Page 53 of Two Hearts Reunited

Eric’s biggest concern was that the asset and additional family members wouldn’t be able to reach their designated meeting place after Eric was dropped in his chute. It was an isolated area as close to the Pakistan border as possible, where there’d been arrangements made with government officials to land on a designated isolated airbase to pick up assets.

Another twenty minutes later, Eric found his evacuees—a U.S. embassy man along with his wife and young child.

“Be as quiet as possible and be prepared to run,” Eric whispered. “It’s going to be tough going.”

The embassy man nodded. “We haven’t been allowed to leave, which leads me to believe that the Taliban has something in mind for us since we have dual citizenship.”

“I understand,” Eric replied. “Your baby will need to remain quiet at all costs.”

“I’ll be sure he is,” the wife answered.

“Alright. Let’s go,” Eric muttered, heading down along the path through the rocky terrain. He just hoped they’d be able to keep up at a decent pace. Hopefully, there would be no guards along this edge of the border since it was rarely traveled because of the terrain. They had less than two hours to get to the modified airbase, which was relatively close to the border.

They were safe for the first hour, but when they began crossing, Eric realized that they were being trailed before being shot at, apparently spotted from high above.

“Go, go, go,”he yelled out, motioning with his hand and plucking the baby from the mother’s arms and into his father’s. “You two move quickly. We’re almost there. I’m right behind you.”

Sliding the assault rifle he was carrying over his shoulder into his hands, Eric began shooting back at the insurgents.

Suddenly, the chopper was hovering above—the pilots must have heard the gunfire—and they were landing nearby. Luckily, they’d discovered a relatively flat clearing.

Eric kept shooting until the family was loaded on the chopper before running for his life to join them.

But what he feared most was happening, he realized, glancing upward. Someone had approached the chopper and flung an IED.

One of the men from the chopper was shooting back at the insurgents now, although they could have been members of the Taliban, he supposed. The group’s organization was far more chaotic in this area of the country.

A little closer to the chopper as the IED hit the ground exploding, Eric was flung through the air.

And that was all he remembered.

* * *

When he woke, it was in a prone position in a bed somewhere, a familiar voice babbling nonstop into his ear.

“Shut up for a while, will you, Brian,” Eric growled hoarsely. “I’ve got a hell of a headache.”

For a moment, there was silence, and then Brian was standing over him, staring at him in disbelief. “You did it. You snapped out of it. I was really beginning to get worried there.”

Through the corner of his eye, Eric saw Brian rush to the door of the room. He realized that he must have been in ahospital somewhere because he had a bunch of tubes going in and out of his body.

Brian called out loudly into the hallway, “Nurse. He’s awake.”

“Where’s Anya?” Eric asked hoarsely.

“She’s waiting for you back in the States, Eric. She had to set up a room for you with special equipment so that you could be released into her care,” Brian said, standing over him again. “At least you had enough sense to update your power of attorney before you left the States.”

“Where in the hell are we?” he mumbled, feeling drowsy again.

“Germany,” Brian answered.

“What the hell are you doing here with me when Ashley’s going to have a baby?” he growled.

“She’s still got a few weeks. It was the only way they were going to let me take you home as opposed to admitting you into Walter Reed to recuperate. Since we have the wounded warrior home nearby, they’re signing you over to me, now that you’re awake that is, with a little bit of help from Jake Loughlin, of course.”

“Of course. Is there anything that that guy isn’t involved in?”

“Not much,” Brian agreed.

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