Page 17 of Bullets and Dandelions

A volley of bullets whizzed overhead.

The others returned fire.

“Fuck!” Sergeant Stone rolled off me, grabbed his rifle and started firing at the Taliban.

That had been a big mistake. I leaned my aching body against the wall as everything hit me all at once. I was so damned tired; I couldn’t think straight. A part of me was aware of the blood running down my left arm from our little tussle but I just didn’t care. The Taliban attack had been too well-planned. I knew Roberts was involved, but he wasn’t a military strategist like Pops.

Would I live to see tomorrow? Maybe. Was my father a traitor? Probably, but he had saved that soldier’s life. What would happen when he discovered I had taken his blackmail material? Would I end up in his crosshairs? To my horror, hot tears rolled down my cheeks. Why was I crying? I shouldn’t mourn what I had never had. Was it wrong to want my father to love me, not be my executioner? If he came after me, was I strong enough to kill him? I didn’t know.

Now that Stone possessed the microdot, I had nothing left to bargain with. Would they kick me out of the Army or simply lock me up?

“Did I do that?” Sergeant Stone squatted next to me.

I closed my eyes and ignored him.

“Tex! Get over here.” Stone used his thumbs to wipe away my tears. “Hey, everything is going to be okay.”

My eyes snapped open. “Is your father trying to kill you?”

“Why would he want you dead?” He watched me carefully.

“I stole the microdot from him.”

“Shit!” Stone ran a hand through his thick black hair. “Your fatherisMatthew Reynolds the CIA assassin?”

Damn, Stone had said he would know everything about me. “Yes.”

“He’s training you to follow in his footsteps, isn’t he?”

“He is.”

Something dark and predatory moved across Sergeant Stone’s face. “You thought the Army would protect you from him.”

“That was the plan, but he showed up at boot camp, made a deal with the General and got me sent to sniper school. Which I passed.”

“And you found yourself in the Middle East basically working for your father.”

I nodded. “That’s when Eric Roberts took an interest in me.”

“Your sniper abilities or sexually?”

“Both.” An evil smile formed on my mouth. “It was six months before he could get it up again and his nose still looks wonky.”

Stone’s white teeth flashed in a dazzling grin. “I heard someone had neutered him.”

“That’s how I ended up on half-rations and being sent on increasingly dangerous missions.”

The surfer dude knelt beside me and cut off my bloody bandage. “She needs stitches. I can do it, or we can wait until there’s a doctor available.”

“You do it,” I said.

“Yes, ma’am.” Tex pulled out a suture kit.

Stone scratched his beard. “Didn’t your team share their food with you?”

“I don’t have a team. They sent me out alone.”

“Alone?” Tex inquired incredulously.

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