Page 1 of Battle of Hearts

1

SAWYER

The unforgiving Artic storm clung to Captain Sawyer Berkeley like a second skin, the cold biting through her layers, nipping at her exposed face as she trudged through the thick snow. The air was so frigid she felt as though it could crack, and beyond the well-lit exterior of the base, the darkness was vast and endless. A snowstorm from the night before had only just passed, which left the area in a deafening silence broken only by the faint whistling of the wind and the steady, purposeful beat of her boots against the frozen ground.

A sigh escaped her lips in the form of a small frosty cloud as she approached the base, the harsh exterior lights illuminating the steel fences that she pushed through. Warmth brushed her cheeks as she stepped into the corridor, the blast of hot air hitting her like a wave. The sudden heat made her skin prickle and tingle as the ice that clung to her gear and short mocha hair began to melt.

The base was alive with the low hum of generators, mingled with the distant murmur of voices and the occasional clatter of equipment. Sawyer peeled off her gloves and flexed her fingers as sensation returned, her weather-sore limbs beginning tothaw. She extended a nod to the soldiers who saluted in greeting as they passed her, the sight of their shivering surprising her.

While everyone else seemed to struggle under such harsh weather, years of Arctic training had hardened her to such conditions, making her as much a part of this frozen landscape as the snow-covered peaks that stretched across the horizon.

Her boots thudded against the floor as she strode purposefully, the sound bouncing off the walls of the tight corridor as she made her way to the command center. Sawyer was always like this before a mission—focused, determined, and a little on edge. But it wasn’t nerves. She didn’t get nervous. It was more so an awareness, a sense of preparation for anything that may go wrong. Over the years, she’d quickly learned that out here in the Alaskan wilderness, things could go wrong very quickly and unexpectedly.

Tonight was no different. Sawyer had been appointed the leader of a cold-weather training mission for her team, a feisty group of Army Rangers who were already highly capable yet still needed further hardening in order to survive out in these erratic conditions. The mission was routine enough, merely a week-long excursion deep into the wild with the goals of improving their survival skills and putting their limits to the test against the elements. But Sawyer had learned long ago that there was no such thing asroutinein the Arctic. The wilderness had a way of humbling even the most prepared soldiers.

That was why Sawyer had been selected to inspect Icebreaker Station, the outpost where she and her team would be staying before she took them out. Her superiors knew she was well-experienced in the Arctic, on top of the fact she was a hell of a Captain and a natural born leader. They trusted her ability to lead her team and to train them, just as much as they trusted her instincts to make sure the Station was fit for the mission. If something was off, she’d notice it right away.

Of course, even the most calculated, most organized objectives could be dramatically thrown off balance by a sudden storm, even a mere shift in the wind. It was why she had requested the base’s Air Force meteorologist to accompany.

Normally, Sawyer preferred to handle this sort of work independently. There was only one person she trusted 100%, and that was herself. But with the threat of a potential upcoming storm, she believed it might be beneficial to put aside her own judgment for now and get an expert on-site to assess the conditions and provide real-time information.

Sawyer came to a stop in front of the closed door of the command center. The warmth seeped into her bones, and for a moment she stood there and allowed herself to relax after the punishing cold outside.

The meteorologist’s name was Lieutenant Mirren Reed, she remembered her superior saying. She’d never met the woman before—in fact, she hadn’t really interacted much with members of the Air Force at all. The Army and the Air Force were two very different worlds that didn’t often collide, and she couldn’t think of a single scenario other than her current one where she’d cross paths with a meteorologist.

Her life was one of action, physical endurance, and survival in many different cruel environments. Meteorologists were numbers, charts, and required no blood, sweat, or tears, and rarely necessitated stepping foot out of a safe building.

But Sawyer lived a life full of the need for constant control, and the weather was one of the few things she couldn’t control. So, she’d have to make this one exception. If this Lieutenant Reed woman could help mitigate that risk, she was willing to listen.

With one last relaxing inhale, Sawyer pushed through the door and stepped inside. The hum of computers and low murmur of voices filled her ears, and a few heads turning herway as she walked down concrete aisle. She scanned the room carefully. A few heads turned her way, but she ignored them, her gaze continuing to sweep across the room until she spotted exactly whom she was looking for tucked away in the back corner.

Lieutenant Mirren Reed stood near a bank of monitors, her back to Sawyer. Sawyer took a few seconds to inspect her closely. She was slender, quite a few inches shorter than she was, with her long, dark hair pulled into the neat braid the captain had recognized from the photo of the woman’s file that had been slapped on her desk early this morning shortly after she’d put in the formal request.

Even from this distance, she could feel the way the woman’s presence filled the room. She noticed how composed she was, the way she moved her hands as she spoke to those surrounding her radiating intelligence. Mirren shifted slightly, and Sawyer caught a glimpse of her profile—delicate, almost deer-like features framed by the soft blue light of the screen, her eyes glinting with focus.

A flicker of an unfamiliar feeling sparking in her chest prompted Sawyer to hesitate for a brief moment. It was a feeling she quickly recognized as attraction. She couldn’t deny it just as much as she couldn’t push the feeling a way. Mirren was, without a doubt, strikingly beautiful. Even with the cold and exhaustion creasing her expressions, her pretty looks sent tingles of curiosity shooting up Sawyer’s arms, mixed with a deeper, more instinctive response.

Sawyer didn’t waste any time trying to deduce what these feelings were. It was a distraction, and she didn’t like distractions. Pushing her feelings to the side, Sawyer cleared her throat as she stepped forward. “Lieutenant Reed?”

The woman tensed slightly, then turned to fully face her, blue eyes as icy as the wind outside. There was a calmness in her gaze,briefly overcome by a look Sawyer couldn’t figure out quickly enough before it disappeared as fast as it came. “You must be Captain Berkeley,” Mirren replied in a voice that was soft but steady and paired with a small, respectful smile.

“We’re scheduled to leave in fifteen minutes,” Sawyer said, ignoring all her feelings entirely as she kept her tone neutral and to the point. “I trust you’re ready?”

“Of course,” Mirren replied with a nod. “I’ve already prepared all the necessary equipment. I also took the chance to briefly review the latest data. The weather looks stable for now, but I’ll monitor it closely during our trip.”

Sawyer returned a curt nod. Despite the strange thoughts in the back of her mind that beckoned otherwise, there was no need for small talk or pleasantries, not when they were expected to report back on their findings in the morning.

“Good,” she said. “We’ll take a Humvee to the outpost. Make sure you’ve layered well. It’s a long drive.”

Mirren’s lips quirked slightly, the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “I’m aware, Captain. I’ve been stationed here for a day now.”

Sawyer felt a brief flicker of something almost like amusement at the subtle challenge in Mirren’s words. She liked that. It showed confidence, an assurance in her own abilities. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be as tedious as she’d expected.

She nodded again, more to herself than to Mirren. “Meet me outside when you’re ready,” she said before turning to leave, already mentally mapping out the route they would take.

As she turned and began to leave the room, Sawyer struggled to shake the image of Mirren’s gaze, those piercing blue eyes that seemed to see right through her. It had been a long time since anyone or anything had made her feel…anything, really. She was a soldier first and foremost. A captain. There was no more to herlife than her duty, no need for anything else. And if anything else ever did come, it would be secondary.

While she felt conflicted over her alien feelings, her odd pique in interest in a woman she’d barely just met, she shook her thoughts away. It didn’t matter.

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