Page 9 of A Damaged Soul
10:00 a.m. Saturday. Carmello's. I'll send you the address.
With my thumbnail between my teeth, I watched the bubbles pop up and then disappear two times before a text finally came through.
RHETT
Looking forward to it.
CHAPTER FIVE
Rhett
Saturday
"Fucking A..." I grumbled as another bullet whizzed by my head. We were on a rescue mission in Turkey, and for some reason, things had gone to shit sometime in the middle of the night.
"Do you have someplace better you would rather be?" Matthew––my team leader––asked.
I glanced at my watch and cringed as I did some quick calculations to what time it would be back home.
"As a matter of fact, yes."
Right this very moment, Elle was probably sitting in the little cafe in what I was assuming was the town she lived or close to it.
Two more bullets whizzed by but this time not nearly as close. "Where the hell is our backup?" I asked Matthew.
Just then, more shots rang out, and it was clear whomever was shooting at us was now engaged in a shootout with someone else.
"Ask and you shall receive."
I breathed a sigh of relief before looking down at the woman we were sent in to rescue. "It's almost over."
She didn't look convinced, and truth be told, I couldn't blame her. Not when bullets were flying around and the sounds of guns going off were the only noise she was forced to listen to.
Amanda––the woman we were there to rescue––shifted her position enough that she put herself in the line of fire. "Get down!" I yanked her back but not before exposing myself enough for the enemy to get a shot off.
"Son of a bitch!" My shoulder was on fire, and I looked down to see blood oozing out of the bullet hole.
"What the fuck?!" Matthew's roar caused Amanda to hunch down in fear.
"I'm sorry," she squealed.
If looks could kill, the one Matthew was giving Amanda would have her dead on the spot. "Let me take a look."
"It's fine. A through and through. Just slap a patch on it, and we can stitch it up later." This wasn't the first time I had been shot, and it likely wouldn't be the last considering my luck on assignments. At least this time, it wouldn't have me out for any length of time.
Matthew did as I asked and patched me up the best he could with the field kit we carried. Then he radioed to the rest of the team to find out what their status was.
"Two tangoes left and then you're clear to move," Parker advised.
"Copy that," Matthew radioed back. "Stay down," he barked at Amanda, and this time, she listened.
A few seconds later, all noise ceased.
"All clear." Parker's voice was music to my ears. I wanted nothing more than to be done with this situation already.
"Let's move." I grabbed Amanda's arm and helped her stand.
This time, we were able to move through the bullet-stricken home without getting shot at. Amanda had been taken while studying abroad in Turkey. Her family was rich enough to hire our team to come in and rescue her while the government sat on their hands, trying to figure out a diplomatic way to get her back.
