by Susan Stoker
He didn’t ask any questions, just held out his left arm. His mangled right hand was cradled against his stomach. Glancing at it, Aspen saw that he was missing at least three fingers, and the other two seemed to be hanging on by only tendons and muscles. He was going to lose it for sure. One of the Taliban fighters had definitely landed a lucky shot.
Feeling as if she were trying to run through syrup, Aspen went through the motions to inject her teammate with a dose of the painkiller. She didn’t need to tell him what the side effects of the drug would be, they were all well aware of what could happen. They’d learned all about it in the many classes they’d had on battlefield medicine.
She also took fifteen seconds to wrap his mangled hand. He couldn’t exactly run around with his fingers dangling the way they were. Her wrap wouldn’t help him much, but it wouldn’t hurt either.
“I’ll be right back with Vandine, and then we can get the hell out of here,” she told Holman when she was done. He nodded.
Hoping like hell Holman wasn’t going to suffer hallucinations, as some people did after being given ketamine, Aspen ran back to her platoon sergeant. By the time she got to him, he was unconscious. She figured that was probably a blessing. She was also very glad the men who’d been shooting at them from the other end of the alley had seemed to vanish into thin air. She didn’t know what was going on, but took two precious seconds to appreciate whatever had caught their attention. It gave them a small reprieve, and maybe, just maybe, they’d all get out of this clusterfuck alive.
Taking a deep breath, Aspen turned Vandine on his side and positioned him so she could pick him up. This was the hardest thing she’d had to accomplish in training. Picking up a two-hundred-pound man when he was dead weight was almost impossible.
Just as she leaned over, she heard gunfire erupt from the other end of the alley, and it gave her the adrenaline dump she needed.
She hefted her platoon sergeant over her shoulder in a fireman carry, knocking her radio off kilter in the process. The earbuds were ripped out of her ears; she’d lost her ability to communicate with both her team and the other Rangers.
Knowing if she put Vandine down now, she might never be able to pick him up again, she staggered back to where she’d left Holman. He’d managed to stand, even if it looked like the wall was the only thing holding him up.
“Time to go,” she said.
“Where to?” Holman asked.
Surprised that the man was deferring to her when he’d never given her the time of day before, Aspen peered out from around the alley. She didn’t see anyone. The civilians were probably hiding in their homes, and the men who’d shown up out of nowhere seemed to have disappeared as well.
She motioned to their right with her head. “That way. Away from where the men were shooting at us. We’ll circle back around toward the base once we’re out of this neighborhood.”
Holman nodded and stepped away from the wall. His strides were unsteady and he walked as if he’d been out drinking for hours, but he held the rifle firmly with his good hand.
Staggering under Vandine’s weight, Aspen followed. The three of them made their way out of the alley without getting shot, which she figured was a good sign. They walked to the end of the street, and she leaned against the side of a house while Holman peered around a corner.
When he signaled that the coast was clear, they turned south.
They’d gone just over a block when the hair on the back of Aspen’s neck rose once more. Swearing, she said, “Hold up, Holman.”
The other man stopped immediately, and they both scanned the area.
Aspen wasn’t sure what had caught her attention at first—and then she heard it. Men speaking in low tones, as if they were trying to sneak up on someone.
That someone being Aspen and her two wounded charges.
“Fuck,” she swore. “Tangos coming up behind us,” she told Holman. They had nowhere to go. There weren’t any alleyways in the immediate vicinity and they were sitting ducks on the open road. “Go, go, go!” she told him, and they both took off at a run.
If they could make it to the end of the next block and around the corner, they might have a shot at evading capture.
Shots rang out, and Aspen winced as she felt something hot and extremely painful lodge itself into her calf. But she didn’t stop running. They turned the corner—
And for a split second, Aspen’s life flashed before her eyes.
Holman bounced off the chest of a soldier standing there and almost went down. But the man grabbed hold of him and prevented them both from falling.
One second, Aspen was ready to fight to the death, and the next, she felt a sense of relief so great, she almost passed out.
They’d literally run right into Kane and his team.
The seven Delta Force operatives were dressed entirely in black, looked extremely pissed off and dangerous—and she’d never been so glad to see anyone in all her life.
Without a word, Trigger, Lefty, and Oz slid around her and began firing back at the men who’d been trailing them. Grover grabbed ahold of Holman’s arm and helped keep him upright, just as Kane took her elbow in his grip.
“The others will hold them off,” Lucky said as he and Doc turned and led the way in the opposite direction from where the firefight was happening.
“We can’t leave your team,” Aspen said a little frantically as she tried to walk and look behind her at the Deltas who were taking care of the tangos.
“We aren’t,” Kane told her calmly. “They’ll join up with us the next block over.”
“Swear?” Aspen couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes,” Kane said.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Aspen believed him. Kane had one hand on her, helping her walk without falling, and held a pistol in the other, ready to take out anyone who might surprise them.
He hadn’t offered to take Vandine. Hadn’t taken over.
She respected Kane and his team more in that moment than she could even put into words.
