Page 27 of A Soldier's Pledge
“Did you see any guns?”
“No. I say let’s go through the window and charge them. Two of us, two of them.”
Steele nodded. “On three?”
“Yup.”
Then all hell broke loose. He and Steele pushed the window open and charged in guns drawn, at almost the same time Mercier and Simmons hit the back stairs. His radio lit up, “shots fired, shots fired.” Ethan didn’t stop. The others could take care of the rest of the crew, he was going for Johnson or whatever his name was. Slamming in to the dirtbag and knocking him down gave him a certain satisfaction. But mostly he didn’t want to give him a chance to pull a gun.
But he hadn’t anticipated the knife. Joe’s blade slid between his ribs, but it didn’t stop Ethan. Backing up, he shot him in the arm, even though killing the asshole would have been more satisfying. He glanced over and saw Jenny handcuffed and sitting on the floor. He wanted to be the one to interrogate her and find out why the fuck she’d turned on Anna.
Racing over to Anna, he ripped the bloody blindfold from her head and smiled into her startled eyes. “Your knight is here to rescue you.”
“Ethan!” Tears rolled down her cheeks, leaving trails in the blood and dirt.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“No, I mean I’m okay. I might have a concussion, and my face hurts where he punched me. But I’m okay.”
“Thank God. I’ve never been so worried in my life.”
“Me either. Oh my God, you’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine. It’s merely a flesh wound.” Then turning to Steele, he yelled, “Toss me that knife, I can’t get these ropes untied.” He never heard Steele’s response or caught the knife. He’d fallen to the floor unconscious.
Epilogue
The sound of beeping woke him. Bright. Fuck. Where the hell was he? Then the harsh antiseptic hospital scent permeated his foggy brain. For a minute, he thought he was back in Iraq, until his eyes focused on Anna. She was sitting in a chair beside the bed.
“Good morning. How’s my hero?”
“Morning? How long have I been out?”
“A little over a day. Kind of. Depending on how you count it. You needed surgery. Apparently, the knife sliced through something important, and you almost died on me.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to.”
“You’re on R&R for a while. No chasing bad guys for at least eight weeks. At least, I think that’s what the doctor said.”
“You scared the shit out of me. When the uniform told me there was blood at your house I’d thought I lost you for good. I had to save you.”
“I’d been praying for you to find me. I swear I thought I was dead for sure. You’d told me to stay home and didn’t even know I was out. I’m surprised you found me so fast.”
“Me too. Thank God you left that note about going to Betty’s. She knew all about Hugh’s brother and that’s how we found you.”
“I told you she was a wonderful woman, not at all like Hugh. I’m going to have to help her out. I feel so bad for her.”
“Help her out how?”
“I don’t know. I’ll figure something out. Maybe set her up in a senior community. Someplace where she can start over and have a nice place her kids can visit.”
“You’d do that for her? Her husband almost got you killed.”
“Yes, I would, and it was her husband who was bad not Betty.”
“You’re amazing, you were almost killed and you’re worrying about her. Are you okay? Did he hurt you? There was blood on the blindfold…”
“Yes, I’m fine. A concussion like I expected, but after I begged they let me stay here with you. The nurse would check on you and make sure I didn’t fall asleep that first night, after that they didn’t worry too much.”
