Sniper Fire (Love in the Crosshairs) (3 page)

Kyle swore softly at Rash’s warning. He would have bet money they hadn’t been followed. How the hell had the terrorists found them so quickly?

Face it, Fagan. The rats aren’t limited to Cairo’s back alleys.

Someone had to have tipped off the terrorists that the Hawks were coming. Someone who knew times, dates, and apparently pickup points. There was no other explanation for the extra manpower back where the senator’s brother was being held, or for the ones closing in now. The NightHawks had been betrayed.

He slipped quietly into the dark doorway with his charge.

“I just want to go home. Please, you said I could go home.”

Wonderful, his robot was turning into a real boy. Now was definitely not the time for him to come to life.

Eyes still on the alley, Kyle put his lips to the kid’s ear. “We’ll get you home. You just need to stay quiet a little longer and do exactly what I tell you when I tell you. Nod if you understand me.”

A couple of heartbeats passed before the nod came.

“Good.” He straightened and tapped his earpiece. “Rash—”

The sniper fire came out of nowhere. The first bullet slammed into his knee with the impact of a sledge hammer. Kyle bit off the roar of pain that burst out of his throat as he returned fire. More bullets tore into him. Pain exploded, white hot starbursts that expanded and merged, trying to block out everything else. He fought his way past it. Joshua was depending on him. He had to get their target to the roof. He had to get the kid on that chopper.

Rashid’s voice on the com. “I think I got him. You two okay? Ghost, anyone hit? Ghost!”

Kyle fell back, eyes squeezed tight against the pain. He wanted to answer Rashid’s frantic call, but couldn’t. He could only suck air in through gritted teeth, pushing back the unconsciousness that threatened. He didn’t dare pass out now, but oh, how he wanted to. Anything to escape the pain that only promised to get worse,
did get worse
, as something pressed hard on his leg. He swore, swinging his fist and opening his eyes at the same time. Luckily, the kid knew how to duck.

“Sorry,” Kyle gasped, letting himself sag against the doorway. His estimation of the senator’s little brother went up a notch when he realized that throughout the swing and duck, the guy’s hands had stayed put, applying pressure to the worst of Kyle’s wounds.

“Y-you’re bleeding,” the kid stammered. “I-I know first aid. Took a course in college last spring.” His gaze dropped to his red-stained hands. “This is bad,” he whispered. “Really bad.”

Kyle didn’t doubt the kid’s diagnosis for a second. He could already feel the blood, hot and sticky, soaking his pants. Lots of blood. Another bullet zinged down the alley. Cradling his rifle in one arm, he tried to scoot deeper into the doorway. Cover was at a premium, and he wanted his impromptu field medic to have as much as possible.

He knew he’d made a mistake trying to move at the first sensation of bones grating beneath skin. He grabbed reflexively for the worst area of pain. A firestorm of agony from his busted knee plunged him into a mini hell. The searing pain swamped him, taking breath, sight, and finally, against every bit of willpower he had, consciousness.

Voices roused Kyle. Gruff, hard, urgent. Impossible to ignore. So was the constant agony pounding through him with every beat of his heart. For a moment he could barely breathe, much less think. When his mind finally did decide to work, it locked on one vague thought: something to do with the helicopter. Something he desperately needed to remember.

Have to get the senator’s brother on the chopper!

The thought jolted him. Kyle tried to roll, to sit up, but didn’t get far. Just that first, brief tensing of muscles sent a fresh wave of pain through his body sharp enough to slice steel. He wanted to scream, to howl, to swear the world a solid blue streak. Somehow, he kept everything behind locked lips and gritted teeth.
Stay quiet. Don’t let the enemy know where you are. No matter what, stay hidden.

Hands pressed his shoulders flat. Another one grabbed his hand in a tight grip as a voice said, “Easy Kyle, take it easy. You’re safe, buddy. Go ahead and cuss if you need to, just keep it low.”

Kyle gripped the hand in his like a life line and squeezed, feeling a ridiculous urge to smile despite the sea of pain he was drowning in. Only one person knew him so well. He forced his eyes open. His brother in all but name stared down at him with a flat expression that might have fooled anyone else.

“That bad?” he tried to ask, feeling the words lodge in his throat. Joshua must have read his lips.

“Bad enough,” Joshua said. “You just hang in there, you hear me? Gage is getting ready to work you over. We’ll get you to a hospital as soon as we can.”

