by Nora Phoenix
“I’m so sorry, Noah…” The anguish in Indy’s voice broke his heart. Fuck, he was such a bastard.
The bed moved, and seconds later, Indy was out of the room. Noah covered his eyes with his hands, his soul hurting as much as his body. Would he ever get it right with Indy? He deserved more than a crippled boyfriend with anger issues. Fuck, he was failing everybody.
First, he’d fucked it up with Indy with that stupid move of bringing up the sex when they were on a date. Dates with him were rare since he was understandably not keen on going out in public. But Noah had convinced him, had assured him he was fine with Indy dressing like a woman. What the fuck did he care as long as they were together. Well, that had gone well, with them going home before they even got to see the movie.
Then, of course, he’d beat Connor up, and in the process, managed to piss Josh off. It had led to them finally saying shit they should’ve said ages ago, but still. He’d fucked things up again this morning by wanting to walk in on them. He didn’t even know what had come over him. He’d heard them having sex and had wanted to catch them in the act. What the hell was wrong with him that he would do something like that? It hadn’t even been jealousy. Not in the sense that he was jealous Josh was with someone else. It was more that he wanted to let Connor know who was boss. Pretty pathetic, now that he thought about it.
And now, he’d hurt Indy. Again. He’d been in horrible pain, but that was no excuse.
“Fuck!” he shouted, then again, “Fuck!”
He dragged himself off the bed, biting back the gasps of pain. He was not canceling on Josh, not after what he’d done to him, but he needed more painkillers if he was going to make it through the day.
He made his way into the bathroom, opened the medicine cabinet. His hand hovering, he hesitated. He’d been legally prescribed them, but he knew how addictive they were. Was this a smart choice? Fuck it, he needed them. There was no way he would survive today without something stronger than over the counter painkillers.
He grabbed the Oxy, popped one before he could change his mind, swallowing it dry. He palmed two more, put them in his pocket. That would last him through the day. After that, he’d see about his leg. It would have to wait until everything had calmed down.
8
Connor had never been on a paintball range before. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but it wasn’t the huge terrain in the middle of nowhere where they parked. The field on his three o’clock had knee-high grass, with bales of hay spread out, apparently to hide behind. It didn’t look like much of a challenge.
Near the entrance was another field, much bigger. It was a mix of frozen mud and sand, with sparse bushes thrown in randomly as well as ramshackle walls, sheds, and half-collapsed structures, and a few rusty cars. Some of the buildings had second stories, with wooden stairs giving access. Everything was covered in bright splatters of paint, resulting in a colorful, yet eerie appearance.
Noah and Indy were walking in front of Connor, Noah kissing Indy’s head. It seemed like they’d made up after what had obviously been a fight earlier that morning. Connor didn’t need to guess what that had been about—undoubtedly his name had fallen a few times. He was so damn sorry for the shitty circumstances in which he’d met Indy. He truly seemed like a great guy, but of course Connor’s connection to his fucked-up family overshadowed anything else. Connor couldn’t blame him, not with all he knew about his family. They were monsters, every single one of them, but Duncan especially. And from what he’d heard, it had only gotten worse since Stephan had disappeared.
“Welcome to PB Extreme. You guys ever been here before?”
A young guy, maybe twenty, welcomed them with a big smile. They were the only customers even though it was much warmer than the previous days, and last week’s snow had already melted. Guess not many people wanted to be outside anyways. Connor didn’t mind. The cold was better than the desert heat.
Noah shook his head on behalf of all four of them.
“Okay, my name is Cory, and I’ll be explaining the rules today. Any military experience amongst the four of you?”
Josh casually pointed them out. “US Marine. Army medic. He’s got no military experience, but he’s a badass shooter.”
Connor hadn’t realized Indy could shoot well. It made sense, being around a Boston crime family. And he’d been able to identify that robber’s gun in an instant.
“And yourself?” Cory asked Josh.
“He’s one of the best snipers the Army has ever seen,” Noah said with audible pride.
