Page 22

M addox

Pain ripped through every muscle, the twinges of anguish a constant reminder I was alive. From somewhere, I heard screams, the kind of baleful sound that would remain reverberating in my ears for days if not weeks to come.

As soon as the insurgent approached, I lunged forward, catching him in the gut with my knife. The shock pushed him backward, but not for long.

He threw himself at me again, hurling the butt of his weapon against my head.

Agony sparked another moment of rage and I slashed the knife from right to left, catching him at the base of his neck.

He slapped his hand over the wound, roaring in fury.

Loud popping sounds happened all around me, bullets whizzing by. When one caught me in the shoulder, I didn’t react other than to grab the insurgent by the throat, plunging the knife into his jugular.

With a hard kick, I pitched him aside, already spinning in a circle to attack the next asshole who dared interfere.

Another scream caught my attention and I spun around again, eager to destroy another life.

They came at me, six of the bastards. All with grins on their faces.

“ Vamos a destriparlo ,” one snarled.

The fucker wanted to gut me.

“ No puedo. Alfaro lo quiere vivo. Muy vivo .”

I took a deep breath, glancing from one to the other. If the assholes thought they were going to take me that easily, alive so Alfaro could torture me, they had another goddamn think coming.

With a smile on my face, I threw myself at them.

Fuck.

I jerked up, taking gasping breaths. Immediately I reached for my weapon, my fingers doing nothing more than gripping air. As my heartrate slowed, I realized I was covered in sweat.

The sheets were twisted around my legs from the horrible fight endured in my fitful sleep.

Hell, sleep was rare, nightmares a mainstay. Why should tonight be any different?

After taking additional deep breaths, I glanced to my left.

Charmaine was still sleeping, unaware of the constant war I had with my mind. Good. The last thing I’d wanted to do was to disturb her.

One bed.

I should have stayed on the couch. I should have stayed awake. Instead, I’d allowed the hunger for her not only to fuel dark desires, but to keep me from doing my job. The one I’d been hired to do.

I hauled in an even longer breath, holding the stale air in my lungs. When I breathed out, I fisted both hands. Right now, I needed to engage in a fight, beating the crap out of someone. Doing so would curtail some of the anger, at least for a little while.

Frustration furrowed deep inside, swilling as it had done for years. I was fucking sick to death of being held hostage to the same nightmares, the same horrible moments.

There was nothing worse than the loss of control. Daylight was fine, but at night all hell broke loose.

Remaining as silent as possible, I jerked the covers free, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed.

I’d sent Gray a text letting him know we were safe. The anticipated arrival of the plane? Tomorrow afternoon. That wasn’t soon enough for me, but there needed to be caution in flying into the country.

The only noise in the room was the slight whirling of the overhead fan. I tipped my head, taking another series of breaths as I studied the shadows on the ceiling.

I cradled my head in my hands, willing the images to stop. In accepting the assignment, I’d known the nightmares could worsen. I’d just need to learn to deal with them.

At this point, it was just better to remain awake and finish the day. I was hopeful we’d received news of a plane made available. At least from the apartment to the airport was only about fifteen miles. Enough to worry about, but not enough to alter any plans.

After standing, I took another look at her sleeping form.

Being close to Charmaine, while dangerous, had provided a limited moment of peace. For that I’d be grateful.

But this couldn’t happen again.

I think we both knew it.

I snagged the weapon from the dresser, my phone from the pocket of my cargo pants, listening for any other sounds coming from the apartment. There were none, although the activity on the street was still ongoing.

Santiago had kept his word, supplying us both with clothes and food. Although his twisted sense of humor had caused him to leave me garish shorts meant for tourists and idiots.

I was neither.

However, given the oppressive heat, they allowed some modicum of comfort.

The apartment was dark, lights from the businesses and streetlights creating an ominous glow several feet into the room.

I felt at a loss without the usual equipment I’d grown accustomed to while serving in the Navy, the state-of-the-art components designed with extractions in mind. All I had were weapons, my cellphone including GPS, and my training.

Against a potential army.

By all accounts, there were over a thousand soldiers working for Alfaro. The man certainly wasn’t a fool and had no issue gunning down anyone who stood in his way.

