It had been an interesting morning so far, that was for sure.
Blake wasn’t sure what the hell had happened back in that Peshawar market, but Alex had taken off after someone and then just as suddenly stopped. At first Blake had thought he’d seen Hassani, or at least someone from his network, but now he wasn’t so sure. Hunter’d been pissed that he’d raced off and broken radio communication without telling them what the hell was going on. The place had been crowded and filled with all kinds of potential threats, including lots of shadowy hiding spots if anyone was inclined to take a rifle and do some hunting from one of the windows of the buildings surrounding the square.
Now that they were away from that mass of bodies and on the road, Blake felt a lot more relaxed. He was in the lead vehicle with Gage and Alex this time, while Hunter drove Evers and another Fed in the second and Dunphy brought up the rear with two more of Evers’s boys. They’d left another SUV back at HQ for the Brits and the girls. The plan was to pick up the trail where Hassani had left the highway last night. But in order to do that, they still needed one more solid piece of human intel or a clue from a passing satellite to give them a direction.
Alex’s phone beeped with another incoming message. He glanced down at it and relayed the info to him and Gage. “Zahra’s translated some recent chatter we found. There’s a meeting between a few Taliban leaders in a village happening this morning, and this transmission was pinged at seventy-five miles southeast of Jalalabad. Apparently they’re expecting an important guest they’ve named ‘The Scorpion’.”
“Sounds promising,” Gage muttered.
“Any satellite images in the area?” Blake asked.
Alex typed something into his phone. “She and Claire are working on that now.” Then he tapped his earpiece and brought the others up to speed.
Blake leaned over to peer between the front seats and check the dashboard. The on-screen GPS showed another narrowing in the road coming up. This one had a hairpin turn, and judging by the steeply sloping terrain, it was right next to a canyon.
Gage slowed down to make the upcoming turn easier, and also to let the other vehicles stack up closer behind them. Going by the map this was the most likely spot for an ambush that Blake could see, so it made sense to keep them grouped tight together and therefore pose a more formidable and tougher target.
Gage made the turn and picked up speed despite the way the road narrowed. About a mile up ahead around the end of the hairpin Blake could see the minibus easing out of the curve. There were no vehicles coming at them the other way, and the closest one to them was about a half mile behind. He breathed a little easier at not being boxed in at the upcoming turn.
Blake braced a hand on the doorframe as Gage took the first part of the hairpin at an aggressive speed. The big vehicle’s tires slid slightly but Gage corrected with ease and didn’t let up on the gas. Up ahead around the tight curve at the end, the road was still empty. Hunter’s vehicle was right on their six, and Dunphy in formation after him.
Gage eased out of the turn and hit the gas. The SUV shot forward—
An explosion boomed behind them.
Shit!
Blake and Alex whipped around in their seats as the concussion reverberated through the SUV. The pressure wave hit Blake in the chest and pushed against his eardrums. Gage stomped on the gas harder and as soon as they were out of the turn, pulled up short in a screeching skid at the side of the road. Through the back window Blake saw the flash of orange and a cloud of black smoke rising up from the last vehicle.
“It’s Dunphy,” he reported, adrenaline blasting through him as they all grabbed for their weapons and leapt out of the vehicle.
“Get the med kit,” Alex barked at Gage, then ran with Blake toward the burning vehicle. Hunter and the others from his vehicle were already out and fanning around the last SUV. A roadside bomb had ripped into the undercarriage, igniting the fuel, and no one had gotten out yet.
Shoving his pistol back into its holster, Blake ran to help get the passengers out. Hunter had already reached in and wrenched the driver’s door open when Blake got there. Behind the wheel Dunphy was conscious but not really alert, moaning and not moving as they unhooked the seatbelt and dragged him out. Whatever damage they caused by moving him was secondary to losing him to the fire. Evers and Gage were attempting to pull the others from the wreckage as Alex sprayed the flames with a fire extinguisher.
Even as he hauled his buddy out of the wreckage, Blake cast a furtive glance around him. Were there shooters up there, ready to attack? Nothing caught his eye.
He and Hunter rushed Dunphy back to the first vehicle and laid him down on a blanket someone had spread beside the SUV in a sheltered spot between the vehicle and the hillside. Immediately they got to work checking his airway and doing an initial assessment. Dunphy was breathing on his own and his eyes were open, but he wasn’t moving and both his legs were chewed up and bleeding like hell from the shrapnel wounds he’d sustained.
