A Soldier's Heart (4 page)

Five days later, Spence walked outside, needing a break from his friends. Leif was playing some stupid video game, determined to break his own record again. He wasn’t sure which was worse: Leif’s angry grumbling when he lost or his victory howls. Nick was plugged into his MP3 player, although Spence was pretty sure it was really just his way of shutting out the rest of the world, including him and Leif. Maybe especially him and Leif.

The three of them were still tight, but Nick’s continuing bouts of gloom and doom were getting pretty damn old. Obviously talking about what had happened with Valerie hadn’t gotten it out of the poor bastard’s system. Having him accuse Callie of being just like her hadn’t helped.

The only bright spot was that their deployment was slowly winding down. He wished that made him happier than it did. Yeah, he couldn’t wait to shake the dust of Afghanistan off his boots again. Only a complete idiot would feel any other way. The only drawback was that he’d have some heavy duty decisions to make when he got stateside, ones he wasn’t in any hurry to have to face. At the top of the list was whether or not he’d reenlist again. He liked the Army and the sense of purpose it gave him. This wasn’t just a job to him, but something he was honored to do for his country.

Since he was single, he didn’t have all the complications to deal with that those with families did. But he couldn’t make that particular decision until he came to terms with the one complication he did have: Callie. Nick hadn’t been wrong about Spence’s feelings for her, at least not completely. Spence wasn’t ready to put a name to them, not from this far away and after so much time apart. He definitely wouldn’t bring up the subject with Callie until he’d had a chance to spend some one-on-one time with her.

He hoped like hell she had another job lined up somewhere far away from the small town where they’d both grown up when the time came. He’d rather explore a new city with her than walk the familiar streets of Snowberry Creek where everybody still saw him as that wild kid he’d been in high school.

Besides, privacy was a rare commodity when she visited her parents. Granted the two of them were adults, but he figured her parents wouldn’t appreciate him sneaking into Callie’s room at night. The two of them hooking up in the old Victorian he owned next door to her childhood home wasn’t much better.

And maybe he was making too big of a deal out of all of this. What if he was like Nick and just missing something he wanted to have?

It all made his brain hurt.

The door behind him opened. Leif poked his head out and yelled, “Hey, Wheels, we just got a call. We’re needed out on patrol.”

“I’m on my way!”

Just another day in paradise.

They hadn’t been scheduled to go out, so something was up. Spence grabbed his gear, and ten minutes later they roared out of camp along with the rest of their platoon.

Nick had to shout over the combined noise of engines and a few helicopters flying overhead.

“Headquarters picked up chatter about some unsavory activity on the outskirts of town. This morning’s patrols caught a couple of guys armed to the teeth. One of them tried to bargain for his freedom with information about some attack his buddies have planned.”

Spence shot his friend an amused look. “So how did that go for him?”

Nick kept scanning the surrounding area. “He’s alive and ought to be damn grateful for that much. A couple of our guys took hits before they got him and his buddy cornered like the vermin they are. Anyway, they figure he was lying through his teeth.”

Leif leaned down. “So what are we supposed to be doing?”

“Well, on the off chance he was telling the truth, we’re supposed to make our presence felt on the fine streets of this lovely place. One of the convoys came under fire once they crossed into town. No one was killed, but another convoy is due to arrive soon. We’ll be sweeping the streets for any signs of trouble and then providing extra cover for the convoy when it gets here. Until then, keep your eyes peeled. Sounds like things are heating up again.”

That might be true, but the shiver of fear that danced up and down Spence’s spine felt damn cold. Crossing his fingers that it was only his overactive imagination at work, he planned to keep his eyes open and his gun handy.

•   •   •

The streets of the town echoed with a rough chorus of gunfire and screams of pain. Spence hoped like hell it wasn’t his fellow soldiers he was hearing. He gritted his teeth and continued on, leap-frogging down the street with Leif and Nick. It was an ugly game they’d been playing for months. A couple of the shooters had been seen running this way, and Spence’s patrol had been assigned to hunt them down.

So far, they’d made their way up and down half a dozen streets that were nearly indistinguishable from each other: all dusty, narrow, and reeking of poverty. It was a stark contrast to the lush green of the Pacific Northwest where he’d grown up. Snowberry Creek wasn’t perfect, but still he dreamed at night of its tall fir trees and snow-covered mountains.

But now wasn’t the time to get lost in his past. His life depended on his ability to maintain hyperawareness when the enemy could be waiting a few feet away with his finger on the trigger or ready to pull the pin on a hand grenade. A short distance ahead, there was something lying on the ground. Spence carefully skirted it and continued moving forward.

It was probably nothing, most likely a piece of trash dropped by one of the locals in a rush to seek shelter when the bullets started flying. On the other hand, some of those bastards had a real talent for turning the most innocent object into an IED. Some could be triggered remotely, while others went off the second the ground around them was disturbed.

