by Cindy Dees
She counted herself lucky not to have dropped her own weapon, let alone to have fired it. Only the thought of accidentally shooting Tom in the back kept her numb fingers clutched around the pistol’s cold steel.
“Get down!” Tom shouted suddenly.
A whooshing noise streaked past her and an explosion rocked the building behind her. Fierce heat licked her back. She was knocked flat on her face.
Instantly Tom was beside her, half lying on top of her. His hands roamed frantically over her shoulders and arms, probing for injuries. “Are you hurt?”
There was no mistaking the ragged concern in his voice. The rest of her grew as warm as her back.
“I’m fine. How about you?”
“Me? I’m fine.” He sounded surprised that she asked. “If you’re ready, angel, let’s go. We don’t want to get left behind.”
He’d called her angel. It was tempting to just lie here and make like an ostrich. But burying her head wouldn’t make the war disappear. She nodded at him.
“On the count of three, run as fast as you can for that storefront over there.”
She looked where he pointed and saw the dark cavern of a blown-out store.
“One. Two. Three!”
She leaped up and ran as fast as her legs would carry her. When bullets started popping into the concrete around her, her feet somehow moved even faster. She dived to the ground behind a wheelbarrow-sized chunk of concrete at the store’s entrance.
Tom was already stretched out flat behind the large block, a machine gun propped against his cheek. An aura of eerie calm surrounded him. He was shooting methodically in short, controlled bursts. Annie’s gaze followed the direction of his rifle barrel to where government soldiers were dropping systematically to the ground.
Eight soldiers had followed them. Five were still standing.
Annie grasped the pistol in both hands and steadied her grip on the edge of the concrete. Remembering Tom’s instructions, she exhaled slowly, sighted a soldier and squeezed the trigger.
A red blossom exploded where the soldier’s chest had been, and the guy dropped.
She blinked in disbelief. She’d actually hit her target. There was no time to think about anything else as she picked another soldier and tried again. This time she hit the fellow’s leg, but he dropped to the ground, anyway.
She missed the third guy, but Tom dropped him a split second later.
And then there were no more soldiers running at them.
“Come on!” Tom ordered as he jumped up and sprinted off.
Annie followed him, breathing hard. Debris littered the ground, and she had to watch her footing. She ducked when shots rang out in front of them, but Tom yelled over his shoulder, “That’s Howdy and Tex. Keep going!”
She hurdled a downed lamppost and grunted when Tom’s arm snaked around her middle and yanked her practically out of midair.
“This way.” He took off crawling on his hands and knees. “Stay down. Out of my guys’ line of fire.”
She followed suit while Tom’s team shot over her head at the troops who’d followed them. The pavement scraped her palms raw, but she barely noticed the stinging pain.
Some thirty yards later she looked up and realized she’d crawled right into the middle of Tom’s men. And they weren’t shooting anymore. She rocked back on her heels.
“Man, am I glad to see you guys,” she panted.
“What took ya so long?” Tex drawled. “You two stop to neck a little along the way?”
Tom snorted. “Had to knock out the hangers-on. Nice shooting, by the way, Annie,” he remarked as he started reloading his weapons.
She blinked, stunned. He’d complimented her?
“How’s it looking up ahead?” Tom asked.
Howdy answered, “Doc’s checking it out.”
Tom nodded. “Annie, put in a fresh clip and hand me the old one. I’ll top it off for you.”
Dazed, she complied. It hit her suddenly that she’d killed a man and wounded another. And she hadn’t given it a second thought at the time. So that’s how Tom did it. When it was her or the other guy, killing had come easy.
But the idea of having shot down a man was still overwhelming. Her control threatened to slip.
Then Doc was back among them, speaking urgently.
“We need to get out of here now. There’s a big rebel force headed our way.”
Tom nodded. “They probably heard our gunfire and are coming to check it out. Let’s go.”
The group moved out, running low and fast. Annie kept pace with them, but didn’t have any leftover energy to look around. She locked her gaze on Tom’s broad shoulders and concentrated on breathing deep and keeping up.
Fortunately, they only ran for about ten minutes. They stopped while Doc went ahead and identified himself to a rebel patrol.
His conversation was just on the edge of her hearing, but from what Annie gathered, Doc knew someone in the patrol and gave them directions to the fight they’d just left behind.
She used the pause to lean over and catch her breath.
Tom’s face appeared, bent down beside her. “How are you holding up?”
“A little winded. I’ll be okay in a minute or two.”
“Are you going to be up to a couple more runs like we just did?”
Annie nodded and stood up straight. She thanked her lucky stars she’d been working out as hard as she had for the past weeks.
“Let me know if you need to stop, angel.”
“Okay.”
Tom touched her cheek. “Promise?”
She nodded. Why was he being so nice to her? Was he just doing his job, babying the flighty female through the mission, or did it mean more? Was he truly concerned about her? Had he forgiven her for not telling him who she was?
Doc rejoined them, and they moved out again.
