Ricardo glanced over. “Is that what the guns are for?”
Sean nodded. “This time we’re going to drag equipment through, and there are targets set up along the course. Instead of everyone at once, we’re going to run through in pairs. We share the burden in the field, so we’re going to share the equipment carrying between two people, and they’re going to work together to get through and take down the targets on the way.”
Aidan raised a brow. “And how’s that going to work with five people?”
It probably meant someone was going to have to run the Gauntlet at least twice, and he suspected he knew who the prime candidate for that was.
Sean snorted, eyes flashing in Aidan’s direction. “I don’t have to know if the others can work well with each other, we’ve fought side by side several times. You, however, I need to know about, so you’re going to be the one to run through with everyone.”
Aidan bit back his immediate response. “Everyone?”
“Yes. Everyone. We need to know you can work with everyone, so you’ll run through first with Matt, then Nick, then Ricardo, and finally me.”
Matt scoffed. “So what, during the rest of that time, we all sit around with our thumbs up our asses?”
Sean eyed him. “You’re getting a free day after your run, why are you complaining?”
Aidan clenched his jaw and said nothing. A glance toward the rest of the team told him he wasn’t alone in thinking that there was something wrong about Sean’s decision. Even Ricardo, who normally looked disinterested in most things, looked faintly troubled as he looked at Sean.
Aidan hadn’t expected anything less from Sean, however. The team leader seemed hellbent on trying to find whatever he could to break Aidan. It hadn’t happened, but after days of being run through the mill, Aidan’s temper was at the greatest risk of snapping. His body and mind could run through anything Sean threw at him, but he wasn’t sure how long he could keep his own temper in check.
“Fine. Then let’s get started,” Aidan said, fighting to keep his voice even.
Sean smirked. “Fine, Matt, suit up, you’re with him first.
Aidan bent over, catching his breath as he and Ricardo had reached the end of the Gauntlet together. His body was straining, screaming at the exertion he’d put it through. The few days’ of hard exercise had been enough to work him hard, but the addition of equipment strapped to his back and being forced to run through it all again three more times like that was enough to put a considerable strain on his body.
“Tell me again, why I have to put up with this?” Aidan asked Ricardo through panted breaths.
To his credit, Ricardo looked pained, even as he chose to say nothing. Aidan was grateful to the bigger man, who had chosen to take on a larger share of the equipment when they had suited up while Sean wasn’t looking. It had meant less of an intensive run on Aidan’s part, but after the two before, the third even with a lighter load was not terribly easier on him.
And now he had one more to go.
Ricardo eyed Sean as the team leader appeared, muttering to Aidan, “Good luck.”
Aidan snorted. “Thanks.”
“You’re doing good,” Ricardo said as he walked off, watching Sean as they passed one another.
Aidan watched the bigger man as he walked off toward the rest of the team, barely noticing Sean as the team leader shuffled up beside him. It was the first time he’d heard any of the team say something encouraging to him. Not that they’d been dismissive or rude, but none of them had gone out of their way to try and show support either. Aidan had seen enough of the team dynamic to know that if Ricardo was showing support, even quietly, Aidan could probably count on the rest, or hoped he could.
God, since when did getting accepted matter so much to him?
Sean kept his gaze on the course before them. “Ready?”
“Do you even care?” Aidan asked.
Sean glanced at him, a flicker of some unreadable emotion passing over his bright eyes. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Take it how you want,” Aidan said.
Sean glanced at him, brow furrowed, and Aidan hated himself as he realized how breathtaking the man’s gaze could be. Filled with some unknown emotion, Sean’s eyes were bright and drew him in. It filled Aidan with as much desire to know the man beneath it all as it did loathing for the person he was dealing with constantly. With a snort, he shoved the thoughts aside, focusing on the task at hand.
“You have one more run to go,” Sean said, drawing his weapon forward.
