Breaking Point

by Lindsey McKenna

  Gabe walked quietly, M-4 in his right hand as he chose a lay up between where the drone had spotted the Taliban coming over the ridge and the wadi. They had some luck as he discovered a depression of rocks, a vertical slit that would fit both of them into it. The rocks surrounding it weren’t very high, but they would conceal their presence from anyone walking nearby.

  Using hand signals, he ordered Bay down into the depression. Moving around the area, Gabe hunted to make sure there were no goat paths near it. If there were, it would be the wrong place to wait because the Taliban used these paths to traverse an area. He saw one about one hundred feet away, but it wasn’t close enough for them to be spotted in the depression.

  Bay quietly moved some rocks out of the way, making it a bit deeper as well as easier for them to lie on their bellies.

  Gabe clicked the radio once. It told her he was returning to the layup. Any time the enemy was near, SEALs relied on radio clicks to communicate. No voices were ever utilized, because they could give away their position. The wind gusted above them and she was grateful to avoid some of it in their hiding place.

  Slipping quietly into their spot, Gabe was breathing hard. He sat down and contacted the chief once again, giving their GPS position in a low voice. Some communications could not be clicks, and with the enemy still not in sight, it was safe enough to speak.

  Bay continued to watch the ridge above them and to her right. Her mouth dry. She tried to slip her one numb hand into the pocket of her cammies, hoping to warm it up.

  Gabe lay down next to her. He moved his head near hers, his voice low. ���Chief said the Taliban on the other side of the ridge will crest in about five minutes. There’s a goat path the drone spotted. That path comes a hundred feet from our layup. We’re going to have to be quiet and not move.”

  “Okay. What should I do?” Their layup was short and narrow. It was barely long enough for Gabe’s body. It was about four feet wide and ten feet long and eight feet deep. They wouldn’t be able to spread out, severely limiting the arc of their shooting. Just having his body against hers gave her a sense of safety. There was nothing safe, however, and she knew it. Gabe was calm, seemingly unruffled by the situation. Bay found his reaction amazing because she was scared to death, adrenaline flowing strongly through her.

  Gabe whispered, “No choices. We’ll lie together, aim our M-4s to the right and wait.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Taliban...”

  Dragging in a ragged breath, Bay saw the first of the fifty of their enemy emerge over the goat trail. How they could see at night without NVGs and only a thin trail of moonlight amazed her. The men all carried AK-47s, some RPGs. They had several donkeys burdened with ammunition, food and water. Her mouth went even drier, and she flattened herself down into the depression, wishing she could disappear.

  Gabe was glad to be on the side the Taliban were on. He wanted to protect Bay as much as possible. Shifting his M-4 so that the rifle was pointed directly at the enemy, he slowed his breathing. One of the major duties of a sniper was observation. His only worry was if the enemy picked up an odor they were unfamiliar with as they passed. They’d know the enemy was nearby. If Bay had washed her hair with that jasmine soap, the Taliban would get a whiff of it and know it was a strange scent, and it could give them away. The Taliban would stop and start hunting them. Bay always washed her hair after coming off a patrol, but thankfully, she hadn’t had time to do it before they’d been ordered out to the village.

  Bay forced herself to breathe through her mouth. Gabe was tightly wedged beside her. She could feel his quiet strength, his focus, his head barely above the layup. There were rocks around the depression and she wondered if his rounded Kevlar helmet looked like just another rock to the Taliban, should the enemy peer in their direction. She hoped so. Her fear amped up as the long, snaking line of silent Taliban emerged on their side of the mountain. Bay froze as the leader walked toward them on the goat path.

  Gabe felt her stiffen. He forced himself to remain relaxed, the adrenaline pouring through his veins. He slowed his breathing and watched through his NVGs the grainy green shape of the leader no more than a hundred feet away from him. Wind gusted and he saw the leader draw his heavy wool cloak about him more tightly. The man wore sandals and Gabe found it mind-blowing as the temperature was well below freezing. He keyed the radio, one click, to let Hampton know the Taliban were on top of them.

