Redirecting his gaze from the horizon ahead, Ryan looked to his teammates—Monty, Galloway, Tex, Nathan and Simon, the man temporarily replacing Kyle—but no one was looking his way. His brows drew together. “Did you say something, Monty?”
Monty shook his head.
Shrugging it off, Ryan glanced around the inside of the chopper once more before looking back to the horizon. Almost there. He could just make out brief tufts of smoke ahead. His breath caught when a big explosion imploded an entire building in a thick plume of orange and grey.
“Motherfucker!” Nathan shouted. “Did you see that?”
With his back facing what lay ahead, Monty met Ryan’s eyes. Ryan tipped his chin to the skyline and Monty turned. “Fuckers have got the rocket launchers out.”
“We can’t get too close,” the pilot shouted, tilting his head as he gave Monty a quick glance. “We need you out fast!”
From his peripheral vision he saw the choppers behind them peel off in different directions—aiming for alternate insertion points to enable a full-scale attack.
“ETA five minutes,” the pilot yelled.
With his heart thundering in his chest, Ryan wished he could take Fin’s photo out of his pocket for one last glance, but there was no time.
Instead, he closed his eyes and saw her instantly. Her blonde locks in a wild tangle, her eyes sleepy, her lips curled as she woke up in bed next to him. That’s how he liked to remember her best because she would snuggle into his side, and all that warm, naked flesh would press up against him. Nothing felt better. Even now—his heart pounding fiercely—didn’t compare to how it felt waking up beside her in the morning. Ryan remembered telling her just that the morning after the impromptu birthday party Fin had pulled together for him.
“What?” she’d muttered sleepily, pushing hair from her face as she blinked and focused her pretty green eyes his way.
“You.”
Her finger trailed a torturously slow path down his chest, her lips curving lazily when he shuddered with pleasure. “What about me?”
“You’re my heart,” he replied softly.
Tucking his hands behind his head, Ryan focused his gaze on the ceiling of Fin’s bedroom to give his pulse a chance to slow down. “Not much compares to the rush of adrenaline when you’re in the middle of heavy fire, or when you’re screaming off inside a Hercules, or how a Black Hawk makes your stomach drop as it lurches hard in the sky. Except for you. None of it makes my heart beat the way you do.” He tilted his head to meet her eyes and the rush of love he saw in their green depths made him feel ten feet tall. “It’s like it’s beating just for you.”
“Kendall.”
Ryan’s eyes flew open and once again he looked to the Black Hawk occupants, but no one was looking his way. His brows drew together. It couldn’t have been Jake. Reading his letter had been like a final goodbye. Since then, the voices inside his head—Jake’s voice—had stopped. Why was he here? Why now?
Ryan resisted the urge to roll his eyes at himself. Idiot. Jake wasn’t here. Sometimes he felt like he really was losing his mind.
Shaking his head to clear it, Ryan forced everything from his mind.
“ETA one minute!” the pilot called out.
The Black Hawk doors were locked open, ready for a fast rope insertion. Nathan was up first. Ryan would follow directly after. Looking to Nathan, Ryan gave him a short nod. After a hard swallow and a swipe of his palms down the length of his thighs, Nathan returned it.
Unclipping his harness, Nathan stood up. At that exact moment, the chopper pitched wildly, and Ryan saw nothing but ground as the bird tilted hard right.
“Motherfucking sonofabitch,” the pilot yelled as Nathan stumbled and grabbed hold of the rope above to steady himself. “They’re aiming their rocket launchers right at us!” After a brief burst of chatter on the radio to base, the Black Hawk slowed until they were hovering a hundred feet above ground. “We’re not going in any further. You guys have to get out here.”
The thick, heavy rope went over the edge, unravelling rapidly until it hit the ground below. In what felt like slow motion, Ryan removed his harness and stood. The wind rushing through the open doors was thick and hot. Ryan rolled his shoulders, his dark eyes turning flat and hard as sweat travelled a line down the length of his back.
“Go, go go!” Monty roared over the loud, heavy thumping of the Black Hawk’s hovering rotors.
At Monty’s command, Nathan flew out the door and into the sky. Stepping up to the edge, Ryan peered downwards to watch him. Nathan’s legs and arms were locked around the rope as he slid down with ease. The ground below was hazy with thick, swirling dust—Nathan making his way right into the middle of it. With one big leap, he landed on terra firma and right into incoming fire.
“Christ,” he muttered. Nathan was getting surrounded. He needed to get out there.