Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61190 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 306(@200wpm)___ 245(@250wpm)___ 204(@300wpm)
My heart thundered in my chest, sweat breaking out on my forehead as I moved to Brianna’s side. She ducked her head, staying low and close to my side as I guided her down the hallway after David and the two rebel leaders.
“Just stay close!” I shouted over the sound of gunfire and shots throughout the bunker and just outside where another fight was happening.
With wide, alert eyes, Brianna nodded and stuck with me as we poured into another room with cots and bags of supplies. But that wasn’t all.
Dimitrik and four other enemies popped out behind cots and stacks of bags to open fire on us, making us split.
“Watch out!” Brianna gasped as Dimitrik raised his pistol and fired right at David. She dove toward her husband, shoving him to the side and making the bullet strike the wall right where his head was a second earlier.
“Kill them!” Dimitrik roared.
Adrenaline fired through me, pushing me forward as I aimed and fired at one of the enemies. I shot twice, missing once and hitting one shoulder.
“Get down, Brianna!” I yelled as bullets whizzed past everyone as we ducked and tried to hide behind whatever we could.
Brianna crouched behind a cot and placed her hands over her head, shielding herself as David rushed forward and tackled Dimitrik.
“Go, go!” Wojtek said, motioning for everyone to swarm forward as another enemy went down from a bullet to the chest.
Mo and Jovan rushed the two remaining enemies, firing direct shots and putting them down with grunts and gritted teeth. We weren’t losing this fight.
“You’re done, you son of a bitch!” David shouted in Dimitrik’s face as he pinned the seething dictator down on the ground with a knee on his chest.
I released a shaky breath, my pupils blown wide and my chest rising and falling with heavy inhales and exhales. I wandered closer to Dimitrik as he writhed and spat at David. My heart thudded so hard that my chest nearly ached.
We got him. The war was over.
I turned just as the other guys hurried to the doorway, their eyes wide with hope and worry. All I had to do was nod to them for them to know what happened.
“Fuck yes,” Aziel said with a grin.
I chuckled and bumped fists with my fellow soldiers as David forced Dimitrik to his feet.
“You will pay! This isn’t over!” Dimitrik spat, his voice weighed down by his Vlasic accent. He seethed at all of us, but when the rebel leaders approached him, his face reddened with rage. “Traitors!”
Jovan shook his head.
“No. You are,” he said.
I turned to see Brianna pressing against David’s side, looking as smug and happy as the rest of us as we watched the fall of a horrible dictator.
“We will take him,” Andric told us as Wojtek and Jovan grabbed Dimitrik’s arms. He nodded to us with a smile of gratitude. “Thank you. We will never forget this.”
Brianna told him something in Vlasic before the leaders dragged Dimitrik out of the room, forcing him to step over the bodies of his own men. She turned to us with a smile.
“I told him that it was our pleasure. Taking down bad guys is our job,” she said.
David wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple.
“Yes, it is,” he told her before looking at all of us. “There’s no one I trust more than all of you. No one else I want by my side.”
“We’re right there with you, captain,” I told him with a nod that the others copied. We were brothers through and through, and this was what we did. We got the job done.
We fought hard. My eyes shifted to Brianna’s as we met gazes, sharing a warm look. My heart immediately stopped for a few seconds, taking my damn breath away.
Holy shit. She made me love hard, too. What was I going to do?
What were any of us going to do now?
By the next sunrise, we were packed up and ready to leave Vlasica. The rebels would deal with Dimitrik and the other traitors how they saw fit, which meant our job was over. It was time to go home.
Usually, we left a mission laughing and joking because we were riding the high of success. We succeeded, but there was a quiet, sad atmosphere surrounding us as we flew back to the United States. Hell, I was dragging my feet.
No more fun nights drinking with everyone. No more working missions with Brianna. No more late-night fun in the bedroom. No more moments that felt like we were all a big family.
Who wanted to leave that?
“There’s a lot to say, but I can’t really find the words,” David said once we all got off the plane and gathered in the baggage claim area. He placed his hand on Brianna’s back, sharing a bittersweet look with her. “We all did a damn good job. This was probably the best mission ever. On and off the battlefield.”