“Don’t attack,” a smooth voice says from beside her.
Her eyes snap open, glaring at Matt, silently praying the plane crashes and takes him out for her. “What the fuck could you possibly want right now?” she snarls, kicking herself for lining him up to make another obscene comment.
“Calm down, honey badger. Your guard dogs will be back soon to drag me away. I just wanted to apologize.” The shock on her face must be obvious because Matt shakes his head and a small laugh escapes. “Don’t look so surprised. I’m not a total asshole. Scott told me the only way to get on your good side is to get you mad. Says that’s how Reaper won you over?—”
“He doesn’t know shit about me, or Riley, let alone anything that went on between us. Riley was kind and protective. He made sure I felt safe, even in my worst moments. He may have pushed me, but he never took things too far. He didn’t just waltz in, make some backhanded comment about being rejected, which I wasn’t by the way, and finish it off with saying he wanted to fuck me like some delusional fucking pig,” she snaps, trying to keep her voice low and tone as calm as she can given the situation.
“You’re right. I swear, I was not trying to be disrespectful when I said you were dedicated to him. I read your file when Scott first asked me to join, I really do admire your strength and determination. Reaper is kind of a legend, like a ghost story that gets told around the bases. That day and what he said about you spread like fucking wildfire. I’m sorry, but you won’t convince me he didn’t mean it. No one has ever seen or heard about a woman in his life; he’s known for being completely dedicated to the job.” He glances over, seeing the anger brewing behind her eyes, he quickly finishes, “The moment I saw you walking down the hall, all I could think was how bad he fucked up that day. Still, it was not my place to make assumptions or sexualize you, and for that, I am deeply sorry. I shouldn’t have blindly listened to the boss man and just gotten to know you for myself.”
Matt was there one minute and gone the next. Now tossed into the aisle like a pile of dirty laundry, an angry Alex stands over him, looking like he is ready to open the cargo door and toss him out. Matt scrambles to his feet, attempting to stutter out a poor explanation of what he was doing. “I thought my orders were pretty clear, soldier,” Alex barks, gaining the attention of almost everyone currently awake.
Mikey comes running up behind them, his arms full of sandwiches. His wild eyes scan everywhere, trying to figure out what is going on.
“I was just apologizing and heading back to my seat, sir,” Matt stammers.
Alex turns to face Liz, looking to her for confirmation, though it may not matter at this point.
“He was, it’s fine.” Liz gives Alex a soft smile. He steps aside and lets Matt slink back to his seat. Wordlessly, he walks away, grabbing a handful of the food Mikey is passing out to their unit and starts handing it to everyone waiting on the other side. When the crew has their food, the two men find their way back to their seats. A tightly wrapped sandwich lands in Liz’s lap as Mikey plops down next to her. One look at the food sends her stomach into knots. Wondering how anyone can stomach eating this close to a mission, she tries to hand it back to him.
“Oh no, you’re eating, darlin. Remember what Ry said when he first agreed to train you? Gotta take care of yourself; no food means no energy. No energy means you get sloppy,” he says through a mouthful of his own sandwich.
Liz watches him with a mix of awe and disgust, tearing into his food like he hadn’t eaten four plates before leaving. The wrapper crinkles as she opens it, and she quickly wipes away the tears welling in her eyes. The sound reminded her so much of the first meal she had with Riley, when her brain shoved her fearand mistrust aside and let her enjoy the smallest moment with him.
“You want to tell me what happened or should I go beat it out of Matt when I’m done?” There is not a hint of sarcasm in his voice. While grateful he pulled her from the spiral she was about to embark on, Liz has no clue how to explain what happened. She digs into her food before she starts.
“Nothing really. I think he apologized, in a fucked-up kind of way.” Mikey doesn’t bother asking her to elaborate, just raises his eyebrows and continues to eat. “He did apologize, but he said he’s never going to believe Riley didn’t mean what he said to Dmitri. He also said general dick bag told him to be mean if he wants to get on my good side.”
“Damn, I guess it’s good he apologized but try to keep your distance. Alex will get rid of him, you know, just say the word and he’s gone. Once he likes you, the guy is almost as protective as Ry,” Mikey says through another mouthful of food.