Connor expected Josh to blush as he so often did when he was embarrassed, but he didn’t. Interesting. Apparently, he wasn’t flustered by Noah’s high praise. Connor couldn’t wait to see Josh in action.
“Well, that will make my explanation a hell of a lot shorter,” Cory grinned. “Since there’s only four of you, we’ll let you use the pinball guns with clips. It holds twenty paint bullets, so aim well.”
Ten minutes later, they were all suited up in camouflage gear, complete with jackets, helmets, and gloves. It felt completely different than his Marine cammies, but still more familiar than he’d expected. Josh inspected the paintball rifle they had all received. They carried clips with extra ammo in the side pockets of their pants. Connor watched in fascination as Josh brought the paint rifle to his shoulder, felt the trigger, seemed to get used to the weight and feel of it.
“You guys made teams yet?” Cory asked, checking their gear.
“Yes.” Josh's voice was strong and clear. “It’s me and Indy against Noah and Connor.”
“You want me on the opposing team?” Connor couldn’t hide his surprise. He’d expected him and Josh to team up, had counted on it.
“Yes. I’m the best shooter, so it makes sense to team me up with the weakest. No offense, Indy. Plus, I need you and Noah to learn to work together, so you can get over this exasperating alpha male rivalry you got going.”
Indy’s eyes went big at those words, Connor noticed, but the guy wisely held his tongue.
“Okay,” Connor said. He turned to Noah, studied him with assessing eyes. Technically, he outranked him, but he didn’t want to appear to treat Noah differently because of his leg. It seemed to bother him even more than usual today. He was clearly keeping his weight off it as much as he could, and every now and then he winced. “Lead the way, Corporal.”
They broke into two pairs, Josh and Indy jogging in one direction and Noah leading him the other way.
“Is Josh that good a shot?” Connor asked.
“Better. It’s uncanny, the way he becomes one with his rifle. They wanted him to apply to the Rangers as a sniper. He would’ve gotten in easily, but he refused.”
“He wanted to stay with you.”
“I would’ve followed him,” Noah said. “Or at least, I would’ve tried.”
“What’s our strategy here?”
“Josh will try to make a sniper’s nest somewhere. High ground, preferably. He can climb anything, has no fear of heights whatsoever. And he’s got more patience than Job. I’ve watched him spend over eight hours high up in a tower once, never moving a muscle until he got his shot.”
Connor let it sink in, this unfamiliar side of Josh. “Won’t he expect you to predict his strategy and do something else?” he asked, his eyes tracking the various structures on the terrain. If Josh was indeed going for higher ground, he’d have the choice of a few trees, but they were bare, or a few structures on an elevation that couldn’t even be called a hill.
Noah halted, shot Connor a begrudging look of respect. “Look, my guess is you defaulted to me because you didn’t want to make me feel crappy about my leg. You not only outrank me, O’Connor, you’re way more of a soldier than I’ll ever be. I was a medic first and foremost, and while I’m a decent shot, and I’ve seen my fair share of combat, I’m no Marine Sergeant. So, you lead.”
Connor nodded. Thank fuck Noah was being reasonable about this, or they would get their asses handed to them. “Okay
. My guess is Josh will try and use Indy as a distraction. No matter how good of a shot Indy may be on a gun range, he has no combat experience. Josh will use him to draw us out, betray our positions. This terrain isn’t suitable for a fixed sniper’s nest. He’ll stay mobile, wait for us to give away our position and expose ourselves and then take us out. Like you said, he’s got patience, so all he has to do is wait for one opportunity to nail us.”
“What do you suggest?”
“We’re gonna do the same. Josh is counting on you to make noise since your leg makes it hard to move quietly. You’ll need to find a spot where you’re hidden but have an excellent overview. There.”
Connor pointed toward a half-collapsed metal structure.
“Lay on your belly, let your gun rest on the lowest piece of metal. You’re in the shade, so reflection isn’t an issue. You should be able to stay pretty invisible until they’re close. I’ll try to draw them out, make them come to you. When you see Indy, don’t shoot. We gotta take out Josh first.”
Noah nodded. “Damn, you’re good at this.”
“Get comfortable. It’s gonna be a while.”