“The kid?”

Joshua’s gaze slipped to the side then back again. “He’ll make it. We’ll make sure. We owe him for keeping you from bleeding out.”

Some of the urgency left Kyle. Waterhouse was safe. That was good. Joshua would make sure the kid got home in one piece. Whether Kyle himself made it really didn’t matter. He accepted long ago that he’d probably get his ticket punched in the middle of an operation. Bleeding out from a nicked artery was just following the script.

Pain flared as he felt hands moving fast over his leg, cutting fabric, wiping away excess blood. Every touch, however minor, was agony. He screwed his eyes closed and ground his teeth until he thought they’d crack.

“Damn it, give him something for the pain, Gage. Do it now!”

Kyle wanted to tell Joshua not to worry, that he wouldn’t be awake much longer anyway. He could already feel his heart struggling, the heavy thump slowing down like a chopper’s rotors coasting to a stop.

Someone shoved a needle into his arm. Kyle opened his eyes again, looking for Joshua. All he saw was a sea of swirling black dots growing larger. He heaved a sigh as the morphine began to put a cap on the pain. At least he wouldn’t take his last breath in mortal agony.

Kyle closed his eyes, feeling himself starting to drift. Everything began to fade in and out, leaving bits and pieces of sentences behind.

“…bloody mess…”

“…not sure if I…”

“…artery’s hit too bad…”

“…lose the leg…”

A surge of panic washed over him at those three words, followed by a fatalistic calm. Well, what had he expected? He knew the damage something like a sniper’s bullet could do to a body. Shredded veins and arteries, shattered bone, massive tissue and nerve damage. The image that the grim list brought up wasn’t pretty. Cripple wasn’t a word any soldier wanted in his vocabulary. Neither were endless surgeries and hospital stays. Damn, he hated hospitals…and if the surgeries didn’t work?

Retirement at best. A VA facility at worst.

Could he live confined to a wheelchair?

The thought sent a wave of denial through him so violent he jerked.

“Easy, Kyle, you’re going to be okay.”

No. No, he wasn’t. He was going to be a cripple, a burden, and that was totally not okay. If he couldn’t make it under his own power, he may as well be dead. Better to go down fighting, doing what he’d been born to do. With a little luck and a nicked artery, that could happen. Couldn’t it?

The com still in his ear crackled to life. “Bad news, big H,” Capella said. “T-Bird was made in the air and got sidelined. Onlookers advise a trip to P3. Time out twenty-two sixties.”

If the morphine didn’t have such a tight hold, Kyle would have cursed. The chopper wasn’t coming. Next pick up was twenty-two hours away. He couldn’t remember where P3 was, but knew it wasn’t anywhere close. Not only was he not going to make it, his team, men he thought of as brothers, were going to be in danger because of him. Hard to run and hide if you’re carrying a body.

“Josh…”

“Kyle, shut the hell up. I know what you’re thinking and so help me, if you say one word about leaving you here I’m going to kick your sorry ass into next month. Just be still, will you, and concentrate on staying alive. I need to think.”

****

Joshua gave Kyle’s hand a hard squeeze before letting go. He didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what his buddy had been thinking. Damn idiot knew better. None of them would even think about leaving a fellow Hawk behind. “Get him ready to move,” he ordered Gage.

“Cap, P3 is miles away. And he doesn’t have an hour, much less twenty-two.”

“Damn it, don’t you think I know that? Just get him ready.”

“All right. I’ll need to immobilize the leg. The tourniquet Waterhouse put on the nicked artery should hold for now, but the knee’s in pieces. Can’t risk the bone shifting and cutting things up worse than they already are.”

“You’ve got three minutes.” He tapped the com. “Eagle, how’s the terrain look from up there?” They’d neutralized the enemy lying in wait at the second pickup zone, but that didn’t mean they were safe. Between now and dawn, they had to find a bolt hole to lie low in. Someplace where Sam, and especially Kyle, could get the help they needed. And he knew of only one place like that within walking distance. Problem was, he wasn’t sure of their welcome once they got there.

Ty’s voice came back, as unflappable as ever. The man had nerves of raw steel. “Party forming at your six about two blocks out. Advise a move ASAP.”

“Roger that. We’re mobile in two.” He pulled a folded map out of a pocket and motioned Dell and Rashid closer. Unfolding the creased paper, he pointed. “I need recon along this route. Let me know if you see anyone remotely resembling our terrorist friends, Cairo cops, or Egyptian military. This is your objective.”

