Page 29 of Leave Me Behind
“That was a clever trick,” he says in a low voice, pressing his cheek against mine as he kicks my legs apart and settles his knee between my thighs. “Unfortunately, I’ve seen it before.” My cheeks flush and I desperately rack my brain for the technique to get out of this hold.
Nothing. My mind is blank. The only thing I can focus on is the heat of his bare skin against mine and the pressure of his leg at my center.
The others laugh and Bradshaw increases the weight on my spine and arm as he twists it back. I groan in pain and gnash my teeth together.
“Give up. I’ve bested you, Bun.”
“No.” I try to spin but it only puts more strain on my already throbbing arm.
“Such a stupid—” He only gets a gasp out before I buck my hips up into his crotch—hard.He arches forward and coughs as I roll beneath him and plant my foot on his chest, kicking him back with all my strength.
Bradshaw falls back and props up on his elbows, ready to come for me again, but I’m already tackling him back down to the dirt. I punch him in his perfect face and smile through the grit and blood that blooms in my mouth as he lands one against my cheek too.
All I see is red as we relentlessly punch the shit out of each other. Hands are wrapping around my arms and pulling me off Bradshaw before I can register what’s happening.
“Jesus, will you two fucking knock it off!” Eren shoves me back and puts his palm on Bradshaw’s chest when he tries to come back at me. His brow has a fresh cut and his mask is wet with blood. I sneer at him and he lunges once more. I’m glad Eren is between us—I’m not sure what we’d do to each other if he wasn’t.
Bradshaw stares at me like I’m a wild animal that needs to be put down.
“I’m sick of you not obeying orders,” Eren says quieter, getting in Bradshaw’s face. The two of them share an uncomfortable silence before Bradshaw lets his shoulders roll back and he walks back toward base alone. He disappears behind the pine trees and I can breathe again.
I seethe all night as I scrub the blood from beneath my nails.
Devilsdobleed.
eleven
. . .
Nell
Eren dividesus into three groups for the trial raid. We only have three days left in training to both infiltrate the enemy base and rescue the hostages. Once we do that, we need to bring them back to the extraction point. That alone is a one-day trip on foot, depending on whether the hostages are “injured.” If they are, it might be longer.
It’s hard to believe we’re already in the final week. It’s felt much,muchlonger than three weeks.
I’m stationed on a short cliffside that dips into a meadow, close enough that I can get a kill shot confidently. If I can’t protect them today on the mock extraction, then I don’t deserve to be on their squad.
It’s easy to spot the six of them. Bradshaw is the only one on his own. He works alone with only his sniper counterpart as his backup. Those were his demands for a new partner. I’m guessing he wanted to work with someone specializing in long distanceafter Abrahm’s death. Though I’m sure Eren took his demands with a grain of salt, considering I specialize in close combat too.
We haven’t received the real mission details yet, but from what I’ve picked up through eavesdropping on Eren, I know that it’s going to be remote with little to no vantage points. I doubt I’ll be using my sniper as much as my handgun and KA-BAR.
I watch as Bradshaw moves like a shadow born from the darkness itself, unsheathing his false blade marked with red. His broad shoulders flex as he readies his knife.
The others surround the small building we tracked the hostile squad to and lie in wait for Bradshaw to take out as many of the exterior guards as possible.
My finger curls slowly around the trigger and I take a deep breath as Bradshaw sneaks up behind the first soldier and draws his blade over their throat. The soldier falls silently and Bradshaw guides their limp body gently to the ground to avoid any sound. I raise a brow at the acting on the hostile team’s part. I’ve only seen LARPers take a fake mission this seriously.
Bradshaw doesn’t waste a second. He’s already moving again, slowly creeping up to the next one. Watching him work so effortlessly sends a disturbing throb through my body. He’s not actually killing them, but it’s evident that he’s done so many times before. A devil in human skin. Watching him move so fluidly gives me an itch I’ve been trying to ignore for weeks. Something inside of me yearns for him.
My blood burns through my veins.
A cruel grin pulls at my lips as the hostiles alert to Bradshaw’s presence and start flooding from the building. Ian, Harrison, and Eren flank from the left while Jefferson and Pete come in on the right. They won’t make it to Bradshaw before he’s outnumbered.
I take a deep breath and hold it as I pull the trigger.
The sniper rifle bucks against my shoulder with recoil, but I hold it steady; a red cloud of dust explodes on a soldier’s temple. I wince, hoping their helmet took the brunt of the hit.These new practice guns sure pack a punch.I reload without blinking and hit the next target, who’s about to shoot Pete in the chest.
Reload.
