Chapter 29

SETH

~Helmand River Valley, Afghanistan~

“Fuck!” Seth breathed, immediately dropping to his stomach with his rifle against his shoulder as he scanned the area for an enemy sniper.

Gabriel knelt to cover Seth as he fired at the man running for the RPG launcher.

A glint of sunlight on metal caught Seth’s eye and he swiveled his rifle in that direction, adjusted his sight, took a deep breath to calm his adrenalin-fueled heart, and pulled the trigger.

The satisfaction of seeing the splatter of blood as the bullet found its target meant nothing as he blinked the tears out of his eyes.

He rested his head on his arm and closed his eyes at the memory of Tia wrapping her legs around his waist as they hooked up behind the mess tent.

It had taken them a long time to admit they were attracted to each other.

They’d give into that moment when everything had been quiet and dark after a sandstorm had temporarily knocked out their power supply.

They’d kept it professional while on assignment but stole a few kisses when they were totally alone.

The memory flashed in his mind for less than a second. When he blinked it was gone, his mind back on the job of protecting the rest of his crew.

He placed his rifle against his shoulder once more and shot the last two insurgents inexpertly aiming their AK-47s at Lexus and Mason.

His jaw ached with tension as the area became eerily silent after the explosion of gunfire.

He counted twenty slow breaths before allowing his team to move, making sure that no one jumped out at them unexpectedly.

He got to his feet, shouldered his rifle, and gently hoisted Tia into a fireman’s lift across his shoulders as they made their way to the insurgents’ makeshift camp.

The team was unusually quiet at the loss of their feistiest member.

Lexus watched Seth with large hazel eyes, his dark face ashen when he saw Tia’s tiny form. “She saved our lives.”

“That she did,” Seth agreed softly as he laid her in the back of the Hummer. They stayed until a more senior team arrived to analyze the scene, and their return trip was very subdued.

He sighed as he walked to his bunk and dumped his backpack on his cot.

They had fifteen minutes to shower and grab something to eat before meeting their gunnery sergeant for debriefing.

With quick movements, Seth removed his clothes and stood under the tepid water.

He remembered the last time he and Tia had been together in that very shower, her tiny hands running up and down his chest and stomach as she wrapped her arms around him and surprised him.

Their lovemaking had been ferociously quick but heavenly, and both looked forward to the next few minutes they could spend together.

Seth blinked his eyes and tried to think about his trip home, seeing Ranya and holding her in his arms, smelling that familiar scent that was completely his daughter’s.

He sighed with frustration as he shut the shower off, roughly drying himself off before dressing. The day had started out calmly, especially when their surveillance had been so successful.

He remembered the excitement of going home, and then the skirmish which had ended in the death of Tia…someone he cared about, maybe even loved.

He didn’t think anything could make his day any darker.

“Seth, can we talk?” He stopped midstep when he saw Kenzie standing at his bunk.

“Sure,” he said with a shrug as he sat down to pull on his boots.

She sat down on Gabriel’s bunk and looked over her shoulder as Lexus closed his locker loudly before disappearing into the bathroom.

She reached for something in one of her pockets on her field trousers and smoothed it out across her thigh.

Then she wiped a tear from her eyes before she looked up at him, her almond-shaped eyes bright with unshed tears.

“You know Tia is…was…my best friend?” Seth nodded and realized that she had already taken the time to mourn the loss of such a dynamic person.

The two girls had been inseparable ever since boot camp. The team teased them, calling them Siamese twins, and knew where one was the other was sure to follow closely.

“You know I teased her about having a crush on you. She never responded until a couple of months ago when she gave me this.”

Kenzie handed him the letter, his name neatly written on the front. “What is this?” he asked.

“I woke up to the sound of Tia crying. When I asked her what was wrong, she sealed the letter and asked me to give it to you if anything happened to her.”

She rubbed her hands together, avoiding his eyes.

“What else, Kenz?”

“She told me about what happened last week. She was so excited, so very happy that it was obvious, and I pushed for—”

Gabriel entered the tent and Kenzie jumped up from his bunk. “Sorry, Gabe.”

“No worry, Kenz. I think the mattress will be relieved to have another butt on it.”

“At least mine smells better than yours,” she retorted. Seth got to his feet and walked with her to the door. She turned back to him. “Thank you for giving her that joy, Seth.”

He swallowed back the tears as he watched her jog to the mess hall.

He wished he was able to express his emotions with wailing and moaning, but he also knew that as a Marine, he was going to lose more friends over the years.

But he also knew that none of them would mean as much to him as Tia did.

During the debriefing session, he barely heard the questions that Gunnery Sergeant Denver Burnsley was asking.

He must have given answers that his commanding officer was happy with, because the session wasn’t extended, and the Master Gunnery Sergeant was happy to sign off on it.

A private entered the tent just before they were dismissed and handed the sergeant a sheet of paper.

Burnsley frowned as he read it, and then speared Seth with his heavy black gaze, his expression unreadable, and Seth knew his day was just about to become worse.

“Marshall,” Burnsley spoke softly, but Seth shook his head and backed away from his commanding officer, trying to escape whatever the man was about to say.

His team surrounded him, instinctively protecting him even though his behavior surprised them.

He was usually the one to face whatever danger came their way head-on, even Burnsley’s wrath.

He remembered Burnsley holding him by his shoulders to stop his retreat and to make Seth look at him.

Seth remembered the compassion in the older man’s eyes, and he swallowed hard, trying to ease the panic by focusing on logical thoughts.

His mother was an active-duty admiral who captained a warship, and he knew that her time was precious.

Maybe it was his nonna. She had been sick before he left, so maybe her time had come.

He knew that if anything happened to Sarah, he would have known. He had been physically ill when her appendix burst when they were fourteen.

The last conscious thought he had was Gabriel and Lexus rushing to his side when Sergeant Burnsley mentioned a name that stood out.

Seth gave a feral scream as all strength left his body, all thought left his mind, and every emotion he had exploded in his soul.

“Corporal Marshall, I’m sorry to inform you of the death of your daughter, Ranya Marshall…”