Drones are noiseless, but missiles turning the school at the end of the street along with half the other buildings in town into pillars of fire are not.
And neither are my screams.
When it’s over, I hear true and absolute silence. Everyone in our squad besides the three of us is dead, the pieces of shit using the school as a shield are dead, and I’m pretty sure anyone left in the town is dead as well.
It’s in that very moment where I make my decision, and it’s in that same moment where I convince Bryce and Hudson to come with me. It’s then that we desert and just walk away from all of it. We’re already dead, as far as intel is concerned, and from there it’s over the border to China, and then to the Mediterranean, and then Africa and the mercenary work; and later, to William Archer.
And from that moment on, our whole lives change.
“Wait, where are we?”
I grin to myself in my seat across the cabin from Quinn, watching her lips curl into one of those sexy, intriguing and curious smiles of hers. Apparently, keeping secrets from this girl can be fun after all.
“Why do you ask?” I say as casually as possible, trying to hide my grin as she turns back to me with that questioning smile on her face.
“Uh, because I’m not looking at a map, but I’m one-hundred percent positive that’s not Seattle down there.”
I frown and shake my head as nonchalantly as possible; “It isn’t?”
“Unless Seattle has suddenly found itself a white sandy beach with palm trees?” She arches her brow at me, her eyes sparkling, and I find myself wondering if I have time to tear her clothes off before we land.
“Huh, did I say Seattle?”
She laughs; “Um, yeah, you did.”
“Huh, weird.”
“OK, I give up! Where are we, Logan?” She says, giggling as she saunters over and slips into my lap; “Mexico?”
“Nope.” I say, dropping my eyes to the swell of her breasts in her tank top and enjoying watching her blush and roll her eyes.
Just then a bell chimes as my pilot’s voice crackles over the intercom; “Mr. Dempsey? Sir, we’ll be touching down at Jose Marti International in fifteen, if you folks want to get buckled in back there.”
I can’t help but grin as her eyes go wide as she whirls to look at me with her jaw dropped; “We’re in Cuba?” She shakes her head; “How’d you get vacation entry into Cuba?” She rolls her eyes; “Oh, wait, let me guess; money,” She says with a smirk.
“Cute, but no. We’re actually here as a medical aid relief mission.” Her eyebrows shoot up in this adorable way and I flash her a grin; “Grab your med bag, Doc; we’ve got work to do.”
The hospital in the village is something I had built after the first time I was here. Back then I was here with money; just learning how to live with with being newly rich after starting with Archer Holdings. Back then, I was drinking rum and just looking for trouble, but there was something about this village stuck with me.
Something like the school, sitting at the end of the only street in town.
And just like that, maybe for the first time really, I started to get the Old Man’s whole thing about “giving back to the world.”
I’m helping a couple of guys from the village frame out a new wing of the care center; pounding nails and using my hands in a way that I love instead of sitting idle or using them to hit people. But I keep catching myself just staring off at Quinn on the other side of of the Med Center compound, working with the other doctors to immunize the cluster of kids crowding around apprehensively with their sleeves rolled up. I had a pretty good hunch Quinn would jump at the chance to help out here, but damn if she doesn’t fucking shine at it. Seeing her like this is just incredible. This isn’t “hide in the research lab and let people walk all over her” Quinn. This is the bold, confident, and fearless Quinn I knew she was from the moment I met her. She’s just instantly on point, and instantly organizing and showing people what to do and where to go. The whole fucking med team from the hospital in Havana just stares at her and jumps to do what she says; not because she’s bossy or bitchy, but because she just exudes this confidence and poise. And besides that, it’s just obvious that she loves this. She’s on the ground, getting her hands dirty and helping people like I know she wants to do.
“You’re gonna put a nail through your hand if you keep looking at the seniorita over there,” Raul, the project manager, grins at me as he nods towards Quinn. He chuckles; “Then you’ll be in some real trouble.”
I laugh as I find myself grinning back at him; “You have no fucking idea, Raul.”