Seconds later, Noah had disappeared in the structure. Connor waited till he saw the barrel appear in the spot he had indicated to Noah. Good, the guy knew how to follow orders. That would make things a hell of a lot easier.
He made his way toward the far end of the terrain, carefully taking notice of the different structures. He walked till he found a collapsed shed that would offer him enough cover. Connor ducked between the shed and a low wall made out of loose stones. He’d better not touch it, or it could come down on him and betray his position. A whistle pierced the sky, the sign the battle had started.
Josh might be a world-class shot, but Connor had a little trick up his sleeve as well. He closed his eyes, forced his breathing to slow down completely and focused on nothing else but what he heard. At first, his ears buzzed like they always did when he tuned in, but then he started to distinguish sounds. A car passing by on a road a couple of hundred yards to six o’clock. Something rustling in frozen leaves on the ground to his eleven o’clock—probably a squirrel.
He listened harder, deeper, forced his ears to reach out all the way. A hearing test when he’d entered the Marines had confirmed what he knew already, that his hearing was exceptional. It was a handy thing in situations like this. He didn’t have to see anything; all he needed was to eliminate his other senses as much as possible and focus on his hearing.
It took close to five minutes before he heard the first sound. A soft crunch, like boots on stones, coming from his two o’clock. If Josh was as good as Noah claimed, he wouldn’t make that much noise. It had to be Indy, trying to draw him and Noah out. Noah had better follow orders and stay put, or this battle would be over in no time.
A shot rang out, the wet plop echoing loud in the relative silence. A fraction later, paint splattered on a structure at least a hundred feet away from Connor. Connor tensed involuntarily. Who was shooting? Indy? The shot seemed to come from a different direction than the footsteps he’d heard. It didn’t make sense.
His ears had to readjust, and it took him a spell to refocus. Another crunch—this time more to his three o’clock and far closer. Indy again? Connor silently crawled forward on his belly. If he stuck his head around the corner, he might be able to see something.
Another shot. He dropped down, not moving a muscle, trying to pinpoint where the shot was coming from. It was hard to gauge the direction since the sound was distorted between the buildings. The splat of the paint was definitely on his right side, and it sounded pretty close to where he’d heard the steps. Had Noah moved? Was that why the noise was so obvious, because of his leg? It would make sense, except for the fact he’d told him to stay where he was.
If it was Noah moving around, it had to be Indy shooting at him. Josh wouldn’t miss, if the reports were true. That meant he had to locate Josh before he could take out Noah, which wouldn’t be hard if he kept making so much damn noise. Fucking asshole. Is it that hard to obey an order? No Marine would’ve ever disobeyed a direct order.
He heard the sound again. Fucking hell. He was going to kill Noah for making them lose this battle. It might be a game, but fuck it, he hated losing, especially for a stupid reason like not listening. He raised himself up on his arms, crawled soundlessly forward until he had reached the corner of the wall. He listened for a full minute, didn’t hear anything.
Connor stuck his head around the corner, helmet first, then the rest. Nothing happened. He scanned the terrain, didn’t see anything move. From his vantage point, he had a clear view of Noah’s hideout. Was he still in there or had he started moving against Connor’s order? It was hard to see from this distance without binoculars.
The crunching sound again, way too close to his three o’clock. He dropped down on the ground, just as a shot rang out.
“Fucking hell, asshole!”
Noah. From the direction of where he’d been hiding. Instinctively, Connor crawled forward. What the hell was going on? Had Noah been hit? How the fuck was that possible if he’d stayed inside that shed?
Shit. Misdirection. Josh was playing him. The shot rang out, and he knew. The paint bullet hit him on his left shoulder blade, would have shredded his heart had it been real. Instead, it merely stung.
“Dead!” he shouted, adhering to the rules.
“Fuck it!” A loud noise came from where Noah was hiding. “Surrender.” Noah’s voice sounded pissed as hell. If Noah hadn’t been fatally hit, why was he surrendering?
“Accept.” Indy’s voice was giddy. He came walking toward Connor, exactly from the direction where Connor had heard the crunching sound.
