by J. M. Madden
“What happened?” Fontana growled.
Shane looked out at the river. “As soon as I stepped into the water and it started to swirl around me, vertigo hit me. I couldn’t figure out which way was up or down, and then my pack started to pull me under. I’ll be honest, sir, I panicked.”
Yeah, that’s what he’d thought.
Shane looked down at the ground around himself. “Did I lose everything?”
“Looks like it.”
Cursing, he struggled to his feet, swaying slightly. Madeira curled a fist into the fabric of his vest, holding him vertical.
Now that the adrenaline was ebbing off, Fontana could tell that he’d bashed his leg pretty good. It was throbbing with pain. He looked down to see if he could see what he’d done, but the leg of his BDUs covered it.
“Are you okay?” Madeira asked, reaching out to touch his shoulder.
He glanced at her. “I’m fine. Take care of him.”
Within a few minutes the rest of the team joined them. Big Kenny and Zero each carried an extra pack— Fontana’s and Madeira’s— in addition to their own.
“Payne headed downstream to see if he could catch your pack,” Zero told Shane.
The other man grimaced and Fontana felt a little bad for him. It was such a rookie move, losing your pack. Obviously, though, the vertigo had gotten him.
“I’m sorry guys. One minute I was hoping I didn’t step onto a freshwater stingray and the next my head was reeling. I felt I’d just downed a bottle of Grey Goose and I couldn’t keep my feet.” He looked at Madeira in exasperation. “I can fucking fly in a helicopter but I can’t wade through a stream.”
She grinned and shrugged, her glasses perched on top of her head. “We all have our issues.”
Wasn’t that the truth?
“We’ve only got about an hour before dark,” Kenny rumbled. “What say we set up camp and let you guys try to dry off. In this humidity that might be asking a lot. And that’ll give Payne time to find us.”
They all looked at Fontana and he nodded. Personally, he couldn’t wait to get the fuck off his leg.
Chapter Twelve
Jordyn knew Fontana was in pain, and she worried. Normally, he walked with a bit of a limp but right now it was more pronounced. He gathered several armloads of firewood before he moved down the rocky beach to settle on a stretch alone, with his leg propped up on a log and an arm over his eyes. There were lines of pain around his mouth and his eyes had been shuttered, like he was hiding how bad it was.
If he had his leg propped up, she wondered if it was swollen. Digging in her pack she found the first aid kit and took out one of the cold packs.
Shane had recovered. He was steady first on his ass and then on his feet, and had helped to clear the beach for their camp. Payne came back an hour later dragging Shane’s sodden pack. He looked worn out and dropped down to the log they were using as a bench, setting his own pack aside. Immediately he started unfastening the Velcro across his chest that held his prosthetic in place.
“You okay,” she asked.
Nodding, he made a face at her. “I got wetter than I expected. Had to wade in and then swim to it.”
Shane looked apologetic. “I’m sorry guys. If I had any idea I was going to keel over, I’d have let Zero carry me.”
“Fuck that,” Zero snapped, shaking his head at the younger man.
“What? You’ll carry Madeira but not me?”
“She’s half your fucking size,” Zero laughed. “And she made it just fine.”
They laughed as he started going through the pack. It was saturated of course. They spent a long time laying everything out on tree limbs and rocks in an effort to get things dry. She didn’t know if anything would work in this humidity and Shane’s weapon was a lost cause. There was no finding it in the murky river.
Jordyn walked over to Fontana, making noise so that she wouldn’t startle him in case he’d dozed off. She needn’t have worried. He stared at her the entire time from beneath his arm. “I wanted to check on your leg.”
“It’s fine,” he said, voice clipped.
She gave him a lopsided smile. “I’d like to check to make sure. Even a minor scrape can develop into something bad if not taken care of.”
His silence seemed to be agreement, so she reached out to untie his lace-up boot. The pant leg was tucked into the top of it. When she tugged on a knot and he gasped, she realized how much pain he was really in. “Sorry, Fontana. I’ll try to be more careful.”
