Tactical Strike (8 page)

“Quiet,” he growled against her ear, pinning her down. After a
tense moment he lifted off her and hauled her up by her hands. “Run,” he
ordered, dragging her behind him.

But Maya was still back there! “Let me go!” She yanked against
his grip but Ryan gave her no choice, forcing her to sprint after him,
struggling to keep up with his longer strides. “Maya!” she yelled
desperately.

Ryan headed straight for a group of parked vehicles near one of
the warehouses and pushed her behind a transport truck. Gasping from the run,
she went to her knees and steadied herself on the back bumper before looking up
into his face. His enraged expression made her shrink away from him. She’d never
imagined he could look so scary.

She swallowed and found her voice. “Maya’s—”

“I know,” he said curtly and peered around the side of the
truck, his gaze focused on what was happening beyond the perimeter of the fence.
“She’s okay. She’s fine. What the fuck is she doing?”

A measure of relief slid through her. “She’s trying to help a
girl out there. Let me go back and get her.”

“Don’t you fucking dare move, Ace.”

There was such menace in his tone that her eyes went wide. Her
heart was still beating double time as she waited for more shots and explosions.
None came. “Is it over?”

“Don’t know.”

She had to get Maya to safety. Starting to push past him, she
said, “I have to get her—”

His head snapped around to glare at her. Then he pressed a
strong hand on the top of her shoulder. “
Stay
.” His
eyes burned with the promise of retribution if she disobeyed his command.

The brusque order would normally have put her hackles up, but
she was too taken aback to argue. Though he didn’t have the authority to order
her around, in this instance she knew he was right. She crouched there while
Ryan broke from cover and tore after Maya. She held her breath as he ran over
the open ground, her heart slamming against her ribs.

Maya was still crouched at the base of the fence, yelling and
gesturing with her arms, probably trying to help Fila. Candace looked past her
for the young girl, finding her cowered near her family’s wagon. Unhurt as far
as she could tell, and staying low. She couldn’t see any more gunmen, but
someone was definitely still firing from the market. Random shots rang out every
few seconds. She edged out from behind the truck, ready to run after Ryan. Maya
was her friend, and Candace was going to make sure she was okay.

Heedless of the danger, Ryan pounded over and ripped Maya away
from the chain link. His expression must have been terrifying in its own right
because she didn’t put up a fight when he dragged her away at a dead run.
Breathing a little easier, Candace eased back behind cover. When they finally
rounded the back bumper of the vehicle, Ryan shoved Maya down beside her. Then
his eyes cut to her, and the focused expression in them made her mouth go dry.
He was in full operational mode, leaving no trace of the arrogant, flirtatious
attitude she’d come to expect from him.

He jabbed a finger at her, and his voice was like a whip.
“Don’t you move until I come back for you.”

Before she could protest, he was up and running flat out toward
one of the supply buildings behind them.

Maya caught her clammy hand and squeezed it tight. “Damn, is
that the same guy that brought you flowers?” she muttered, craning her neck to
look back at the fence.

Didn’t seem possible at the moment, did it? Candace tried to
calm her breathing and her racing heart as she looked around at the damage,
searching for wounded who might need help. Another warning hiss crackled through
the air.

No
!

She whipped her head around in time to glimpse another rocket
as it screamed into the base.
Ryan
! Terror all but
choked her.

Too late. The RPG impacted another building and exploded.
People everywhere hit the ground. Bits of metal and concrete shrapnel blew
outward in a hail of deadly fragments. The concussion pounded against her
eardrums, thumped her chest wall. The cries of the wounded rose up in the eerie
aftermath, making the hair on her nape stand on end. She couldn’t see Ryan. Had
he been hurt? Fear clawed at her insides.

The perimeter guards and another group of soldiers returned
fire near the fence line, dropping the militant who had fired the last RPG. A
sudden, deafening silence spread over the base. All she could hear were her own
uneven breaths. Was it finally over?

Candace risked a glance over her shoulder. Soldiers were
already moving some wounded behind cover for treatment. Someone kneeled beside
one of the casualties, her hands stained with blood as she applied pressure to
the victim’s chest. There was no sign of Ryan.