Connor got up, dusted himself off. Damn, it stung where that bullet had hit him. That was going to leave a nasty bruise for certain. He bent to brush off his knees.
“Accept,” Josh said from behind him.
Connor spun around. Josh smiled, a big grin, his rifle casually slung over his shoulder. “Nice ass,” he said.
Connor shook his head. How had Josh spotted him? He’d been between a shed and a wall. Josh shouldn’t have been able to see him, so how the fuck did he pull it off?
Noah came stomping toward them, fired a murderous look in Josh's direction. “You fucking cheat, you disabled my gun!” Noah all but shoved the rifle in Connor’s face. “Look what he did, he shot straight into my barrel, rendered it useless. And I have the bruise to prove it, ‘cause the force of the impact slammed it into my cheek.”
Connor turned around slowly. “You fired a paint bullet exactly into his barrel?”
Josh shrugged. “He shouldn’t have stuck it out if he wanted to use it.”
“It was you shooting all that time,” Connor realized. “You pretended to shoot at Indy, making me think it was Noah.”
“I needed to get a sense for the rifle, judge its accuracy, or rather, lack thereof. Plus, I knew you’d hear the noise and would assume it was Noah.”
“Why? At first, I thought it was Indy.”
Josh smiled. “Not after I started shooting. You reasoned it was Noah, ignoring what you had told him to do, and Indy trying to shoot him as a result.”
“How did you… When we split up, Noah was in charge. How did you know that would change?”
Josh raised one eyebrow. “You really need me to answer that, Marine? Noah is a fucking medic, not a rifleman. This is what you do, what you’re trained for. Noah may be bossy, but he’s not stupid, and I knew he’d default to you. He wants to win too much to not sacrifice whatever pride he has about this. I also knew you wouldn’t trust him to obey your orders, not really. I figured once you heard the walking noises and the shots, you’d jump to the conclusion Noah was being a stubborn ass and would try to nail his shooter.”
Connor was speechless. He got his ass handed to him by an army sniper, and it stung more than he wanted to admit. He swallowed down his wounded pride, allowed himself to be filled with admiration for
Josh. “How did you spot us?”
“The both of you, you’re specialized in warm-weather conditions. For my sniper training, I did a six-week stint with NATO somewhere in Norway in the dead of winter. They taught us to recognize breath patterns and lead them back to a location. I got lucky today because there’s practically no wind, so your breaths gave you away. I’ll admit, I had trouble determining the exact position of your body because you were between two structures. Smart choice. But once you started moving, I had you.”
Connor raised his hands in defeat. “That’s pretty impressive,” he admitted. As much as his own pride hurt, the deep satisfaction on Josh's face got to him.
“I’m gonna get a replacement rifle, and then we’re gonna do this again. We’ll get this right, Marine,” Noah said, his face tight.
Connor nodded. “Oorah.”
Josh nailed them four more times before Noah and Connor finally got the best of him. Josh didn’t say it, but they lucked out because Indy messed up. Otherwise Noah and Connor would’ve never caught him. But Josh was okay with it. It wasn’t about winning in the first place, though he was competitive enough to care, but about getting Noah and Connor to trust each other. If they kept up the constant alpha posturing, Josh would go crazy with the tension. Plus, he also wanted to show Connor he could have fun, too, that he wasn’t as boring as he appeared.
“Nicely done, O’Connor,” Noah said, extending his hand to Connor.
Connor took it. “We got lucky,” he merely said with a nod to Josh.
Josh smiled. He knows.
“I don’t care,” Noah said. “You got him.”
It was Connor who’d managed to get a kill shot in with Josh, nailed him in the chest. Connor’s eyes found Josh's. “I sure did.”
The double entendre was hard to miss, and Josh grinned. “Yup, he nailed me, alright.”
“Oh, fuck off, you two. Seriously. Not everything is about sex, you know?” Noah muttered.
Indy launched himself into Noah’s arms, who caught him effortlessly. Indy wrapped his legs around Noah’s waist and kissed him hard. “It’s not? That’s not what you said last night when you were…”