Unlacing the boot she spread the sides, then unlaced it even further down so that she could slip the boot off without tension. His black sock was damp, so she peeled it off as well, then began to pull up the pant leg.
Jordyn had seen a lot of catastrophic injuries in her life, and she knew this had been a devastating break. There was a deep divot and scar tissue on the outside of his swollen calf, and right now it was angry and red. “How did you hurt it?”
“Which time,” he laughed, grim. “When I jumped into the river I slammed into a submerged tree. Thought I broke it again for a minute.”
Standing, she moved to the bottom of his foot and looked up his length. “I don’t think it’s broken, but it could be cracked. How did you injure it originally?”
“Escaping from the camp two years ago. Fell down an embankment in heavy rain and slammed it against a tree, I think. Compound fracture treated in the field. We had a few basic supplies, but it just didn’t heal the same way every other broken bone the Collaborative gave me had.”
Watching him thoughtfully, she reached for the ice pack, activating the little packet inside. Shaking it vigorously, she leaned over his foot and the tree to place it on his lower leg. He gasped and leaned up to look at what she was doing, then went still.
When she looked up at his face, she realized she was bent over in front of him and he had a perfect view down into her breasts. Fontana blinked and looked away quickly, toward his leg, but it looked like it had been a struggle. Jordyn felt a little embarrassed. She hadn’t leaned over him like that intentionally, but it was good to know he was affected.
“Leave this on for twenty minutes, then take it off. Maybe it’ll help with the pain right there at the old break. Will you take some ibuprofen?”
“Yeah. I will, thanks.”
Damn. She bet that was a concession to how much pain he was in too. Jordyn moved back to her pack and drew out the white bottle, shaking several into her hand. She also grabbed him a small bottle of water from her pack and returned, handing the items to him. He sat up completely to take the pills and turned around to lean his back against the tree he’d had his leg propped on. He downed the pills and the water in one continuous swallow, then handed her the bottle back.
Repositioning the ice pack on his leg, he sank back against the tree. “DeRossett okay?” His voice was low so that the others wouldn’t overhear.
“Yeah,” she said softly. “He’s fine. Embarrassed. Pissed. Frustrated with himself. You know how it goes.”
He snorted. “All the kids that have recently been rolled out get like that. How long has he been out of the Marines?”
“Mm, maybe two years. He’s still pretty wet behind the ears.”
“Literally.”
Jordyn tipped her head back and laughed, then clapped a hand over her mouth. She held a fist out and he bumped knuckles, grinning as she sat down beside him.
“So, are you still wet behind the ears?” she asked, deadpan.
He sighed. “Yeah,” he admitted. “And everywhere else.”
She chuckled, nodding her head. “Your sock was wet. You better deal with that.”
“I will. I just wanted to sit here and bask in the pain for a minute.”
“No jungle rot on this op.”
Even the thought of it made him cringe. He’d seen the effects of moisture on uncared for feet. Leaning over he untied his other boot and pulled it off. Then his sock. Damp but not soaking wet. They would be fine by morning. He glanced at
Jordyn’s feet, then had to take a second look. She’d obviously taken her own advice because her tiny feet were bare, and she had little pale purple toe nails. “Purple, huh?”
“Hey,” she said defensively. “There’s only so much black and camo a girl can take, you know? I like pretty underthings and pretty nails. What can I say?”
He held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Hey, I’m not saying anything. I like pretty underwear too.”
She gasped, realizing he meant her own. She pointed a finger at him and narrowed her eyes in warning.
Fontana smiled, liking the fiery woman. There was an easygoing humor to her that he really enjoyed. They were joking around, but there was a buzz of attraction there too. And why couldn’t attraction be fun?
“Is your underwear purple?” he asked curiously, unable to help himself.
Shaking her head, she gave him an exasperated, arch look. “Nope. Is yours?”
