Page 43 of Bullets and Dandelions

Johnson grinned broadly. “Not a one. He freed the prisoners and blew the prison to smithereens.”

Stone motioned to us. “He’s got a bottle of fifty-year-old whiskey waiting.”

“Grab your gear,” Tex told me and hurried after his squad.

I didn’t join them. I was allergic to whiskey, and they needed time to do a little male bonding. Slinging Bertha over my shoulder, I picked up my pack and smiled at the pilot. “Thanks for the ride.”

“My pleasure, ma’am.”

I stepped away from the Huey and watched it fly off. The back of my neck itched like crazy. Something was wrong. I scanned the area again. Was I being paranoid? Maybe. Maybe not. I caught a glimpse of the guys being held at gunpoint and ducked under the airplane. Shit!

“Why are you doing this Kamous?” Stone snarled.

“They have my family.”

Dammit! Sounded like something Roberts would do. Time for a little distraction. I pulled my boot knife and jabbed it into the jet’s front tire. It hissed nicely as it deflated. I fished around in my pack and pulled out the grenade I had taken off a dead militant. I thought it might come in handy someday, and it had.

I sprinted over to the fuel tanker. The gauge showed it was almost empty. I blew out a breath of relief. If the tanker was full, it would blow all of us to kingdom come.

Someone shouted angrily, “Find the woman. Roberts wants to watch her die.”

I peeked around the fuel tanker. Two heavily armed goons exited the jet.

I waved at them all friendly like. “I need to pee. Don’t leave without me.”

“Come woman.” The goons raised their weapons and started toward me.

Pulling the pin on the grenade, I tossed it over my shoulder and ran like hell. Please, please don’t blow until I’m inside the shed. I dove headfirst into the flimsy metal structure and a thunderous explosion rocked my world.

Thunk! Bap! Thunk! Thunk! Bap!Pieces of metal bombarded the shed. Shit! It sounded like the roof was going to collapse. Thick, black smoke billowed in through the door. Time to leave.

“Tess!” Stone shouted. “Where are you?”

Hacking up a lung, I stumbled out of the shed and looked around. Wow! Chunks of burning metal covered the ground. I hadn’t expected such a big explosion.

Stone sprinted up to me. “Are you hurt?”

“What?” The ringing in my ears muted everything.

“Are you hurt?” Stone’s hands skimmed over me.

I rubbed my left ear. “I can barely hear you.”

“Where did you get the grenade?”

Why was he scowling? I had just saved his ass. “Snakes?” I looked around. “I don’t see any snakes.”

“Cut the act.”

Coughing violently, I stumbled over a piece of metal. The smoke was making it difficult to see.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” Stone muttered and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Easy. There are two bodies to the west of you.”

Yep. One of the goons had a piece of metal protruding from his stomach. The other had a gunshot wound to the chest.

Rodriquez stood guard by the stairs. He took one look at me and yelled, “Tex get your gear.”

“The front tire is flat,” Kamous hollered.

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