Page 84 of Fear No Evil

The explosion that shattered the quiet knocked Jake to his knees. Stunned, it took him a second to realize what had just happened.

One of the deer had stepped on a mine. The memory of Gallo training the younger rebels how to bury explosives flashed through his head. This whole area was probably riddled with mines. Thiswasa trap!

Dirt and lichen were still raining down on Jake when Lobo issued the order to retreat. Pushing to his feet, Jake wasted a moment trying to find his tracks. His high-tech boots were suddenly a liability.

There. The impression of his boot on a carpet of moss sent him in the right direction. He wouldn’t blow up if he followed his own tracks.

Gunfire rent the air without warning.

Jake spun behind the closest tree. Bark sprayed his helmet as a bullet came within inches of striking him. The shot had been fired from higher ground.

Chief Harmony was the first to respond, retaliating with his .50-caliber sniper rifle, laying down enough heat for Jake to push off the tree and race downhill.

“Fall back.” Lobo’s ultra-calm order was echoed by theBOOM!of a hand grenade detonating feet from where Jake had just stood. Its blast propelled him so swiftly downhill, he grabbed at branches to slow his descent. Half-leaping, half-sliding behind the next big tree, Jake returned fire at the muzzle flare brightening the mist uphill. Now it was Harm’s turn to fall back.

Moving with surprising grace for a muscular man, the bald chief bounded past him. In that same instant, Jake’s rifle jammed.Not now!

With Harm left vulnerable, Jake gritted his teeth, set the safety, and shoved the charging handle forward. Working a finger into the front edge of the bolt, he forced it rearward. As the problematic round fell free, he thumbed off the safety and proceeded to fire. But a bullet cracked through the air before he got a shot off, flinging Harm to the ground.

Mallacht air!Jake spewed rounds to make up for his lapse. A gargle of agony up on the ridge assured him he’d hit a target, but with Harm on the ground, dragging himself to safety, it hardly felt satisfying.

Jake toggled his mic. “One tango down. Harm’s been hit. Bambino, get over here.”

“On my way.”

The gunfire from the ridge above abated. Keeping a sharp eye out, Jake prayed the firefight was over. Even so, he laid up a wall of fire to cover Bambino’s approach. The young medic tucked in next to Harm to assess the chief’s wound.

Distracted by Harm’s injury, Jake kept his eyes peeled, but the ridge, still veiled in mist, remained quiet. He could hear Bambino tearing into his medic kit and overheard Harm’s growl of frustration. The sound of someone moving up on the ridge marshaled all of Jake’s attention. Through the veil of mist, he thought he saw a figure drift away.

In the next instant, Lobo slid in next to him, still breathing hard. “What happened?”

“My rifle jammed. Harm took a bullet.”

“Where are the shooters?”

“Not sure. I think one is down and the other might be flanking us. I saw him head that way.” Jake pointed.

Lobo patted his shoulder. “Keep watch.” Tabbing his mic, Lobo ordered Zen to follow him as they went after the squirter.

Jake scanned the impenetrable mist, ready for an ambush. Would one shooter be dumb enough to take on a squad of special operators? Or would he just hurl a grenade at them and be done with it?

Overhearing Harm’s groan of discomfort, guilt burrowed into Jake. The chief had married Emma not too long ago, adopting her three young sons. To think Harm could’ve been killed all because Jake’s rifle had jammed. Stuff like that happened. It wasn’t like Harm was going to blame him, but why now, when finding Lena was the top priority? They didn’t need this!

Twenty minutes later, Lobo reappeared, as stealthy as the wolf he was named for. “There’s a dead tango on the ridge, Venezuelan by the name of Vargas if he’s wearing his own uniform.”

Satisfaction took the edge off Jake’s frustration. Now, there was one less threat to Lena. Lobo checked on Harm, then returned and crouched next to Jake. The apology in his jungle-green eyes made Jake fear the worst. “Harm’s losing blood fast. I’m calling for hot extraction.”

In other words, they were leaving ASAP.

The blood drained from Jake’s head to his pounding heart. “No.I’m not leaving Lena alone out here. Go without me. I’ll be fine. I’ll be your eyes and ears on the ground.”

Compassion softened Lobo’s hard features. He pitched his voice lower. “Look, I get it. She’s your partner, and your job is to protect her. But the FARC and the Venezuelans know we’re here now, which puts us in a defensive posture. We’re not going to find Lena that way, not without her tracking device.”

Jake couldn’t accept the words coming out of Lobo’s mouth. “I’m not leaving her alone.” He spoke through his closed jaw.

His peer regarded him with rising frustration. “We’re a team, Jake. We don’t operate this way.”

Jake’s eyes burned as he held Lobo’s stare. “She’smypartner. She andIare a team on this assignment. I’m. Not. Leaving. Her. Here.”

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