Chapter 1 #2
Chase hit the opening at a dead run, Zain curling in behind him when some asshole popped up off to their right, catching Chase twice in the vest. He managed to twist before he hit the ground, keeping the hostages from landing beneath him.
A couple reports popped next to him, Zain appearing out of the night as he grabbed the women.
He snagged Chase’s collar — yanked him upright. “Run.”
Chase shook his head, glancing back. “I can’t leave Dalton and the others. Go. I’ll catch a ride with them.”
He took a few stumbling steps, willing his damn lungs to inflate against the fire in his ribs when a whoosh soared overhead.
White light filled Chase’s view, the missile strike bowling him backwards. He cartwheeled across the ground — stars, dirt, repeat. Over and over before he landed on his back, dust and gravel swirling through the air. Smoke burned a line down his throat. A deafening roar sounded in his head.
He coughed, blacked out, rousing when a hand grabbed his vest. Loud pops boomed through the air, the odd casing flicking across his body.
Rhett lifted him onto his feet, snugging his arm around Chase’s chest as he kept firing. “Are you nuts?” Rhett backed up, clipping anything that moved, dragging Chase with him.
Chase shook his head. “Dalton…”
He barely got the man’s name out without puking — collapsing right there on the ground.
Rhett tightened his grip, catching another tango when he stepped out of the forest. “Medevac’s almost here. They’ll grab anyone still breathing.”
“Rhett, I can’t?—”
Rhett stopped next to the chopper, looking Chase dead in the eyes as he heaved him inside.
“There were multiple hits.” He swallowed, closed his eyes.
“I’m sorry. I don’t see how they survived.
Regardless, you’re in no shape to rescue anyone, not even yourself.
So, plant your ass on the floor, and try not to fucking die before we get you back to base. ”
Rhett took up his position, still firing as Foster picked up the chopper, tossed it off to one side and roared out, the doors open as he whizzed overhead, punching through flames and smoke before heading off.
Chase slumped against the bulkhead, blood caked on his skin. He stared out at the carnage as it faded into the distance, an emptiness settling in his gut.
I’ll double back…
His own words looped in his head, the hollow tone following him into the darkness.
“Look who’s still alive.”
Chase chuckled, then grunted, holding his ribs as Rhett sauntered into his hospital room, a ridiculously large pink teddy bear clutched in his hands. He plopped the bear on the end of the bed, looking more than amused with himself .
Chase rolled his eyes. “Seriously, jackass? That had better be for the cute nurse.”
Rhett glanced at the bear and shrugged. “Thought you might get lonely in here all by yourself, seeing as you’re taking your sweet-ass time to heal.”
“I had a collapsed lung.”
“Yeah, like three days ago.” He nodded toward Chase’s ribs. “Chest tube’s already out.”
“This morning.” He cursed when his broken ribs ground against each other. “Trust me, I hate this.”
“You PJs are always the worst patients.” Rhett leaned in. “Heard the entire staff bitching about you wanting to double check every med, every procedure. Hell, you questioned a sponge bath with that brunette.” He shook his head. “You’ve got serious issues, brother.”
“With meds. And the brunette’s hands are like freaking ice. Not the kinky act you’re imagining.”
Rhett laughed, then sobered. “Sorry about Dalton and his crew.”
Chase swallowed the bitter taste of failure, toying with the edge of his blanket. “Not your fault. You’re not the one who left them behind.”
“Neither were you.” Rhett stopped him with a raised hand.
“Chase. You nearly died twice on the flight here. If Kash hadn’t spent the past six years watching you treat people, you’d be dead.
Guy deserves a damn medal. As do you, because I know, without a doubt, if I hadn’t forcefully dragged you into the chopper, you would have staggered to your feet and gone looking. ”
Rhett slapped Chase’s thigh, ignoring Chase’s resulting grunt. “You wouldn’t have made it more than twenty feet, tops, but you would have tried. Would have died before you admitted you were too compromised to help. So, if you need to blame anyone, blame me. I can shoulder it.”
Chase snagged Rhett’s hand. “You’re an ass. And I owe you. Huge.” He gave the guy’s hand a shove as Foster and the others walked in. “Hey, Beckett, please tell me you reamed Rhett a new one for leaving the chopper. I mean, is that even allowed?”
Foster crossed his arms, shaking his head. “It’s not the leaving that scared me, it was him yelling at Sean to man the machine gun.” Foster gave Sean a clap on the back. “Have you seen the man fire anything that powerful? It’s sad.”
Sean flipped off Foster. “At least, I wasn’t yelling at Chase to get up, as if he could hear me from inside the cockpit.” Sean batted his eyelids. “You two have such a bromance. Folks are talking. You know that, right?”
“Shut up.” Chase looked at Foster. “So, they really didn’t find anyone else alive?”
Foster sighed. “Nothing, yet. The joint task force is considering another assault based on what the survivors told them. They want to take down the entire cell… but it’s doubtful anyone survived that missile strike.”
“And we’re sure it was that extremist group — the Legion — who initiated it? Because I have a hard time believing they had the resources, let alone the balls to blow up half their own compound.”
Foster shuffled over. “How about you focus on getting your ass out of that bed and let me deal with the bureaucrats. ”
Chase huffed, closing his eyes as pain shot through his ribs and into his chest, scattering dots across his vision when he finally looked up at his buddies. “That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the best I’ve got.” Foster glanced at Chase’s IV. “Are you taking any of the meds?”
“You know how I feel about that.”
“Buddy, you’re not your father. You can take the damn morphine and not kill anyone.”
Chase clenched his jaw, the mere mention of his dad sparking another kind of pain no amount of narcotics could ever touch. “You can’t guarantee that.”
“Damn straight we can.” Kash moved in on the other side. “Hand to God, I’ll tackle your broken ass to the floor if you so much as twitch. Or at least, toss the freaking stuffie at you.” He scrunched up his face, giving Rhett a side-eye. “Did you win this at a carnival back in the nineties?”
Rhett shrugged. “I’ve been saving it for the right moment.”
Zain waved them both off. “Ignore them but take the meds. You’re a damn bear at the best of times. Trying to manage all this pain… People are talking, and it’s not kind.”
Chase breathed through the next stabbing jolt. “You’ll keep my ass in this bed?”
“Guaranteed.” Zain gave his shoulder a light squeeze. “We ordered pizza. We’ll go grab it and camp out for the night. Prevent one of the staff from putting a hit on you. ”
“Fine.” Chase grabbed Rhett’s hand as his buddies darted from the room. “I meant what I said.”
Rhett waved it off. “Yeah, yeah, you owe me, like you haven’t saved all of us at some point. Rest, we’ve got your back.”
Rhett stepped aside when the nurse came in carrying a syringe. She gave Chase an evil eye, waiting until he begrudgingly nodded before injecting it into the IV tube.
Chase eased back in the bed. He’d give himself a few days to kick the pain to the curb, then he’d be back. Looking for the next win. Something to quiet the voice in his head still screaming at him.
Find some form of redemption he wasn’t sure even existed.