Page 93 of Mariposa
He keeps his hand on me, forcing me to stay put. He overpowers me easily. Glancing up at him over my shoulder, it’s clear he’s fighting back anger. His nostrils flare as he chews his tobacco fiercely. There’s no fighting him, and I don’t want to.
Then I see it—the source…her wound. Castle’s lower legs are missing. Completely gone. Her thighs are wrapped in a tourniquet as torn flesh and bone dangle.
She’s in pain. She’s bleeding out. Blood, so much blood!
She’ll never walk again. Her career in the military is over. Her life hangs in the balance, and I feel utterly helpless as guilt makes its way into my broken heart.
I should have been there with her. I should have ignored Booker’s wishes and snuck in somehow. Maybe she would still have her legs. Why did Booker pull me off it?
I stare as my closest friend on the team screams and begs for her life until they all disappear into the emergency medical center, leaving me in a blinding rage where all I see is red.
Sittingin the backseat of the speeding Humvee, rolling over bumps, I think about Castle and her injuries the entire time. My anger boils inside my veins as every minute passes. Why? Why did it have to happen to her? Why did these evil criminals target a children’s clinic?
SEALS and Raiders race behind us. A trail of five armored vehicles full of troops ready to unleash hell. Booker begins to sing ‘The Ballad Of The Green Beret.’ Soon after, Roberts joins in, and then I follow. Kade sits in front of me, but his focus is somewhere else. His massive, veiny hands swallow his knees, utterly relaxed even though we’re entering a dangerous zone.
The closer we get to the target area, the more I can feel the vibrations of the distant bombs and firefights through the vehicle. I’m not nervous or scared—I’m angry and want to ensure that every bad guy is down.
“The last comms we had, they’re holding a child and a doctor hostage inside the clinic. We have orders to search and rescue, eliminating each target and capturing the ones we can. You allknow the rules of engagement.” Kade looks at everyone, panning his eyes directly to every single one of us.
“Hooah,” all of us blare.
The Humvee comes to an abrupt stop, making everyone jolt momentarily. Kade is the first one out, and we all follow his lead. As I take a step onto the sandy ground, adrenaline possesses my body. Smoke fills the air, and shouting from all operators in different branches rings into my ears. It’s a full-on battle surrounding the children’s clinic.
We march into complete chaos, taking cover behind an abandoned home. My body tenses as soon as my back hits the chipped brick wall. I clutch my rifle tightly, waiting for our next order.
“Beast, two threats on top of the rooftop, you see that?” Chaos grumbles in the mic as he gawks through our night vision binoculars.
Using my own set, I see thermally heated bodies aimed straight at us. They know we’re somewhere here, but they can’t locate us. One of them takes a shot at us, forcing pieces of thick brick to explode everywhere. A piece of shrapnel catches me in the face, but I hardly feel it. Everything is happening so fast that I don’t hesitate to raise my rifle and put my finger on the trigger.
My dad took me to shooting ranges up to a thousand yards when I was a kid, up until he passed. I’ve always been a good shot, so when my bullet pierces the two targets in between the eyes with my first try, confidence runs through me. I’m so focused, I don’t even feel the harsh kickback hit my shoulder. It’s life or death right now.
Another one appears behind them with a suicide vest. He hastily removes it, raising it above his head like he plans to throw it towards us. Before he can launch it, Beast hits him three times in the chest, and he drops, leaving a mist of crimson in the hot air. An explosion follows right after, making me fall tothe floor. A buzzing noise vibrates through me, my chest heavier than usual as I struggle to stand again.
Kade just saved all of our lives. If that bomb had been detonated one second earlier, we would have been dead or on our way there.
Red drips down into the dirt by my boot.
Am I hit?Why am I bleeding?
“You good, Posa?” Chaos grips my shoulder, forcing me to turn his way. The sound of high-pitched ringing blends in with his muffled voice. His gloved fingers brush the loose strands of hair out of my face so he can search for the source of the bleeding.
I nod, still dazed by the explosion.
His body is blurry, but I don’t miss the worry in his tone. The mask completely covers his features, but his hazel iris glows against the obsidian fabric. All the volume gets turned back up, and I can hear everything again.
“You have a gash on your face, but you’re good.” He pats my cheek with his palm three times and winks at me.
Even when it’s dark, Booker finds a way to bring light and make us all smile.
“I’m alive. Roger that.” I return his wink. Then he’s attending to the rest of the team, making sure the blast didn’t give them a concussion.
“I’m going inside with SEAL Team Hellhounds and our translator to get him to turn himself in. Everyone stays put,” Beast demands into the mic. He’s at the far end of the wall, on the opposite side of the building entrance. A blur of a dark shadow moves underneath the moonlight near Kade, and I track him instantly.
A threat comes out of an alleyway with an AK-47 and fires rounds at the SEALS covering our six, forcing them to retreat. Before one can shoot Kade in the back, I raise my pistol from mykit and pull the trigger. His head explodes after he manages to get off one bullet, but my shot causes his hand to drop, and the bullet strikes right by Kade’s foot, missing him by an inch.
Kade turns to me and gives me that one look I know all too well from behind closed doors, when it’s only us.
Affection. Yearning. Passion.