“I think it’s over,” Maya said quietly with a catch in her
voice.

Candace’s instinct was to run for the closest building and drag
others to safety, but Ryan’s stern warning still rang in her ears. After
thinking it over for a few seconds, she dismissed his order. “We’d better
move.”

A group of Humvees tore out of the main gates and raced toward
the market, each with a gunner manning the fifty cals mounted on top. Out in the
marketplace, people huddled in groups, adults shielding the children. Those
assholes had opened fire from that market with innocent
children
there. Fury rose up, all but blinding her. Were there any
more gunmen hiding among the civilians? The Humvees roared up, and dozens of
soldiers poured out to secure the area. Judging by their equipment and grooming
standards, they were special ops personnel. SEALs, Delta or maybe Special
Forces.

If any militants were left alive out there, she hoped they
hunted down every last one of those murderous bastards.

After a few more seconds without any shooting, Candace relaxed
her death grip on Maya’s hand and let out a deep breath. God, her whole body was
shaking. Still no sign of Ryan. Where had he gone?
Please
say
he
hasn’t
been
hit
.

“Okay, we’re clear,” she said in a more confident tone and
began edging out from behind their cover. Maya stayed right on her.

Candace was glad to have her at her back. Despite having
recklessly endangering herself by racing for the fence without a weapon to
protect herself, Maya was good at her job and knew how to take care of
herself.

Maya was performing her own perimeter check, doing a visual
sweep for threats. “Still clear. Let’s move it.”

On shaky legs, she headed across the distance to the MWR with
Maya. They passed several wounded already receiving care so they kept going.
Approaching another casualty closer to the building, Candace recognized Cam
kneeling next to the patient, working on the guy’s leg. He glanced up briefly as
they approached and acknowledged her with a nod.

“Need any help?” she called out. She’d feel a hell of a lot
better if she could just
do
something.

“Sure.”

She steeled herself to confront the blood, but when she got
close enough to see the patient’s face, a hand flew to her mouth. “Bill!” She
ran up and dropped to her knees beside him while Cam and Maya stared at her, and
grabbed the young gunner’s hand.

His eyes were hazy with pain, but he managed to focus on her
for a moment. “Hey, Cap,” he said between gritted teeth. His pale face twisted
with a painful grimace as Cam tightened a tourniquet around his right lower leg,
and a feral sound came from his throat.

“Squeeze my hand.” She didn’t know what else to say as Maya
ripped off her jacket and covered him with it. The warm, metallic smell of his
blood triggered instant nausea in Candace’s stomach. She forced down the bile in
her throat and held Bill’s hand while she smoothed his damp hair back from
forehead. His leg looked bad. The weird angle of it told her it was severely
broken, and from mid-calf down all she could see was glistening, bloody flesh. A
scarlet pool spread steadily out beneath his leg, staining the ground. Did he
know how bad it was?

Candace angled her body over his torso to shield him from the
sun’s brilliant glare and keep him from seeing the ghastly wound. “Come on,
Bill, hang in there. Squeeze my hand.”

His face twisted in agony, but he held onto her. “T-tried to
d-dive outta the way. N-not f-fast enough...”

“Cam’s a PJ. He’s the best,” she told him, maintaining eye
contact and keeping her voice calm in the hopes it would keep him calm too.
“You’ll be fine.” She wasn’t a doctor, but even she knew he’d need immediate
surgery to stop the bleeding and repair the damage.

Cam glanced up at Maya. “Can you get a stretcher?”

Maya jumped up and ran to find one.

Candace kept talking to Bill to keep him alert while Cam did
his best to stabilize him, and when Maya came back with a folding stretcher, she
held his clammy hand while they loaded him onto it and carried him to the
hospital. His face was gray from shock and blood loss. He fell silent along the
way and closed his eyes, edging closer to unconsciousness despite her efforts to
keep him alert. Heart sinking, she looked at Cam.

“Just shock,” he reassured her, walking so fast she and Maya
had to jog to keep up. “He’ll be okay once we get the bleeding stopped.”

Yeah, but what about his leg? She pushed the image of him as an
amputee out of her mind. Someone else instantly took his place. “Ryan was here.
Have you seen him?”

“No.”

