Only Mine (Honey Mountain #5)(83)

I couldn’t think about it.

I had to move.

React.

I took my first shot when I realized there were three guys there. The first two dropped to the ground, and Bullet’s head shot up just as another guy pointed a gun at Bullet. I shot him without hesitation, and he dropped just as his gun fired up at the ceiling.

Fuck.

If their camp was close, they’d just gotten warning that we were here.

I unstrapped Bullet from the chair. “Can you walk?”

“I don’t think so. My legs are broken,” Bullet said, and I knew by his voice that he was wounded pretty badly.

I glanced at the other two bodies on the ground. They were grown men still holding their weapons. This was battle, and they were prepared to kill both Bullet and me. War was ugly and unfair and inhumane all at the same time.

But it was the name of the game.

“Wolf!” Clark shouted. “You guys whole?”

“Yep. We’re coming out. Is the chopper here?”

“It is!” he hollered. “But that gunshot was loud. I’m guessing we’re going to have company soon.”

I lifted Bullet’s giant fucking body and tossed him over my shoulder. The dude was definitely down a good twenty pounds, but he was still a big guy. None of that mattered. I wasn’t leaving here without him.

“Go!” I shouted as I ran toward the exit.

Bullet didn’t make a sound, and his body was limp as I hauled ass out of the cave with him hanging over my shoulder. I heard shouting in the distance.

“Let’s go!” Birddog shouted from the other direction, where he called from the helicopter, as a sharp pain hit me in the calf.

I didn’t look back, and I didn’t stop running.

Whatever the fuck it was—it was going to take a hell of a lot more to stop me.

Everything moved in slow motion, and all of our guys stood in the helicopter and started firing their weapons, which meant I had guys right behind me. Stealth and Bear dropped their weapons and yanked Bullet from my shoulder as I dove into the helicopter, my legs still hanging out as we took off. Gunshots filled the air around us as Birddog pulled me in. Our guys continued shooting as did the men from the ground.

Once we were up in the air, everyone lowered their weapons, and we made our way back to Pakistan where we’d go to the safe house and check on Bullet’s wounds before getting the fuck out of there.

“How is he?” I asked as I tossed my goggles beside me and pushed to sit up, leaning against Bear’s legs as he sat in the seat.

“Well, it took you guys long enough,” Bullet said and then groaned.

“Shut up, fucker. We got you out,” Birddog said, but I heard the concern in his voice. “You’ve got a few broken bones, I think, but it’s this nasty infection on your leg I’m worried about. We’ll get you checked out as soon as we’re on the ground.”

“Did any of those bullets hit you, Wolf?” Dagger asked as the wind whipped around us.

“I may have taken one to my leg. We’ll see when we land.”

“You’re bleeding pretty heavily on your arm,” Stealth said, bending down to assess me with a flashlight.

I glanced down. “Nah. I think it just grazed me.”

“You don’t bleed like that from getting grazed, brother.” Birddog’s tone was harsh.

I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the propeller and the whistling of the wind and the voices of my brothers.

They moved around me, wrapping something tightly around my arm and leg.

Whatever it was, we’d deal with it.

Both me and Bullet.

We were both breathing and whole, and that’s all that mattered.

“Wolf, I knew you’d come,” Bullet said, and he reached for my hand. “My brother.”

“Always.” I squeezed his hand, and the further we moved from the cave, the more my shoulders relaxed.

I thought of Dylan. Imagined her scowling at me and angry that I’d been shot.

That I’d left her.

I thought of those dark brown eyes—which were always more yellow than brown when she was angry—as she glared at me the last time that I saw her when she’d told me to fuck off.

And then I remembered what she’d said before that.

I love you.

I love you, too.

And everything went dark.





thirty-three





Dylan





Wolf had been gone for nine days, and I hadn’t heard from him. His family called to tell me they’d gotten word from someone at the Navy three days ago that he and Bullet were both okay, and they would return home soon. They hadn’t heard anything from him either.

I didn’t get the call from the Navy because I wasn’t his wife or even his girlfriend, for that matter.

Hell, I didn’t even know if I was his friend anymore.

But I did know one thing. Those six days without a word had been excruciating. I hadn’t slept and had barely eaten as worry had taken over. Even though I’d been angry at him, I’d been overcome with fear once the realization had settled in that first night that I might never see him again. My father had showed up on my doorstep the day my sisters left to go back home, and he’d slept on my couch for the last few days. I’d been like a zombie at work, but I’d forced myself to carry on. Everyone at the office was somber, but no one talked about the fact that we didn’t know where Wolf was.