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Brax nodded. “Good call.”

God, let her be alive. I’m begging you. Let her be alive.

“Linc, stay in position where you can protect both of them if needed.”

“Got it.”

“The rest of us, we’ll surround their bunker. As soon as we hear from Nolan that he has Ms. Rivers out of there, and Brax has everything set to blow, I’ll give the order to start our assault. Linc, you focus on everyone who comes out of the barracks.”

“I can do that,” Brax said.

“Negative.” Kostya shook his head. “By the looks of her on that last proof of life, Ms. Rivers is going to require immediate help. I want her in Chattogram as soon as possible, and as far away from this assault as possible. Your job is to acquire a vehicle and work with Nolan to get her the fuck out of there.”

Made sense.

Brax nodded. He looked over at his friend through the rain, who gave him a worried smile. Brax’s heart sank. It wasn’t often that Nolan was worried about a patient. He always thought he could win the war and keep someone alive until they got to a hospital. His hesitation was not good. Not good at all.

Brax sidled up to him. “What’s got you so worried?” he asked out of the side of his mouth.

“Infection and pneumonia. That nosebleed says she’s probably coughing hard enough to break some blood vessels in her nose, ones that are already fragile from infection and severe dehydration. We’re close to the end if we don’t get to her soon.”

“Don’t say that,” was Brax’s vehement response. “You always have some voodoo. I’ve seen you put men’s guts back into their stomach and keep them alive. You have this.”

Nolan stood up straighter. “You’re right. I have this.”

“Okay, men. Let’s move.”

Brax gave a sigh of relief at Kostya’s command. He needed to get to Jenny.

Now.

Jenny’s racking cough woke her up. She started to cry as she attempted to wipe her eyes, and smeared more mud into them instead. She looked up and found another hole in the shack where rain was pouring through. She closed her eyes, moved under it, and let it wash her face. She was dying of thirst but was too afraid to drink the rainwater. God knew what it picked up from the roof.

At least I’m going to die with a clean face.

She hiccupped as another sob wrenched through her body. Somehow, she had enough strength to push herself up so she could lean against the wall of the shack. Sitting was too much to ask for.

I’m going to die, and I did a piss-poor job of living.

Tina. Tina always tried to stay in touch after college, but Jenny never had time for her old roommate. She was too busy trying to climb the corporate ladder. Even Jarrod, her brief boyfriend who had turned into a good friend, tried his best to hold on to their friendship, but Jenny had blown him off, too, until they fell out of touch. As far as current friends, Jenny could count them on one hand. Tina from college. Fiona from work when she was in London for Cyber Tech, up until Fiona left. Sabina was a brand new work friend, she supposed. And who else?

One hand? More like I can almost count my friends on one finger.

She’d been sad when her mom had died, but it had been like she’d died years before her actual death. Her dad? He couldn’t have died soon enough, as far as Jenny was concerned.

Work friends. I had a career and a handful of work friends wherever I went. What a waste of a life.

“Come on, you saw the world. You had adventures.”

Jenny bit her lip and dropped her head.

Such a waste.

She looked down at the mud and huffed out a laugh. This was her destiny. Death by mud.

“Fuck that shit! Quit with the maudlin and pull up your bootstraps!”

She looked around the shack.