“Wilson, how much fuel do we have?”
“No clue. There isn’t a gas gauge.”
“What?”
“Look.”
The gas gauge was busted out. “Damn. This is a new one on me.” I turned to the rear and hollered, “Hey, Amir, how much petrol does this have?”
“Good petrol,” Amir answered.
Wilson shrugged. “Guess that means we’re okay.”
“I sure hope so.”
But we were far from being in the clear. Even though the helicopter explosion had diverted the attention away from us, and we had escaped without being noticed, there were still checkpoints we had to avoid.
Hitting my comm link, I asked, “Eagle 1, we are in the wind. Request a clear path to freedom. Over.”
“Copy that Rover. Calculating.”
Waiting for my answer, I checked out our surroundings and my GPS. Wilson was headed in the right direction. My radio hissed. “Rover, continue bearing west. In a quarter mile, you will detour to the left for one-tenth of a mile. Then return to course. Over.”
“Copy that Eagle 1. Over.” I calculated the route and saw our turn. “Okay Wilson, you’re coming up to the turn, and this will be a shorty. Then you’re turning again.”
“Got it.”
He stuck with my directions and I jumped back on the radio. “Eagle 1, this is Rover waiting for our next directive. Over.”
“Rover, you are clear for one mile. Over.”
“Copy that. Over.”
“Stay the course for a mile,” I told Wilson.
The radio sputtered again. “Rover, in a half a mile, you will head north for a half mile and then you’ll go west again. Over.”
“Copy that. Over.”
“You got that Wilson?” I asked.
“Copy that.”
We zigzagged our way out of the area until we were in no man’s land and then we had radio silence for about forty minutes. When it came to life again, our directions were clear. “Rover, abandon wheels and continue on foot. The road to freedom is closed until tomorrow. All other options are blocked. Trek two point three miles on westerly route to safety and wait for oh dark thirty for freedom. Over.”
“Copy that. Over.” The rest of it would be made on foot.
We ended up spending the night and day in an abandoned structure that was what we called an Irani farmhouse. There were old animal pens outside and water troughs. It was hot, and we tried to catch some shuteye.
We had enough food and water to share so we were fine on those accounts. This was when patience ruled. I drew on my background and how I’d been raised. Everyone else had been raised in a cushy home, comparatively speaking. This was where I was one step ahead of them. I sank into my reserves and thought about how Midnight had survived all those nights. How she did it alone, I don’t know, but I remembered praying for her as a kid, hoping he’d stop raping her and beating me. Tonight was a different story. Even though the stakes were larger and we were playing for our lives, in my soul I knew all would be well. No matter what happened, life would never be that bad again. I would die first.
When darkness fell, we waited until after midnight to make our move. We reached the crossing at the right time, the right place, but we didn’t anticipate the wrong company being there, waiting for us. We don’t know how or why but it didn’t matter. We needed to get through and protect our asset.
Fortunately for everyone, even though a lot of gunfire was exchanged, they made it through unscathed. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t. I took a shot to the upper chest and one to the thigh. Luckily my Kevlar saved my life on the chest shot and the one to the leg missed my femoral artery. I made it across, but they had to drag my ass the rest of the way. I blacked out on evac.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lee
* * *
Five days passed and no news from Rusty. Then it was a week. Now I was at day ten and my gut was telling me something went terribly wrong. Not really knowing what to expect, each day grew worse. We’d parted so quickly, I hadn’t thought to ask him if and when he’d call. My tattered nerves couldn’t have been more frayed. The noose of panic threatened to squeeze the air from my lungs, but I drove it away and kept on going.
“I screwed up another order, Jackson.”
Her breath wheezed past her lips. “Don’t worry about it. Did you find who it belonged to?”
“Yeah, but it’s cold. Can you fix up another batch of banana pancakes and an omelet of the day?”
“On it.” She went at it and then said, “Lee, I think you need to head over to Virginia Beach and wait there for him.”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“I do.” Her voice was firm. “You know that’s the first place he’s going to go. And you did say he gave you a key.”
“Yeah, but, what will I do while I’m there?”
“Explore. It’s a super cool town and you know it. You’ve been there plenty of times.”
“Sure, but … I just don’t know.”
She slid the pancake order up to me along with the omelet.
“That was fast,” I said.
“You know I have some sitting on the side.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“See, this is what I mean. Your head isn’t on straight right now. You don’t need to be here. After breakfast is over, go home, pack a bag, and leave.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Lee, I know I’m right. How long has it been?”
“Eleven days.”
“Do it.”
After the breakfast rush ended, I drove home to pack. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be gone so it wasn’t easy deciding what to take. I threw in everything but the kitchen sink. My large bag was bursting at the seams and Glenn helped me drag it out to the car.
“How long will you be gone, Lilou?”
“I don’t know, Scutt. I have to see what’s going on with Rusty.”
“You really like that guy, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I sort of do.”
“It’s cool. He’s okay by me. I like him.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. His truck is cool, and he didn’t treat me like I was annoying.”