  The Taliban leader was so close. The last thing they wanted to do was fire and give away their position. They’d have to make a stand, and two against fifty Taliban would end their lives.

  Time crawled by. The temperature continued to fall. Bay couldn’t feel her hands at all anymore. She didn’t move as the long line of Taliban silently walked past them. The donkeys were tired, their heads drooping. It was good news for Gabe and her because it meant the Taliban weren’t as alert as they might have been. Finally, the last member walked past them.

  Relief tunneled through Bay. She released a breath, resting her brow on her M-4 for a moment. Her heart was pounding like a freight train in her chest. She was sweating heavily. Fear gripping her.

  Gabe clicked the radio again to let the chief know the Taliban had passed by them without contact. When he felt it was safe, he called Hampton and reported fifty-two Taliban, the number of weapons they carried, how many RPGs and anything else that was relevant. He felt Bay move beside him, more like a slight movement of relief. He understood. His own heart was doing a slow pound in his chest.

  “Chief says the Taliban is dispersing east to south of that village. This other group that just filed past us is heading directly down toward the village.” His mouth flattened, his brow furrowing. “J-bad is on this. They’ve got B-52s coming in, but they can’t just drop daisy cutter bombs on them if they’re too close to that village.”

  Gulping, Bay nodded. “It’s a Shinwari village. They can’t...”

  “Right.” He wiped his mouth, keeping his voice very low. “The drone isn’t picking up any more activity on the other side of the mountain, so we should be relatively safe here for now. They’ll call us if there’s any new movement.”

  Eyes going wide, Bay protested, “You mean we have to stay here?” She moved her right hand, her fingers numbed.

  “Yeah, no joy.” Gabe could barely see her face. “They can’t risk picking us up. Too many Taliban in the area. We’re going to stay put until morning. By then, this group will hopefully be south of the village and they can get the B-52s on station and drop those bombs.”

  “Okay,” she whispered, the terror starting to abate. She did not want the Army Night Stalker pilots risking their lives by trying to rescue them. The crew of the medevac were already dead.

  Gabe reached out, his hand over hers. “How are you doing heat wise? It’s going to get cold tonight.” Her fingers were icy feeling. He could barely feel his.

  The unexpected warmth of his hand over hers made Bay feel a sense of protection. His voice was roughened, his calloused hand remaining over hers. “My hands are numb. I don’t have any winter gear. At all. Half my ruck was medical supplies, not extra clothing.”

  Grunting, Gabe squeezed her hand and slowly got to his knees, ensuring that he made no sounds. He eased out of his ruck and placed it next to Bay’s head. Slowly opening the Velcro straps so they made no noise, he pulled out two blankets and a set of gloves. He dug out some protein bars and handed them to her. After closing the ruck, he brought it slowly around and shrugged it back over his shoulders. The blankets were wool and would help protect them. The gloves would keep Bay’s hands from becoming frostbitten.

  He tugged at her shoulder and leaned over. “Let’s quietly turn around so we’re facing toward the village below. Hampton will alert us if the drone sees any Taliban coming over the ridge.”

  Bay nodded and dragged herself to
her hands and knees. The rocks jammed into her joints and lower legs. She understood how quiet they had to be. Gabe remained in a kneeling position, helping her to turn around. Once she was on her belly, he drew two blankets across her body and handed her the set of gloves. And then came to lie next to her.

  Opening the protein bars, Gabe handed her one. “Eat this. And drink plenty of water afterward.”

  The gloves felt incredibly warm to her fingers. They were much too large for her, but Bay didn’t care. She fumbled with the protein bar between the awkward gloves. The blankets protected her and she felt her legs, which had been going numb, start to warm up. As he situated himself down into the hollow, their bodies jammed against each other, Bay frowned. “Do you have gloves on?”

  “No.”

  “But—”

  “It’s okay,” Gabe said, chewing on the bar, swiveling his head around the area, looking for anything out of place on the slope.

  “You’ve got to be cold!”

