Page 25 of Protection for Asher (Safeguarded By The SEAL #4)

Squat stood ready to breach the door. They hadn’t heard anything from inside the building since they moved closer. He hoped it wasn’t a trap. His senses were heightened, and he was ready for anything.

Sharp counted down, giving the go ahead. Griz blew the charges they’d set, and they tossed in two flash bangs. He rushed in, seeing someone coming at him from the left. He took them out then turned to take on the guy running down the hall toward them.

Squat saw someone running the opposite way down the hall. The other guys were dealing with their own problems, and it was up to him to catch them.

“I'm going after a runner,” Squat said over coms before taking off down the hall. He was halfway down the hall when a door opened, and a guy stepped out with his weapon raised. Squat fired, but he felt the burn on his arm before the other guy dropped to the ground.

The burn turned to pain, and he had to pause and lean against the wall to catch his breath. The buzz in his ears picked up, and he closed his eyes to focus. His head swam, which he knew was a bad sign. If he passed out, he would be fucked.

“Squat, what’s wrong?” Sharp’s voice broke through.

“I’m still standing. I was hit. Give me a second.”

“Fuck,” Griz cursed.

“I see him,” Jay said.

He glanced around, seeing Jay headed his way. “I’m okay.”

“Bullshit,” Griz said. “Get your ass in gear.”

He pushed off the wall, grunting in pain. He wasn't dead. That was good. He wasn't even sure if the bullet actually hit him or if it just whizzed past.

The first two steps were difficult as the pain rose, and a roar developed in his ears. “Fucking sucks.”

Jay was there, pulling him along behind him. He hated that he’d taken Jay out of the mix. They needed him to get the guy.

Jay wrapped his arm to slow the bleeding, and Squat pushed him away. “I'll stay behind this wall. I'm fine by myself. Go back in and help them.”

“You sure?” Jay asked.

“Yeah. Go help them.”

Squat settled behind the wall, listening to the guys on coms. They were clearing the rooms but hadn't found the guy they were looking for. Was this another ruined mission? How the fuck were they getting such bad intel? Where was the dysfunction?

“Place is clear. He wasn’t here,” Griz said over coms.

“Fuck. Squat, are you okay?” Sharp asked.

“I’m fine. I’m out here waiting for you all.”

More cursing ensued as the guys did another sweep of the building, not finding anything. It took a moment for them to finish their sweep, then Jay was beside him, helping him up.

“For a short guy, you sure as fuck are heavy.”

“All that muscle.”

Jay chuckled. “Sure. I think you’re just full of shit.”

“Probably. I’m fine. I can walk now. The initial pain is gone.”

“Jay and Shine, keep an eye on him,” Sharp said.

“Sure thing.”

They took off, heading in the direction where their ride would pick them up.

They made good time even with his injury.

Every step took them closer to escape. They were almost to the exfil point when all hell broke loose.

It was like someone knew every move they were making.

Gunfire erupted, and they only escaped being shot by dumb luck.

After the shooting slowed, Griz grunted. “How the fuck did they know where we were going?”

“Luck?” Apple asked.

“This is more than luck. This is someone telling our secrets. Someone knows our plans,” Squat said.

They couldn’t delve too deeply into the theory because they still had to escape this hellhole.

They could easily end up dead if they lost their focus.

Squat could fire his rifle, just not aim it well.

Luckily, he was with guys who were the best of the best. They held off the enemy well enough, but they weren’t getting out today.

Once they were in a mostly secure location, Shine began assessing his injuries. “You look like shit.”

“Thanks, man.”

“Hold still. Let me get a good look at this.”

Squat tugged off his shirt, groaning as pain hit. He sat back, closing his eyes.

“You should have allowed me to cut it off,” Shine said.

He snorted. “I’ll be fine. Just sew me up.”

Shine began working, causing more pain as he cleaned the area. “It’s not that bad. You need a few stitches. You’re fucking lucky.”

“Yeah. Lucky,” Squat said.

“Could have blown your arm to bits. When we get back to civilization, you’ll need to get it cleaned out.”

He huffed out a breath. “Great.”

Shine shook his head and rubbed at the wound again with the cleaning scrub. Pain slid up Squat’s arm to his neck.

“Fuck, that hurts.”

Shine grunted. “Don’t get shot on missions.”

Squat rolled his eyes. “I’ll remember that next time.”

Shine chuckled. “I'm sure you will. Lucky you, you're not dead. Would have fucking sucked, too, if you'd died.”

“Yeah, yeah. Would have sucked. I need some food.”

“Same.” Shine gave him two shots, one for pain and the other an antibiotic, then bandaged him up and patted his shoulder. “How does that feel?”

“Good enough.”

Squat grabbed an MRE from his pack and consumed it in a few bites. They had been truly fucked. He turned to Sharp. “Any idea what happened?”

Sharp’s lips thinned. “No fucking clue. Maybe we were too obvious, and they knew.”

Squat shook his head. “How would they know our exfil location? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Griz paced over, his frown deep. “Someone knows.”

Sharp blew out a breath. “I already lost one team because of this, I won't lose another. We're going to figure out what the hell is going on and put a stop to it. There is no way we're going to let this continue. They aren't just putting operations at risk. They are putting our country at risk.”

Griz stalked away, then spun back. “I'm in. When we get home, we need to set up a sting to get them to reveal who they are. Someone is operating as a double agent, and they're going to end up getting more people killed.”

Squat held up one hand. “I don't mean to put a damper on this, but first, we have to get out of here. Can we even call in exfil, or will they attack that position, too?”

Sharp threw up his hands. “Fuck. We’re so fucked.”

Jay stood and adjusted his equipment. “We need to sleep in shifts. I’ll go up top and take the first watch.”

Apple stood. “I’ll join you. The rest of you get some sleep.”

Sharp tapped Griz on the shoulder. “Thanks, guys. The two of us will take the next watch.”

“That will leave me and Shine for the last,” Squat said.

“Only if you’re doing okay. We can’t have you passing out from pain.”

He grunted. “I'll be fine.” The pain had decreased, or maybe it was just the meds doing the talking.

They were in a shitty situation, and he didn't want to think about how bad it could get.

Someone on the inside was being a dick. They weren't screwing over every mission, but enough shit had gone bad in the last few years that he knew it had to be someone on the inside.

Now, they just had to find the person before they ended up dead.