“No, he didn’t, did he?”
“Huh uh. I’m gonna miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too, but it’s not like I’m going forever or anything.”
“I know, but I kinda got used to having you around.”
“True. Same here. You’re my favorite brother.”
“Lilou, I’m your only brother. Don’t act like such a loser.” Then he held out his fist for me to bump.
“To hell with that.” I pulled him in for a hug.
“Jeez. Don’t get all gooey on me. You know I hate that.” He shuddered, and I chuckled.
“Sure. It’s why I do it. Love you, dude. Tell Mom and Dad I’ll call.”
He stood there as I drove away. The car ate up the miles between Drummond and Virginia Beach and in less than an hour, I was pulling into Rusty’s parking lot.
A sense of doom settled over me as I unlocked his door. I dragged my large duffle into his apartment, and not without great difficulty either. Once I got into his bedroom, I sat on his bed and grabbed his pillow. I still smelled his scent as I pressed it to my nose.
Dear God, please let him be safe.
I hope my little prayer was not only heard but answered too. I knew there wouldn’t be any salvageable food in the refrigerator, so I emptied it out and dumped the trash in the dumpster. Then I went to the store to stock up.
The next two days I did as Jackson suggested—I explored the beachside town. On the third morning, I was sipping coffee and watching TV, when I heard a key in the lock. My excitement surged and I knocked my cup over, drenching my shirt in the process. Before I could reach the door to greet Rusty, it was opened by not Rusty, but two strangers.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“Uh, I think we should be asking you that question,” one of them
answered.
“I’m Lee Marston, Rusty’s girlfriend.”
They looked at each other and one said, “Now it all makes sense.”
“What makes sense?” I asked.
“Lee, can you sit down?”
“What’s wrong? Where’s Rusty? I haven’t heard from him in two weeks.”
“Please sit and we’ll explain everything.”
I dabbed at my soaked shirt and plopped back on the sofa. “Is he okay?”
“First, I’m Stephen Wilson and this is Eric Shelton. We’re in the same squadron with Garrett. I’m not sure how much you know …” his voice trailed off.
“He’s a Seal and he went out on a mission two weeks ago.”
“Right. So while we were out, things got a little messed up and Garrett got shot.”
I pushed to my feet, hands in the air. “Wait. What? He got shot? Is he okay? Where is he?” My heart was jumping out of my chest and I was pretty sure it was bouncing across the living room floor by now.
“Calm down, he’s fine.”
“Please, Lee, can you sit?” I’m not even sure which one of them spoke. All I could picture was Rusty lying somewhere bleeding out.
“Sit? How can I sit when he could be dying?” Were they crazy?
“He’s not dying. He took a hit to the chest, but his Kevlar handled that. The other one hit his thigh. It missed his artery and he’s fine. It passed through, nicked the bone though, so he’s pretty damn sore. But that’s it. He’ll make a full recovery with no after effects,” Wilson said.
My butt hit the sofa again as I processed everything. His Kevlar took the hit, but he could’ve died. Oh God! “His leg is okay though? Nothing permanent?”
“Nothing permanent. He’ll be off the active duty list until he’s fully recovered though. Maybe eight to twelve weeks.” Wilson started laughing. “You’re gonna have your hands full.”
I gave him an odd look. “Why do you say that?” And how could he even laugh at a time like this?
“Keeping that man still for the next couple of weeks … you’ll figure it out,” Shelton said.
Then I asked, “Where is he now and why didn’t he call?” Panic still edged my tone.
“Lee, he’s fine. Seriously. He’s still at Ramstein,” Shelton said.
“Oh, I know that place well.”
“How do you know Ramstein.”
“Ex-jarhead here.” Then I lifted up my leg. “IED.”
“No shit.” Shelton whistled. “Thank you for your service, ma’am.” And both of them stood and saluted me.
“Sit your asses back down. Why didn’t he call me?”
“That I can’t answer,” Wilson said. “But it may be because we don’t carry our regular cell phones with us when we go and he may not have remembered your number. But I don’t know for sure.”
That probably was it. “Can you get me in touch with him now?”
“I think so. Let me try,” Wilson said.
“Wait. Why did you come here if he’s not home?” I asked.
“Oh. He is coming home. Tomorrow. He’ll be transferred to Walter Reed and then released,” Wilson said. “We stopped by to pick up some things for him.”
“Don’t call him. I want to surprise him. What does he need? I can take it.”
“You know Walter Reed?” Shelton asked.
“I was there for months.”
“Right. Stupid question. Clothing. He’ll need something to wear. And a dock kit. Can you put that together?” Shelton wanted to know.
“I’m pretty sure I’m capable of that. What time will he be arriving?”