Liz wonders if he even has the ability to talk if he’s not chewing at the same time. She nibbles her food enough to make him happy, trying not to run to the bathroom and throw it all up. One more stop and they will be on the last leg of the long journey to Russia. By this time tomorrow, they should be on a plane back with Riley in tow.
“Has Riley ever brought women around? Like, had a girlfriend or anything?” she asks quietly, leaning over, hoping everyone is asleep. She tries to forget what Matt told her, but the little anxiety gremlin in her brain keeps forcing her to replay every word Riley said, remembering how he could not look her in the eyes. Her heart so desperately wants to believe it isn’t true, but her brain keeps doubting.
“What? Why would you ask that?” His brows knit together. He turns to find Matt sitting a few rows back, paying themno mind. “Did he say something? Ry only has eyes for you. You know that, right?”
“I want to believe that, but ever since that day, I can’t stop thinking about it. Matt told me he is like some mythical person everyone tells stories about. Word got around about him ‘rejecting’ me, and he may have mentioned no one has ever heard about Riley being with anyone. Apparently, he is married to his mission.” She pulls her feet under her on the small seat, loops her arms around her friend’s, and rests her head on his shoulder, the day finally catching up to her.
“I didn’t know him very well before all his shit went down, but yeah, he has had flings, never a full-blown girlfriend or anything, but that was before he was taken. You’ve been the only woman he’s shown any interest in since then. Try not to worry about what idiots like Matt say. Focus on tomorrow, and I promise when we get home, I’ll tell you what happened after that rocket got fired.” Mikey holds out his free arm, allowing her to loop her finger through his.
He is right, she shouldn’t be worried if a boy likes her or not, she needs to focus on the fact that in nine hours, she is going to be strapped to her friend, thrown out of a plane, and into a battlefield. She forces her eyes closed, taking slow, controlled breaths until sleep creeps in and takes hold.
CHAPTER 5
Jumping from a plane and plummeting twenty-seven thousand feet to the ground wasn’t nearly as terrifying as Liz thought it would be. The moment their boots touch soil, Mikey releases the clip holding Liz securely against his chest. She brushes off the embarrassment of having to tandem jump while all the others have been trained and jump alone.
Mikey expertly unhooks his harness, dropping it behind him, and picks up his rifle in one swift movement. Meanwhile, Liz embarrasses herself further while she struggles to get everything unhooked as fast as possible. She sucks in a sharp breath, trying to steady herself. This is not the time to break down and she knows it. She forced them to let her join the mission, and she needs to prove to not only them, but to herself, it wasn’t a mistake.
After three miles of walking through the dense forest, Mikey signals for the team to slow. Gunshots begin to ring out ahead of them, echoing through the trees, signaling the other squads have made it to the hideout. Sticking close to her battle buddy, Liz walks through the trees with her gun up, keeping her head on a swivel, just as Riley had shown her. The gunfire lasts only a fewminutes before ceasing. Something has either gone right for once, or really wrong once again.
As they approach, Mikey radios the rest of their squad to break off. Two head in one direction, two more in the opposite, while Liz and Mikey continue straight.
The trees thin, opening to a wide expanse of tall grass and wildflowers. Giant rocks and flower-filled bushes dot the field, perfect for cover as they trudge forward. Another half mile from them sits the small, seemingly abandoned town Dmitri has taken over. They keep pushing forward. The closer they come to the town full of shacks, the more everything feels off. There are no alarms blaring, no voices shouting. Gun fire no longer rings, the only noise is the sound of two sets of feet moving through the foliage. The pair exchange silent glances, keeping pace with the rest of the team. They make it to the edge of the town where half their unit is waiting. Mikey spots Alex standing in the front, talking to a small group of soldiers. A handful of bodies litter the ground, but it’s clear they have not used this location to hide for a while.
“Where the hell is everyone?” Mikey asks, approaching the group huddled together.
“I don’t know. The intel we got from the general said he was here. There should have been more than twelve men on guard. I don’t like this,” Alex says, intently watching his portable radar system.
When it doesn’t detect movement from anywhere in the town, he turns to the group to reorganize. “Alright, listen up. Our intel is bad. We need to find anything we can and get to the evac point. We are clear, but keep your radars on. Radio if you find anything or anyone.”
