“What?” Tim asked. “I think your head injury is getting to you.”
“No, dummy, I was the Charlie, remember?” Aside from building things and blowing them up, the engineers on the team were also responsible for keeping track of all the team property. “This was John’s pistol.”
“Are you sure?” Nate asked. John Kendall had been their team sergeant, and he and Nate had been very close.
“Trust me,” Shane said. “I still have that property book memorized.”
“Motherfucker.” Tim rolled the man over, Nate’s Yarborough knife at the ready.
“That’s Omar,” Nate said, finally getting a clear view of the man’s face. “The leader of this group.”
“Good. It’s a twofer,” Tim responded, throwing the man to the ground.
“Wait.” Nate put a hand on his arm. Tim paused to look, and Nate held out his other hand, palm up. John had been his friend. Tim handed over the knife. Nate looked down at the blade and smiled as he seemed to recognize it. Tim felt that there was a sense of justice about the whole affair.
Nate knelt down, grabbed a fistful of Omar’s hair, and yanked it back while simultaneously slapping him in the face to bring him back around. The terrorist had unseeing eyes that searched for recognition, typical of someone who had blacked out. Finally, he recognized his situation and made a motion to yell but Tim clamped a bloody hand over his mouth.
“You killed our friends,” Nate said to the man in Arabic. “And that,” he nodded toward the gun in Shane’s hand, “belonged to one of them.” Without further ceremony, he took his Yarborough knife and stabbed it up into Omar’s rib cage and into his heart, watching intently as his body spasmed and the life left his widened eyes. Satisfied, he took hisOmega watch off the man’s wrist and dropped the lifeless corpse into the ditch.
Nate said nothing, and Shane silently handed him the pistol.
“For our fallen brothers,” Tim said solemnly, looking down at the dead AQ leader. “Now we need to move.”
They circled the camp back to Wally’s position.
“Fuck me,” Wally said in a low voice when they arrived. “It’s good to see you fellas. Everyone okay?”
Nate grabbed Wally by the shoulder. “We’re good, Wally. Thanks for coming.”
“Anytime,” Wally answered.
After a brief reunion, they all headed north across the border toward the northern end of Al Kharkhir, careful to give the town a wide birth as they skirted around it. It would be daylight soon, and now that they had the band back together, Tim didn’t want Ana to be caught alone when the sun came up.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Al Kharkhir, Saudi Arabia
Ana should have listened. Tim had given her specific instructions to leave at sunrise, and she should have followed them. Instead, she had waited. She couldn’t leave the boys behind. And not just Nate, though she felt herself falling for him. The others had become like brothers to her in such a short time, and she couldn’t fathom just running off to save herself. That was her first mistake.
The second was not shooting anyone who wasn’t them. As the sun was rising, she had seen three figures heading her way, though she couldn’t make out who they were. By the time she could it was too late, and men with rifles were shouting at her to drop her weapon and get on the ground. Two simple rules, and she had broken them both. Now, what she faced was far worse than if she had done literally anything else.
She almost wished that she didn’t speak Arabic; that way she wouldn’t have to hear all the things they were going to do to her. These men were disgusting, and they had obviously been a long time without a woman. That was all about to change at her expense. She told herself that shewould die fighting, but she knew they would simply knock her unconscious and have their way with her. Even now, they argued what order they would go in and claimed different parts of her body as she cowered on the ground. All she could do now was pray that the guys returned.
As if on cue, her prayers were answered. Several gunshots rang out in the still morning air, and all three of her would-be attackers spun in violent motions, falling to the ground in a bloody heap, limbs oddly contorted. She looked up to see four men walking toward her, two holding rifles in the air and one a pistol. They moved closer, and she recognized Tim and Wally as they closed the gap and began checking the corpses for signs of life. Nate made a beeline straight for her.
“Are you okay?” he asked, kneeling and brushing the hair from her face.
“Me?” she asked incredulously as she looked at his beaten, bloodied, and altogether disheveled appearance.
“Yeah? Are you okay?” He didn’t see the irony, and she didn’t point it out.
“I am now.” She kissed him. “You know that’s twice now that you’ve saved me.”
“Yeah,” Tim interjected, “but I had to save him so he could save you. Where’s my kiss?”
Ana smiled, relief washing over her. “I do have a cousin,” she said with a laugh.
“Now you’re talking, sister,” Tim said, raising his eyebrows.