She didn’t let go of Bill’s hand as they rushed him to the
hospital, but there was no sign of Ryan either. Where was he? If he’d been
wounded...Her stomach twisted at the thought of him lying on the ground,
bleeding somewhere. As much as part of her was unsure about seeing him again,
she at least needed to know he was okay. He’d risked his life to get her to
safety. He’d picked her flowers.

She had to find him. Even if he tore into her for deliberately
disobeying his order to stay put, facing his anger and having another argument
would be worth it as long as she got to see him alive and whole in front of
her.

Chapter Four

Ryan fumed silently in the hallway while he waited for
Candace to finish talking to the surgeon and come out of the hospital’s private
waiting room. It’d been over five hours since he’d last seen her and he still
wasn’t sure if he wanted to shake her for scaring him like that, or grab her and
crush her to him. In the middle of a goddamn firefight, the woman had actually
stood up and run after her friend, who obviously had a death wish. Not only
that, she’d taken off before the area was secured and the all-clear given, when
he’d specifically told her to stay put until he came back for her. He shook his
head, getting steamed all over again. What the hell had she been thinking?

He goddamn hated Fridays over here. Every fucking militant
within a hundred miles of Bagram seemed to come out of the woodwork on Fridays,
juiced by the thought of martyrdom on the holiest day of the week. Like it
fast-tracked them into paradise or something, so they could expedite the process
of getting to all the virgins supposedly waiting there for them.

Ryan had had sex with a virgin once, and it wasn’t an
experience he wanted to repeat. Ever. Yet these crazy motherfuckers thought
spending eternity with eighteen virgins was a reward worth dying for. He’d never
understand it.

He blew out a breath, checked his watch. The mission brief had
been moved up and he only had so much more time he could wait here to talk to
her. Those assholes this morning had been operating on orders from someone in
the local terrorist network. Ryan and the ODA Team he was currently assigned to
were going to be part of the tip of the spear in the coming fight. They were all
looking forward to taking the enemy down.

How the hell the shooters had managed to get all those weapons
past the security checkpoints was another matter. And one that would be dealt
with PDQ. Heads and insignia were probably rolling on some four-star general’s
office floor somewhere on base right now.

He was still stewing when the door finally opened and the
doctor emerged. Ryan straightened, but the door shut again and Candace didn’t
come out. After a minute he got concerned and walked over to push it open. He
stopped in the threshold, one hand still on the door. Candace sat on a hard
plastic chair with her elbows on her knees and her hands in her disheveled hair.
She looked up when he entered, and with one glimpse at her weary face the riot
act he’d been prepared to deliver died in his throat. The raw misery in her eyes
slashed him.

Ryan stepped inside and shut the door quietly. “Hi.”

She recovered fast, the lines of strain disappearing under a
calm mask as she sat up. “Hey.” Was it his imagination, or did she look relieved
to see him?

He ran his gaze over her to check for injuries, but other than
a few bloody scrapes on her hands and elbows from when he’d tackled her, she
seemed unhurt. Physically, anyway. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

She didn’t look okay, despite the brave front she was putting
on. He shifted his weight and stuffed his hands into his pockets. It’d been one
hell of a shitty day for everybody so far. “How’s your crew member doing?”

She looked down at the worn beige carpet. “They couldn’t save
his foot. Had to amputate halfway down his lower leg.”

Ryan covered a wince. “Sorry to hear that.” After an awkward
beat, he crossed the room and sat in the seat beside her. She was obviously
upset, but he wasn’t sure what to say and talking to her usually had disastrous
results anyway. He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder instead and rubbed
gently. Anyone who came in and had a problem with him touching an officer could
go fuck himself. He needed to comfort her. Her muscles were strung tight.

Candace bit her lip and stared at the floor for another moment,
and though she didn’t shrug off his hand, he kept waiting for her to speak. He
wracked his brain for something to say, but he’d never been good with the
touchy-feely stuff and didn’t want to upset her further so he kept his mouth
shut. So he kept rubbing her shoulder in what he hoped were soothing little
circles, the whole time expecting her to knock his hand away and put distance
between them. Instead she shocked the hell out of him by turning her body into
him and throwing her arms around his neck.