Nick whistled softly. Leif nodded and ran ahead another few feet, stopping short of the next doorway. Spence followed in the dance, risking a quick look inside the front window before continuing on. Nick brought up the rear this time while Leif continued on taking point. Six more members of their platoon mirrored their actions on the opposite side of the street.

Spence caught up with Nick. “How much longer are we supposed to chase this ghost?”

Nick definitely had his game face on, his eyes cold and hard. “Until we find him.”

“That’s what I thought.”

They paused to study the street ahead. “How positive are we that they came this way?”

A burst of gunfire chewed up the dust down the center of the road in answer to Spence’s question. The two of them ducked in between two houses for cover while Leif dove behind the questionable shelter of an abandoned vehicle.

Nick’s grin was grim. “I’d say pretty damn positive.”

Okay, what now?
Scanning the street ahead of them, checking the rooftops as well as the doorways, Spence asked, “Did you see where the shooter was?”

Nick shook his head, still scanning the street in front of them while Spence kept a wary eye back the way they’d come. “Leif, how about you?”

Their friend remained crouched down. “From the right. Maybe. Not sure.”

The silence stretched on. Was the guy gone or simply waiting for one of them to make a mistake? Spence’s mouth was dry and his hands damp as they considered their options. The only certainty was that they couldn’t stand there trapped in limbo forever.

He leaned in closer to Nick. “How about half of us cross over to the next block and circle around to approach from the other end of the street? Maybe we can sandwich him between us.”

“Yeah, but wait a second.” He used hand signals to tell the men on the other side of the street what they were going to do. Then he called softly to Leif. “Haul ass over here.”

They both watched the street, ready to lay down a barrage of covering fire while their friend braced himself for the run. Spence stepped back to make room for him in the narrow space between the two buildings. As soon as Leif broke free of his hidey hole, shots rang out again. He hustled his ass, only slowing after he was safely tucked in next to the building between Nick and Spence.

As he fought to catch his breath, Nick kept vigil. “That was one of our guys. Not sure what he saw up ahead.”

The shooter in question came sprinting across the street. “There was movement up ahead, third house from the next corner. Not sure if I got him or not.”

They all knew there was only one way to find out. Damn it to hell and back, Spence hated these foot patrols. Behind the wheel of his M-ATV, he trusted his mad driving skills to keep him, Nick, and Leif safe. Speed combined with a few inches of reinforced steel and glass had kept them all alive and relatively unscathed so far.

Out here on the streets, body armor was all that stood between them and the destructive power of bullets and explosives. It offered no protection at all for heads, legs or arms. Right now, his mouth tasted bitter and his skin was sticky with sweat. Spence fought hard to control his fear before it controlled him. He settled for ignoring it.

The fidgets had him rocking from foot to foot, his senses running on overload. Looking around, he spit on the ground and waited for Nick to make up his mind on what to do next.

“We’ll stick with the plan. Spence, take point.”

It was a relief to be moving again; busy meant no time to think, no time for regrets. The buildings that formed the corridor they were following had no windows, so he kept his eyes straight ahead and depended on Nick to watch the rooftops. Leif and the rest of the patrol would make sure no one pinned them down from behind.

All too quickly they reached the other end of the passage. He waited until the other two were right behind him before taking a deep breath and taking a quick peek out at the street. Same as before. Dead quiet. No movement. No way to know if that was a good thing or not.

“On the count of three.”

Spence nodded and watched Nick hold up his hand and raise one finger at a time. At the third one, Spence whipped around the corner and ran for the closest doorway. Nick followed on a second count of three. When Leif joined them, Spence moved on. It was still quiet, but all of his senses screamed that they weren’t alone out there. Nick’s head swiveled like a weather vane in a storm, clearly feeling it, too.

Someone was close by and that someone hated the three of them, pure and simple. They were walking into a trap.

“Where?”

Spence shrugged. He had no idea, but he would’ve bet his last shipment of snickerdoodles that things were about to go to hell. The only question was how to spring the trap on their terms, not on the bastard’s whose whole purpose in life was to rid this world of three more American soldiers.

They moved forward again, the back of Spence’s neck itching, a trickle of sweat tickling its way down his spine. Keep moving. Keep watching. Keep praying.

They’d almost made it to end of the block. He slowed up again, watching for some telltale sign that would reveal the enemy’s location. Nothing. Damn, the bastard was good. It was too much to hope he’d get careless. Since he’d yet to pull the trigger, Spence could only assume wherever the guy was hiding, he hadn’t yet been afforded a clear shot.

But he would shoot to kill the first chance he got.

Spence kept moving forward. He wasn’t going to let the enemy escape to shoot up another bunch of Americans. Not on his watch. Nick hugged the opposite side of the street. Leif was behind him by half a dozen steps.