Including those from the Honduran government. There was no love lost between them, but Alfaro created his own set of brutal rules. I’d learned that the hard way.

One of two missions that had taken its toll on my mind and my emotions.

Just like the one I’d found myself embroiled in. Gray was a straight shooter and always had been, yet he’d supplied enough details for me to get the job done while carefully crafting a story.

Maybe he’d been told she had information that could incriminate Alfaro. Or maybe she’d been a goddamn lure. That I wasn’t sure of.

The jump drive Charmaine had provided was likely important information in the capture and arrest of Alfaro.

However, during my military career, I’d learned things weren’t often as they seemed.

She’d had no way of discovering what was on the drive and I hadn’t arrived with the thought of requiring equipment to decipher clues.

Discovery would need to wait until we’d returned to the States.

That didn’t sit well with me.

Our lives were on the line because of whatever data an unknown informant had provided.

I pulled a beer from the fridge, heading onto the balcony. I’d contact Gray in the morning. If there was any way to get out of this godforsaken country sooner, I’d encourage him to make that happen.

Staying with her in close quarters wasn’t good for either of us.

As I sat down on the metal chair, I rubbed my shoulder where the bullet had grazed it. I’d been shot, had it dislocated, and had the blade of a knife stuck between two muscles. At this point, I was impervious to pain.

That didn’t mean rain and dampness didn’t bother me, enough so the ache was raw, worse than usual.

I studied my phone. I should have used a burner, but there’d been no time to coordinate every detail as I would normally do.

At least the signal would be scrambled, no insurgents or anyone else capable of using it to locate our position.

Old habits died hard. With the screen lit, I realized the date.

Eight years ago, all hell had broken loose, several in my unit losing their lives. Some from fire. Some from gunshot wounds. Others from stepping on explosives. I’d been lucky and had lived.

So had my two best friends, two men I would have died to save.

As I’d pledged an oath to do with everyone else.

The mission had seemed simple, the intel coming from a source we’d used before and could trust.

But everyone has a price.

Everyone.

Man. Woman. Soldier.

The idea of feeding our families outweighed betrayal even if that led to several murders.

But I’d been the fool. I’d gotten too comfortable. Perhaps we all had.

After facial recognition, the screen was unlocked and I sorted through to the few photographs I had saved. They’d been transferred over on the cloud even though I hadn’t wanted them. Another reminder was the last thing I needed.

A fucking operation gone bad.

Lives lost.

Others injured so severely they’d never fully recover.

And friendships lost.

Yet here they were on the day of the anniversary. Even what Alfaro had done to me paled in comparison to the horrors inflicted that day.

Hesitating, I took a few seconds before swiping my thumb across the screen until I found the camera roll. After taking a swig of my beer, I shifted to the several during better times.

We were much younger, still eager to take on the world.

Hell, I hadn’t had gray hair then and had been thinner by at least twenty pounds. In my mind, we all looked like young bucks. Too stupid and too well trained to get out.

Stone’s goofy look as he stared at the camera made me laugh. Kage had always been the serious one, but he’d turned much darker after everything we’d been through.

Together and apart.

His hatred for me had been palpable, but mine for him had been as well. We’d blamed each other. While Kage’s call had been out of respect for our former friendship, I hadn’t needed his apology.

He’d been right all along.

I was to blame for getting members of our unit killed. I’d told him as much, although he refused to believe me.

We were both hardheads, at least according to our commander. That’s another reason Gray had called both of us for mysterious missions.

To get our heads out of our asses.

I laughed softly and took a long pull on the cold beer, suddenly thinking about the way Charmaine had wiped the bottle across her face. She’d looked so damn sexy doing it.

As I scrolled through other photographs of all the men in our unit, I realized I’d lost all sense of hope. Not just from what had occurred, but also from guilt.

Which was exactly why I’d warned Charmaine. I doubted she’d listen to me.

She was as hardheaded as I was. Maybe Gray was right and we could tolerate each other.

I laughed and suddenly found myself looking at my contact list.

What the hell? I’d done crazier shit in my life. I hit dial and closed my eyes, doing nothing more than listening to the sounds of the city below.

“This could become a habit. Almost like we’re friends.”