Page 54 of D-Day

Blitz looked at Helen. “You need any help, Rambo?”

She laughed softly. “No, I’m good. I’ll just pass out when we get to safety.”

Blitz narrowed his eyes at her, then glanced at D-Day. “Is she serious?”

Gator laughed and said, “Yep…definitely Tigger.”

She looked at D-Day with a frown. “I’ll explain it to you later,” he said with a painful chuckle.

When they got to the door to the outside, there was no sign of DL. But her brother and Zorro were lying on the lawn. She ran to them. “Sam,” she whispered, “Oh, God, Sam.” She dropped down, softly, touching her brother’s ashen face, noting the dressing on Zorro’s heavily muscled torso. She had to contact Mari as soon as possible. She would want to know that her husband was injured.

“Who was that woman who saved us?” Zorro said, every word laced with pain. “I’ve never seen anyone move like that.”

“A friend,” Helen said, realizing that DL had melted into the shadows and was gone.

The sound of blades beating the air sent an almost euphoric feeling through her. It meant a ride out of this horrible place where she’d bagged a real live terrorist. Her, a cowgirl from Cheyenne, Wyoming, and saved the lives of millions. She had to wonder if that would be enough to satisfy her sense of adventure. She looked over at D-Day, bloody, bruised, tortured. Probably not.

Once inside, Joker spoke through the radio to the pilot. “Blow it.” The chopper banked and flew over the tarp-coveredmissiles. The guns blazed, a roaring, metallic sound that rent the air. Everything below them exploded sky high. Helen gave them the coordinates as best she could, but smiled as a flare flew into the dark sky. Just one more act by DL to make sure the triggers were retrieved. The helo hovered over the area, and Gator fast-roped down, retrieved thetriggers, and muscled his way back up the rope.

“Helen,” D-Day said, his voice strained. “What am I going to do with you?”

She shrugged and gave his hand a squeeze while Gator attended to his face. Professor was working on Zorro, and Buck had been moved onto a stretcher to be offloaded at the hospital. He was still unconscious. “I know I was supposed to do exactly as you said, but guess what?”

“What?” he asked. She loved the warm glimmer in his eyes.

“I’m nothing but an unruly hellion,” she said, repressing a grin. “So, you have no one to blame but yourself.”

Everyone in the chopper laughed. D-Day shook his head. “I guess I don’t, and I’m okay with that.”

When they toucheddown on the roof of the hospital, Dr. Aquino, Dr. Bacunawa, and Monique rushed toward the chopper. Monique hugged Helen hard, crying and laughing that she was all right.

They took Buck’s stretcher out first, then helped Zorro into a wheelchair, but D-Day insisted on walking. His body had taken a beating, but he could move on his own steam, nothing was broken, and the pain was slight compared to his teammates. All he needed was a couple of painkillers and he would be fine.

Helen squeezed his arm. “You don’t have to be so strong,” she whispered, but he shook his head and walked past the wheelchair.

She looked longingly down the hall where her brother had disappeared, and D-Day said, “Go, Helen. Be with your brother.”

Her torn expression told him she didn’t want to leave him. “I need to find out what’s wrong with him, call his wife and—” Her expression contorted as she swallowed back tears. “My family needs to know.” Her tears spilled over, and each one was a slice to his heart. She was so damn strong, resilient, and he admired the hell out of her and hated that this mission had brought her to this point.

He cupped her face and said, gently, “Of course you do, darlin’. Go. They’ll patch me up and we’ll talk.”

She covered his hands, and said fiercely, “Promise me.”

He nodded. “Now go.”

She brushed her mouth across his and he groaned, sinking into her kiss, reality fading away. One touch and he was oblivious to the rest of the world.

Helen rushed off and a nurse took her place. Professor, Gator, Blitz, and Bear all looked at him.

“He’s got it bad,” Gator said.

“Our little D-Day is all grown up,” Professor said, like a proud dad.

“Buck’s sister,” Blitz said. “Wow, you’ve got some balls.”

Bear clasped his shoulder. “Ah, you are almost aligned, my friend.” He said something in his native language, musical and beautiful, then translated for him. “The spirit and the heart are one, but the mind is discordant. You must find your path and eliminate the uncertainty and the darkness that troubles you. Worthiness is not earned. It is inherent, and anyone who cannot see that is just not worthy of your attention.”

D-Day blinked a couple of times. “Sometimes, Bear, you scare the living crap out of me.”

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