Page 80 of Duty Bound

“I can’t believe you pulled that stunt back there. What the hell, man?”

He knew Stitch was keeping him talking so he could monitor him for signs of a cranial bleed or loss of orientation. Anything that would signal a traumatic brain injury. “Couldn’t risk you and Lily getting shot.”

He thought he was making sense.

Kind of.

“We might have made it. There were only ten of them.”

Blade laughed, but it hurt so damn much, he coughed instead. He couldn’t see shit out of one eye, either, but that would just take time. “Where are we headed?”

“I’ve got a contact.”

“Good to see domestic life hasn’t made you soft.”

Stitch grinned. “Farzaad is a good man. He’ll have our backs.”

Blade offered a half-nod. He trusted Stitch.

The beat-up Toyota chewed through the miles. There were no more sirens. Blade closed his eyes, only to get another jab from Stitch.

“You must really care about Spade's girl to put yourself on the line like that. I know it wasn’t just for me.”

It was a loaded question, meant to stir him up. Meant to keep him awake when all he wanted was to crash.

It was smart too because he didn’t have the energy to dispute it.

“Yeah.”

Stitch glanced over at him. “She’s vulnerable. You know that, right?”

“I know,” he growled. “That’s why nothing happened.”

Not strictly true.

“I’m sorry for what I said before.” Stitch kept his eyes on the road. “I was out of line. I didn’t know how strongly you felt for her.”

Blade closed his eyes. “It doesn’t matter how I feel. She’s Spade’s girl, remember? I did this for him.”

“She was Spade’s girl, but from what I could see, she’s now very much yours.”

“What?” Blade squinted out of his good eye. “You’re full of it.”

“No, man. She wanted to go back for you. That was real emotion I saw there, not just heat-of-the-moment crap. She needs you.”

Blade mulled it over.

She needed him.

Out here, yeah, but what about back home? Would she need him then? He was nobody. An out of work soldier with PTSD. Didn’t have a job, nor any likelihood of getting one. Weren’t many jobs for former soldiers.

He didn’t have engineering skills like Joe or medical training like Stitch. All he knew was how to kill, and he was damn good at it. Problem was that didn’t translate into civilian life too well.

He had nothing to offer a woman like Lily.

Weariness and pain overwhelmed him, and he couldn’t stay awake. He heard Stitch talking, but the words were a jumbled mess.

The Toyota turned off the main road onto a dirt track, and the jolt made him catch his breath. Waves of nausea flowed over him. Darkness pulled him down, and he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore.

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