It was an odd statement, and Aidan couldn’t help but glance at the other man in wonder. Was Sean trying to make him feel better, or was he trying to drive home his belief that Aidan should be able to continue? To his growing frustration, Aidan couldn’t read what was going on in Sean’s mind and was left confused.
Sean looked at the stretch of barriers in front of them, eyes focused on the board that ticked down the time. “Get ready.”
It was oddly comforting, having someone who, despite their earlier animosity, was prepared to look past all of it to ensure that they were prepared for the challenges ahead. Sean’s face showed none of the irritation and anger that he normally reserved for when he was looking at Aidan. Instead, his eyes were focused on the clock above, his mind racing as he fought to think of what was to come, what they would need to go through together.
The buzzer sounded, and they were both off, sprinting toward the first set of obstacles. Aidan, already familiar with the course and what it had to throw at him, threw himself down, avoiding the barbed wire waiting for them. Sean was right behind him, diving to the ground as they crawled through the mud. Elbow over elbow, they pushed through the sticky mess, coming out on the other side at almost the same time.
“Pick it up,” Sean huffed at him as they came to the wall.
“Easy to say from the man who’s been sitting on the sidelines for the past two hours,” Aidan shot back.
They leaped toward the wall waiting for them, scrambling up the footholds. Aidan’s movements were sloppy and frantic as he tried to keep up with Sean. Near the top of the fifteen-foot wall, Sean scrabbled as he lost his footing, almost falling back to the bottom. Annoyed, Aidan shot an arm out, barely holding himself with the other, and shoved the man up over the lip.
“Looks like you need to worry about yourself,” Aidan grunted, heaving himself over the top.
“Fuck you,” Sean growled.
“I like my men with a good personality,” Aidan said, catching himself before he plummeted to the ground on the other side.
“Surprised you have standards at all,” Sean grunted, lowering himself to the ground.
“Confusing me with yourself again? Not a good trait for a team leader.”
The words fell from his mouth far more easily than his breath. The previous three runs through the course were driving his body down, wearing him out, and making it hard to push through the hurt. It didn’t stop his will from pushing him onward, though, and he reached the next set of hurdles with a burning need to succeed searing through his mind.
And then his knees buckled, and he fell forward.
“What the hell are you doing?” Sean barked.
Aidan groaned, his sides burning as he gasped for oxygen. The air around him stopped stinking of salt and mud, and instead, all he could smell was sand and blood. His vision wavered, hazy before his eyes. The lack of sleep, the stress, the constant worry, and fighting were dragging his consciousness back to a place he thought he’d left behind. He wasn’t where he thought he was, he wasn’t.
“Aidan!”
Sean’s angry shout brought Aidan’s head up, eyes wide as he tried to find the threat. Aidan could see the shooting target swing into view, the image wavering and shaking in his sight.
“Shoot the damn thing,” Sean snarled at him.
Aidan’s fingers fumbled with the gun clutched at his side, simultaneously shoving his feet against the ground that in his mind could still possibly
be sand. It was mud, and his brain screamed at the last second that he was moving wrong. The warning was too late, however, and with a grunt, his foot slipped in the mud, his aim went wide, and he pulled the trigger.
Releasing a rubber bullet right into Sean.
Shock lit up Sean’s face, his hand flying to his side with a grunt. Aidan immediately gave up trying to find his footing, dropping to one knee as he gaped at the other man.
“Oh shit,” Aidan whispered, unable to hold back his horror.
Sean wheezed, speaking through clenched teeth. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Aidan shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. “No, Sean…”
He should have expected the blow, but the punch to his jaw sent him flying onto his back with a surprised grunt. Opening his eyes, he only had a moment to fling his arms up into a defensive position as Sean leaped at him. Sean’s weight slammed into Aidan, pressing him into the mud beneath him even further as the man swung again and again.
“Fucking quit!” Aidan barked, managing a few swings of his own.
“You shot me, you son of a bitch!” Sean bellowed.
