"Fire, move now!" Bullet yells between shots, and he finally listens and begins to run. I watch the area through my gun and miss how Kaleb lands on the ground. When I pull my scope back to him, he's holding his shoulder and trying to get up before he's ambushed.
"We're being ambushed. We have to fucking go now." I feel Steele begin to lift the chopper.
"Don't you dare fucking leave him." My voice is very loud in my own ear. My demand was heard, and he better fucking listen.
"Go, Steele. Get him the fuck out of here." Kaleb's voice crushes my heart.
"No," I argue, only to have them talk over me.
"We have to go now. We'll all die if we don't get the fuck out of here." The forcefulness of Steele's voice is cold, and I'm instantly pissed. I take out the three men holding Kaleb down, missing him every single time, only to have more grab him. We lift off the ground, and my heart falls out of my chest, smashing all over the ground below. I can't fucking feel. I can't breathe, and panic begins to flood through my veins. We're leaving him. I can't. I love him. I can't breathe. I'm dying inside. They'll kill him.
I work hard to keep my focus on Kaleb for as long as my scope will allow and watch him move his head. He's alive. I send off one last shot and kill the fucker holding the knife near Kaleb's face before I'm no longer able to see him.
There's so much fire in the air and a few hit the chopper, but don't disable us. I stand quickly and move my rifle to the side of Steele's head and hold it point blank. "Go the fuck back, right now, or I'll blow your goddamn head off."
"I can't. We have to get Al-Quaren to the States." I feel a firm grip on my shoulders and a familiar voice in my ear.
"Elliott. We had to move. We were all going down if we didn't."
"Harris. I can't leave him. Make them go back now." Tears fill my eyes as I try to talk around the giant lump in my throat. I can't breathe and only lower the rifle when Harris guides it out of my hands. I fall to my knees and cry as I hear Kaleb for a second in my ear. His guttural sounds almost kill me as I hear him hurting. I wish he would say something to me.
"Fire. Talk to me." I listen for him to respond.
"Ti amo, ghiaccio." I have no idea what he's saying.
"I'm coming back for you. I promise. Stay alive. I need you." I listen for more and only hear Spanish coming through.
"Cierra la boca. Yo te torturo tan lentamente. Te deseo que ya estaban muertos." I don't waste time asking Harris to translate. I want Kaleb to hear me as long as he can.
"Please fight for me. Don't let them break you." The sound in my ears goes silent, but the sound of my heart fills it.
"Harris, what did he say?"
"He said he loved you in Italian."
"Oh my god. Please go back. Please, please, please fucking go back for him, Steele."
"Ice. We will. I just need to deliver him, then we're coming back."
"NO. NO. NO. NO. We're fucking coming back tonight. Drop me, Steele. I can't leave him." I don't recognize my own voice.
"You're not going in alone. We need to regroup and get our shit together. We don't operate like that."
"Fuck how you operate. If you leave a man behind, then I want no fucking part of this team." I reach for the cable that drops us, in hopes of getting it loose before someone has a chance to stop me, but I fail. Harris is standing too close and pulls me into his arms, holding me tight, and I want to kill him right here for stopping me from jumping.
"Harris, let me go. I swear to God, I'll kill you." I pull out my pistol and set it on his temple.
FIRE - Prologue
KALEB
I can hear her in my ear as they pull away. The sound of her voice screaming keeps me fighting until I don't have a choice. There's too many of them. I can lie here and take their brutal attacks all fucking day because I know she's safe. I'll play their games as long as it takes. I'll either die this way, or I'll kill a few of these mother fuckers and find my way out of here and back to her.
I feel the scrape of the gravel across my skin as my body is dragged to god knows where. My eyes are both swollen shut from some assholes steel toed boot to my face. I have no clue where I'm at. I only know there's tiny fucking pebbles digging in to my flesh. I'm not an idiot. I know this is only the beginning of the torture I'll receive.
I feel at least five sets of hands grip my flesh and throw me on the back of a truck like a bag of trash. The landing only intensifies my already bruised ribs, but I welcome the pain. It means I'm still alive.
I focus on the sounds around me, trying to memorize every single fucking sound. There's nothing but the harsh whispers of the night. My focus shifts to the loud cawing scream coming from above. I can hear the vulture circling as if there is something here to feed off of. I refuse to believe that's my fate and silently will that fucker to choke on the next rotting flesh it preys on.
The rumble of the truck engine starting reminds me of the truck we were moved in earlier, but it's slightly smoother. I imagine an old farm truck with a similar bed as I'm flipped to my face so some dickhead can tie me up tighter. The restraints are harsh and I'm trying my hardest not to fight back. I need the element of surprise on my side and I'm positive having two eyes that will open would be a great help.
I start to focus on the movements of the truck as I'm man-handled. The further away we get, the harder it is to swallow. I know it'll be hard as fuck for my team to find me now. My only hope is to stay alive long enough that my guys can find me. They're great at what they do and they will find me. I'm just not sure how long it'll take them. Their first priority is to get the target back to the States under any conditions and if any of them falter from that I'll personally kick their ass myself.
The sound of the truck breaking pulls me back to the reality of the nightmare I'm living. I'm lifted to my feet by the ropes that I'm bound by and shoved face first off the back of the truck. I will kill this mother fucker the second I'm free. I can smell his fucking filth everywhere and will never forget it.
The feeling of my body scraping against the ground again pulls to surface the pain I'm trained to deal with. It doesn't make it easier. I fight the urge to vomit as they drag me into a wooded area. The rustling of dried leaves crunching under their boots on what I can imagine as a stoned filled road burns into my memory. I'm trying to recognize everything I can. I'm hoping like fuck that I'll need this information in the near future.
The voices from their foreign language all ring in my head long after I'm tossed into some sort of cold cemented cell, the metal door is slammed sealing me to my fate for now. These men have no idea who they have fucked with. I'll build my strength in here. My mind begins to run a race of its own. I roll over and spit out the blood that's pooling in my mouth and try not to think about anything but her.
Jade's beautiful skin lights up my memories and even through this fucking hell, I can feel her. I know she's mad as fuck and won't stop until she gets to me. This should be comforting to me, but it scares the fuck out of me. I can handle anything they do to torture me, but if they lay one fucking finger on her it'll feel like I'm being gutted.
I have to keep her inside and safe. She'll give me the strength I need to get through this no matter what my fate is and I know my team won't let anything happen to her. That's all I can do for now. I'll let her be my angel in this hell. She's my blonde haired beauty. The woman I'm falling in love with and she'll be the strength I need to survive.
I hear more voices outside the door and I work to translate their disgusting words that are barely audible to my ears. Chicken shit motherfuckers. My knowledge of how this works should have me shitting myself in fear, but I'll be fucking damned if these assholes will ever smell fear coming from me.
I wish they'd come in here and untie me. Let me have a fair chance against their bullshit. But I know how this works. Most likely I'll be left here to die unless they find a reason to keep me alive. In the grand scheme of things that isn't likely. They can do whatever they want to me. I can spend the last few days of my life knowing I succeeded. I never once faltered my country and given the chance to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat. There's only one thing I'd do different. I can't change it now and even if I could, I'm not sure how I could stay away.
A tiny tear slips out of my eye and across my nose as I think about the way it should be. I was so close to having everything. My heart is still full and even though I'll most likely never feel her soft skin again, I swear I can smell her right here and now. I swallow hard and acknowledge the reality of this situation. The odds of me making it through this are very slim. I can only hold on to the memories and die with a vision of her in my head.