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Preacher was downto his sidearm and a mag as the mercs sent to blow the place continued to try to get to him in the command center. He was determined to hold the room as long as possible.
He glanced out the door and was met with a hail of gunfire. Popping out, he pulled off three shots, making them count as three attackers went down, but more filed in. He heard something metallic clink to the floor and dove away from the door as an explosion ripped through the room. Momentarily disoriented, he tried to clear his head as a dark figure appeared in the door, aiming right at him.
He braced himself at the sound of gunfire, but he wasn’t the one who was hit. The guy went down, and Kodiak swept into the room. “What are you doing laying around? Get your ass up.”
Preacher chuckled as Kodiak pulled off a burst of gunfire. He got to his feet and caught the mag Kodiak tossed to him. Grabbing up his M4, he slammed the mag home and joined the fight.
The NSH mercs’ numbers were thinning with Skull coming down the hall in a blast of power, pushing them back. They turned, only to find the rest of Preacher’s team. They surrendered without a fight.
Preacher turned to the equipment and frowned. It was smoking. Dammit. The grenade had damaged the computer. But just then, Volk limped in and slowly bent down, snagging something from under the console. When he straightened, he was grinning. In his hands was a fully functioning laptop.
17
The debriefing was long,and Preacher was beyond exhausted, but comparing notes and planning out their next move was too important to leave until later.
None of the Shadowguard were present. Volk and Zorra were in the hospital being treated for dehydration, fatigue, and getting stitched up. The aftermath of torture wasn’t pretty. Zorra had been admitted for observation, but Volk had to have surgery on his shoulder. He would be out of commission for a while. Gonchaya had been with his partner since the stern, quiet man had entered the bunker, took Zorra in his arms, and against her protests, carried her to the chopper. He wasn’t leaving her side anytime soon without a damn good reason.
Karasu was also at the hospital, but she had texted him that she was now at the safe house and asked him to come there when he was able.
As he went to exit the conference room, Boomer said, “Hey, we’re a bit out of sorts with you, man.”
Preacher snapped out of his mental gyrations and looked at Boomer. There wasn’t a trace of humor on his face, but the way the other guys were crowded around him, there was something going down.
“That so?” he said warily. “What is it?”
Boomer sighed. “You’ve never kissed any of us like that during a mission. Don’t you like us?”
Breakneck snickered and that was the end of the stoic, stern looks. Everyone broke into laughter. Of course Skull and Kodiak had spilled the beans about his short, passionate kiss with Karasu. He narrowed his eyes at them, and they shuffled their feet.
“Hey, we had to let everyone know there’s a new SEAL babe,” Kodiak said with a shrug. “It’s in the SEAL Handbook.”
“Right, how does that passage go? All kick-ass babes shall become honorary SEAL babes after a passionate kiss on the battleground,” Iceman said.
“Yeah, that kind of secret was way too much for Bones to keep,” Skull said. “He has such a big mouth.” Preacher gave him a long, level look and a menacing smile. “He’s a…bad…bad dog.”
Iceman chuckled, then coughed to cover it. “You better watch out with Karasu. She’s a Shadowguard. Hidden knives and all.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Boomer scoffed and slung his arm around Preacher’s neck and squeezed, his eyes glinting with mischief. Preacher punched him lightly in the ribs, and he let go with a good-natured expression, rubbing his side. “Here I thought you were my battle boo.” He stuck out his bottom lip. “What gives? Is she prettier than me?”
“Maybe you should put out more, Boomie,” GQ said to raucous laughter.
“Hey, there isn’t a woman on the planet who doesn’t want a piece of Boomie,” Hazard said.
The glimmer of amusement intensified in GQ’s eyes, and, looking Boomer up and down with a puzzled look on his face, his tone pointed, he responded, “They’re just not sure which piece.” Breakneck doubled over and more laughter filled the room. Preacher felt buoyant and not just because of the laughter, but he loved these guys through thick and thin, through the digs, the jokes, and the laughter. It seemed that the fog had lifted, and he could see clearly. It felt good for the first time in a long time.
At the loud response to the dig, Boomer gave them all a general double-finger salute and said, “Let’s drink. I’m buying.”
“Mark my words. What goes around comes around. Someday, you’ll all be kissing babes on the battlefield,” Preacher said.
“Yeah, that karma stuff, bitch,” Kodiak said reverently, following Boomer, who waved in dismissal.
Iceman walked over and Preacher said, “You were a big help.”
“I try. But look on the bright side.” He was smiling ear to ear. “Looks like you fixed your little raven problem.” He lifted his fist and Preacher nodded with his own grin, bumping Ice’s knuckles.
Silently he thought,That remains to be seen.
“Good fucking job out there,” Iceman said, reaching out and squeezing his shoulder. “You got the information we needed to save Rose and the Shadowguard and we now have excellent intel to sift through and suspects to interrogate. I’m grateful, brother.” Ice’s voice was rough with emotion, his tone gruff with solemn gratitude.
