Ice (Elite Forces #1)(18)
My meaning is really meant for her more than anyone else. I’ve kept this to myself until now, but I saw the way she looked at the women and children during our briefing a few days ago. She stayed tight-lipped, like she should. But her eyes gave her away, showing a flicker of sadness. Grief before we even strike. It's a sore spot with most soldiers. It's one thing to kill the enemy, but when the enemy is a child or a woman, it's a hard pill to swallow.
Every facet of flying at night is unlike flying in the clear gleam of the day. Pitch black awaits you; the only lights you see are the red panels lit up from the cockpit, illuminating the determination of the pilot. Silence awaits. Blood begins to boil in anticipation, and I start to remember why I craved this kind of shit for so long in my career.
Then before I know it, the smallest of light appears on the ground and the one person I care about drops into place beside me. I close my eyes for a brief second and take in her close proximity. I'd love more than anything to take her in my f*cking arms and tell her the shit that's boiling up inside me. ‘Be f*cking careful, Jade. Know your strengths and acknowledge your weaknesses. It makes you invincible when you work with the knowledge of both. Don't let your guard down, and for f*ck's sake, don't hesitate. Do what you've been trained to do.’
“Captain,” I whisper. Her head jerks my way. I can no longer see her stunning eyes. I reach for her hand, grasp it firmly in mine. That’s all I can give her, all she lets me have as we glide in closer to the building.
The thick woolen ropes are attached to the cabin drop. Right behind them, JJ and Jade fast-rope down and just like that, she’s gone. She's out of sight, but not even close to being out of mind.
I nod to the pilot and we lift several feet; then in one giant swoop, we drop. It’s fast and quick, just like we planned. Everyone jumps out and scatters into their positions. We're behind enemy territory. We've just jumped without hesitation straight into what we all know will be a bloodbath before this is over. Just as quickly as he dropped us off, the pilot is gone, waiting in the darkness to return.
"I need a status from my snipers." Whispering is hard when your heart is racing from the adrenaline of a run like this, but it helps when I get the go-ahead from both Jade and JJ. Knowing she's in position and safe makes me feel like I can go in and kill this motherf*cker.
Lights start to turn on in several of the buildings. Harris, Roberts, and I move toward the building where we know Azham-Amir-TajUdin is hiding.
“Fuck. Everyone down,” I say into my microphone when several men run into the dingy street. Flashlights, guns, and grenades in hand, I look to Harris for his interpretation when they start yelling in their native tongue.
“Someone’s here. Someone’s here. Attack. Attack,” he whispers.
The second we hunch down to the ground, all hell breaks loose. Gunshots start to go off into the air, and I watch as three of the men in the street are taken out with one single gunshot to the head before the rest retreat back into the darkened shadows, shooting at JJ and Jade as they go. I know they've missed my team, because I can hear moving through my earpiece.
We move. I have no fear. I lead us into the building and know without a doubt they have that f*cker buried in here to keep him safe. He’s no leader. He’s a damn * motherf*cker, who gives orders to kill, to rape, and to mutilate, while he sits here in his f*cking hideout, letting these suicide *s do all his work. A true leader doesn’t expect his teammates to do anything he wouldn’t do. These men and women have been brainwashed for years. It’s like one giant piece of rotting shit that’s broken off and fed to the next person in line. They’re born to live a life not worth living. It’s so wrong. They make themselves our enemy and we make them dead as f*ck.
I have no control of what’s happening outside of this building. I'll have to leave that up to my team. Gunshots ring in my ears while my men talk to each other, having our backs the farther we creep into the building.
We make a dirty sweep of the main floor of the distraught building, killing over a dozen men. Fuck, call me sick and twisted, but this is the shit I live for. To kill. It's unfortunate for every one of these f*ckers who is now bleeding to death, trying to scatter away like f*cking cockroaches crawling along the dirty floor. Or a snake slithering away after you’ve cut off its head. Pathetic f*cking creatures. It’s time these *s die.
They're the enemy because they, too, crave the kill. Ours. There is no f*cking way I'm accepting that as our fate as I continue to leave a path of bodies behind me as I search for this f*cker. I move up to one filthy *, his tongue dragging out of his mouth as he screams what I assume is obscenities directly in my face. “Fuck you.” I pull out my .45 and shoot him right between his eyes.
You don’t have time to blink in this situation. We are moving fast as we sweep further into the building. “Bingo, bitches.” I smile and signal for Roberts to toss a grenade.
Jade’s face flashes across my mind for one brief moment. I know she’s alright. They all are. I would know. It’s only been a few minutes since we began this battle. Very little communication is needed, but I have my ears tuned into her. I know she's breathing in my ear. It may have something to do with the fact that she's the only one in my left ear. Call me controlling, I don't give a f*ck. I knew her safety would keep me clear-headed.
Her face drops out of my memory as quickly as it invades it. I nod for the go-ahead the second the three of us have retreated back down the hallway we just came through. The sound of the pin being pulled and the launching of the tiny yet powerful vessel being sent into the air takes me back in time. The sweet sound of the clapping thunder from the explosion when it hits its target has my cock twitching, and I f*cking love the rush that consumes me.