Blake supported his neck in case there was a spinal injury and leaned over to look into those dark, glazed eyes. “Say something, man,” he ordered him, his guts knotted tight at seeing his friend and spotter lying so still and bloody.
“Bomb,” Dunphy mumbled. Gage was cutting away the ruined pant legs to get a better look at the damage that went all the way up to Dunphy’s thighs.
“Yeah, your truck got hit. Can you move your arms and legs?”
He was already pale, but at that he blanched beneath his growth of black facial hair. Beads of sweat popped out across his skin. “Can’t feel my legs.”
Blake shoved down the leap of fear that shot up his own spine. “It’s okay, man, you’re in shock. Just take it easy and slow your heart rate down. Gage and I’ve got you.”
Dunphy tried to lift his head, eyes wide as he looked down the length of his body and saw all the blood. “Can’t fucking feel my
legs
,” he bit out, the words laced with terror.
“They’re still there,” Gage assured him, applying pressure dressings to both limbs. “You’re bleeding all over though, so lie still and get that heart rate down. Understand?”
Dunphy dropped his head back into Blake’s hands and squeezed his eyes shut. “Oh, Jesus Christ…”
“It’ll be okay, man,” Blake insisted, not caring if it was a lie at this point. They needed Dunphy to calm down or he risked bleeding out before they could get him to a hospital.
Alex ran back to them, already on his satellite phone as Gage started an IV in Dunphy’s arm. Alex was giving coordinates and a nine line to whoever was on the end, and Blake guessed it must be some sort of military medevac unit. “Two KIA and one other severely wounded,” he said to them after he’d ended the call. He knelt beside Dunphy and set a firm hand on the guy’s shoulder. “Helo’s inbound from Bagram, ETA thirty-five minutes.”
Dunphy merely nodded, eyes screwed shut and his teeth bared. He might not be feeling his legs, but he was feeling a shitload of pain elsewhere. Alex left to continue coordinating the rescue. Blake reached one hand down to put pressure on one of the worst wounds in his friend’s lower leg to help slow the bleeding.
A minute later Hunter appeared and dropped to his knees beside Dunphy. “What do you need?”
“Zahra,” came the raspy answer. “Somebody call Zahra.”
Blake exchanged looks with Hunter and Gage. When they both hesitated, Blake stepped in. “I’ll do it. Hold his head steady,” he said to Hunter, exchanging places with him. He walked away out of earshot before dialing Jordyn’s cell. All the while he kept careful watch of the surrounding hills and road, but traffic had stopped in both directions and none of the onlookers approached them. The hills remained empty. Whoever had set off the bomb had detonated it remotely and run away like the cowardly fuckers they were.
Jordyn answered on the third ring, her voice bright and cheerful. “Hello, handsome. I was just thinking about you.”
“Hey.” His voice nearly cracked on the single word.
“What’s wrong?” she demanded.
“IED. Dunphy’s truck got hit.”
“Oh my God, is he all right?”
He had to swallow past the lump in his throat before continuing. “No, but he’s alive.”
For now, at least.
“Two others in his vehicle are dead and one more wounded. Medevac chopper’s on its way, should be here in the next half hour.”
“How bad is he?” He could hear the tension and worry in her voice.
“He says he can’t feel his legs.” Her sharply indrawn breath echoed exactly how he was feeling. Angry, horrified and helpless, not a comfortable mix for someone used to taking action and being in control. “They’re still attached but they’re all torn up and he’s bleeding bad. I dunno…”
“Blake, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
He sucked in a steadying breath before answering. “I need you to tell Zahra.”
She hesitated only a moment. “Okay.”
“Just tell her there was an accident and that he’s okay. Let her know about the medevac. Don’t tell her about his legs. Make it clear he’s conscious and alert right now and we’re taking care of him. Then call me back once she’s calm. He wants to talk to her.” To hear her voice and draw on that as his anchor. Fuck, he was going to start bawling.
“I’m on it. She’ll call you back ASAP.”
“Thanks.”
“Blake? I love you.”
He closed his eyes, fighting the sting of tears. God, until this moment he hadn’t realized just how much he’d been dreaming of hearing those words from her. Her saying them now almost snapped his tenuous hold on his composure, because he knew why she was telling him now over the phone. Because anything could happen to any of them, at any time. Dunphy getting hit was a stark reminder that Blake might never get the chance to tell Jordyn how he truly felt if he didn’t say it now.