Aidan had had enough, and he kicked Sean in the gut with a furious snarl. The one good thing he could say about the whole mess was, despite the new aches in his body from Sean’s blows, and the screaming exhaustion still pulsing through him, he was at least no longer confused about where he was.
“Enough!” Came a deep rumble, and he felt himself dragged back as Ricardo shoved his body between them.
Sean tried to get to his feet in an attempt to dive at Aidan again. “Move!”
Ricardo wrapped his thick arms around Sean and held him tight. “Like hell. You two are going to kill each other.”
“So fucking what,” Sean hissed, still trying to get free.
Ricardo narrowed his eyes, speaking a little more softly. “And I think we’ve had enough people die on our team.”
All the fight suddenly left Sean, his body sagging in Ricardo’s grip. His eyes were still furiously locked on Aidan, though, and Aidan knew this was far from over.
“Let’s get you to the medbay,” Ricardo said, releasing Sean.
“I don’t need an escort,” Sean muttered.
Ricardo raised a brow. “Yeah? Can I really trust you two to get there in one piece?”
Aidan wasn’t so sure about Sean, but he could control himself...mostly. So long as Sean didn’t continue more of his shit, Aidan could behave himself just fine. It wasn’t a problem for him to shrug before giving the larger man a nod.
Sean rolled his eyes. “Fine, Mom. I’ll play nice. Keep running the Gauntlet while I’m gone.”
With that, Sean turned away to stomp off. He made it about three heavy steps before his hand gripped his side once more, and he continued walking a little more carefully. Aidan almost felt bad for the guy. It had been an accident, after all. However, it was getting more and more difficult to give a shit when Sean seemed determined to hate him no matter what he said or did.
6
Sean
Hobbling his way through the grass, Sean had to resist the urge to reach out and strangle Aidan. It probably wouldn’t have been too hard to do, as Aidan was looking pretty worn out and bruised himself. Neither of them was walking with much confidence, and the trip from the Gauntlet to the medbay was taking twice as long as necessary.
Aidan caught Sean’s glance. “What?”
Sean could have almost been pleased at the anger and irritation in the other man’s voice. After well over a week of dealing with Aidan’s constant need to poke at him, talk back, and subtly antagonize him, Sean had finally managed to pierce through the guy’s irreverent wall and found his temper.
Instead, he wanted to hit the guy again. He had promised Ricardo he would get both of them to the medbay if the man stayed behind and continued running the Gauntlet with the rest of the team. As much as he desperately wanted to deck Aidan, he was a man of his word.
“I didn’t say anything,” Sean said, turning his attention to the front again.
They remained silent as they limped their way through the front doors of the clinic and into the air-conditioned interior. They were met with a long hallway stretching out in front of them, lined with the curtains that were left open and behind which the examination and treatment rooms lay. From one of the rooms emerged Troy, one of the medics on the base who worked out of the medbay.
Troy frowned. “Staff Sergeant? What the hell happened to you?”
“A training incident,” Aidan added.
Sean jerked his head toward Aidan, growling. “Where someone shot me.”
Troy jerked upright. “Shot? You were using live ammo?”
Aidan snorted. “It was a bean bag round. He’s just being a baby.”
“It was a rubber bullet, fired from close range. That’s not being a baby,” Sean shot back.
“And I told you it was a goddamn accident! But I’m starting to wish it hadn’t been, so at least I could enjoy pissing you off so much after you’ve been such a royal fucking prick!”
Sean’s jaw tightened. “Don’t try that shit. I need to know what you’re capable of going through. You’re the one taking it personally.”
Aidan rounded on him, dark eyes flashing. “Bullshit, absolute bullshit. You’ve had it in for me from the moment I showed up and told you the orders. Don’t try and make this about me, this is on you.”
“Right, because you haven’t been a disrespectful little shit from the day you showed up!”
Troy glanced between them. “Guys?”
Aidan scoffed. “Seriously? You call that disrespectful? That’s called having a sense of humor and not stomping around like I’ve got a stick shoved so far up my ass you can practically see it showing in my throat, unlike you.”
