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“And that voice you just heard ... my sister’s husband,” Jesse remarked.
“A family business, huh?” I was shocked we were smiling and joking in the middle of battle. But hell, it only brought me back to my days in the army. And it wasn’t any different back then, only my dark sense of humor in my early twenties was a lot worse than now.
“You don’t know the half of it,” the Southerner, Echo Two, said in response. “And we’re preparing to send a little gift basket in the form of a fuck-you-up-the-ass present to the men hot on your tail on the southside. Take cover,” he warned.
“Roger that,” Carter remarked, and then an explosion rattled the ground.
“I could use a gift like that,” Alessandro said. “I’ve got two fuckers who just won’t quit twenty meters from the east side of the cabin. Lassoing their location with the IR laser now.”
“This is Echo Two. Target location confirmed,” the Southerner said. “And you’re welcome,” he added before the ground rocked beneath our feet yet again.
“This is Echo One,” the Brit said in my ear a minute later. “I can confirm from my vantage point there’s no more movement. Targets all appear to be down. There’s a chance one or two are alive, but they’re for sure as hell not threats now.”
“Roger that,” Carter responded. “Alpha Two and Seven, you’re clear to move,” he told us, and we left the cabin.
I took a deep breath, trying my best to relax, but we weren’t out of the woods yet. Literally and figuratively.
“This really your life now?” I asked Jesse as we moved, meeting up with Hudson and Alessandro on our trek to exfil.
Jesse tapped his ear, muting his comm this time, so I copied his move. We could still hear the others, but our conversation was now private. “Well, we prefer not to call in SEALs for an assist, because they’ll give us army boys hell for it later, but we do what we have to do.”
Alessandro motioned to Hudson and said, “SEAL too.”
“Of course you are,” Jesse laughingly commented.
“That wasn’t what I meant,” I told him, not referring to the fact they had SEALs for backup.
“I know.” Jesse looked over at me, his night-vision goggles still blocking his eyes. “But yeah, this is my life. You looking for it to be yours, too? Or are you out for good?”
My stomach dropped at what felt like an offer. But I didn’t have a chance to answer, because the thump of rotors overhead had me going still. I peered up at the sound of the whup-whup-whup chopping the sky and searched for a helo.
“A lot of people really want this list,” Jesse said under his breath before unmuting his comm. “Looks like it’s not game over yet. You ready?”
We all nodded before Alessandro said, “Yeah, let’s go toast these fuckers, shall we?”
“And try not to start a forest fire, if you don’t mind,” the Brit said as figures overhead began to fast-rope down.
“This is Alpha Two, they’re dropping in from the sky at our location,” Jesse told the team.
“Like shooting fish in a barrel,” Hudson remarked, shifting into position while readying his rifle.
“Oh, I like him,” the Southerner answered over comms.
“You would,” Jesse said. “He’s apparently one of you. A Team Guy,” he added before Hudson squeezed off a shot.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Maria
“Mmmm. That feels good.” I let free a moan as a pair of strong arms swallowed me up into a warm embrace, but the fog of sleep had yet to be lifted.
“I’m back, cara mia,” a husky voice whispered into my ear, and Enzo’s words officially shocked me out of my dreamlike state.
He was there in bed with me, and I wasn’t imagining it. Turning toward him, I felt him readjust his arm, settling it on my hip while drawing me closer, and my hands slid between us to cup his cheeks.
I wasn’t sure what time it was, but morning had to be around the corner. Syracuse by plane was a short flight, but had he really gone and come back before the sun came up?
“You’re here.” Tears of relief filled my eyes, and I slid my palm in small circles along his jawline. He kept his eyes shut, leaning into my touch. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I must’ve drifted off while waiting for you to call. But you’re here instead.”