His deeply buried fear of rejection could go fuck itself. He needed her to know what she meant to him. “Love you too,” he said in a rough voice. The words seemed so inadequate but they were all he had and he’d never meant anything more. “Bye.”
Hanging up, he hurried back to Dunphy. His buddy was still alert but shaking all over now despite the heat and the blanket someone had draped over him. Gage was in the middle of applying new dressings to replace the saturated ones. Blake had seen a lot of blood during his tour overseas, but seeing it coming out of one of his buddies would never get any easier.
He knelt at Dunphy’s shoulder and met that fear-filled gaze squarely. “Zahra’s gonna call you in just a minute, okay?”
The spotter nodded, mouth pinched. “Tell her I’m okay,” he blurted.
“You can tell her yourself when she calls. Jordyn’s alerting her right now.”
A tight, jerky nod. “If I pass out, or don’t…tell her I love her.”
Fuck.
Blake fought back the sickening pang of dread that ricocheted in his chest. “You’ll say it yourself, brother. Just relax and hang in there.” Not knowing what else to do, he reached beneath the blanket to find Dunphy’s hand and gripped it tight, relieved when those ice cold fingers squeezed back.
A few minutes later his phone rang. He answered, instantly recognizing Zahra’s frantic voice. “He’s holding his own,” Blake said to reassure her. “He just needs to hear your voice right now, okay? You gotta stay calm, Zahra. We’re taking care of him and will get him to a hospital as soon as that chopper shows up. I’ll be right next to him the whole time.” He hadn’t asked Alex or Hunter permission for that, but he didn’t really care if they liked it or not. There was no way he was leaving Dunphy’s side until the medical staff took over at the hospital.
“Let me talk to him,” she pleaded, the tears in her voice shredding him as she struggled to calm down.
“Okay, here he is.” He put the phone to Dunphy’s ear. It felt like an anvil was pressing on his chest as he watched his buddy visibly relax at the sound of her voice. The blanket and road beneath his lower body was stained with his blood. Blake could smell the cloying, iron-tinged smell of it in the hot air.
“Hey, sweetness,” Dunphy managed between chattering teeth. “I love you.”
Blake swallowed and looked away, glad he’d had the sense to tell Jordyn that a few minutes ago.
Unable to give them any privacy, he held the phone for his friend and stayed where he was. Blake knelt there in the dust at the side of the road and maintained his grip on that cold hand. He prayed silently and repeatedly until he finally heard the muted whump of rotors in the distance.
When the door to the Islamabad hospital waiting room finally opened and Blake walked through it, Jordyn’s heart lurched at the sight of him. He had bloodstains on his shirt and pants and the emotional toll of everything was there in his eyes. Exhaustion. Anger. Helplessness. Worry.
Immediately she jumped up, walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his wide back, holding on tight. Rather than remain stiff or step away as she’d partly expected, he returned the embrace and rested his cheek against the top of her head. A hard sigh escaped him. After a moment he squeezed her once and let go, putting some space between them. “Thanks for coming.”
She sought his gaze and read the weariness there, along with everything he was trying to lock away. “Of course. How is he?”
“In surgery.” His tone was flat, tired.
“Where’s Zahra?”
“Talking with a couple of the doctors. She’s doing as well as can be expected. Tom’s going to stay the night with her here, then at least until tomorrow afternoon.”
Jordyn relaxed a bit. Zahra had been understandably upset on the drive over with her and Lang. The other Brit, Wright, was back at HQ with Claire. Jordyn had done what she could to comfort Zahra during the past few hours, but really, there was nothing she could say or do to make any of this easier. Knowing the man you loved had been severely wounded, that the extent of the injuries was uncertain and there was fuck-all you could do to help him? That was the stuff of nightmares. “What’s the prognosis, do you know?”
Blake pushed out a breath and scrubbed a hand over his closely shorn hair before answering. He’d known Dunphy for a lot longer than she had, so she knew what a blow this was for him. “Both femurs fractured, and the bones in his lower legs as well. Some arterial bleeding, too. The orthopedic surgeon said he can fix all that, so unless they find something unexpected when they go in, at this point there’s no worry he’ll lose his legs.”