Page 26 of Fatal Mistake
His military lingo only added to her impression of his incredible skills, leaving her uneasy and in awe at the same time as she waited for direction.
“Be ready,” he said. “Once the team lays down cover from secure locations we’ll move behind their line. When you hear me say go, I’ll roll off, and you come to your feet. Ignore the gunfire, grab on to my side, and cling to me. Got that?”
“Yes,” she replied, but she didn’t know if her shaky legs would allow her to move.
“You can do it, Tara,” he said, as if reading her mind. “I’ve seen how strong you are.”
She replied with a nod and stared up at his transformation into war hero. He’d sustained a large cut to his forehead with blood running down to his eyebrow.
“You’re bleeding.”
“No biggie. Let’s just focus on what we have to do.”
“Right, run through gunfire.”
“Don’t worry so much.” He gently rested his fingers on her cheek. “This jerk’s no match for our team. Most of us are old spec ops guys. Keeler may have done a stint in the army, but his skills at stalking in the bush don’t come anywhere close to ours.”
She didn’t mention that, so far, Oren had bested them.
Suddenly, a barrage of bullets started flying.
“Okay, we’re a go.” Cal rolled off.
She jumped up, and he clamped her tight to his side. Then suddenly they were running while bullets flew in all directions. Hitting the ground. Sending up puffs of dirt. His team firing way more bullets in the shooter’s direction.
He’d told her to ignore the gunfire, but she couldn’t think about anything else.
The sounds echoed through the trees, and she flinched at each one. She soon tired and lagged behind. Cal wrapped a strong arm around her waist and carried her the final distance to a secured area. He immediately released her, grabbed a vest from the back of an SUV, and strapped her into it before donning one for himself. He adjusted his radio before he inserted earbuds back into his ears and added a helmet.
“How can you hear me with earbuds?” she asked, suddenly wondering if he’d even been listening to her.
“The earbuds have microphones that pick up external sounds so we can hear the team and what’s going on in our surroundings at the same time.” He shifted the vest that fit him like a custom piece of clothing while hers hung like sagging laundry on the clothesline.
She was shaking and wished they were far away from this horrible scene or that he’d take a moment to reassure her. Maybe with another touch of his hand.
Instead, he picked up a submachine gun and pressed a hand to his chest. “Stand down. Package secure. Brynn, I need you here.”
Tara had no idea what package secure meant, but the shooting stopped, and a woman soon came out of the brush. Dressed like Cal, she held a matching gun in one hand. In the other, she clasped a large black shield with a clear window in the top. Audio cords dangled from her ears and disappeared into her vest matching Cal’s.
“This is Brynn,” he said.
Standing two inches taller than Tara, Brynn had grayish-blue eyes that were direct and held a guarded expression. She’d set her mouth in a grim line. Tara figured the woman possessed skills very similar to Cal’s, but Tara had no idea the role she played on the team.
Tara looked back at Cal.
“Stay with Brynn,” he said. “She’ll move you to the command post until I’m free.”
“Wait, what?” Tara cried out. “You’re leaving?”
“Keeler.” He gestured over his shoulder.
Brynn handed her shield to Cal, and the muscles in his arm bulged from exertion. Tara had no idea how Brynn could even hold something that strained his muscles.
“I have to go.” Cal met Tara’s gaze over the shield. He offered her an apologetic look, and after the beat of a few seconds, he bolted.
Really? Just like that, he’d gone. He’d promised to provide security for her and not leave her in anyone else’s hands, but they hadn’t even left town, and he’d walked away. Maybe worse, he could be walking into a hail of bullets.
“Don’t look at him like that.” Brynn gestured for Tara to join her in the SUV. When they were settled, Brynn peered at Tara. “Cal knows you’re safe with me, and after a grueling hunt for Keeler, there’s no way Cal’s not going to be in the fight to bring the creep in.”
