Fighting Redemption(81)

“Holy shit!” Rachael shouted as her eyes caught Fin’s bank account information spread out on the screen for all to see.

“Would you two ladies stop swearing at the top of your lungs? You’ll send an old man deaf,” her dad muttered.

Ignoring him, Fin waved her hand at the screen. “It’s from Ryan to ... you know ... help out with stuff for the baby.”

Rachael’s eyes took on a manic gleam as her dad squinted at the screen. “Does he think cots automatically come gold-plated and prams need mag wheels?” Those eyes narrowed as they focused on Fin. “Is this guilt money?”

“No! He emailed me.” Fin had no intention of sharing that email with anyone. It was private. It had all the love she felt for him swelling so big and so bright, she couldn’t breathe from it. “It’s going to be okay.” She grinned. “We’re going to be okay.”





Half an hour later

Eastern Afghanistan



The Black Hawk thundered heavily through the sky, three more following on their tail as Monty gave an update.

“We’re heading right into a hotbed of enemy fire,” he shouted. He looked Nathan in the eye and reinforced words they’d heard during their briefing. “You’re up first. Run low and hard for position. Signal when you’re ready for cover fire.”

Ryan ran his mind over the details. A patrol had been scoping out a village of potential enemy fighters, keeping watch and tracking details of possible militant activity. They’d taken images, analysed them, noted details and forwarded the information back to base, but during the operation, a soldier had been forced to initiate contact with the enemy and gunfire had escalated into a full scale fight.

Thanks to the intelligence gathered, the briefing Ryan attended encompassed enough detail on the village for them to be able to plan their approach.

“We enter in the western end of the village,” Monty continued, his voice forceful and commanding, “and make our way towards the northern end. No splitting up unless you’re caught under heavy fire and it’s absolutely necessary. We enter as a team, we leave as a team.”

Short nods were given in response as tension ran thick.

Ryan was calm on the outside—eyes focused, hands steady, body locked tight—but inside his blood was simmering, ready to bubble through his veins the minute they reached their destination.

“Kendall.”

Redirecting his gaze from the horizon ahead, Ryan looked to his teammates—Monty, Galloway, Tex, Nathan and Simon, the man temporarily replacing Kyle—but no one was looking his way. His brows drew together. “Did you say something, Monty?”

Monty shook his head.

Shrugging it off, Ryan glanced around the inside of the chopper once more before looking back to the horizon. Almost there. He could just make out brief tufts of smoke ahead. His breath caught when a big explosion imploded an entire building in a thick plume of orange and grey.

“Motherf*cker!” Nathan shouted. “Did you see that?”

With his back facing what lay ahead, Monty met Ryan’s eyes. Ryan tipped his chin to the skyline and Monty turned. “Fuckers have got the rocket launchers out.”

“We can’t get too close,” the pilot shouted, tilting his head as he gave Monty a quick glance. “We need you out fast!”

From his peripheral vision he saw the choppers behind them peel off in different directions—aiming for alternate insertion points to enable a full-scale attack.

“ETA five minutes,” the pilot yelled.

With his heart thundering in his chest, Ryan wished he could take Fin’s photo out of his pocket for one last glance, but there was no time.

Instead, he closed his eyes and saw her instantly. Her blonde locks in a wild tangle, her eyes sleepy, her lips curled as she woke up in bed next to him. That’s how he liked to remember her best because she would snuggle into his side, and all that warm, naked flesh would press up against him. Nothing felt better. Even now—his heart pounding fiercely—didn’t compare to how it felt waking up beside her in the morning. Ryan remembered telling her just that the morning after the impromptu birthday party Fin had pulled together for him.



“What?” she’d muttered sleepily, pushing hair from her face as she blinked and focused her pretty green eyes his way.

“You.”

Her finger trailed a torturously slow path down his chest, her lips curving lazily when he shuddered with pleasure. “What about me?”

“You’re my heart,” he replied softly.

Tucking his hands behind his head, Ryan focused his gaze on the ceiling of Fin’s bedroom to give his pulse a chance to slow down. “Not much compares to the rush of adrenaline when you’re in the middle of heavy fire, or when you’re screaming off inside a Hercules, or how a Black Hawk makes your stomach drop as it lurches hard in the sky. Except for you. None of it makes my heart beat the way you do.” He tilted his head to meet her eyes and the rush of love he saw in their green depths made him feel ten feet tall. “It’s like it’s beating just for you.”



“Kendall.”

Ryan’s eyes flew open and once again he looked to the Black Hawk occupants, but no one was looking his way. His brows drew together. It couldn’t have been Jake. Reading his letter had been like a final goodbye. Since then, the voices inside his head—Jake’s voice—had stopped. Why was he here? Why now?