“Whoa.” He caught her around the waist and immediately leaned
closer to wrap her up in a firm hug. In answer she let out a deep sigh and
burrowed even harder into him, tightening her arms. Needing comfort so much that
she’d let her guard down completely in front of him and anyone else who might
walk in. The knowledge made something painful twist in his chest.
Ah
,
hell
,
Ace
.
Don’t
do
this
to
me
.

Pressed up close to him, the scent and feel of her drove him
nuts. She was tall enough that she fit perfectly against him, her head tucking
into his neck and those luscious breasts pushing into his chest gave him an
instant erection. He tried to shove the sexual reaction aside, but it was damn
hard to ignore, considering how much she affected him. With her head on his
shoulder, Candace let out a shaky breath and clenched her fingers in the back of
his T-shirt. Her unsteady breaths told him she was on the verge of tears and
fighting like hell to hold them back.

Ah
,
shit
. Ryan gathered her even closer, all but dragging her onto his
lap while he maintained his hold. “I got you,” he murmured against her silky
soft hair. It smelled faintly of fruit-scented shampoo. Strawberries, maybe. He
was still surprised that she’d reached for him, let alone in a public place
where someone might see them, but he wasn’t complaining. He’d wanted to do this
for weeks now, though under completely different circumstances.

After a few minutes she seemed to relax against him, then let
go of his shirt and pulled away. He steeled himself for the sight of tears on
her face, but to his relief only her eyes were wet.

Avoiding his gaze, Candace took a deep breath and tucked her
hair behind her ear. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” He hated the way she she’d just shut him out again,
wouldn’t even look at him.

When she started to get up, he caught her wrist. Those dark
eyes jerked up to his, full of shadows. Hurting, and maybe haunted by a hint of
fear. It made him ache to haul her back into his arms so he could chase it all
away. The sudden, fierce need to protect her lit him up inside.

He nodded toward her arm. “You’re a bit scraped up.”

She glanced down at her right elbow. “Oh. It’s nothing.”

He frowned. “I took you down pretty hard.” Harder than he’d
meant to. He’d just been focused on getting her flat on the ground as fast as
possible and hadn’t done much to cushion her landing.

“It’s fine.” Her gaze strayed to her left palm and the smears
of dried blood on it. “Thank you for what you did, by the way.”

“Nothing to thank me for.” He’d do the same thing again in a
heartbeat if it meant keeping her safe. The sight of her running for the fence
while bullets flew over her head had made his blood run cold.

Silence stretched out between them, becoming heavy, but Ryan
didn’t release her wrist. He kept his grip gentle, stroking his thumb over her
soft skin. She was so delicate and feminine under that steel exterior. Today
must have been a brutal shock for her. As a pilot, she wasn’t used to seeing
blood and death up close, and never involving someone she knew. The things she’d
seen that morning would stay with her for a long time, especially her wounded
crew member. He worried they might compound whatever was already bothering
her.

“I, uh, got your flowers.” Her eyes stayed locked on where his
thumb was moving over her wrist.

Was she blushing? “I’m glad. I know they’re not much to look
at, but—”

“They’re beautiful.” Her voice cracked on the last word. His
grip tightened in reflex. “I really appreciated the gesture, and I’m sorry for
being so short with you. You must think I’m a bitch.”

Holy shit. Her apologizing was the last thing he’d expected.
“No, I don’t. And I’m sorry for anything I’ve said or done that offended
you.”

Her eyes finally darted up to his, and a slight flush spread
across her cheekbones. She studied him a moment, as though choosing her words
with care. “I’m glad you’re all right.” She lowered her gaze to where he stroked
her wrist and cleared her throat. “I didn’t know where you’d gone when that
second RPG hit. I looked around after the shooting stopped, but I couldn’t see
you.”

That’s because he’d been taking care of business with some
SEALs and Delta boys. Still, he liked the note of concern in her voice, even
though she didn’t seem too comfortable saying the words. “Did you at least wait
until the all-clear before moving?”

She frowned. “I don’t know if one ever came. It was pretty
confusing.”

Yeah, no shit. He injected a wry tone into his voice to take
the sting out of his next words. “I’m pretty sure I told you to wait. When I
came back for you, you were gone.” He paused for a beat. “I thought something
had happened to you.”