“You don’t get to show up on my damn team and pretend like you own the place, like you can say whatever the hell you want. You’re the new guy here, not me, learn your place.”
Aidan’s eyes widened. “My place? Excuse me? Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“Your team leader!”
“Then try acting like it!”
Troy backed up. “Right, I’ll just...I’ll be right back.”
Sean stepped forward. “I am acting like a team leader. But you’re so goddamn insistent on things going your way, that you can’t handle it.”
“The only thing I can’t handle is the child I’ve been forced to serve under!”
A new voice cropped up. “What the hell is wrong with you two?”
Sean’s head snapped toward the voice, finding the other medic, Dean, standing halfway down the hallway, glaring at them. Sean blinked, turning to look at Aidan, who was standing half a foot away, not having backed down when Sean had advanced on him. His chest was rising and falling, his face smeared with dirt, and there was an ugly bruise forming on his cheek. He looked like he’d gone through hell and back, but was still ready to fight tooth and nail, no matter what it took.
Shit, that was kind of hot.
Sean jerked his head away. “We’re here for treatment. There was a training injury.”
“Really? Because it sounds like you two are trying to kill each other,” Dean said.
“Is that permitted?” Aidan asked dryly.
Sean growled. “Oh, sweet Jesus, shut your mouth for once.”
Dean held up one hand. “How about both of you shut up? You’re in my clinic, and you’re in my care. This isn’t the place for you two to work out your sexual tension, you can do that on your own time.”
Sean sputtered. “Sexual what?”
Aidan laughed. “I like him.”
Dean pointed at Aidan. “You. Get your ass in one of the rooms, and I’ll make sure nothing’s broken.”
“It was a bit of training. I’m sure he’s fine,” Sean said, glaring at Aidan.
Dean turned to him. “And you, shut the hell up and go get in another room, so Troy can look you over. If I hear one more argument out of the two
of you, I’ll knock you both out and leave you in a ditch somewhere.”
Sean knew better than to argue with a doc, and from the silence coming from Aidan, so did he. There were a handful of people on any given base that you didn’t piss off, the personal assistant or second in command to the general, the military police, and the docs. It wasn’t like the docs wouldn’t treat you even if you pissed them off, but they could certainly make your life hell while they were doing it. That and there were few people who had the respect of everyone out in the field than the medics, and it was an unspoken rule that you didn’t fuck with your resident doc.
Troy snorted, nodding toward one of the nearby cubicles. “C’mon, Staff Sergeant, I’ll check you out.”
Sean went where Troy had indicated, glad he wasn’t the one who had to be looked over by Dean. The man was smaller than everyone in the room, but his temper was apparently the largest. Aidan followed after Dean, a little meekly, as they walked down the hallway to another room.
Sean heaved himself up onto the examination table and plopped himself down. “I’m sure I’m fine, just hurts like hell.”
Troy shook his head, approaching Sean to look him over. “What the hell were you guys doing out there that you ended up with bean bag rounds going into one another?”
“They were rubber bullets,” Sean reminded him.
“A dense object fired out of a gun, meant to hurt but not kill, you’re arguing semantics at this point.”
“We were having a training exercise.”
Troy lifted Sean’s arm, turning it over to examine it. “Which doesn’t explain how the hell you ended up shooting each other.”
“He’s new to the team, and I’ve been trying to test him out, see what he’s made of. Today he got a little pissed off and ended up shooting me during a Gauntlet run.”
Troy looked up, raising a brow. “On purpose?”
Sean hesitated, wanting to say yes, just as he had to Aidan, but part of him wondered. When the gun had gone off, Sean had been distracted by the sudden flare of pain in his side to pay much attention to Aidan. Still, the way the man had reacted afterward, with genuine outrage at the suggestion he’d done it on purpose, Sean was left to wonder.
Trust Me, I Hate You Page 5
