The look on Shane’s face was grim. “Gotta get you to a medic, bro.”
“Fuck that!” But he knew what Shane wasn’t saying, could tell by the expression on his face every time he looked at him. Kieran had a fighting chance to make it back out. With the amount of blood Kane had already lost, he didn’t have the same chance.
Shane got him to the base. After ensuring that Kane was in good hands, he went back for Kieran.
––––––––
Kane couldn’t get the image of the woman out of his mind. That honey-colored hair, the exotic, soft brown eyes with golden flecks. The calm, soothing voice; the grace and courage under pressure. The complete, all-encompassing aura of warmth and compassion, mixed with just enough spice to make it interesting. She shouldn’t have been in a place like that; a woman like her should be teaching Sunday school in some close-knit, peaceful community, not handling an Uzi in the middle of a freaking jungle.
She didn’t belong there; she wasn’t a killer. Hell, the look on her face after she dusted those bastards was one of pure horror and revulsion. Bet they didn’t teach that sort of thing at the convent.
It was a hell of a waste, that whole scenario. God had some damn good taste in calling her. She would have made a mortal man a good wife – soft and warm, yet feisty ...
Kane instantly shut those thoughts down. He was not going there. He lifted his eyes to the canvas ceiling of the medic tent. Sometimes, he thought, you can be a cruel bastard.
The medic pulled away the cloth binding and stared at the makeshift poultice with grudging approval. “Someone knew what they were doing,” he said.
“Don’t look at me,” Kane grunted. “Some crazy-assed Sister slapped it on me. Made me chew some nasty shit, too.”
The doc raised his eyebrows. “Well, that crazy-assed Sister probably saved your life, Callaghan. Maybe you should say an extra rosary tonight.”
––––––––
The sun was rising when Kieran and Shane made it back to base. They looked like shit, covered in dirt and sweat and blood, but at least they were alive and seemed to have all of their parts in working order. They collapsed onto the cots near Kane.
Kane watched the entrance expectantly, but no one else followed them in.
“What happened?”
Kieran’s arm was draped over his face. He just shook his head. It was Shane who answered. “It was a massacre, man. Nothing left of the village but smoldering ash. But at least we got the bastards responsible.”
“The Sisters?”
Shane just shook his head. Kane felt a block of ice drop into his gut. “What about the female?” The one who refused to leave him behind. The one who went back for the others.
“A clean-up team came in. She was helping them recover and ID the bodies.”
Something like relief flooded through him. “She is alive then?”
Shane lifted up his head and regarded him curiously with his uncovered eye. “Last we knew.”
“Did you get a name?”
He shook his head. “No. But she said to say thanks and give you these.” Shane reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of Tootsie rolls.
Son of a bitch.
Chapter Two
Three Months Later, Pine Ridge, Pennsylvania
Kane pushed one arm through the cotton button-down. “Well?”
It took his brother a few seconds to answer. Michael crossed the examination room and studied the results from the latest series of strength tests. “You’re improving. I think the rehab is going well.”
Kane tugged the other arm through and began to fasten the buttons from the bottom up. “So I’m good to go then.” Without even realizing he was doing so, he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a Tootsie roll, popping it into his mouth and discarding the wrapper with a careless but accurate toss into the wastebasket. He’d developed quite a fondness for them, it seemed.
“Kane,” Michael said, his expression grim, “I know what you want me to say, and I can’t. I’ve done what I can, but you’re lucky you’re even walking. You take any more damage in that hip and you’re looking at a custom titanium replacement.”
Kane looked at his hands and nodded. No surprise there; he’d suspected as much. He’d been stateside for three solid months – a new record for him, at least since turning eighteen and heading out to BUD/S.
Much of that time had been spent hanging around Pine Ridge, the town his family called home. Kieran ran the family-owned health club known as BodyWorks, and Kane had been spending most of his days there on the state-of-the-art equipment, working hard to regain his strength and mobility after the shot that nearly shattered his hip joint beyond repair.