“Maya and I went to see if we could help the wounded. Then I
saw Bill and I couldn’t leave him.” She looked up into his face. “Did we get all
of the shooters?” Anger burned in the depths of her eyes.

“Think so. Picked up three more in the market.” Bastards were
being interrogated right now, by some very pissed-off Delta operators.

Her gaze sharpened on him. “Were you out there? With the group
in the Humvees?”

He shrugged. “With some of my teammates.” They’d been part of
the QRF sent out to neutralize the threat and secure the scene.

Candace didn’t answer, and the spark of fear in her eyes gave
him pause. Had she actually been worried for his safety? Considering he usually
did nothing but annoy her, that knowledge pleased him a lot. Affected more
deeply than he’d thought possible, he slowly swept his thumb over her skin and
took a closer look at her palm. It was pretty raw, and she’d no doubt have
bruises on other parts of her delectable body that he couldn’t see. He stood
without releasing her. “Maybe we should get these cleaned up.”

“No, it’s...fine.” The words were almost a whisper, a little
hoarse.

Ryan looked into her eyes, and the sudden physical awareness
between them was like a kick to the gut. She held his gaze for a long moment
before her eyes darted down to his mouth, as though she was thinking about
kissing him. Or wanting him to kiss her. Her pink tongue stole out to glide over
her lips in subconscious invitation. When her gaze flicked up again, his pulse
kicked hard and his mouth went dry at the quiet hunger he found burning there.
Whether it was because she truly wanted him or because she’d just experienced
how fleeting life could be out here, it didn’t matter.

They were alone in the room with more privacy than she’d find
pretty much anywhere else on base, and he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity.
His back was to the door, his body blocking anyone’s view of her if someone
cared to look through the small square window. He could make her feel even safer
from prying eyes though, if that was the push she needed.

Reaching behind him, he found the deadbolt beneath the handle
and turned it, locking them in and everyone else out. As the bolt snicked into
place, Candace swallowed, the undulation of her throat betraying her
nervousness. Palpable tension crackled in the air between them. But she didn’t
protest. Only an invisible wall separated them now. Once either of them breached
it, there was no going back. Every cell in his body screamed at him to blow
right through it, and to hell with the consequences. He knew what he wanted was
forbidden, but he would protect her and her reputation.

Moving slowly so he wouldn’t startle her, Ryan gently took her
other wrist and slid his hands up her arms. When she stood her ground and lifted
her eyes to his, he saw the first stirrings of indecision in them. Tenderness
and need flooded him.

Baby
,
stop
thinking
so
much
.

Without giving her time to pull away, he cupped her face
between his hands and bent his head. Carefully, so carefully, he covered her
lips with his.

Candace drew in a sharp breath and grabbed his shoulders,
stiffening. He felt the hesitation, the coiled tension in her body. But she
didn’t pull away or stop him from sipping at her mouth. Instead, her eyes
fluttered closed and then he felt the tremulous movement of her lips beneath his
as she softened. Ryan almost growled in triumph. He tightened his hold and
teased her mouth with his, seducing her with soft nibbles and the tender graze
of his tongue along the seam of her lips. Gentle. Coaxing. In response she
curled her fingers into his shoulders and leaned up for more, parting her lips
slightly.

Swallowing a groan, Ryan touched the tip of her tongue with his
then withdrew to lick at her lower lip, and she answered by lifting into the
kiss and searching out his tongue. God, she tasted good, like peppermint tea.
She caressed him almost shyly with her tongue, and her tentative response was so
goddamn hot that for a moment he thought he’d lose his mind. Her full breasts
weren’t even pressing against him and his erection strained against the fly of
his pants, pounding like it had its own heartbeat. Her exquisite acquiescence
made the sexually aggressive, dominant part of him roar and snap against the
chains holding it prisoner.

She made a soft noise in the back of her throat, and a wave of
heat rolled through him. All he could think about was how delicious she felt
yielding in his arms, even in this small way. She was so controlled and rigid
all the time that it made him want to savor the kiss and the knowledge of what
it was: a victory. But that victory came with a price.