Page 41 of Justice for the SEAL
Logan made out the silhouette of the man just as an object came swinging toward himagain.
Abaseballbat.
He ducked just in time, the barrel clipping him on the skull, and trained his weapononCole.
He fired three times in quick succession, the other man falling to the ground. Logan moved close to Cole’s face, seeing life still lingering in his eyes. He didn’t even hesitate, shooting him point-blank in theforehead.
“Jax!” Logan screamed, crawling past Cole’s body and through a pool of blood. His lungs filled with noxious air, the heat of the hallway way past a hundreddegrees.
In his earpiece he heard the voices of his HERO Force brothers, their words incomprehensible over the roar of theblaze.
He made it to the end of thehallway.
No kitchen. He’d gone thewrongway.
He turned back the way he’d come, an eerie orange glow now visible through the smoky haze. He crawled through Cole’s blood, it’s metallic odor mingling with the burning air that was taking hisbreathaway.
It was getting hotter with every inch he crawled in that direction, and he struggled to hear what his teammates weresaying.
Had Jax made it out safely without him? Was he attempting a rescue that didn’t need tobemade?
“I’m not leaving you behind,” he ground out against his clenched teeth. “Jax! Can youhearme?”
He rounded a corner and the flooring changed from wood to vinyl. The smoke was lower here, visibility no more than a few inches beyond his face. He put his belly on thefloor.
There, through the thinnest layer of clean air, he could see Jax’s leg across the room,unmoving.
With a burst of renewed energy, Logan crawled to him, quickly moving to hisfriend’sface.
He wasunconscious.
Logan’s lungs were screaming, pain unlike any he’d ever known seeming to turn their lining to something caustic. He looked around for a window. A doorway. Some way out oftheroom.
I’m not going tomakeit.
Fire broke through the floor beside Jax’s head and Logan wrapped his arms around Jax’s torso. He remembered Noah’swords.
Stay away from the windows. I’ve got a clear view of the kitchen sink area if you need me to taketheshot.
Logan’s eyes snagged on the drainpipe coming down from the old farm sink behind Jax’s head. The window must be on theoppositewall.
He pulled Jax away from the flames and pushed him toward the window. The legs of a chair came into his field of vision and he grabbed it, hurtling it toward where the windowmustbe.
Glass shattered and cool air rushed into the room, feeding the quickly growing flames. They billowed high against the wall and he reached for Jax’sframe.
Again he grabbed Jax and lifted him into his arms, forcing his body to a stand against the intense blowing of outside air into the house tothefire.
“Over here!” he called out the window, his eyes so stung hecouldn’tsee.
Austin’s voice in his ear was like the sweetest music. “We’ve got them! Out the kitchenwindow!”
What happened next was a blur of motion as HERO Force rallied to get them down. Then Austin was on a ladder, pulling Jax fromLogan’sarms.
“Climb down the ladder, Doc.” It was Cowboy, calling as if from so far away. Logan listed dramatically to the side. Dizziness overtook him and he fell back into the smokeandheat.
Cowboy’s voice was the last thing he heard before he blacked out. “I’m coming for you, buddy. I’m gonna get you out ofthere.”
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