Page 4 of Guarding Truth

He lowered himself off the rock and down toward Juliette’s position. The tree branch was her lifeline, and that head wound was still bleeding. He grabbed her arm just as she let go, and strained to lift her. When he got her into his arms, he said, “Wake up, Jules. I’m never going to leave you behind.”

* * *

A bright light blinded Juliette. A lightning bolt of pain sliced through her even as a voice pulled her out of her slumber. She cracked her eyelids open and flinched.

“Juliette, you’re awake,” an unfamiliar voice said.

“Where—” She cleared her throat. “Where am I?” Her mouth tasted like she’d swallowed a gallon of sand.

“Don’t try to talk,” the man said. “I’m Doctor Sharipova. You’re in the hospital in Tajikistan. You’ve been in a coma for two days after you hit your head when you slid down that mountain.”

A steady beep brought some clarity to her thoughts.

The mountain. Caleb. Laz and Tank.

Why was she always the first to rush into danger? And she’d been the one to need a rescue. If only she’d gotten Laz and Tank out of the car.

Instead, she’d fallen.

“Juliette? How do you feel?”

“Tired” was the only word she managed to push out of her burning throat. A whiff of antiseptic cleaner sent her gag reflex into overdrive. She forced her eyes open and squinted at the man in scrubs standing next to her bed.

“Caleb?” One-word questions would have to suffice for now, until the fog lifted from her mind.

The doctor glanced at the nurse, and she whispered something Juliette couldn’t hear. The graying man with thick eyebrows and a stethoscope around his neck flipped through pages on a clipboard. “It looks like your friend sustained some third-degree burns. After pulling you to safety, he assisted two others from the burning vehicle.”

She tried to sit up but didn’t get very far. “Are they all okay?” The nurse held a cup of water while Juliette sipped.

Images of Caleb lifting and carrying her up the side of the mountain assaulted her memory. His words echoed through her soul.I’ll never leave you behind.

The doctor consulted his clipboard again and frowned. “I’m sorry to report that Sergeant Williams didn’t make it. He had massive internal bleeding from some shrapnel.”

He flipped another page, his somber expression making Juliette’s pulse spike. “And Lieutenant Lazlo Thomas died during surgery from extensive bleeding from a severed femoral artery. Doctors did everything they could to stop it, but in the end, his injuries were too severe.”

A tear escaped and rolled down her cheek. She and Tank had gone through Ranger School together. And Laz?

No. No. No. She swiped her face. This wasn’t happening. Caleb couldn’t lose Laz, one of his closest friends.

And this was all her fault.

“Am…am I okay?” All she needed to know was if this would send her home. Because the best way for her to cope with the loss of two friends would be to get back to work.

She heard the creak of the chair as the doctor sat, and she braced herself for more bad news.

“Your injuries were extensive. A concussion, broken arm, and we had to perform surgery to repair some internal bleeding, but there shouldn’t be any long-term damage. However, we discovered something else.”

His heavy sigh indicated the good news was about to come to a crashing halt. “While you were at the hospital, we performed a biopsy. I’m so sorry to tell you that the tests show you have breast cancer. It’s an aggressive tumor at stage three. The recommended course of action is that you return to the United States to begin treatment.”

Cancer? She’d rather be a Ranger, dying a hero’s death. How could her own body do her in?

Another whirring machine woke her up. The room was dark, and the doctor had left. She used every ounce of energy to swing her legs over the bed and stand. She moved her gauze-wrapped arm and winced. The pain reminded her to take it slowly.

Caleb consumed her thoughts. She wouldn’t rest until she saw Caleb for herself. She clung to the IV pole like a crutch and hobbled down the hall, wishing for pants, but with her arm, she’d never be able to get them on. So she’d parade around the hospital in a white-flowered polyester gown. At least it covered everything.

A few nurses shot her quizzical looks, but they didn’t stop her, so she moved forward. She stopped in the hallway at the door with the white markerboard that hadStyleswritten on it.

She should have been able to get both Laz and Tank out of the car. Instead, she’d slipped and tumbled down the mountain. And Caleb had had to save her over rescuing the others.

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