The second time they paused, Dutch remarked, “You’re not doing bad for a girl, Annie.”
Even though her side hurt like hell, she smiled up at him. “Thanks.” That was high praise indeed, coming from this group of soldiers.
They ran in short bursts for almost an hour. Annie was seriously considering telling Tom she couldn’t go anymore when they stopped again.
She sagged against the wall of the building they stood beside and looked around. She’d been too busy suffering to notice that they’d run most of the way out of downtown St. George. They’d entered an industrial area she recognized as lying on the north side of the city.
Howdy left for a few minutes and then came back wearing a crocodile grin.
“Follow me,” was all the sniper said.
There it was again. That absolute trust thing. Tom didn’t even ask where they were going. He believed in his men utterly.
Howdy led them to a trailer on a construction site. He opened the door and ushered them inside. “It was unlocked, of all things,” he commented.
Tom shook his head. “Thank heaven for small favors.”
A bit of light seeping in through a window caught Howdy’s grin. “Well, it doesn’t come with high-class hookers, but there’s a refrigerator full of food and some beds.”
Tom laughed. “I’ll take it, anyway.”
Annie looked around at the trailer’s dingy interior. Cheap paneling covered the walls, and the desks were all piled high with haphazard stacks of paper. Two cots were pushed against the back wall behind the desks. A dirty white refrigerator hummed at the far end of the room.
The team wasted no time making themselves at home. In short order they’d emptied the refrigerator of everything but the beer.
Tom carried a sandwich over to where Annie sat on the edge of one of the cots.
“Here. I brought you a bite to eat before the guys inhale everything else.”
She was too exhausted for hunger, but she knew she should eat, anyway. She’d need the energy later.
Annie looked up at Tom. “What next?”
He sat down beside her. “We’re going to rest a bit.
Then we’re heading for the airport.”
Annie sighed. That was a good five miles from their current location. “Why the airport?”
“When Doc talked to those rebels a while back, they said the fighting had pulled away from the airport to the main highway. We’re hoping to slip past the rebels at their weakest point.”
“I thought we were already past the rebels.”
“We’ve gotten past the light urban fighting units. But the main rebel army still lies between us and the ocean.”
A sinking feeling dragged at her.
“Hey, don’t fall apart on me now. You’ve held up great so far.”
Annie definitely felt like falling apart in a big way.
“How do you do it, Tom? How do you stay mentally strong through night after night of this?”
“We’re trained and equipped for it, and we get used to it after a while. Everybody’s scared the first time they get shot at. If it makes you feel any better, I was terrified my first mission or two.”
“Really?”
He grinned. “I guess I should be complimented that you sound so surprised.”
She smiled back. It seemed he’d declared a truce of sorts with her. She could live with that for now.
“Why don’t you lie down for a few minutes, Annie? It’s going to be a long night.”
She took his advice and stretched out. It was pure bliss to let go of all the tension in her muscles. Her last thought before she went unconscious was that she understood now how Tom could sleep anywhere, anytime.
After Annie crashed on the cot behind him, Tom eased away. He joined his men at the other end of the room and let his upbeat facade slide.
Doc asked in concern, “How are you holding up, Major?”
“I’m surviving. If Annie can do it, so can I, dammit.”
That brought chuckles all around.
Tom asked quietly, “What’d the rebels say about the forces between us and the ocean, Doc?”
“We were just talking about that.”
“Without me?”
Tex piped up. “We figured you’ve got your hands full enough with Annie.”
“She’ll be okay until we’re safe, and then she’s gonna be a mess.”
Dutch remarked, “She’s a tough kid.”
Yeah, she was. Tom nodded in agreement.
She’d borne up under circumstances that were trying, even to his seasoned team. When the chips were down, she’d come through. Just like that night over the jungle. When it had come down to a tough life-and-death decision, she’d stepped up to the plate and made it. He couldn’t blame her for choosing the other nine people onboard that helicopter over himself. Hell, he’d probably have done the same thing in the same circumstances.
Maybe he’d come down on her too hard earlier. He would have to find a way to make it up to her somehow.
A rustling of paper drew his attention back to the table they all stood around. Doc unrolled a blueprint he’d found on a desk and drew quickly on its blank back, talking as he worked.
“As I understand it, we’ve got large troop emplacements here and here. Believe it or not, straight through the middle of the airport sounds like our best bet.”
Tom frowned. “There’s no cover. It’s all wide-open spaces. We’d never get Annie through there undetected.”
Not to mention he didn’t think he could low crawl two miles or more alongside a runway.
Doc continued to sketch in the details of terrain and troop emplacements around the airport.
Howdy leaned forward, studying the map. “I don’t see any other choice, boss.”
Tom groaned mentally. Howdy was right. The area around the airport was all open meadows and fields, and if that was where the rebels were concentrated, they’d have even less chance of getting through.
“How about a diversion?” Tom asked.
The others nodded.
“What if we set off a series of explosions? Maybe set a fuel tank or two on fire. That ought to draw everyone’s attention.”
