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“Shit’s gettin’ real, Dad!” He grinned and held up the gun like he was about to go into battle.
I laughed and shook my head. Savi was about to regret ever pranking Mark.
The End
Acknowledgments
To my mother, my inspiration in life, my cheerleader, my best friend.
My husband, who helped “see” my vision when I couldn’t.
To Elizabeth Clark and Jamie Johnson, thank you for the push inthatdirection, for spinning with me, and for always being in my corner.
To my betas and proofers, Kim Kelchner, Kasey Griffin, Veronica Nelson, Maggie Savarese, Rachel Womack, Jamie Johnson, and Elizabeth Clark.
My editor Lori, thanks for always being there.
My street team, ARC team, my reader group, and my fact-finding group, thanks for providing me a safe place to go to hang out, ask questions, and laugh!
And of course, to my readers. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for all of you.
Thank you.
A look at what’s to come…
Location: Afghanistan
Coordinates: Classified
Ty
“Move, move, move,” I screamed at Moore as I knocked Brown in the head to wake him from a dead sleep. Fire licked the side wall and traveled up to the roof like a lit matchstick. “Grab your shit, Hill!” I dove outside and drew my gun into position to scan the perimeter. I rested my cheek on the butt of the gun and tuned out the crackle of flames as they consumed the hut. I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath to focus.
My sixth sense had never let me down before, and it had surfaced just in time. I rolled quickly to one side andzip! zip!I sent two bullets to my eleven and heard a groan. I sent another three to my twelve and caught sight of a man as he twisted and fell, blood spraying high in the air. I felt the heat of the flames on my back and knew it was time to move.
Moore’s hand landed on my shoulder as he belly-squirmed up next to me. We moved as one, away from the burning structure and out into the night. There had been a time when this terrain made it difficult to move about, but now it was second nature to us. The loose, rocky mountainside still made us work hard as we picked our way up.
Zip! Zip! Zip!Bullets nipped at our heels as we scaled the side. We kept low to use whatever cover we could find.
“I thought we lost these fuckers thirteen miles ago,” Brown hissed. “They’re like friggin’ bloodhounds!” The last word was cut off as bullet hit right above him. “I seriously hate this place. I need a desk job.”
“You wouldn’t last five minutes in a cubicle,” Moore barked as I covered him, and he made his move. More bullets rained all around us.
“They look at us the same way we look at them.” I motioned for Brown to move it up behind Moore. “Kill or be killed.”
Hill took Brown’s place and glared at me. We’d had tension between us ever since we made the decision to stay behind and accept this volunteer mission. The rest of the troops had all been called back to the US. I knew he wanted to go back but probably felt like an ass when the rest of us voted to stay. He’d kept his mouth shut then, but now it was apparently my fault he was still here. I didn’t care; he was the one who made the decision. I was glad he’d been put under Captain Flex’s command. Trouble was now, ten days in, our teams were tangled up after we’d been ambushed, and some of our men were switched up. Flex had two of mine, and I had three of his, and one, regretfully, was Hill. Our mission was compromised, and now both our teams were scrambling to make it back to the rendezvous point where a chopper would meet us to get us the hell out of there.
“Go,” I ordered Hill, and he waited a beat and glared at me before he moved. Rivera then wiggled up into his spot and waited for his turn to head to the top. He was a good soldier, but he was tight with Hill and had a real attitude problem with my guys, so I kept an eye on him as well. I nodded at him, and he left. I was last.
I rolled on my back and arched my neck to watch Rivera’s boots disappear. Then I started to shimmy upward. I kept as flat as possible. Bullets peppered around, but thankfully none hit me.
Once I reached the top, Moore slapped my shoulder, then we all froze when we heard the unmistakable whistle of a rocket launcher.
“Duck!” I shouted, and we dove for cover wherever we could as it hit the side of the cliff. It shook us like a carnival ride, dust filled our lungs, and rocks flew about without mercy.
I blinked back the grit that now layered my pupils I made out an opening now exposed where a rock had been. I called to the others. We took turns and shimmied inside the cave to seek relief. As we caught our breath, we all did a quick body check to see if we were injured. The shock of an unexpected attack sometimes left you momentarily numb to pain. Thankfully, we all seemed to be in one piece.
I cracked a glow stick, and so did Brown, and we did a quick scan of our surroundings. It seemed safe enough to spend a little time there. I knew we all were in desperate need of sleep, and with the lack of camaraderie among the team, tempers were at a fever pitch.