They didn’t go far, only two more blocks, but Aspen knew if they had to walk any farther, she wouldn’t have been able to. Vandine was getting heavier with every step, and she was aware of the fact that Kane was using more and more strength to help her.
The most beautiful sight of her life was the large Army truck parked in the middle of the street after they turned one last corner.
The Deltas operated like a well-oiled machine. It was both impressive and depressing. The latter because it was what she’d always wanted in a team of her own, but had never had.
“Let me take him,” Kane told her.
She’d barely nodded when Vandine’s weight was lifted from her shoulders. The relief was immediate, and she reached up to take Lucky’s hand. He’d already jumped into the back of the truck and was waiting to help her up. She put her right leg on the bumper and winced as pain sliced through her.
Ignoring it, and with Lucky’s help, she hauled herself into the back of the truck.
Scooting back to give the others room, she watched as Kane, Doc, and Grover easily lifted Vandine as well. They lay him down on his back, and Aspen quickly moved to check the tourniquet, to make sure it hadn’t loosened in their mad dash for safety.
Satisfied that the CAT was still doing its job, Aspen turned to Holman once he was helped into the truck. They hadn’t started moving yet, and she hoped it was because they were waiting for the other three Deltas.
Before she could open her mouth to speak to Holman, Kane put his hand on her arm. “You’re bleeding,” he said.
“I know,” Aspen told him, shrugging off her medic bag once more. She knew she’d been shot but she wouldn’t stop right now. Holman’s hand needed attention. Her wound obviously wasn’t serious, as she wasn’t lightheaded. She’d deal with it after she took care of her team.
As if sensing her determination, Kane didn’t say another word about it. When she opened her pack though, he did say, “What can I do to help?”
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br /> Thankful for an extra set of hands, Aspen said, “Give me a second.” Then she turned to Holman. The sergeant was sitting up, his mangled hand still cradled to his stomach.
“I need to take care of that,” she told him gently.
“I know,” he said, but didn’t otherwise move.
“You need more ketamine?” she asked.
She watched as Holman took a deep breath. His gaze went from her, to Kane, to the other Deltas in the truck.
She had a feeling Holman wanted to say he didn’t need any more painkillers.
Grover was the one to make the decision for him. “He needs it,” he said.
Holman grunted and looked at the other man.
“There’s no need to try to be macho, man,” Grover told him. “Take the fucking painkillers. It doesn’t make you less of a soldier.”
Holman looked back at Aspen and nodded. It was just a dip of a chin, but it was enough. She quickly got a dose ready and he held out his good arm, allowing her to administer the drug. The second she was done, he gripped his rifle once more.
“You want to lie down?” she asked.
Holman shook his head. “I can’t protect you if I do.”
Aspen swallowed hard. She had no idea if the ketamine was making him act protective toward her or what, but she wasn’t going to demean his good intentions.
“Okay.” She turned to Kane. “Can you hold his arm for me?”
“How?”
“Get next to him and grip his elbow and his forearm. This is gonna hurt. He won’t remember it because of the ketamine, but he’s going to yell.”
“I won’t,” Holman said in a whisper. “Yelling will bring the enemy.”
Without another word, Kane moved into position. He held Holman’s arm exactly how Aspen instructed. She unwound the bloody gauze she’d put on earlier and took a second to really look at her teammate’s hand. It was gruesome, barely recognizable as a hand. She knew at a glance that there was no way the surgeons were going to be able to save it.
Moving as quickly as possible, she wrapped a new bandage around the wound tightly. She needed to stop the bleeding and do whatever she could to prevent any more infection from setting in.
Holman squirmed in Kane’s grasp, but not one sound left his lips.
Just as she was tying off the bandage, she heard the other three Deltas return.
“Let’s roll,” Trigger said, jumping into the back of the truck.
He was obviously talking to the other two men, who had gotten into the front, because the second the words left his lips, the engine started and they were on their way.
“Don’t you need to stay and find Akhund?” Aspen asked.
It was Grover who answered. “We act as a team. We’ll get you three to base and safety, then we’ll head back out. That asshole Spence is giving away the Rangers’ every move, with as much fucking noise as they’re making. After his fuckup of a search today, we’re going to make sure he’s off the hunt. We can find Akhund a hell of a lot quicker without Spence’s so-called help.”
Aspen should’ve been offended. After all, she’d been looking for Akhund for the last month and a half too, but all she could think about was the fact that all seven Deltas were going back to base with her, Holman, and Vandine. They didn’t have to, but they were sticking together. Like a team.
If she had any doubts about how a team was supposed to operate, she didn’t anymore.
But she knew for a fact that even if she requested reassignment, she’d always be the odd man out. The Army might have opened up the Rangers and combat specialties to women, but for now, the price for acceptance was just too high. Derek proved that by leaving her alone today.
“Thank you for your help,” she told Kane as she eased Holman’s hand back into his lap. His eyes were glassy and his breathing was way too fast, but she wasn’t surprised. Not after what they’d just survived.
