“No,” Sam said a fewmoments later.“There were reasons I wanted to get into the medicalprofession, but I knew I could do more in the Marines than I evercould in a hospital here.”
“You’ve kept those reasonsto yourself all these years, so I’m not going to attempt to get youto share them with me now,” Dev said quietly.“And I would have toagree with you.I lost count of the number of men you saved withyour training, both with a med kit and with your rifle.But what Ifind interesting as fuck about that is that you knew almostimmediately what the best way forward for you was.I got yourrecords.I know you could have made it as a surgeon, and hadscholarships galore lined up at prestigious schools.Yet you choseto muck in with us on the front lines and risk your life on a dailybasis.”
Sam shrugged, a little embarrassed bythe direction the conversation had gone.“Yeah, well as I said.Iknew that the Marines was the life for me, and as soon as I wasassigned to your crew, it was like a confirmation that the decisionhad been the right one to make.”
Again Dev nodded, and from the way hiseyes narrowed, Sam knew he had walked into whatever the fuck trapthe smart bastard had set up for him.“That’s awesome to hear,Sam,” Dev said but from his tone, Sam knew he was about to lay outin the open whatever it was the big bastard had come into his roomto say.“You make decisions in a split second.You can assess asituation in the blink of an eye and then make the right move,which is a characteristic a good doctor needs, and hell, it’s alsosomething that makes a good sniper.So, why are you being sofucking stubborn when it comes to recognizing how right the Sheriffand Aiden might be for you on a personal level?”
Sam froze for a moment as images ofthe two men flickered through his mind.Not as they were the lasttime he had seen them, working a crime scene here at CTF, but asthey had been the first time he’d met them.All three of themcovered in the dust, sweat, and blood of an unexpected attack on aUS armed forces base in the Kunar Province.Sam remembered thesound of the RPGs whistling through the air, the yells of the menon base calling out commands, trying to gain control of thesituation and launch an offensive, and the air tinged with thesmell of the gunpowder and the coppery tang of blood.But in themadness, he found authority in the blue-eyed Captain calling outcommands to his men, and calm in the eyes of the Explosive OrdnanceDisposal technician.
“Damn, I wish I had acamera,” Dev murmured, pulling Sam from his thoughts.
Sam frowned.“What the hellfor?”
“Because I reckon if Icould take a photo of your face in this moment, and the look on it,which I can only describe as need, then perhaps you would get offyour ass and do something about it.”Dev moved off the couch.“Look, Sam, I’ve known you for six damn years, and you have neverbacked down from a confrontation.Yet, in this case, it looks to meand the rest of the team that you are running scared, and that isnot like you.”Dev moved toward the door but stopped before hewalked through it and turned back to look at him.“Finn told mewhat you said to him that night he decided to forgive me.Do youremember what you said?”
Sam shrugged.“Knowing me it wasprobably something pretty fucking profound.”
Dev barked a laugh and pulled a pieceof notepaper from the front pocket of his jeans.“Yeah, I wouldhave to agree with you there.You suggested that Finn ask himselfwhat he wanted for his future.You made him think about a futurewith me, and one without me, and for the rest of my life I will beso damn grateful to you for that.But now, it’s your turn, Sam.What is it that you want for your future?”He threw the paper downon the coffee table.“Seems to me that the there are two men inthis town who want to be a part of your future.The question is, doyou see yourself as part of theirs?”
With that the big bastard walked out,leaving Sam in a swirl of conflicting emotions, staring at thepiece of paper Dev had thrown down with a heart filled with mixedemotions.Cursing he reached forward and plucked the paper from thetable and unfolded it.There was phone number written below onehandwritten sentence.It was not in Dev’s handwriting either, buthe had a feeling who knew exactly who wrote it.
We aren’t looking for youto be a passing character in a chapter of our lives, but the leadwho helps complete our happy ending.
Sam exhaled sharply at the words,knowing exactly what they meant, and where they came from, and hewas unable to stop himself from tumbling directly into the memoriesfrom a year and a half ago that came with it.
ChapterFour
Eighteen monthsago
“I’m telling you, Sam,there has to be an easier way!”
Sam laughed breathlessly at the wordsfrom his friend Greg, who lay on the ground next to him, strugglingto draw enough oxygen into his lungs.
“I agree,” Sam groaned,pushing himself to a sitting position, “but if you can find a wayto complete our CFTs without actually running so much we cough up alung let me know.”
As a Marine, Sam and the rest of histeam had to undergo Combat Fitness Training tests on a regularbasis.Sam had missed the last joint session with Bravo team due toa medical upskilling course he’d been sent on, so he was flyingsolo for this one.
Greg groaned as he pressed up to asitting position, and the two of them looked around at the othereither men who were all suffering the same pain.“We’re medics.Wehave to know how to save lives and make sure we stay alive, but I’mnot sure how all these obstacles and maneuvering under fire drillsis going to help us do that.”
Sam laughed and opened his mouth tospeak, but a loud explosion had the words dying in his mouth, asthe ground shook beneath him.
“We’re under attack!”avoice shouted, and then all hell broke loose.
Sam leaped up and ran forhis quarters, dodging men from all armed forces running for thesame thing.The ground shook again as an RPG exploded thirty feetfrom him, taking out one of the equipment stores.Gunfire, thesteadytat-tat-tatof automatic gunfire and the distinctive boom of largercaliber weapons filled the air.He slammed into his quarters,vaguely aware that there were other men suiting up in the barrackat the same time, and ran straight to his locker.He pulled on hisflak jacket, grabbed his rifle, all the ammo he had, and pulled hismedical kit onto his back.Grabbing his helmet, he ran for the backentrance of the barracks, intent on getting to the command post onthe far side of the base.
He’d just stepped out of the buildingwhen it exploded behind him, throwing him into the air, andslamming him back to the ground as debris from the explosion fellaround him.Winded, his ears ringing, Sam stayed still waiting forhis equilibrium to return.As he was starting to hear more thanjust the sound of his own breathing, a man pulled him up from theground.A little shocked that someone was able to manhandle him infull kit seemingly so easily, Sam wavered slightly on hisfeet.
“You okay, Marine?”theman shouted, his voice only slightly muted, which Sam knew meantthat his hearing would soon be returning to normal.The man wastall, built like a man who spent a lot of time lifting weightsshould be and had the most startling blue eyes Sam had everseen.
“Yes, sir.”With a quickglance at the man’s shoulders, he knew he was addressing an armyCaptain.“There were men in the barracks, though.Weshould—”
Sam stopped talking when the Captainshook his head.“No one survived that blast.It was a direct hit.Come on, we are pulling back to the bunkers in the center of thebase.”
Heart heavy at the loss of life, Samnodded and ran to follow the man as he made his way through thesmoke toward the center of the base.There was a series of bunkersbuilt at the center that was used by officers to coordinatemovements and men.They were almost to the structures when the manSam was following stopped suddenly and cursed.
Sam looked at the tall man and sawthree men lying bleeding on the ground fifteen feet ahead of them,and from the looks of things, they had each taken a round or two.Two of them were moving, trying to drag themselves out of the lineof fire, but the third wasn’t moving at all.Watching carefully,Sam saw the man’s chest rise and fall, so he knew he was alive atleast.
Sam cast his eyes around and mentallydrew up the map of the base and the surrounding areas.“They have asniper.He has to be on top of the building at the entrance to thatsmall bombed out township half a click from the base.”