“Early tomorrow.” They gave me the necessary information so I could plan to go to Bethesda in the morning. It would take about four hours, so I was planning on leaving around nine. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when I arrived.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rusty
* * *
The plane ride from Ramstein back to the states wasn’t the greatest but I refused to complain. I was alive and that’s all that counted. I don’t remember anything that happened after they dragged my ass across the border. The next thing I remembered was waking up on the transport flight to Ramstein and being told I’d been shot. My first thoughts were of Lee and how she must’ve felt this way. Only her injuries were far worse than mine. Then I wanted to call her, but when I tried, I realized her number was in my cell phone, back in my locker at the base. I didn’t count on this … being gone this long or getting shot in the fucking leg.
As soon as they told me I was headed home, I asked the guys to meet me at the hospital with my shit. I wanted to let my girl know I was okay. Knowing her, she was worried about me. Hopefully, they wouldn’t keep me long and I could get back to Drummond to show her that I was fine.
I was checked into my room and a nurse showed up to let me know my physician would be in soon to give me the rundown. They wanted to do a thorough follow up on me since that bullet had nicked my femur. The doctor at Ramstein didn’t think it would pose a problem but the one here wanted to see all my tests just to be sure.
The impact to my chest knocked me to the ground. It drove all the air from my lungs and it felt like a fist had been shoved straight through my sternum. It was impossible to draw in the tiniest of breaths, and everything went gray, then turned black. Afterward, I discovered my chest was badly bruised from taking the direct shot. Kevlar was a beautiful thing, but the impact had been a fucking powerful force. I’d take the bruise any day over the actual wound. It would’ve killed me, no doubt.
Drifting off because I didn’t sleep a whole hell of a lot on the ride over, it was her scent in my dreams that made me want her next to me. I missed that woman more than I could say. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her strands of gold as they framed her perfect face and her Pacific Ocean eyes pulling me into their warmth. Her plump lips begged to be kissed but her smile, the one she reserved only for me, made me feel special.
The hand on my forehead had me blinking awake and the vision before me wasn’t a dream at all. She was there in the flesh, smiling that perfect smile, and then bending down to kiss me.
“I never missed anyone or anything as much as I’ve missed you these last two weeks.” My arms wound around her as we held each other tight.
“I was so worried about you when I didn’t hear anything.”
“My phone. Your number.”
“I know.” Her breath tickled my neck. “Stephen and Eric told me.”
“How did they tell you?”
“I came to Virginia Beach … to your place. I couldn’t take it anymore.”
“Really?” I pulled back to look at her beautiful face. “You went there to wait for me?”
“Yes. It was brutal being in Drummond and not knowing anything. I figured you’d come home first and I’d be waiting for you.”
“Waiting.”
“I’ll always be waiting.”
“You will, won’t you?”
“Yes. I promise.”
I only stared at her, because for two long weeks all I had was the image in my mind. Now she was real, and I was touching her. I didn’t want this moment to end. “It’s surreal.”
“What is?”
“You being here. I can hardly believe it.”
“Believe.” Then she kissed me again. “You look perfect. And your beard has grown.”
“Haven’t shaved in two weeks. Kinda reminds me of your legs.” I winked at her as she rubbed her hand over it.
“It’s much more sexy than my legs, but then again, so are you.”
“Stop. I haven’t seen you for so long. The beast won’t be able to take it.”
“You’re so bad.” She laughed at me.
I took her hand and laid it over the beast. “See what I mean?”
Her eyes went to where her hand was and then back to my face. “I do. Oh my. The beast doesn’t seem to be affected by your injuries.”
“The beast is … beastly. What can I say?”
She tried her best not to laugh by pressing her lips together. It was an epic fail.
“Tell me about what happened.”
I gave her the story to best of my recollection. “My memory is foggy.”
“Are you in pain?”
“Not now, but I was.”
“Can I see it?”
“It’s bandaged.”
The door swung open and a youngish doctor came in. “Lieutenant Garrett? I’m Dr. Sanders. Can we talk?” He glanced at Lee.
“Absolutely. Anything you say to me can be said in front of her. This is Lee Marston.”
“Nice to see you, Dr. Sanders.” Lee held out her hand for him to shake.
“Lieutenant, I have good news. I’ve taken a look at all your X-Rays and tests and it appears that everything looks great as far as your femur is concerned. It should heal nicely without any long-term issues. I think in another day or two, you can be released. We need to finish these antibiotics and then set up physical therapy for you at home. How does that sound?”
“Like a great plan. Do I have any restrictions?”
“I’d like you to be non-weight bearing for another week and then use one crutch for one more. After that, let your pain predict things. How is your pain level?”
“Not bad, but then again I haven’t done any walking on it.”
“Let’s keep it that way for the time being. I’ll give you a referral to a local physician as well, along with a pain prescription. I would like you off those ASAP.”
“I haven’t been taking anything for the past two days.”
“Good. I’ll check in on you tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks, doc.”
He left, and Lee said, “That’s great news.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“I can take you home.”
Lee ended up booking a hotel room for the night and two days later I was able to leave the hospital. Once we got back to my apartment, she tried to wait on me, but I forced her to let me do things for myself.
“The sooner I’m up and around, the faster I’m able to recover. Think about when you were injured. Remember how your muscles atrophied?”
I'll Be Waiting (The Vault Book 2) Page 12