Page 1 of Lorenzo & Lily

Chapter One

The sheer volumeof bullets whizzing around them was unexpected.

Extremely unexpected.

The latest intelligence reports had stated that the area was safe enough to cross, at least in the dead of night.

The reports were wrong.

Captain Lorenzo Santoro ran through the dense vegetation, his team close behind or running ahead of him. His status as prince of Valleria wouldn’t help him now; in fact, it might be what killed him in the end.

He was suffocating. Oppressive heat, even in the dark of night, surrounded him. The air was a thick and humid stew. His pack weighed over fifteen kilos – or a mere thirty-five pounds – and sweat ran in rivers down his body. He could barely hold on to his rifle, as it kept slipping from slickened hands.

His lieutenant colonel was yelling orders, but Lorenzo’s brain couldn’t make any sense of it. Safety. He had to get to safety, and he had to make sure the team got there, too.

As he wound his way through the dense jungle, he heard a female cry pierce the air.

Remy.

His eyes darted around frantically, searching for the fallen body, but the trees were too high, the moonlight too little, the air too dense.

“Come on, Captain!” Perez yelled as he came by, then grabbed Lorenzo’s arm and began tugging him along. Lorenzo broke free.

“Remy.”

Perez just shook his head. “I saw her. It’s too late.” A weight heavier than fifteen kilos pressed against Lorenzo’s chest. “Lieu called for an evac, and we’ve got to make it to the lift point or we’re screwed.”

“We can’t leave her goddamn body here for them.”

“Captain, it’s too late!” Perez yelled, but Lorenzo was already weaving back through the trees. He’d run barely a hundred yards when he saw her sprawled on the ground.

Her face was still twisted in pain, her body unmoving.

Remy.

He checked her pulse.

There was nothing but silence.

The silence of a pulse was the worst fucking sound in the world.

The next sound he heard wasn’t much better.

A nearby grenade blast pierced the air, shaking him from his thoughts.

No time.

There wasn’t any time.

He heaved her over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold, her weight plus the weight of her pack now also weighing him down. He didn’t feel it. Another surge of adrenaline, coursing through his system at breakneck speed, kept him from feeling anything anymore.

He raced to catch up with the rest of the team. It was several long minutes before he caught sight of them again. He heard the helicopters before he saw them. One landed in a clearing and half his team ran toward it, while the others laid down suppressive fire.

Close. So close to freedom. To safety.

Then it happened.

A long, low whistle preceded a blast, and threw the jungle into sharp relief from the orange and red flames of a spreading fire.

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