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“What the hell were you thinking?” he asked as he shook his head.
“I needed to see Samangan without soldiers with me. You guys frighten people.”
“We save their asses is what we do.”
As he scowled at me, I lifted a hand to my head and gingerly inspected the bandage.
“Go see the damn medic,” he said. “If you sneak out again, you will be shipped back to the States. Do you understand?”
“Yeah,” I said as I stood up.
I turned and walked toward the door.
“One more thing.”
I stopped in place.
“How did you sneak out? We’re secure here, so someone must have helped you.”
I swallowed, not turning around.
“Nobody helped me.”
“Bullshit,” he said. “I’ll sort this out.”
When he said nothing else, I continued forward. My headache had gotten worse since we returned. I hoped the medic would give me something to numb the pain.
THREE
Cooper
When I finished my reports about the interactions with the Taliban in Samangan earlier that morning, I left the CO’s office and headed to check on Jade in the metal building that served as our medical center. We hadn’t gotten along well since she arrived, but I admired her fighting spirit.
The other reason was that I hadn’t seen a sexy American woman in over a year, at least not one in person. With no females stationed at FOB Cobra, I spent long stretches of time forgetting what it was like to be around a woman. At least one I’d be interested in.
As I approached the CHU (Containerized Housing Unit) she had all to herself, I cleared my mind of all negative thoughts. Normally I would have nothing to do with a woman like her, a liberal media elitist. But in this case spending time with her couldn’t be all bad.
The door to her CHU opened, and she walked out. The setting sun lit up her face, making her skin glow. She nodded her head when she noticed me. I smiled and stepped faster. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Max making a beeline for her too. Fuck.
“Hey,” I said. “Your bandage is off. How are you feeling?”
I stopped in front of her, hoping Max went away.
“Better, thanks. The CO yelled at me. How pissed is he?”
“I’ve been avoiding him all day,” I said with a sheepish grin.
“I don’t blame you. That guy has issues.”
“He’s kept us safe.”
“Hello, beautiful,” Max Ericson said as he walked up.
Jade turned her head to the huge, burly man everyone hated.
“Hey yourself.”
“I heard you got in some trouble today,” Max continued, ignoring me.
