LITMIR.BIZ

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sex was best avoided on tour.

      But she groaned. Captain Daniels with his dark, cropped hair and knowing eyes would tempt her every time. ‘Welcome to Bamiyan NZ base.’

      His eyebrow lifted in an ironic fashion. ‘This is my third—’

      The air exploded. The rock-hard ground heaved upward, shoving Sophie’s feet up to her throat. Then she was airborne, her arms flailing uselessly, her head whipping back and forth. Slam. She hit the ground, landing on her back, the air punched out of her lungs, her limbs spread in all directions.

      Stones pelted her. Dust filled her eyes and mouth. Breathing became impossible. Whizz. Bang. The air around her was alive, splintering as objects sped past her. Bullets? Fear gripped her. Who was firing at her? A heavy weight crashed over her, pinning her down. A human weight. What was happening? What had caused that explosion? Her heart beat so fast it was going to detonate out of her chest. Her ribcage rose higher and higher as she strained to fill her lungs with something purer than sand and dust. Her airway hurt. Her head hurt. Every single thing hurt.

      ‘Stay down,’ a deep, dark voice snapped.

      She daren’t open her eyes to see who the man protecting her with his body was. Gulp. Cough. Dust scratched the back of her throat. Strong arms were on either side of her vulnerable head. Muscular legs held down her softer ones. The one and only Captain Daniels.

      Around them the gunfire was sharp and loud, and dangerous. Then suddenly it stopped. But the shouting and yelling continued. Orders were barked. Screams curdled her blood. Racing footsteps slapped the ground. Fear flew up her throat, filled her mouth. Was this it? The end? Lying on a piece of dry, barren dirt in some place she’d barely heard of growing up in lush green New Zealand? No way. She’d fight to the last, would not die lying here defenceless and useless. Flattening her hands on the ground, she tensed, ready to push upward, to remove her human shield.

      ‘Easy.’ That voice was right beside her ear, lifting the hairs on the back of her neck. Almost seductive—if she hadn’t been terrified for her life.

      Sophie squirmed, felt the muscles covering her body tighten.

      ‘Easy,’ he repeated a little desperately.

      ‘Let me up.’ She’d aimed for nonchalant, got light and squeaky. Damn. She was a soldier, supposed to be fearless. A little bit, anyway.

      ‘Wait.’

      Sophie needed to know what was going on. Apart from flying bullets and a bomb exploding. Needed to assess the situation, see if she could move, find shelter, help someone. As a doctor she’d be required in the hospital unit. Squinting, she looked around to see if it was safe to move. And came eyeball to eyeball with Cooper Daniels.

      Her heart stopped its wild pounding, stopped trying to bash its way out of her chest. Went completely still. Her lungs gave up trying to inhale as that intense grey gaze bored right into her, deep into places no one had been before. Places where she hid the vulnerability that directed her life. Shock ripped through her. Every muscle in her body seemed to twitch, tighten, loosen. Had she died? Been taken out by one of those bullets?

      ‘Captains, move. Now. Sir. Ma’am.’ Someone, somewhere above them, roared in a strained shout, ‘Get up off the ground. We’ve got you both covered.’

      I’m definitely alive. Sophie pushed at Cooper, desperate to get away from him, to find safety, to regain her composure and see what needed to be done. There’d be casualties for sure.

      The weight lifted from her body, a hand snatched at hers, hauled her upright in one swift, clumsy jerk. ‘Run towards the officers’ quarters,’ Cooper yelled in her ear as he tightened his grip on her hand. ‘The hospital’s a target.’

      She ran, trusting him completely. But even as she ran she looked around, and gasped. Where the ground had been flat moments ago there was now a deep crater. An enormous dust cloud hovered above, blocking the sun’s intense heat. Otherwise everything looked weirdly normal—apart from the troops stationed on the perimeter, facing outwards with machine guns at the ready.

      Forget normal. A body lay against the wall of the hospital block. Sophie shouted, ‘Kelly,’ and veered left around the destruction, aiming for the nurse.

      Cooper pulled at her, tried to prevent her going in that direction. ‘Wait. It’s more exposed that way. Snipers will see you.’

      Sophie got it. And wasn’t having a bar of it. She paused to lock her gaze on him, her heart rate steady, her lungs finally doing their job. ‘We need to get to Sergeant Brooks ASAP. Move her to safety.’ She had no idea where the calmness now taking over came from, but she was in control, able to do something for someone, and not be a victim being protected by this man.

      His eyes widened and he shook his head as though to get rid of something. ‘You’re right. Let’s go.’

      ‘Kelly was standing beside me when that bomb went off,’ she muttered as they reached the nurse sprawled with blood pouring from a head wound and her legs at odd angles to her body. Dropping to her knees, Sophie reached to find a pulse, holding her breath as she tried to find any sign of life. Dread rose, and she quickly swallowed on it. Now was the time to step up and be professional; not let emotions override everything else. ‘Come on, Kelly. Don’t do this to me.’

      A faint throb under her fingertip. ‘Yes.’ She slumped with relief. Her friend didn’t deserve to die. Sophie kept her finger in place for a few more beats, to be absolutely sure, and looked at Cooper, who was crouched beside her, gently probing Kelly’s head. ‘She’s alive. Get a stretcher out here. We’re going into surgery.’ Those legs looked in need of some serious work, as did the head injury. Blood also seeped into the ground from under Kelly’s right shoulder. They’d have to do a thorough assessment but she wasn’t hanging around out here for some sniper to pick them off.

      ‘Yes, Captain.’ Cooper was on his feet and racing towards the hospital unit, now all business, the challenging male no longer visible. Neither was the captain, aka general surgeon. He was just one of the battalion, doing the job of an orderly because she’d told him to. Impressive.

      The man who’d thrown himself over her to protect her from those bullets. Very impressive. Sophie bit down on the flare of yearning and astonishment suddenly touching her again in that place she’d thought so well hidden. What was it about him that exposed her weak side far too easily?

      ‘Captain Ingram, we’ve got two casualties from the other side of the perimeter,’ a soldier called above the noise of troops clearing the area and checking on one another. ‘They’ve been taken into the medical unit for assessment. That unit’s now clear of danger.’

      Nothing, nobody was ever completely out of danger, but she’d keep that gem to herself. Glancing up, she acknowledged the young man who was on his first stint overseas with the NZ Army and sometimes dropped into the hospital to talk or read to patients.

      ‘Thank you, Corporal.’ His face was chalk white. ‘Did you sustain any injuries, George?’

      ‘No, Captain.’

      ‘Right. Captain Daniels is bringing a stretcher so we can shift Sergeant Nurse Brooks. I’d like you to help with moving her.’ Shifting Kelly without doing more damage to her broken body was going to be a nightmare. Even if the unconscious woman couldn’t feel a thing, Sophie knew she’d wince at every single movement. She hated inflicting any pain whatsoever on someone. Her fellow surgeons often gave her grief about that, pointing out that any surgery was followed by some degree of pain.

      ‘Yes, Ma’am.’

      Cooper skidded to a halt by their patient and lowered the stretcher carefully, as close as possible to her body. ‘It’s chaos inside. Injuries all over the place.’

      Sophie swore quietly. Why? Who? How could anyone do this to another human being?

      Get real, her inner voice snarled. You’re in a war zone. This is what you’re here for.

      She knew all that, but reality sucked,

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