She turned back to Vandine, who was lying on the floor behind her, and checked his vitals. He was still unconscious, but he was breathing and his heart was still pumping what blood he had in his body, which was a plus. His blood pressure was way too low, and she considered putting in an IV, but decided they were close enough to the base that it could wait.
“Can I look at your leg now?” Kane asked from beside her. He was so close, it startled the hell out of Aspen, and she jerked away in reaction.
“Easy, polyagapiménos. You’re safe.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Poly-a-what-tos?”
But Kane’s lips didn’t even twitch. “Greek. Polyagapiménos. You’re still bleeding.”
Aspen craned her neck to look at her calf. Her pants were covered in blood, but she honestly barely even felt any pain. She flexed her foot and winced. Yeah, okay, that hurt. But she didn’t think it was anything more than a graze. She wasn’t bleeding out and, while it was painful, she was more concerned about the others at the moment.
She shook her head. “I can’t right now. I need to make sure Vandine doesn’t crash and get him into the OR. Holman’s not out of the woods either. It can wait.”
She couldn’t interpret the look in Kane’s eyes, but she flushed from the intensity of it. “What?” she whispered.
“I’ve never seen anything more impressive in my life,” Kane told her.
Aspen couldn’t take her eyes from his.
“We saw you and Holman running down the street and knew you’d turn toward our direction. We couldn’t shoot back at the men chasing you down because we didn’t want to hit you.”
Aspen nodded. She understood and appreciated that.
“Damn, woman!” Lefty exclaimed. “Watching you run while carrying a man way taller and heavier than you was pretty damn impressive.”
“And did you notice she had her rifle at the ready too?” Doc asked.
“Not only that, but she still had her pack on as well,” Grover added.
“And she kept going even after she’d been shot,” Lucky said.
“Like I said…impressive,” Kane finished. He hadn’t taken his eyes from hers while his teammates praised her.
Aspen shrugged, but deep inside their praise soothed her soul after what she’d just been through. “I wasn’t about to leave him behind. I made an oath.”
“An oath the rest of your team obviously doesn’t give a shit about,” Lefty grumbled.
Aspen forced herself to look away from Kane then. “They were given a direct order,” she defended.
“I don’t give a shit if God himself ordered them to abandon their team, they shouldn’t have done it,” Kane growled.
Aspen’s gaze went back to him.
“Seriously. Your team is your lifeline. They knew they were leaving you three to your deaths, and they did it anyway. That’s fucked,” Kane said in disgust.
“But—”
“He’s right,” Vandine said in a whisper.
Aspen’s head whipped around. “Sergeant!” she exclaimed, surprised he was conscious.
“It’s my fault,” the man said. “I’ve been deferring to Spence for weeks. I should’ve stood up to him way before now. I didn’t take leadership of my team, and as a result, they were confused about their mission and where their loyalties lie.” His hand came up and he blindly reached for Aspen.
She grabbed hold of it, putting her fingers on his pulse point to try to monitor his heart rate as the truck drove way too quickly through the town and back toward the base.
“The way he’s been treating you isn’t right. We’re Rangers, not fucking seventh graders. You really carried me?” he asked.
Aspen’s head was spinning with his topic change, but she nodded anyway. “You always partnered me with the biggest man on the teams just to see if I’d fail.”
“And you never did,” Vandine said with what sounded like pride. “You’re good people,” he said softly. “And I’m not just saying that because you saved my life.”
Aspen nodded again, not sure what to say in reply.
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��Am I gonna lose my leg?” he asked, his eyes boring into hers.
Aspen wanted to lie. Wanted to tell him that he’d be fine. That he’d be up and walking in no time, but she wasn’t one hundred percent sure, and the last thing she’d do was blow smoke up his ass. “I’m not sure. But I’ve done everything in my power to help the surgeons out when we get there. I am sure if it’s at all possible, you’ll wake up with all four limbs.”
He nodded. Then his eyes focused on Holman for a moment before returning to her. “His hand?”
Aspen pressed her lips together and shook her head slightly.
“Akhund?” Vandine asked.
It was Trigger who answered him. “In the wind. Spence and the others went after him, and I’m sure he’s long gone by now. But we’re gonna get him,” he said with confidence.
Vandine nodded. “Once we’re out of the way, you mean,” he said with a small chuckle.
“Damn straight,” Grover said. “As long as he’s free, no one’s safe.”
The truck slowed, and Aspen tensed.
“Easy,” Kane said, putting his hand on her arm. “We’re at the gate.”
She nodded. For a second she had visions of them being ambushed. They’d really be sitting ducks in the back of the truck.
Within a minute they were moving again, and Aspen could see the familiar sights of the base passing behind them as they raced toward the hospital. She knew Holman and Vandine would be checked out and stabilized as much as possible there before being flown out to Kuwait, and then on to Germany.
The truck came to a stop in front of the tent being used as the clinic/hospital, and Aspen readied to help her patients inside. She looked back down at Vandine and saw that he’d fallen unconscious once more. It was probably better, considering his condition and the treatment that was ahead.
When she looked up again, she saw a crowd of doctors and nurses were waiting at the truck. There were three gurneys as well.
“Three?”