  “Bay, it’s all right. I’ve done this a time or two. You’re going to get colder a helluva lot faster than I will.”

  The Kevlar would work to trap heat in the core of their bodies, Bay knew. She finished off her protein bar, drank a lot of water and felt returning warmth seeping back into her fingers. There was so much she wanted to say to Gabe, but talking had to be kept to a bare minimum. Bay could see his shadowed profile, head barely above the depression, NVGs down, alert and watchful. Grateful he was with her, she felt the temperature dropping even lower.

  Gabe lay very still, observing. He used the Night Force scope on his M-4 and followed the thermal body heat patterns of activity to the east of where they lay on the mountain. It was a 32X magnification and he could see the Taliban continuing to disperse over a large area on the hills above the Shinwari village. When he was focused, time ceased. Always sensitive to Bay, the left side of her body pressed against his, he could feel her shivering in earnest.

  He glanced down at his watch and saw that it was midnight. They had a long way to go until dawn. And the coldest hours were ahead of them. He could see his breath flow out of his nose and mouth. It was probably twenty degrees now. It could easily plummet to zero by dawn.

  “Bay?”

  “Y-yes?” Her teeth were chattering uncontrollably. There was a gruff concern in Gabe’s low voice. He had to be an ice cube himself. For the past two hours, he’d lain completely still, observing and passing on radio intel to the chief. She’d tried to sleep, but her legs were jerking and trembling, her body’s core heat going deep in order to keep her internal organs alive.

  “Come here.” Gabe reached across her, bringing her fully against the front of his body. Their Kevlar vests met. He guided her head against his shoulder as he pushed back against the wall of the layup. “This is how SEALs stay warm in cold conditions,” he told her, a hint of humor in his voice. He placed his one leg over hers, drawing her completely against him and rearranging the blankets so they were tucked tightly against her exposed areas.

  Bay started to struggle. “But—”

  “Hush,” he said against her ear. “When SEALs go out in teams of two, they’ll tuck their bodies together, not front to front like we’re doing, but one will curve up behind the other’s back. It can stop both of us from spiraling into hypothermia. There. Are you comfortable?”

  Bay closed her eyes. The helmet acted like a pillow of sorts. Her cheek rested against his shoulder. “You’re warm....”

  He tucked the blankets in around her neck and shoulders, keeping out the cold. He laughed a little, a low chuckle, as he ensured that the blankets were around her as much as possible.

  “Helluva an excuse to hold you, but this is damn cold weather.”

  “It is,” Bay agreed, her words coming out in a stutter. She closed her eyes, feeling an incredible sense of safety against Gabe’s long, hard body. Her gloved hands were clasped against the vest between them. Something primal flowed through her, even though her teeth kept chattering. He settled down, relaxing with her trapped against him. Gabe weighed a lot more than she did and he had a lot more muscle mass. That was why Bay felt warm almost instantly. She surrendered to him.

  Gabe keyed his hearing. He kept the M-4 across Bay’s blanketed body, his hand always near the trigger. Though assured of their safety, he now worried about hypothermia. He could already feel her begin to relax against him, her soft, moist breath against his neck. The teeth chattering slowed down and she stopped tensing and jerking every few seconds over the next fifteen minutes. The gusts of wind continued, but the layup protected them from the worst of it.

  “You can’t stay awake all night,” Bay whispered, feeling warmth flooding her legs and arms.

  “I’ll wake you in two hours,” he said.

  She felt his warm, moist breath near her cheek. His voice vibrated through her like sudden, unexpected heat. His mouth barely grazed her cheek as he spoke. So close. So incredibly close to him.

  The Kevlar vests prevented Bay from snuggling even closer, but she was grateful for his lifesaving training. “Okay...” she whispered, closing her eyes. All the fear, the adrenaline had bled out of her earlier, leaving her exhausted. She’d been weary before this mission ever started. The wind howled around them. In her mushy mind just before she drifted off to sleep, she worried about Gabe. How could he handle this kind of freezing cold? She couldn’t.

