Page 37

Seventeen

KYLE

“Not a chance,” I said sternly. “It’s not even an option.”

Sammara’s expression was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. There was worry in her face, but also a mixture of indignation and determination. Coupled in with how bedraggled she was, it made for a very odd look.

“I’m not sitting back while—”

“He’s absolutely right,” said Ryan. “No way, no how. And I’m not just saying this ‘to keep you safe’, either. I’m saying it for the safety of Jason. And us.”

I was relieved he’d jumped in. Sammara was impetuous. Headstrong. Going one-on-one with our fiery fiancé was never an easy thing.

“You won’t want to hear this,” I said, “but you’d be a liability.”

“Liability?” she asked incredulously. “Have you seen me shoot—”

“It’s got nothing to do with your lack of training,” Ryan cut her off. “Sammara, look at you! A blonde haired, blue eyed, fair skinned woman? In the part of the world we’re going you’d stick out like a sore thumb.”

She opened her mouth again, but this time she closed it without saying anything. I could see she understood. It was in her posture. The way all the challenge went out of her shoulders.

“We all want the same thing,” I said. “To bring Jason back safely. And we’ll do that, Ryan and I, with the help of Troy and Everman and whoever else. Hell, I don’t care if we have to abandon the contract and drag the whole damned company into the desert. We have his last known location, and—”

“Go.”

The word was hard for her to say. I could see it in her eyes. But she said it commandingly. Forcefully.

“Go,” Sammara repeated. “You’re already wasting time.”

I let out a big, relieved sigh. This was the girl we fell in love with. The girl we all intended to marry.

All of us. Together.

“Thanks for understanding,” I said needlessly. “And Sammara, listen to me…”

I walked over and put my arms on her shoulders. I could see she was fighting back tears, trying to be brave.

“We’re bringing him back.”

She nodded and sniffed. I hugged her tightly, and then Ryan was there too.

“We’re going to be in close contact with you,” he said reassuringly. “Phone calls. Relayed messages. Whatever it takes to stay in touch with you, and keep you fully in the loop. Doesn’t matter if I have to slap a GATR pack on a Hummer and drive around the desert for hours until I locate an uplink. I’ll find a spot to get word out to you, so that you’re never alone.”

A single tear ran down her cheek. But now she was smiling, even through the pain.

“You promise?”

“I swear it on everything,” Ryan said gravely. “There’s no possible way we’re leaving you in the dark.”

It was awful really, to think about her being alone. To leave her here in this big old house, right before the holidays, with no one to hold her. No one to keep her spirits up. No one keep her warm at night.

But if anyone could endure it, it would be Sammara.

“Find him,” she said at last. Bending down, she picked up our rucksacks and handed them to us. Though they were heavy, she didn’t even struggle. “Find him and bring him home, and don’t spend a single minute worrying about what I’m doing.” She shook her head. ‘That’s bullshit you don’t need. I want you focused solely on Jason. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am,” said Ryan. He gave up the best smile he could under the circumstances, then swept her in and kissed her. It was more than just the kiss of a soldier going to war. The intensity went well beyond that.

“And you…” she said, turning toward me. “Keep him in line.” She jerked a thumb at Ryan. “Don’t let him do anything crazy or stupid, like run a tank over a minefield or shit like that.”