Doc pulled out a new sheet of paper and sketched the airport in greater detail. He warned, “I may not have all this right, I only saw the aerials of the airport once in rebel headquarters.”
Tom grinned. “That’s better intelligence than what we get from Uncle Sam on occasion.”
More grins all around.
That was better. The food was hitting everyone’s systems and their morale was on the upswing. Annie’d kept them all from getting down prior to this. None of them were going to show weakness if the woman with them didn’t.
“How many rebel soldiers are at the airport right now?” Tom asked.
Doc shrugged. “As I understand it, there’s just a skeleton force in place to protect the airport workers.”
That was good news, at any rate.
They finished a plan of attack, and then Tom set a watch rotation. They’d take turns standing watch and catch some sleep before they pressed on.
The night had turned cold when Tom woke Annie several hours later. The flimsy cot trembled with her shivering, and reluctantly he pulled her close.
“Put your hands in my armpits,” he murmured.
She mumbled a protest, half-awake, but did as she was told.
He girded himself to resist the pleasure of holding her in his arms again and wrapped his arms around her. He’d thrown away her extra clothes when he’d ripped her pack off the night before so she could keep running from the tank. He owed her a spare bit of body heat.
As always, her body molded perfectly to his, her soft curves a perfect complement to his hard planes. There was no avoiding the fact that he was still ferociously attracted to her.
He sighed. Truth be told, he was a lot more than attracted to her. It wasn’t himself he’d worried about out there tonight. His concern for her had gone far beyond professional interest. There was no denying it. He was in love with her, whether he liked it or not.
Annie’s shivers subsided and she emerged into full consciousness.
“Angel, it’s time to go.”
She sighed, but stood up without a word of complaint.
Pride in her filled him. He announced, “I’ve got some good news for you, Annie. We don’t have to run the next part.”
“Hallelujah.”
The other men chuckled at her heartfelt response.
They walked cautiously for several hours, everyone but Tom taking turns at the point position so they’d stay sharp up front. A rear guard was posted, and they moved in a leapfrog pattern from position to position. It was a standard maneuver, and his men fell into the rhythm of it without thought. After an hour or so even Annie had the hang of it.
The first streaks of color were lighting the gray sky in the east when Tex muttered into their earphones.
“Airport’s dead ahead. Eight hundred meters of open terrain between us and it.”
Damn. He’d been hoping they’d reach the airport perimeter while it was full dark. “Let’s put a hustle on, gang,” he ordered.
Simultaneously they all broke into a ground-eating run. He kept a close eye on Annie. She was obviously wiped out and stumbled several times. Each time he reached out and steadied her with a strong hand on her elbow.
She kept moving and managed to keep up until they reached the embankment that was their goal. Mac and Dutch were already working on the gillie nets, weaving in grass and plants from the hillside they were going to hide on.
Tom glanced up at the orange and pink streaks lighting the sky. It was nearly bright enough to see with the naked eye. He gestured the others to help with the camouflage process. Annie watched for a few seconds, and then she pitched in, too, grabbing handfuls of grass and poking it through the net’s holes.
“Okay, let’s get under cover.”
Tom was the last man to crawl under the net. The others had finished propping up the cover with sticks, leaving them a three-foot-tall tent to move around in.
Annie’s eyes were starting to glaze over. She looked
ready to shatter into a thousand pieces.
He stretched out to one side of the enclosure. “Come here, Annie.”
She crawled over to him on her hands and knees.
He opened his arms. “We’re all done for the night. It’s time to fall apart, now.”
She hesitated for a split second, and then she collapsed against him. Silent sobs shook her shoulders, and he held her until she cried it out.
“You did good, kiddo,” he whispered into her hair.
Her arm crept across his waist, and she snuggled a little closer against his shoulder.
“Now what?” she whispered back.
“Now we sleep. The other guys will take turns on watch first. We’ll be here all day, so settle in and get as comfortable as you can.”
Her arm tightened slightly around him. “I can’t think of anyplace else I’d rather be right now,” she whispered.
He squeezed her in return but didn’t answer. His heart and head were in too much turmoil at the moment. And he had no bloody idea what he was going to do about either.
He fell asleep without finding an answer.
It was hot and muggy when Annie woke up. Her wristwatch proclaimed it to be late afternoon. Tom’s shoulder under her head had been replaced at some point with a balled-up sweater. It smelled like Tom. She inhaled the spicy, masculine scent.
She started to roll over, but halted abruptly. She hurt from head to foot. Even turning her head caused stabbing pains to shoot down her back and across her shoulders.
Against her volition, she moaned.
Tom was beside her in an instant. “Where does it hurt, Annie?”
“Everywhere,” she groaned. “Where’s everyone else?”
“They’re out having a look around. Doc will be back in a little while. Are you injured?”
“No. I’m just not in good enough shape to do what we did last night.”
“Ahh. You’re in luck. That affliction falls within my limited medical expertise. I’ll be right back.”
He crawled away and returned in a few moments with a canteen and four white pills. “Take these.”