Fontana looked at her oddly, then laughed. “No. Why would you ask that?”
She waved a hand. “You just said you liked pretty underwear.”
He laughed again, shaking his head. She’d totally turned that around on him. Avoidance at its best. Now he would be wondering. Constantly. The tiny glimpse he’d gotten had maybe been navy or black then if it wasn’t purple.
“You won’t even tell me your first name,” she groused.
Fontana shrugged. “Maybe someday.”
They went quiet, content to just sit, but the mood was lighter than when she’d first come over. They’d had an active couple of hours and they needed the rest, and for the first time in a long time he felt like he might be able to sleep. Or maybe he was just hitting his wall.
Reaching into her left BDU pants pocket, she pulled out a couple of protein bars. She held one out to him and he took it, stomach rumbling. They munched through them without comment.
“Are there natives here?”
She gave a short laugh. “Oh, I’m sure. You just may or may not see them.”
He nodded thoughtfully. Once he was done with his protein bar he stuffed the wrapper in his pocket and rolled to his back, head resting against the tree. Tiredness suddenly overwhelmed him and it was all he could do to keep his eyes open.
“I might take a catnap,” he said softly.
“That’s fine.” She pulled out sleek black smartphone. “I have bubbles to pop.”
Fontana snorted. He would never understand women and their games. Aiden’s girlfriend Angela loved them as well. “Can’t believe you brought your phone.”
“Waterproof up to a hundred meters and shatterproof with this case on.”
“Hm,” he murmured, slipping away.
Jordyn watched him fall asleep and didn’t feel put out. The poor guy was sleep deprived enough, and then to add on heavy activity it was a lot for him to take. Would he admit that? No, of course not, but then, he was male. They didn’t usually admit much of anything.
Jordyn played games for a good while, losing herself in the mindlessness of it, but she listened to Fontana sleep. His respirations were fairly rapid, but after about half an hour they slowed down, getting deeper and fuller; then she could tell that he was deeply asleep.
The other men talked a bit around the fire, but they weren’t especially loud. Pulling up the camera on her phone she snapped a picture of the campsite. It looked a little ridiculous because Payne’s arm prosthetic and Kenny’s leg prosthetic were hanging from a tree to air dry, as well as all of Shane’s wet clothing. Not exactly what you expected to see in the jungle. Then, because she had it out, she turned the phone to snap a picture of Fontana. The man was incredibly good looking, especially with that intense glower gone. She could almost see where his dimples hid.
As night fell, Fontana slept on. Jordyn was afraid to move because she didn’t want to wake him, but she needed to rest too. Lowering herself quietly, she curled up on her side beside him, propping her head on her arm.
Howler monkeys woke them before dawn the next morning. It was a relief when Fontana finally heard the others start moving around. In the wee hours of the morning, with the fire burning low, he’d woken. For a moment he’d been disoriented, because he wasn’t hearing the music he normally had to listen to in order to fall asleep. Instead he was listening to quiet breathing beside him.
Opening his eyes he’d rocked his head to see Jordyn sleeping like an angel. She was curled up facing him, one arm folded beneath her head and her knees pulled to her chest. It was a humid night, but she slept like she was chilled.
Well, neither one of them had changed their clothes after wading through the river.
The most amazing thing, though, was that his left hand was resting on her drawn up knees.
He sat up carefully and lifted his hand away, making sure not to bump her. He was a little shocked at himself. He didn’t normally reach out to people like that, especially not in his sleep. What had made him do that?
Shaking his head at himself, vowing to think about it later, he looked down at his leg. It wasn’t as swollen as it had been, and definitely not as painful. It was like the enhanced healing from the serum would work up to a certain point, then no further. If they went at it hard today it would hurt again, but at least he’d gotten some decent sleep last night.
Then that thought sunk in. He had gotten decent sleep last night. He glanced at the watch on his wrist. After two a.m. They’d settled down late afternoon, and he’d gone to sleep within a couple of hours of that. So, he’d had at least four, maybe closer to five solid hours of shut-eye. Damn.
