Fifty yards out, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
A sense of impending doom presses down on my chest.
There’s no reason for it. Everything should be fine. The intel was sound. At this time of night, the streets are quiet, and the windows in the surrounding buildings are dark. We’re nearly there. Just a few minutes, and the target will be neutralized.
But something doesn’t feel right.
My footsteps stutter. My heart jumps.
“Something’s off,” I murmur into my comm. “I’m not sure?—”
But I’m interrupted by an explosion of gunfire.
“Down!” Garrett shouts. “Get down!”
But before we can, a bomb detonates ahead of us, knocking us off our feet.
Garrett takes the brunt of it, and he’s tossed several yards backward before crashing to the ground.
Levi calls out, “Retreat! We’ll cover you! Go!”
I pull myself to my feet, taking stock. I’m bruised. Hot blood runs down my face. My forehead stings. But I’m all in one piece.
Rhett and I race over to Garrett, who’s still lying on the ground. As we reach him, Garrett sits up. His expression is dazed. A trickle of blood leaks from his mouth.
My heart leaps to my throat.
“Lynx,” I say, using his nickname. “Can you?—”
“I’m okay,” he says. Pushing himself to his feet, he wobbles a little before regaining his balance. “I’m okay.”
Then, with Rhett flanking him on one side and me on the other, we start running back in the direction we came. Bullets fly around us, both from the tangos and our own team. Someone screams, a high-pitched wail that trails off into nothing.
Another bomb explodes to our left, but we keep going. Garrett stumbles, but he stays on his feet. Time seems to speed up and stretch on forever at the same time.
The distance to reach cover is only a few hundred yards, but it feels like miles.
But we finally reach it—a shell of a structure that used to be a house, but gives us enough cover to regroup. To turn the tables on the men who attacked us, and hopefully take out our target as well.
By the time we get there, Rhett and I are practically carrying Garrett. Levi and Alec crowd around us, their expressions hard with anger, their gazes dark with concern. “Lynx,” Levi says. “Where are you hurt?”
“Don’t worry about me,” Garrett replies. He coughs, and blood comes out. “Get these fuckers. I’ll stay here and give—” He coughs again. “Cover. Just?—”
He collapses.
Dropping down beside him, I call over my shoulder, “I’ll guard Lynx. You guys go.”
“Where’s Sawyer?” Levi asks. Tension strains his voice. “I don’t see Sawyer.”
Garrett makes a horrible, choking sound. Blood bubbles from his mouth.
My heart stops. “Garrett.”
“It’s okay, King,” he replies weakly. Then he gives me a smile that looks more like a grimace. “It’s okay. I think… this time… my luck’s… run out.”
“No.” My heart tears in two. “No. You’re going to be fine. Just?—”
As I’m looking into the eyes of my dying friend, suddenly, everything shifts.
