It wasn’t that I was ashamed of Ryan, or my sexuality. I’d come out as bi when I was twenty-one. There’d been a few homophobic pricks, but I took care of them. And the ones who’d slipped past me?
Max, Mimic, Taff, and Raffle took care of those.
No, it wasn’t about my sexuality. It was because Ryan was mine.
I didn’t want to share him.
My breathing was harsh as I led my men forward. There’d been a time when I’d been thrilled to be in the same unit as my friends. To know that the soldiers at my back could be trusted to keep it safe.
But the years under the desert sun had been cruel. I’d watched people I knew die. Held them while they bled out. Zipped them into body bags and cried late at night,wondering how their loved ones back home would react when they got the news.
It made me wonder what would happen if it was me. People here might mourn me, but would anyone back home? I hadn’t spoken to my so-called father since I left. I exchanged the odd text with Max and Ryan’s mum, but we couldn’t be considered close.
Really, there was only one person I cared about. I might have been a selfish prick, but I didn’t want Ryan to mourn me. All I’d done was cause him pain. I’d hate to do that again.
With how we’d left things? I suspected I didn’t need to worry about that.
What I did need to worry about was dying before I got the chance to make things right with Ryan. It had been my biggest fear for a while now.
That, and having to zip a bag closed over Max’s face. Or Raffle’s, Mimic’s, or Taff’s.
I wouldn’t come back from it.
Only two years to go.Not just for me, but Max, Raffle, and Mimic too. Taff was leaving even sooner—just five weeks until he’d be back home.
We were so close.
So damned close.
As we crept towards the edge of a dilapidated building, I heard a scuffing noise. I threw up my hand, and the three of us came to a halt. We stayed like that for an eternity, or maybe just a few minutes. Out here, there was no real way to know. Time didn’t follow the normal linear progression. Hours could feel like days, seconds like hours.
Eventually, the silence had lasted long enough for us to chance moving. Inhaling slowly, I took a cautious step forward. A second. A third.
Nothing happened.
Behind me, Taff sighed. “Thank fuck. I really thought?—”
I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. Moonlight reflecting off metal.
“Incoming!” I bellowed. “Get down!”
Raffle hit the ground like a bag of bricks. But Taff…Taff was frozen. His eyes were wide, fixed on a spot in the distance. Fear clutched my throat as I followed his gaze to the sniper. The rifle trained on Taff’s head.
I didn’t think.
That’s a lie.
I had two thoughts.
Not Taff.
He’s getting out and going home to his little girl.
My body slammed into his, throwing us towards the ground. A hiss went past my ear. Close. Too close.
Pain seared the side of my neck. A hot flash followed by icy numbness.
Way too fucking close.