A small movement two buildings up caught Spence’s attention. He motioned for Nick and Leif to slow down while he waited to see it again. Yes! There. Someone was hiding behind a broken down car that had been stripped of every useful bit of metal. Even the wheels were gone, leaving the wreck sitting directly on the ground and blocking any chance of seeing who had taken refuge behind it.

That was the trouble of fighting in an urban area. It was just as likely to be some stupid kid late returning home from a day spent begging outside of the camp gates. Women were more likely to keep close to home, making the probability the lurker was female less likely.

Should he give a shout out? Telling whoever it was to raise their hands and walk out slowly? Anyone in this hellish place knew the score. If they got caught in the crossfire, it was their own damn fault. But if he were to shoot a kid . . . well, yeah, he’d hate it. But he’d long ago decided that the lives of his friends took precedence when faced with a split-second decision.

Before he took another step, their quarry broke cover and came up firing. Spence and Nick returned fire, sending the enemy twisting and turning backwards until he collapsed on the ground.

One down.

They kept moving, knowing the shots might bring more just like him out of hiding. Nick was on the radio, updating the rest of the patrol on what was happening. It wasn’t over, though. Yeah, occasionally they ran into a single idiot determined to sacrifice himself on the altar of violence.

But one man didn’t attack a convoy. That kind of predator hunted in packs. The rest were somewhere nearby. Nick signaled to the others that the patrol was coming this way since they’d reached the end of the block without flushing out anyone.

Spence knelt down, changing his angle of sight. Sure enough, there was another shooter on the roof four doors down, which meant it was likely there was another on the other side. If the enemy had stayed down, they would have caught the patrol in a withering crossfire from above.

Despite the grief his friends had given him that day on the basketball court, they all know Spence had a real talent for shooting. He’d even considered applying for sniper school when he reenlisted. If he reenlisted. Moments like this made it seem likely he would. Returning home to stay might hold some appeal, but right now his country needed men with his particular skill set.

Sighting carefully, he waited for the man to move again. It didn’t take long. This time the bastard came up firing, but Spence was better, faster. When his target tumbled over the edge of the roof to hit the ground, the other man on the roof lost his cool and returned fire.

Leif put an end to that. Time to keep moving. The rest of the patrol came sidling out of the alley behind Spence, and the dance started up again.

•   •   •

They’d cleared out the street and then some. Everyone was tired and more than ready to head back to the relative safety of camp. Being on the constant lookout for trouble burned energy like a bonfire did dry wood. Adrenaline would keep Spence moving for a while longer, but eventually even that wouldn’t keep his senses running hot.

When a man got tired, he got careless and that could mean disaster. Out of sheer stubbornness, Spence kept his boots moving, counting the minutes until that second convoy drove through town. When it was safely on its way into camp, they could follow suit. Right now, they were only a few blocks out. As he walked, he made a mental list of everything he would do as soon as he reached his quarters.

A shower to wash away the dust and sweat and fear. Then coffee, a hot meal, and then eight to ten hours of uninterrupted sleep. Yeah, that sounded good.

Then a thought crossed his mind. “Nick, what day is it?”

His friend looked at him as if he’d just sprouted a second head. “Keep your mind in the game, Spence. Now isn’t the time to start counting days until we go wheels up for home.”

“Not what I’m talking about. Isn’t this Wednesday?”

Leif joined the conversation. “What the hell difference does that make, Wheels? Do you have a hot appointment for a pedicure?”

Spence snorted. Like that would ever happen. But then disappointment settled in. “I was supposed to connect with Callie this evening because she’s going to be gone on Friday. Maybe she’ll try again tomorrow night.”

He aimed for neutral, as if missing a long talk with Callie wasn’t a major disappointment. Leif didn’t question his reaction, but Nick gave him a hard look. They’d both avoided any mention of their semi-heated conversation on the subject of women. That didn’t mean either of them had forgotten about it.

“So, did she decide to visit her folks?”

Spence knew what Nick was really asking. “Yes, she’s there now, but she’ll be leaving to take a short-term job down in Portland this weekend. That’s why we were going to talk tonight.”

Nick gave him a cool look. “How did her friend at her old job take the news?”

Damn it, he did not want to have this conversation, especially right now. Actually, ever. “She didn’t say, and I didn’t ask.”

Leif looked puzzled, clearly aware that he was missing out on something in this conversation. But before he could say anything, one of the half-starved dogs that usually prowled the area in packs darted out of the nearest alley and headed straight for them.

Nick ignored the mutt. Leif gently nudged it out of his way with the side of his boot. Spence knew he shouldn’t, but he’d never been able to ignore a pair of pleading eyes. By the time the dog reached him, he’d already pulled a piece of beef jerky out of his pants pocket and ripped the pack open with his teeth. “Go get it, dog, and this is not a game of fetch.” Then he tossed the dried beef as far as he could throw it. With luck, they’d be out of sight before the hungry animal found it.

