Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 157672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 788(@200wpm)___ 631(@250wpm)___ 526(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 788(@200wpm)___ 631(@250wpm)___ 526(@300wpm)
“Meyers and Pitts,” he calls, his chest heaving at the effort.
Pitts stirs, groaning, “Yeah, boss.”
“Smartass.”
Max’s eyes glint in the dim light, locking with mine. “Nice job, Marine. Tell Black and Hayes they kicked ass.”
He’s back to hallucinating.
I begin to reply when his eyelids shutter and my insides seize.
His facial muscles go lax, his mouth parting.
The light of his pupils fades.
A rattling breath escapes his trembling lips.
Déjà vu slams into me, having seen this before. It’s not something anyone could ever forget.
His body is shutting down.
“Goddammit. Fucking crashing!” I get to my knees, ripping open his shirt and yelling for Ace.
“Roberts, you asshole, you’re not dying on me. I’ll reach into your chest and pump your heart myself!”
Max’s eyes close right as I start the compressions.
A cup of coffee appears in my line of sight and I decline.
“You did what you could.” Gage drops it in the trash and sits.
“Wasn’t enough.”
“He’s breathing.”
“He’s in a coma and on a goddamn machine keeping him alive.”
“He’ll wake up.”
I grind my teeth, tempering the anger simmering under the surface. If it would make a difference, I’d gladly knock the shit out of his Pollyanna positive outlook.
“We should have been there, gotten to them sooner.” A quick glance at Ford, Ace, and Major tells me they agree.
“Got the go-ahead and went in.”
His matter-of-fact smug tone sets me over the edge. In a nano-second, I have him pinned against the wall, nose to nose. “You ever been in the service, Gage? Ever had the blood of your men on your hands? Watched friends die?”
His eyes burn but he remains quiet.
“You served, you know time is of the essence. Diplomatic conversations at the local coffee clutch don’t play into missions. We find our guys and get them. End of fucking story. It’s my fault we have two guys in critical going through withdrawals and Max is on a ventilator. Of all the guys I could have picked, it was you. A goddamned fucking …” I trail off, knowing his identification is still classified.
“You think you picked me? You cocky son of a bitch, I saw you coming from a mile away. Who do you think tipped Ricardo off his sister was romancing an American boy on vacation?”
I tighten my forearm at this throat, rendering his words. “You wanted out.”
“Fuck yeah, tired of pussyfooting around with this shit. But unlike you, I’m not a renegade cowboy. There’s a bigger picture here. This wasn’t about three American Marines, it’s about millions of lives. Max Roberts knew what he was doing.”
“He’s right, Max knew.” A familiar voice cuts in the air.
My head swings to find Robbie, Finn, James, and a man in a lab coat with weary expressions, taking in the scene.
“Stand down, Simms,” Robbie commands.
“What the hell?”
Gage takes advantage of the distraction, shoving me to the side.
Rand, Hugo, and Blade get to their feet, resembling anxious schoolboys in the presence of James. If the situation wasn’t so extreme, their nervous shuffle would be comical.
“We have enough to deal with as it is. You think you can control yourself long enough for us to see our guys and get our doctor up to speed?” James cocks an eyebrow.
Feeling like a scolded child, I nod dejectedly.
The four of them head down the hall, and I collapse back into a chair, raking my hands through my hair.
Exhaustion seeps into my bones. I don’t remember the last time I slept. We’ve been in this hospital for what? Twelve hours?
Thoughts of Willow take over.
Major relayed what happened the morning in the kitchen with enough flare and dramatics, he had us all entertained. All except Ford.
Rand, Hugo, and Blade’s hysterics dried up quickly. Being described as goofballs, pretty boys, and amateurs didn’t sit well.
Ford finally cracked a smile.
But they were holding something back.
When I questioned her studies, they were dismissive.
When I mentioned Wyatt, they hadn’t seen him.
When I asked about Bex, Lucas, Rowan, Harley, Jewlss the kids, and the parents—they were short-lipped.
It fucking pissed me off, but I knew the drill.
Provide just enough information to keep my head in the game.
No distractions.
People’s lives were at stake, and diversions resulted in death.
Regardless, something was definitely going on.
It’s been too fucking long since I heard her voice.
As soon as James officially gives the word and seals this operation, someone better return my Goddamn phone.
Half an hour passes before Robbie and Finn stroll back in. I’m barely on my feet when Robbie yanks me into his hard body, pounding on my back.
“Heard what you said. Only a few times in my life have I felt that kind of fear. Fuck if I didn’t think you’d actually keep his heart pumping. You saved him.”
There’s an edge of raw emotion in his voice I know well.
He lets me go, only for Finn to repeat the same actions. “Fuck of a good job.”