“Yes, sir.” Ky clutched the knife, but he shook so hard. Every bone and muscle screamed that he was no longer forced to stand on his toes. No longer stretched to the point of breaking.
“I’ve got another person to rescue. I’m coming back for you. You hear me?”
The knife slipped to the floor. His heart spoke before his brain could rein it in. “Sir.” Shit, he was bawling like a baby. “Please don’t... don’t leave me here.”
And there in the dark, USMC Corporal Lee Hart did what any brother would do for another brother. He lifted Ky off the filth of rotgut Afghanistan and gathered him into his strong arms like a damned kid. Lee’s fingers spread wide. He cupped the back of Ky’s bobbing head to hold him still against his chest, as if Ky was the weaker, baby brother. As if Lee wasn’t going to leave.
Ky fought for self-control and lost it. He pressed his forehead to Lee’s collarbone, shaking and breathing hard. Nothing felt as good as this American-born shoulder. Don’t go!
He dug his shredded fingernails into this brother’s bare arms and struggled to hang onto what little dignity he had left. Not much. A guy who’d been made to dance on the short end of a rusted, iron chain was a damned humble man. Please don’t leave me!
“How long you been in here, son?” Lee Hart, God bless him, had the rumbling voice of an older, wiser angel. Brought tears to a guy’s eyes, not that Ky knew what dripped down his cheeks. Could’ve been blood.
“F-five days, I think. Maybe more.” Seems like forever.
A growl rumbled deep in Lee’s chest. “Marines never lie, do we?”
Damned sneaky question. Get me to feel valiant and brave when I’m—not. “N-no, sir. W-we never lie. We never quit. We never f-f-fucking forget, either.”
“Good answer. I’m not lying to you now, Ky. I will be back, but you gotta let me go. I’ve got more folks to save than just you.” He pressed the knife handle back into Ky’s palm and made sure his worthless fingers wrapped around it. “Hang onto this. There’s others in this shithole who need my help. I can’t leave them here any more than I’m gonna leave you. You understand?”
“Y-y-yes, sir,” he replied, an obedient jarhead to the bitter end. Hell, he wanted to bawl like a baby. Instead, he sucked up a deep breath of freedom and remembered who he really was. What he stood for. Nizari couldn’t take that.
“Ooh-rah,” he growled from the depths of his American-born soul. He willed his fingernails to release his rescuer. He clasped the knife handle to his chest, his bloody little finger snug against the finger guard, his crushed thumb stroking the butt-end like it was a long-lost friend. The next murderer through that door would die, and Ky meant to die with him rather than endure another round of fun and games.
Lee Hart got him situated upright with his back to the wall beside the door.
“Sir?” Ky asked, not sure he whether wanted to know or not. “Was I... was I... alone?”
Lee grunted. “Except for that dead guy with the torch over there, yeah. Why?”
Ky shook his head, working his throat muscles to drum up enough saliva to swallow. “No lady with green eyes?” He hated the hopeful quaver in his voice.
Lee’s solid hand gripped Ky’s shoulder. “I sure as hell hope not. Stop dreaming. You’ve already got it made. Ladies like guys with scars. Now shut up and sit tight. I’ll be right back.”
Something lethal in his tone brooked no further discussion. Ky reached for him, but he was gone, and Ky was alone again.
Marines didn’t lie and that was the gospel truth. But sometimes, they cries. Sometimes, the darkness got the best of them. Ky shook when his savior left. Tears oozed like molten lead between his mashed eyelids. They ran down his face, and he let them. There was no woman. No angel. None of this was real. He was all by himself. Blind. Scared. And losing his friggin’ mind.
But just when the night seemed blackest...
Just when Nizari’s evil spirit whispered that Lee wouldn’t return...
That all was lost...
Ky cursed at the darkness. He sucked up the last of his courage and he chose to believe, damn it. He had seen a green-eyed woman. Okay, so he was blind, but she was there. And Lee would return. He would.
The cooling breath of menthol wafted into Ky’s poor wrecked nose. She hadn’t left. He wasn’t crazy. “Ky,” she breathed life into him once more.
“I... I tried to hold onto you,” he choked out unashamedly.
The peace that surpassed all understanding invaded his wrecked soul. He couldn’t explain how it worked. Didn’t even try. Just leaned into the warmth of her heart and thanked God for angels.
And hope.
About the Author
Irish Winters is an award-winning author who dabbles in poetry, grandchildren, and rarely (as in extremely rarely) the kitchen. More prone to be outdoors than in, she grew up the quintessential tomboy on a farm in rural Wisconsin, spent her teenage years in the Pacific Northwest, but calls the Wasatch Mountains of Northern Utah home. For now.
The wife of one handsome husband and mother of three perfect sons, Irish divides her time between writing at home, and travelling the country with her man while writing. (Seriously, what else?)
She believes in making every day count for something, and follows the wise admonition of her mother to, “Look out the window and see something!”
To learn more about Irish and her books, please visit www.IrishWinters.com.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, I thank God for the supreme gift of being born in America, the land of the free because of the brave. He’s blessed me with a little bit of talent and an over-abundance of imagination and inspiration, but He’s the one who has made these stories possible.
A very special ‘Thank you!’ goes to my two beta readers, Nancy Richardson and Lynn Hill. These ladies didn’t like the first draft of Lee, which forced me to reconsider keeping him in The TEAM’s line-up. To be honest, I hadn’t written a compelling story and I knew it. So I set Lee aside for a while, and I wrote Hunter’s story, then Eric’s and Jake’s. (You are so going to love them!) But Lee kept speaking to me. Tess and Turik spoke up too. They each had a good story to tell, so here we are today. Lee’s a better man than he was in the draft. Tess is different than I’d first envisioned her, and Turik? Let’s just say I hope you’ll fall in love with each of these characters.
To my faithful fans and good friends the world over, I wouldn’t be where I am today without you. You’ve touched me with your patriotism and dedication to our country. I’ve heard from so many of you willing to share stories from your military experience, your love of country and spouse, and honestly, that’s the best reward of all. You’ve made me cry at what you’ve suffered and how much you love America. Thank you for taking a chance on The TEAM.
As always, I end with my husband, Bill. My real hero. Because of your patience and understanding, sweetheart, my guys and gals from The TEAM live. Love you!
The rest of The TEAM
ALEX
MARK
ZACK
HARLEY
CONNOR
RORY
TAYLOR
GABE
MAVERICK
CASSIDY
ADAM
Coming soon
Ky (2016)
FBI Trilogy, Book 1 (2016)
Smoke, Hearts and Ashes Trilogy, Book 1 (January 2017)
Hunter, In the Company of Snipers, #14 (2017)
Eric, In the Company of Snipers, #15 (2017)
Jake, In the Company of Snipers, #16 (2017)
Follow Irish Winters on
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter N
ine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Epilogue
Sneak Preview of Ky
About the Author
Acknowledgments
The rest of The TEAM
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Lee (In the Company of Snipers Book 12) Page 37