“How many times have I told you not to feed them?”

“I wasn’t feeding him, Sarge. I was distracting him so he’ll leave us alone.”

Nick shot him a “yeah, right” look and kept walking.

As it turned out, Nick was right. A few seconds later the dog was back, sticking close to Spence as they walked.

Glancing down, he glared at the filthy animal. He suspected under all the dust and dirt, the dog was white with a few big spots of brown and black. It was hard to tell, but there was no missing the hopeful wag of that plumed tail.

“Get lost, dog. You can’t come home with me.”

He tossed another piece of beef jerky, but his new best friend ignored it. “Better take what you can get, buddy.”

The dog tipped his head to the side as if considering the wisdom of Spence’s advice and took off running.

Leif laughed. “He’s smarter than he looks.”

The patrol continued on their way back to camp. Another twenty minutes till shower, food, and bed. It was all good. Well, except that his furry companion was back. Damn, he hated it when Nick was right, especially when he knew he’d be hearing about it for days to come.

But this time the dog trotted past him, continuing past the rest of the men. When he reached the front of the pack, the dog put his nose to the ground and followed a zigzag pattern down the street. Damned if he didn’t act like one of the explosive-sniffing dogs that the military used to sweep the streets clean of IEDs.

At least Nick didn’t bitch about the dog being back. Maybe he was too busy staring up at the rooftops. Spence kept his eyes on the windows and doorways, while Leif kept an eagle eye on the street behind them.

So far, there’d been no sign of any more shooters in the area. Maybe they’d crawled back into their holes to lick their wounds. It wouldn’t pay to assume that was true, so he dredged up another dose of determined vigilance. He wasn’t sure why, but right now his skin was crawling, and the sense of being watched was back.

“Nick?”

His friend glanced back. “What? Did you see something?”

“No, but I’m feeling something.”

They both knew that after a long patrol it was easy to jump at shadows. Still, a gut feeling had saved their collective asses more than once.

Leif moved closer to Spence. “Shit. Why can’t it ever be simple?”

Nick didn’t offer up an answer, so Spence gave him one. “The powers of the universe like to fuck with us.”

As soon as he spoke, the dog went into a frenzy. He stood at the mouth of an alley, his feet planted as he growled and barked like crazy.

They all froze. “What’s wrong with your pal, Wheels?”

That was from Leif. Nick glared at Spence as if this was all his fault. “Shut him up before he wakes up the whole damn neighborhood.”

And how the hell was he supposed to do that?
“Anybody else got food? I already gave him my last piece of jerky.”

One of the others tossed him a granola bar. Not a dog’s usual fare, but then a half-starved beggar wasn’t likely to be picky.

Spence squatted down and held out the bar. “Here, boy. Come get it.”

The dog barely glanced in Spence’s direction before turning his attention right back to whatever he’d spotted in that alley. His hackles were up, and his barking had been replaced by a deep throated growl. Clearly whatever he was staring at posed a danger. The only question was the nature of the threat.

The patrol was still moving forward. Spence had a bad feeling about this. He hustled up to stand next to Nick. “Sarge, I don’t think it’s a cat in that alley. Let me check it out before we go any farther.”

Nick nodded and signaled for the others to slow down and fan out. Spence inched forward with Leif right behind him. When they reached the edge of the alley, the dog wagged his tail to acknowledge them.

Spence pretended to be irritated with the racket the dog was making. “Dog, get the hell out of here. I’m tired and the last thing I need is to listen to you raising hell over some cat in a damned alley.”

He eased closer to the corner of the building, ready to risk a quick peek. When he looked, the alley was empty. Nothing. Nobody. Nada.

Damn, he’d never live this down. “Dog, are you screwing with me?”

But the animal wouldn’t back down. Before he could take another look, a single shot rang out. The dog yelped in pain and collapsed right there in the mouth of the alley, his white coat painted crimson with blood.

In a roar of fury, Spence spun back into the alley firing as he did. There, halfway up the building on the right, the shooter ducked back inside a darkened window from a narrow balcony. No way to get him from the ground.

Nick and the others were right behind him. “There’s at least one shooter inside. He was outside on a balcony waiting for us to cross the mouth of the alley. We would have been sitting ducks.”

Nick immediately issued orders to secure the building. No one was going escape retribution now. Spence took point to make sure he had first crack at the dog-shooting bastard. He couldn’t bring himself to look back toward the furry mooch. How had the dog known to warn them? It didn’t matter now.

Spence tamped down his temper and waited until Nick gave the signal to kick the door in. There would be time afterward to vent his fury. Right now, the situation called for cool and calm. He nodded at his friend and went to work.