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NYX

“They have a RPG! Get out of here!”

Atlas shouted over comms.

The rain fell harder and North grabbed onto my vest to keep me from falling out of the doorway. The bird was listing and shaking with the wind as the storm picked up intensity.

“We have to go!”

Mads shouted, an edge to her voice I didn’t like.

I looked out towards the treeline but couldn’t see anything in the shadows. Bullets peppered the side of the helo and I fired back.

“We’re not leaving—”

I shouted.

“North, we have to go! Now!”

Mads shouted. “Cut the rope!”

“No! We’re not leaving him down there,” I yelled.

“Go! Now! Now!”

Atlas’ voice was frantic. “Cut the rope!”

Lachlan released the rope holding the gold and it fell away. At the same time Mads dipped the bird hard to the right just as an explosion rocked us. Warning sounds filled the space but Mads quickly corrected and dipped low over the trees. I slammed my fist against the side of the doorway.

“We’ll come back,”

North said.

I cursed viciously and scowled out at the shivering trees lashing in the wind. Atlas was down there with the enemy. Alone.

He’s a SEAL. He can handle it. He was trained for this.

My mind tried to reason with me but my heart was not letting me be comforted by it. I could feel North watching me. Probably making sure I didn’t bail out of the helo. I would have if we weren’t already so high up. The storm pulled and yanked at the bird but I didn’t care about my safety.

“Atlas, come in,” I said.

“I’m here.”

I closed my eyes in relief.

“You guys good?” He asked.

“Yeah—Mads has some mad skills,”

I said dryly.

Atlas chuckled and I felt better being able to still make him laugh. My attention turned to Mads who looked like she was in heaven as she glared out at the storm and took the challenge head on.

“Hang in there—”

North said. “We’ll be back as soon as the storm clears.”

North pulled off his pack and stuck a few more items into it before he positioned himself near the doorway and looked down.

“We dropped you a pack with supplies and ammo about three klicks west of you,”

North said. He dropped the pack and we both watched it fall into the forest below.

“Copy that. I’ll be fine.”

Lachlan was busy looking at a map spread out over his thigh. He stabbed a finger at a location and shoved the map at North.

“New extraction point—30 klicks west, around the other side of the lake. Has a burned out tree,”

North relayed.

“We’re almost out of comms range,”

I said grimly.

“I’ll reach out when we’re back in range,”

North met my gaze. “Be safe out there.”

“Copy that. Fly safe—over and out.”

Worry made nausea churn in my stomach, made worse by the bumpy ride. By the time we landed back at the hangar where we’d moved our base, I was filled with pent up rage. I jumped from the helo, yanking gear off as I went. West stood up from the computer, watching me warily as I stormed through the space towards the back.

“What happened?”

“Atlas is still back there,”

North said from behind me.

West’s face fell.

“He’ll be fine, Nyx,”

West called after me. “You know he will.”

I didn’t answer. If it was anyone else, I wouldn’t be this bent out of shape. But this was Atlas. The man I’d been with for the last three-ish years. We’d tackled everything together and I couldn’t remember the last time we were apart for longer than a few hours. We never left anyone behind.

If I lost him before I could explore whatever these feelings were…

I bared my teeth at the thought, pacing along the back wall as I jerked my gloves off.

North came over, just watching me with arms crossed over his chest. He wasn’t even out of his tactical gear yet, AR still slung over his shoulder.

“Nyx.”

I didn’t answer, still pissed at him for making the call even knowing it was the right one. Any further hesitation would have gotten us all killed.

“Nyx.”

I whirled on him. “I thought we never left anyone behind?”

North’s eyes narrowed and his lips thinned.

“He’s a SEAL. Have some faith in him for fucks sake,”

North said irritably. “Come help stack the gold.”