Prologue
Afghanistan 2015
PATSY
“Good! Where are you?”
The captain’s voice echoed in my ears, and though I knew my team had been searching for me and O’Malley for the last five days, I wasn’t sure it was actually them.They could be ghosts.But how I wished they weren’t.I could be dead.And after what Tommy and I had been going through, I wished I was.
The beatings had gone on for days now, and Tommy had stopped screaming last night. He no longer responded to my tearful pleas, and the blindfold prevented me from cataloging the damage to my mate’s body. If it was anything like my own, O’Malley was in bad shape.
After becoming separated from the team on routine patrol, we’d come under heavy fire before being captured and getting word out had been impossible. Then again, the Taliban fucks who’d taken our coms, didn’t care about team protocol. We’d been stripped naked and hung up in chains in a place which smelled like a barn underneath the sharp coppery scent of our blood.
“Captain!” Even to me own ears, my voice was weak and gravelly, barely a whisper coming out of my ravaged throat. I’d not had even a sip of water the first two and a half days until they probably realized we’d perish without some or had carefully calculated what they could get away with.Bloody bastards.
The entire time, I’d despaired that Captain Sorensen and the men I called brothers would find us in time. I was dehydrated, in constant agony, and was fairly sure I was bleeding internally. I’d fought against the chains initially, but now even the slightest effort sent blinding pain radiating up my shoulders, upper arms, and ribs as I hung in midair. They’d taken us down and rehung us at all hours of the day and night. The automatic gunfire was constant now, getting closer, screams of dying men a low buzz in my ringing ears as a door suddenly burst open.
“Patsy! Tommy!” The sound of boots charging across the floor blotted out the sound of Snicker’s distressed cry.
“Christ. Get them down…but be as gentle as you can, Napoleon.”
I cried out as strong arms surrounded my bare torso, the pain in my broken ribs utterly excruciating. “Smith?” The strangled voice that came out no longer sounded like me.
“Yeah, it’s me, Irish,” came the broken, near whisper close to my ear. “Easy, brother.” I was lifted and then lowered to the ground, the chains rattling as I crumpled to the dirt.
“Tommy—”
“He’s gone, Patsy,” the captain replied softly.
The blindfold came away, and blurred images flashed in front of my eyes for only a second before I squeezed them shut as light rushed in painfully, blotting out the faces of men I knew and loved. “How bad is he?”
“Bad, Captain, but I’ll carry him.” The deep, rumbling anger in Smith’s voice was palpable as I reached out, trying to loop arms around my friend’s neck. I couldn’t stop the cry of agony as they refused to cooperate, dropping limply to the dirt.
“Ribs,” I whispered.
“That’s okay, buddy. I’ve got you.”
“Take me home.” The tears came as a canteen touched my lips. I took a sip, feeling the water touch my swollen tongue as someone worked the chains on my wrists. The canteen was withdrawn much too quickly.
“Not too much, Snickers. We don’t know what kind of internal injuries he’s sustained until I can get a good look at him.” Almond’s softly spoken, cultured British accent made my eyes water even more. Knowing they were all here would have been everything…except for the fact that O’Malley hadn’t made it through. We were going home with one of us in a box.
“Gotta go, Smith.”
“Okay, Captain. It’s gonna be okay.” Napoleon’s soft voice cooed close to my ear. Strong arms lifted me, and I bit my cracked lower lip as pain ripped through me. Close to passing out, I buried my face in Napoleon’s vest as I was carried out of the stinking hell hole they’d found me in, knowing in the back of me mind…I’d never be okay again.
Chapter One
Present Day
PATSY
I came awake with a gasp, bolting upright in bed as my eyes flew open. I sucked in breath, frantic as I glanced around. Shudders rolled through my body until I realized, though it was dark, I was alone and safe in my own bedroom. My heart pounded in my chest as I panted.
“Another feckin’ dream,” I growled, scrubbing angrily over my face with both hands, both comforted and irritated by the sound of my own voice in the empty room. The curtains billowed into the room, bringing with them the pleasing sound of rain the weatherman had promised. I lay a palm over my chest, grateful that I could feel my heartbeat rapidly returning to normal now I’d got my bearings. I glanced at the digital display of my bedside clock, noting it was only 12:43 a.m. Digging the heels of my hands into both eyes, I instinctively knew there’d be no more sleep for me tonight, none at all without the help of modern medicine.Grand!
Pissed off at the thought, I tossed the covers aside and slipped out of bed, ignoring the chill on my naked body. I padded across the hardwood flooring to my small bathroom and flipped on the light, heading straight for my medicine cabinet. Yanking it open, I tried to ignore the expression on my face in the mirror. The sight of the nearly empty bottle of ZzzQuil in the cabinet made me groan.
“Fuck!” I pulled the bottle out of the cabinet and twisted the cap, downing the final few drops before chucking the emptybottle into the bin. I slammed the mirrored door shut so hard it bounced back open. Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm down as I slowly closed it until it caught.