  The stars overhead moved like a huge, slow-turning wheel in the sky above. Bay sagged against him, her breathing softening even more. She ached to kiss him. Just being able to rest her warm cheek against his jaw helped lull her to sleep. The wind continued to shriek overhead, as if the earth were exhaling.

  * * *

  A SENSE OF PEACE descended over Gabe. He was holding Bay the way he’d been wanting to ever since he met her. How and where had he fallen in love with her? Gabe closed his eyes for a moment, stunned that he could fall helplessly in love with this woman. And he’d never even kissed her. That was astounding to him. War twisted everything out of proportion. Just feeling her breath, the slow rise and fall of her chest against his vest, the warmth of her breath flowing across his neck, sent a powerful emotional feeling of protectiveness through him.

  He wasn’t sleepy. He should have been, but Bay was in his arms. She was tall and lanky and she fit against him like some lost puzzle piece he’d always been searching for but had never found until now. Though he wanted to lean over and kiss her breathless, Gabe knew it wouldn’t happen. Not here. Not now. Still, as he watched the Milky Way turn overhead, the stillness interrupted by roars of gusting wind, he had a new sense of contentment he’d never felt before.

  His mind moved from listening to the sounds around them, to focusing on Bay, who slept soundly in his arms. She trusted him. He’d always known that. There had always been something strong, clean and good between them. He’d admired her from the beginning, and watching her for the past three months, he’d gained an even greater understanding of Bay’s courage and her generous heart. She pushed herself to her maximum, never really getting rest in between patrols. His brow furrowed as he considered that reality. Bay was too good at her job as an 18 Delta corpsman. Everyone desperately needed her high level of skills and experience.

  Mouth compressing, Gabe decided to tell Hampton about it when they returned to Bravo. She was burning the candle at both ends, unable to tell those who desperately needed medical help, no. It was her nature, a part of what he loved about Bay, but now he was going to step in to protect her.

  Above where they lay, Gabe saw a meteorite arc across the sky, its yellow tail long and wide. He wondered what Bay would say about that, because she saw symbols in everything around her. Daily, he was able to devour something new she saw through her eyes or learn about her as a person. One corner of his mouth quirked inward. Maybe the Victorian Era had it all right. A long engagement, at arm’s length, to get to k
now each other over time hadn’t hurt their relationship. Nowadays, people hopped in and out of bed like frogs moving from one relationship to another. He’d been one of them where Lily was concerned.

  These past three months had helped Gabe see clearly that Bay was a woman of immense strength, incredibly kind and sensitive to others. She gave new meaning to the word compassion. And it had opened up his scarred heart. She had breathed new life, new hope, into his soul. How badly he wanted to tell her just that.

  Gabe remembered his torrid five-day affair with Lily. They’d met like two dogs in heat, spent five days in bed and decided to get married. It was the stupidest thing he’d ever done and all for the wrong reasons. He’d wanted a family—something good, clean and healthy, unlike his own upbringing. And where had it gotten him? Gabe learned his lesson. It wasn’t about sex. It was about finding a partner who complemented him, who could be a friend, lover and confidante.

  Bay had become all of those facets except as a lover. There wasn’t a morning that went by that he didn’t look forward to meeting her at the chow hall for breakfast. Sometimes they sat together but most times not. When they did, their conversations were deep and wide-ranging. She fed his soul.

  Did he want to love her? Hell yes. In the worst of ways. But he wasn’t going to go against the no-fraternization rule in the team, with women coming into their squads. Team cohesiveness was absolutely essential. He would never risk any member of his team for any reason. Not even for love. Taking a slow, deep breath, Gabe told himself their time alone would come. And then...the gloves came off. He would get to know Bay under far less threatening circumstances and not be breaking any rules that held the team together.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “BAY?”

  Gabe whispered her name softly, his lips almost brushing against her cheek. He squeezed her just hard enough to wake her without scaring the hell out of her.

  Instantly, Bay jerked awake. Disoriented, she looked at the steel grip of his arm around her shoulders holding her in place. “Easy, baby...” he said reassuringly.