back is burned and you’re bleeding.” She stared at him with those eyes. He realized she stood almost at eye level to him. She was tall like Lena, yet where Lena had been slim, this woman was suffering from extreme malnutrition.
“I’m fine,” he managed. “I caught some of the debris from the explosion. The compound I’m guessing you came from must have been wired to detonate.” Whatever her reason for wandering the desert, it might just have saved her life.
It took a second before what he said registered. Her hand flew to cover her trembling lips, immediately capturing his attention. An emotional reaction he couldn’t relate to Lena. Lena had already been a top CIA operative by the time they’d met. Keeping her emotions in check was critical to her survival. The only time he’d seen his wife cry was when he’d had to deliver the news of her parents’ deaths.
Another round of shots whizzed past the Humvee and they both ducked.
The additional vehicles came to a noisy halt next to the first, their high beams glaring. Kyle had no idea how many men they were up against. Adrenaline rushed through his body, buoying his courage. He’d almost forgotten how harrowing combat could be.
He flattened himself against the vehicle, fired quickly, then retreated. The noise of bullets striking metal was so loud it sounded like it was right next to them. Someone screamed in pain. He’d hit one of the enemy soldiers.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Ella inching closer to the edge of the vehicle. She squared her shoulders and opened fire. Kyle couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was clearly accustomed to using a gun.
Another round of gunfire shattered the front windshield and took out the back window. At this rate it wouldn’t take long before the enemy realized they had the upper hand, if they didn’t already. When that happened, they’d charge the vehicle. He and Ella would be dead.
With still no sign of the rescue chopper in sight, he had to come up with an alternate plan and fast.
“They’re going to figure out it’s just the two of us soon enough. We need to do something drastic,” he yelled over the noise of the firefight.
As he watched, she swayed on her feet and he reached out to steady her. Immediately she backed away from him, the look in her eyes guarded.
Kyle covered his frustration with difficulty, because he was now genuinely concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay.” Her voice, barely a whisper, did little to reassure him, yet the self-confidence she clearly didn’t realize she possessed showed in the way she carried herself.
He’d seen the same determination and self-confidence in Lena. Except for that last mission. Something had been wrong from the beginning. His wife hadn’t been herself.
Kyle shoved that dark memory aside. It had eaten at him for years. Now was not the time to rehash it.
“I’m okay,” she insisted again when he appeared doubtful. “What do you have in mind?”
In spite of her assurances otherwise, he believed she couldn’t handle much more. He needed to find out why she was here in the desert. To do so, they had to survive.
“If I can reach the backseat, I have an M240 machine gun there. It will give us a fighting chance until our backup arrives. I need you to cover me.”
She checked her clip. “I’m almost empty.”
He handed her his backup clip. “On the count of three.” She nodded and he counted off. “One. Two. Three.” He barely hit the final number when she opened fire. Even weak and barely hanging on, Ella handled herself like someone who had been in this situation before. And that didn’t ease his mind one little bit. Had he managed to save one of Alhasan’s agents?
Kyle dived through the busted rear window and crawled forward. It sounded like World War III outside, and he could hear charges whizzing past his head. He located the M240 and its rounds. With the weapon armed, he used the headrest for a stand. Shielding his eyes against the glare, he fired at the closest vehicle. The rounds shot from the weapon and instantly struck their target. The vehicle went up in flames. Screams followed. He’d injured at least one man, possibly more.
Without giving them time to regroup, Kyle continued firing, taking out two more vehicles.
He stopped briefly to listen. An engine fired. The remaining vehicle was in retreat.
He slid back through the rear window, still armed with the M240, and then stepped from the cover of the Humvee. As he continued firing at the retreating vehicle, some of the rounds hit the spare fuel container on the back and it exploded. The person behind the wheel swerved and lost control. The jeep flipped on its side and dug a ditch in the sand some ten feet long before it came to a grinding halt, dust seething.
Kyle rushed the vehicle. Two men were inside, unconscious and badly injured.
“Are they alive?” Ella asked from close behind him. He couldn’t tell what response she was hoping for.
He nodded. “Yes, but just barely. We need to get them medical help right away. As well as the others.” He glanced at the ruined vehicles surrounding them, then back to her. Ella hadn’t budged. She was staring at the injured men. “Do you know them?” he asked curiously, and she whirled to face him.
“They were at the compound. They tried to kill me,” she said without any sign of emotion.
Before he had time to process what she’d told him, the noise of additional approaching vehicles vibrated the ground at their feet. They were coming from the same direction as the others. Some sort of makeshift camp? If it was, it had been set up a good distance past the destroyed building in the western foothills of the mountains. They’d evacuated the compound because they’d planned to blow it up, which told him they’d known he was coming.
He started to head back to the Humvee when he noticed the way Ella was leaning over, her hands on her knees, her breathing hard. He touched her shoulder to warn her of the approaching vehicles and she rounded on him with the weapon drawn.
“Whoa,” Kyle said and lifted both hands. “There’s more vehicles on the way. We have to take cover.”
She glanced over her shoulder briefly then back to him. She had the Glock aimed at his chest and she seemed torn. He held his breath while he wondered if he’d saved the life of an enemy combatant.
Would she shoot him? Could he reach her side and disarm her before she got a shot off? From what he’d seen so far, he knew she was deadly accurate.
“Ella, I’m not your enemy,” he told her quietly and waited for some reaction. It felt like forever before she slowly lowered the Glock.
Kyle slung the M240 over his shoulder and they raced back to the Humvee barely reaching it before the vehicles came in firing heavily. Even with the M240 they wouldn’t be able to hold them off for long.
Then in the distance, he heard it, like an answer to his prayer. Multiple choppers advancing their way. Liz would be piloting one of the machines, but she’d enlisted additional backup from Bagram, as well.
Thank You, God.
The Black Hawks ate up the distance quickly, their spotlights panning the desert surface until they spotted the