He knew by the energy in his blood that he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep so he’d headed out into the darkness to take his turn at watch.
And now, as he walked into camp after several hours on watch, the sensation of the heat of her beside him last night came rushing back. His skin prickled with awareness. She looked up from stoking the fire and gave him a smile.
The awareness turned into arousal.
“Want some?”
It took him a second to realize she meant coffee. He blinked and swallowed, looking at the pot of hot water. He nodded and she poured him a cup, then held it out to him.
Fontana moved forward to take it from her hands and he gave her a nod. “Thanks.”
The other men were beginning to rouse, drawn by the scent of coffee. Even if you weren’t a drinker, it was a staple in the military. And even though it was just barely dawn, they’d be ready to go in a few minutes.
Circling the fire, Fontana moved to his pack. What he was wearing was mostly dry, but he needed to change. He glanced at Madeira. It looked like she’d changed as well. Maybe she’d gotten cold in the night after he’d left. Where had she gone to change her clothes, he wondered. He’d been up.
Dragging his attention back to his gear, he shook his head. They had serious shit to do today and he needed to keep his mind focused.
“Let’s go, Team Alpha. Full battle rattle. We roll out in ten.”
It was distracting as hell trying to put out a fire, pack your bag, suit up for combat and watch a guy change his clothes all at once.
Jordyn forced her head down to look at her bag. She’d rolled her damp clothes up and put them in the waterproof side pocket on the bag. They wouldn’t smell great by the time she got back to her uncle’s place, but at least they wouldn’t get moisture in everything else. Everything else in her bag was surprisingly dry.
Fontana did some kind of shimmy and dragged a fresh pair of BDUs up over his ass. He was wearing tight athletic undershorts beneath, but for a second she had a nice view of his grey-clad butt. Not purple, she thought with an internal chuckle, but mouthwatering, none the less.
She was totally breaking the code though. When a woman was in a combat environment with men, it was paramount that she be as sexless as the other guys. The men needed to know that they could depend upon her as well as anyone else, without the worry that she was trying to hook up with one of them. Off duty was one thing, but in a hosti
le environment like this it was the most important thing. Of course, being seen as sexless or “one of the guys” was in the best interest of the women in combat and some protection from unwanted attention or sexual assault.
So, she turned her body away from Fontana’s lean lusciousness. When it sounded like he was about done, she glanced back at him. “How’s the leg?”
Frowning, he adjusted a strap on his vest. “It’s ok. Better than yesterday, definitely. I’ve got a pretty good bone bruise.”
She winced. Sometimes those hurt as bad as actually breaking the bone.
Neither one of them said anything about sleeping next to one another the night before.
They started into the jungle just a couple of minutes later. Big Kenny took the lead plowing through the brush. Apparently, his prosthetic had dried perfectly because there was no noticeable hitch in his gate, and the terrain was difficult. It wasn’t level by any means, but he cruised along at a good speed, hacking through everything.
Jordyn pulled out the small gray box to check their GPS position. They were less than a half mile from the position of the camp.
She held the device out to Fontana, showing him where they were.
“Kenny, I think we’re going to have to go quiet.”
The other man nodded and stowed the machete, then pulled his MP5 around. It was suspended on a nylon strap over his shoulder and swung around easily.
Jordyn fastened her helmet to her head and made sure nothing jingled. She checked the goggles on top of her helmet. When they pulled them down there was a tiny switch where the night vision could be turned on. The equipment was invaluable in a place like this.
They went into stealth mode, moving quickly and as quietly as they could through the thick brush. It was dim in the early hours before dawn, and she used the NVGs to see her way. In less than two hours the sun would be coming up, but right now it was a little misty and dewy. She took point, with Fontana almost directly behind her. It took almost thirty minutes to get through the last mile and they were all tired by the time they got there, but hyper-aware.
