Page 2 of Corey
“Anyone else ever wish TA meant tits and ass?” Bean asked as they proceeded back into the hallway. “Sure beats target acquisition. Don’t you think?”
“I think you need to get laid, Bean,” Muskrat stated.
Murph, directly in front of Corey, shook his head. “Can we please not talk about Bean’s sex life? This place is depressing enough.”
The words barely left his mouth when their comms blew up, informing them the SAS had to pull back. “Tangoes breached the main entrance. You need to get to that tunnel!”
“How are we supposed to get to the goddamn tunnel when we have to pass the main entrance?” Murph asked.
“Fuck,” Lone Star hissed, and everyone halted. “New plan.”
“What about the southwest exit?” Corey asked, shifting Cassidy in his arms.
They all knew leaving that way would put them in a dangerous position. Once they exited the building, it would lead them out into the open. Sniper nests were always a threat. But what choice did they have? While Lone Star informed the higher-ups they just changed their exfil point, Cassidy clung to Corey so tightly, she was inadvertently tugging his neck gaiter down.
“We’re trapped, aren’t we?” she asked, blue eyes filling with tears.
“We’re just rerouting,” Corey assured her. “It happens sometimes.”
“I’m so scared,” she whispered.
Corey met her terrified gaze. “We’ll get you out. I promise.”
Because that’s what his team did. They were the world’s most highly-trained and skilled warriors. And he had no doubt they were about to turn any rebels waiting for them into mulch.
Except that’s not what happened.
Instead, they were halfway down the stairs when an RPG blew open the wall next to them. Cassidy screamed as the blast tossed them forward, and they tumbled down the rest of the stairs.
Somehow, he held onto her frail body.
Cassidy began coughing and Corey squinted through the smoke and flames. Murph lay sprawled next to him and Muskrat not too far away. He didn’t see Lone Star or Bean.
“Murph!” Corey dragged himself and Cassidy closer to his friend. A dazed Murph opened his eyes and coughed. Muskrat groaned then let out a curse.
“You guys okay?” Corey asked.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Murph said, sitting up.
“My leg is fucked up,” Muskrat growled, and Corey couldn’t miss the blood oozing from his thigh.
“I’ll help you,” Murph said, sliding an arm under the other man’s shoulder and helping him up.
“Where are the others?” Corey stood, lifting Cassidy into his arms again. The air was so heavy with smoke and debris, he could barely see.
“Fuck!” Murph hissed, and Corey moved closer to see what caught his attention. Two bodies lay in a broken heap in the corner—Lone Star and Bean. With their OIC down, Corey was now in charge as their second-in-command.
And his job was to get them out safely. There would be time to mourn later.
“We’ll come back for them,” Corey said. “Let’s get Cassidy and Muskrat out first.”
Another explosion ripped through the building and they stumbled forward, hurrying down the hallway toward the southwest exit.
“Southwest exit is a bad idea,” Muskrat gritted out, arm wrapped around Murph’s shoulders and limping along. “Too many tangoes out there.”
A chunk of ceiling came hurtling down, missing them by mere inches.
“Do you have a better idea?” Murph asked.