Dell whistled low. “Sure you want to go there?”

“Go where?” Brick asked, glancing over at them from where he guarded the entrance to the small deserted house they’d pulled Kyle into.

Joshua stayed silent and refolded the map, letting Rashid answer Brick. “What’s the one place he told us to stay clear of before we started this gig?”

Brick groaned. “Ah hell, boss.”

“You’d rather we let Kyle bleed out,” Joshua snapped.

“Hell no! Just…” The big man fixed his worried gaze on Joshua. “Won’t this put her in danger, too?”

Joshua thought of the woman he and Kyle had grown up with, the woman they’d come to love like a sister. Putting Farrah Hastings in danger went against everything inside him. But what choice did he have? It was either that or let Kyle die.

“Go,” he said to Dell and Rash. “We’ll be right behind you.”

Chapter Two

Something pressed against her face.

“Don’t scream.”

Farrah jerked wide awake at the quiet order, her heart slamming into her throat. Her first instinct was to do exactly what the voice told her not to. She grabbed the hand over her mouth and tried to pull it away. Her assailant leaned more weight onto her, pinning her down while his big hand smothered her. Panic surged.

“Farrah, it’s me, Joshua.”

Farrah stilled, not quite ready to believe her ears. Joshua Colby? Here? Why would Joshua be in Cairo? More importantly, why would he be sneaking into her room in the middle of the night? She reached for the bedside lamp, needing to see his face.

“No,” he whispered. “No lights. No one can know we’re here.” His hand moved off her mouth hesitantly, as if ready to silence her again if need be. She wasn’t a fool. Whatever had brought Joshua to her room situated above the World Health Organization clinic on the edge of Cairo’s rundown east side had to be serious. He’d never have approached her otherwise.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded. He eased off her to stand beside her bed. It was night, but the darkness in her room wasn’t absolute. She could see his outline against the window. Tall, broad shoulders, his flat stomach and narrow waist bulked out by a belt heavy with pouches and weapons. Instead of answering her question, he flipped her covers back and pulled her up, into his arms. Hot breath against her cheek made her shiver.

“One of my men needs a doctor.”

That didn’t explain why he’d come to her. She’d completed her residency only months ago. While she’d graduated at the top of her class, her practical experience was limited. Hence, her decision to sign up for a year with the WHO before she opened her own practice. To top things off, Joshua knew first-hand about her aversion to all things military. He knew better than to bring that kind of trouble to her door.

He gave her a little shake. “Come on, Farrah, wake up. You know I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t life or death.”

“All right. All right! Stop shaking me. I’m awake,” she grumbled. She didn’t usually snap at people, but it was his own fault. He’d scared her. Some of the adrenaline flooding her body had already drained away, leaving her limbs shaking. She didn’t like the feeling one bit. She badly needed a minute to catch her breath, especially if Joshua truly had a patient for her to treat. “Just…let me get dressed and I’ll come with you. How far away is he?” She looked around the dark room, trying to remember where she’d put her clothes when she’d gone to bed.

“He’s here.”

“What?” Farrah shoved her hair back from her face, not sure she heard right. Joshua didn’t just tell her he brought a member of the U.S. military to the WHO clinic. If the Egyptian government found out, she’d be lucky just to be tossed out of the country.

“We’ve got him downstairs in the exam room next to the exit.” Hands squeezed her shoulders. “Hurry, Farrah, it’s Kyle, and I don’t think he has much time.”

Kyle? Farrah couldn’t move when Joshua released her. She couldn’t even draw a breath until the door to her room eased closed behind him. Only then did she jerk into motion. Not bothering to change out of her sleep shorts and t-shirt, she snatched her medical coat from the hook on the door and shoved her bare feet into shoes. She almost flung the door open, but caught herself, easing it open and closed again with the same care Joshua had taken. All she could think of as she made her way quietly down the stairs was Joshua’s last words.
It’s Kyle, and I don’t think he has much time.

She hit the last stair step almost running, not slowing down until she reached the exam wing. The clinic was actually made up of several small buildings built side-by-side. Parts of the common walls had been removed to create enough space to handle the huge influx of daily patients. Joshua waited for her at the end of the long hallway. She slipped inside the dimly lit room as soon as he opened the door.