Page 73 of Under Fire

He reached back, lifted Sasha, and nudged her out. Matt motioned for Cade to follow his wife, then dived out the window himself. He bounded to his feet and sprinted after Delilah.

He and Cade caught up with the women within a few strides and urged them to run faster toward the opposite side of the street. He had to get them farther away from the pending explosion.

Two seconds later, Cade said, “Down.”

Matt wrapped his arm around Delilah and took her to the ground, covering her body with his own, his arms surrounding her head.

Behind him, the house exploded, throwing shrapnel in every direction. Heat stung Matt’s exposed skin and debris raining over them. His ears rang, but he was alive. A win, in his book.

When he was sure it was safe to move, Matt eased off Delilah. “You okay?”

She groaned. “In case you didn’t know, the ground is hard and you’re not a lightweight.” Delilah glanced at him, lips curving. “But I’m fine, thanks to you.”

“Matt!”

Sasha’s shaky call had him glancing their direction. A spear of wood protruded from Cade’s shoulder. Blood poured from the wound, staining Sasha’s hands as she tried to stem the tide of red.

Matt leaped to his feet. “Delilah, call 911, then call Trent.” He ran to his SUV, thankfully still intact aside from blistered paint, and grabbed his mike bag before returning to his teammate’s side. “I can’t take you anywhere, Cade.”

“Who needed stitching on our last mission?”

Matt chuckled. He had a scar on the back of his thigh from Cade’s not-so-delicate handiwork. He grasped Cade’s shirt and ripped the material away from the wound, baring the injury.

“Get it out.” Cade’s jaw was tight. “Can’t protect Sasha like this.”

Matt understood his friend’s worry. He was concerned about Delilah being exposed on the street with neighbors gathering around them. Although he didn’t believe the neighbors were a threat, Matt couldn’t rule them out and his attention was divided between Delilah, Cade, Sasha, and the crowd.

“It’s going to hurt,” he warned.

“Do it.”

“On three.” Matt counted down, grasped the wood, and pulled it free. He worked fast to staunch the blood flow, utilizing another compression bandage. “Hospital, Cade.”

“No.”

Matt scowled. “Listen, you stubborn mule. Your wife is terrified and at risk. You need to get her somewhere more secure. The police will be here any minute and they’ll want to know what happened. I can’t have my attention divided when Delilah has a target on her back.” He leaned down. “If we were on the battlefield, I’d take care of you myself. We’re not and there’s a perfectly good hospital ten minutes from here. You’ll be out in a few hours.” Probably. The doc might want to keep Cade for a while.

“I have to watch your back.”

“Bravo is a few minutes out. They’ll watch both our backs.”

“Please, Cade.” Sasha pressed a kiss to her husband’s forehead. “Going to the hospital will free Matt to protect Delilah. You might need antibiotics and the hospital can provide that in an IV. You’ll be out in no time.”

Matt didn’t have the heart to tell Sasha he had the same ability. However, she’d be more comfortable if Cade used traditional American treatment as opposed to his brand of battlefield medicine.

Cade gave a short nod, giving Matt a good indication of how much pain his friend was in. Normally, he would have insisted Matt treat him anyway.

The fire crew arrived and rushed to douse the fire. Lost cause. The Holloway house was a total loss.

The ambulance arrived. Two EMTs hurried to Cade’s side, equipment in hand. “What do we have?” the bald man asked.

“Shoulder wound caused from a two-inch piece of wood driven into his back by the blast that caused the fire across the street. He’s allergic to sulfa drugs and his blood type is A+.”

Baldy frowned. “You a doctor?”

“Medic. Have his wife checked out, too.”

“Hey,” Sasha protested. “I’m fine.”

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