6. Lachlan
“Let’s get this brief over with,” Captain Ramirez says. This man isn’t the one to fuck with. “Our high value target is right in the fucking city center. This isn’t our first rodeo. All of you know how Kabul is. We get in, take out our target, and then get the fuck out.”
My kit has been ready to go for this mission. We knew it was coming. I just didn’t anticipate it happening today. I’m prepped and ready to go, though. We’re all prepared. This is what we spent so many months training for. I trust these men with my life. They’ve got my six and I’ve got theirs. Our team has been on five deployments together and has done endless field exercises. If anyone’s got it, we do.
My kit is carrying so much shit. There are multiple bullet proof plates inserted. I’ve got my radio, grenades, first aid kit, and tourniquet. There’s ammo for both my Glock 19 and MP5. I’m amped up and ready to fuck shit up.
“Let’s get loaded up to head outside the wire. We’ll have three Strykers. Eight men will be in each, including the k9 and his handler. Double check your gear. Make sure you have everything you need. This is real world shit, guys. One more hit to go. Let’s make sure we get to go back home to our families. Comms check, fuckers,” the captain says.
“Medevac is on standby. We’ll be within the golden hour. It takes roughly an hour to get to the hospital by blackhawk. That’s your golden hour. This is our only chance to get Farahani. Don’t fuck it up.”
“Comms a go,” J says.
“Let’s roll out,” Captain yells out.
And here we fucking go.
It takes us about an hour to go from Bagram Air Base to the location where Farahani is hiding out in Kabul. Surprisingly, there’s no one in the streets. I’m not sure if that’s a bad thing or a good thing at this point. From what I’ve seen, it could be a very bad thing for us.
“Shots fired; take cover! Get the fuck down!” I’m fucking screaming at Jaxon to get the hell down. He’s standing there like he doesn’t have a care in the world. Is he intentionally trying to get killed? From this point of view, that’s what it seems like. Where the hell is your mind right now, dude? We were able to take out Farahani but there are still some of his men left. One of his fucking snipers is hiding out and our overwatch hasn’t been able to find him. It’s clear as day that this piece of shit is good at what he does because we have the best men and he’s evading them. We had an easy infil but taking these guys out before our exfil is going to be a problem, especially with the sniper.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see a glimmer of something shining up on one of the buildings. In slow motion, I see it coming. “Get the fuck down, McBride.” But I’m too fucking late. I watch in slow motion as Jax’s body falls to the ground. Dust flies into the air as his body hits the ground hard. My heart completely stops. OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD. This can’t be happening. The fucking sniper is still popping shots off left and right. Bullets keep hitting the ground all around me.
Running over to Jax, he’s lying down on the ground, blood coating his uniform. Crouching down, it’s hard to tell where he has been hit. From the amount of blood beginning to pool on the ground, I know we’re in deep shit. This isn’t good. Fucking Fuck!
“Jax, open your fucking eyes.” Ripping and pulling his gear and clothes out of the way, I see a bullet hole in the side of his neck, barely missing the carotid artery. Grabbing my first aid kit, I dig through it for a trauma bandage. Hopefully that’ll stem the blood flow until we can get him the fuck out of here.
“I need an emergency exfil. MAN DOWN! Get me some fucking help over here.” There’s chaos going on in the background, but I’m focused on Jax.
“La…la…Lach, they fucking got me. I’m so cold, man.” Staring at him, it’s like I’m slowly seeing the life drain from his eyes.
“We’re going to get you out of here, man. Just keep your eyes open. Keep talking to me, Jax.” Please don’t die on me.
“You need to stay awake. Think of Illiana and Blake. They both need you. Blake needs her daddy.” A tormented look crosses his face. His eyes glimmer as a single tear trails down his cheek. He’s fucking giving up and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
“I..I…I’m not going to make it out of th..this. It’s k…k…karma paying me back for all the shit I’ve put Lia through. There’s a le…letter in my contico. Make ssssure she gets it, Lach. Hhhelpp her. Be there for her. Please tell her that I love her and I’m so damn sorry. I’ve ruined our lives and Ben…K..k..keep Ben away from her. Please do that for me, Lach. Promise me!”
“You’re going to make it, Jax. So you can give it to her yourself.” He’s talking crazy right now. How does he want me to help Ellie? His eyes start rolling into the back of his head right as searing pain hits me right on the side of my head. That fucking hurt. Hot, sticky blood pours down my face as black spots dot my vision.
