” the guy yelled over the ringing in my ears. “It’s controlled by a phone. Get your team out now!” He shoved me forward and disappeared in the opposite direction.
“Abort! Abort! Abort!” I yelled as I choked on the smoke and tried desperately to clear my vision. “Everyone out!” I fought my way to the stairs and out the back. My brain was in a frenzy to clear itself. John grabbed my shoulder, and we ran toward the others just as the next set of explosives went off.
“Well, that fucking sucked.” John winced and held his arm. Mike used his flashlight to get a better look then popped an ice pack and handed it to him.
“Stop being a fucking hero, then,” Mike grunted and slapped him on the shoulder.
We were hunkered down under some brush as we waited for the chopper to return.
“Speaking of which,” Mark eyed me, “how did you know it was going to blow?”
“One minute I’m clearing the room, the next someone hauled my ass backward out the door as a flash of heat nearly took me out.” I shook my head, remembering the bright light. “Back in Afghanistan, we called it the devil’s hand because you didn’t see it coming until you felt the burn.”
“Good name for it,” John said. “What guy?”
“No idea. I couldn’t get a good look at him.” I rubbed my head and ignored the ringing in my ears. “But he confirmed the girls are dead.” I glanced at Cole, who cursed silently.
“Time to make another call.” He kept low and moved away from us.
Thirty minutes later, Mark and John were passed out, and the rest of us took the time to mull over the night’s events. It was heavy and played on my head.
“Who’s ‘it,’ anyway?” Mike chuckled, breaking the silence.
“Aunt June.” Cole smirked.
“Don’t let her sweetness fool you.” Mike directed his warning at me. “I’ve seen that woman hide behind a coat rack for an hour, waiting out Keith.” We all laughed quietly.
“How do you win?” I was curious. “I mean, when’s it over?”
“We have a scoreboard, in the barn,” Mike explained. “Once you get tagged three times, you’re out, until the last man’s standing.”
I snorted out a chuckle, and Mike joined in. I liked the way they kept things light. I hadn’t expected anything like that.
“Yeah, well, the girls got rid of our Furby and replaced it with their own, so now that’s a friggin’ shit show. No one’s safe.”
“Do I even want to know?” I raised a brow at him.
“Do you know what those are?” I nodded, remembering the creepy toys in the stores a few years back. Made you jump every time you walked down the store aisle. “Well, we’d record dumb shit and hide it in spots to scare each other. It was all fun and games until the wives had enough, made a bet, and damn it, won. They tossed the little guy into the lake. Mark took it the hardest.” He laughed at Mark, who was dead to the world. “Then like a dirty nightmare, they got another, more high-tech one. They got a passcode on it so only they can change the sayings and sound levels. Needless to say, they now have the advantage.”
“I’m working on something,” Cole chimed in, and I laughed because it was the last thing I expected from Cole.
“This job weighs on you. It’s our way of trying to keep sane, make sure we still laugh.” Mike’s tone switched to a more serious one.
“I get that.” I fiddled with the tab on my jacket. “It’s certainly needed.”
“I’m sorry about your friend.” Cole’s face turned sympathetic.
“Yeah, me too. He was a good guy.” I looked at Cole. “He shouldn’t have been on that last mission. Physically, he was there, but not mentally. I saw the signs.” Cole nodded. I knew he’d get it. As a leader himself, he’d know how I felt. “I know I could have gotten him through it. Fuck. That one of our own would take him out like that…right between the eyes, like he was the enemy and not our brother.” I lowered my head as the painful, high-pitched sound screamed through it. A tightness wrapped my torso, and it felt like my head would split in two.
“Raven-One to Fox-One,” Cole whispered. “Come in, come in, wherever you are.” I looked questioningly at Mike.
Mike leaned back and looked up at the sky. “Staff Sergeant Paul, one of the best guys we had the honor to serve with at Shadows. John and Paul had a long history. They were very close. He still struggles with it.”
“What happened?” I pushed my own hurt aside.
“Took a bullet to the chest during one of our missions here,” Cole answered for Mike as he shifted to lean against a rock. “We knew it was bad, but…he died in the chopper. At least he didn’t die alone.”