“Get us the fuck out of here,” I yell before everything goes black…
Summer in the South doesn’t get any better than this. Football, parties, and beautiful girls in bikinis. What more could a guy my age need? Taking a deep cleansing breath, inhaling the salt air, I grab my cup of beer off the outdoor bar, and look towards the pool. I’m at my friend Ben’s house, right on the Coast. The views here are amazing. The sun is just setting, and the last remnants of light make it look like it’s dipping into the ocean.
My little sister, Ava, is at this party. I tried my hardest to keep her at home, but she refused. It’s not in my best interest for her to see the type of antics my buddies and I get up to. She’s a freshman in high school now, so she thinks she’s grown. I’ll be beating asses at Beaufort Creek Academy for the next few years. I’ve already warned them off of her but I see their stares. There’s a chance I’ll be kicking someone’s ass before the end of the night.
Looking past Ava, I see one of her best friends, Lexa, in the pool. She’s leaning on the ledge with a drink in her hand, talking with the girl next to her. I can’t see her face from here. She has a head full of the longest blonde hair I’ve ever seen. And then she turns around. My breath catches in my throat. Damn, she’s beautiful. The setting sun is casting a glow around her, giving her an angelic look. Her tan skin glistens as water droplets trail down between her perfect breasts. My cock takes notice because it twitches in my swim shorts. Fuck, she’s perfect. The things I could do to her.
She glances up at me and the most beautiful smile graces her face. My lips lift up in a small smirk and she blushes. Her cheeks turn the perfect shade of pink as the blush travels down her chest. I’d really like to see how far that blush travels, but it’s hard to see with her in the water.
I need to know this girl. My feet start moving on their own accord, pushing me in her direction. At this point, I couldn’t stop if I wanted to. Reaching the edge of the pool, Lexa looks up at me with a big smile on her face, but I’m not here for her.
Glancing over at her friend, I say, “Who’s your friend, Lexa?” She doesn’t look thrilled with my question, though. Her lips turn down in a frown. Nonetheless, she answers me.
“This is my friend, Illiana. She’s never been to one of these parties before, so I figured that I’d bring her. I wanted her to meet Ava, too.” Lexa has been corrupting Ava for years. She’s definitely not the best influence.
Illiana speaks up before I have a chance to say anything else. “My name is Illiana but all my friends call me Lia.” Looking down at her, my heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest. No one has ever made me feel like this before. Just one glance into those blue cotton candy spun hues tells me just how innocent and perfect she is. Staring into her eyes feels like I”m staring into my own soul, if that’s even possible.
“My name is Lachlan, but you can call me Lach. All my friends do.” I say with a wink.
“Keep Ben away from her. Keep Ben away from her. Keep Ben away from her.”
Beep…Beep…Beep… What the hell is all that beeping for? My alarm doesn’t sound like that. All I know is that my damn head is pounding. Looking around, I see that I’m in a hospital. The strong scent of antiseptic has bile rising to the back of my throat. It’s so overwhelming that I feel like I’m going to be so sick.
What the fuck happened to me? The last thing I remember is us being out on a mission…a mission…a mission. Oh fuck, Jax! Machines start blaring. People start pouring into the room. My chest feels tight and sweat beads on my forehead. Shit, is this what a heart attack feels like? My hands are shaking and it sounds like blood is whooshing in my ears.
“Sir…Sir I’m going to need you to calm down.” How the fuck am I supposed to calm down right now?
“Do you know where you are?” It’s obvious that I’m at a hospital, but I don’t know anything else at the moment.
All I can think about is Jax. I just give her a slight nod and she continues. “You’re in Germany. You were brought in three days ago.” Three days ago! “You had a gunshot wound to the head, more like a deep graze. It wasn’t serious, but we’ve kept you asleep to help your body heal. You did black out before they could get you out of there. Keeping you out was the best option, considering all the stress your body has been through.”
“Where’s McBride? I need to see him.” If I don’t see Jax, I’m going to lose my fucking mind.
She gives me a pitiful look and I know what’s coming before she even says anything. “I’m sorry, sir, but Sergeant McBride didn’t make it. They were able to revive him, but he passed en route to the hospital. We did everything we could, but we couldn’t save him. He just lost too much blood. I’m so sorry for your loss.” Sorry for my loss? What about his damn wife and kid? How’s this fair? I should have been able to save him. I know he would have done all he needed to do to save me.
Tears that I didn’t know I was capable of shedding fall from my eyes. This is my fault. I didn’t save him. I should have saved him. It should have been me. Ellie needs him. Blakely needs her daddy. They are going to hate me. Fuck, I hate myself. How am I ever supposed to face them again? Keep Ben away from her. That’s one of the last things that Jax asked me to do. No matter what, I’ll make sure I keep her and Blake safe, even though I don’t know what I’m keeping them safe from.