Hero - The Assignment: A Military Romance Read Online Free

like. Clearest of all, were those eyes.
    There had been pain there, hidden behind a hard plastic facade. She'd been every inch the spoiled LA girl from her designer dress to her spiked heels. Her looks had screamed money and privilege, but her eyes had held something more. Not the vacant desires of starlets or heiresses, but something sharp and direct. She'd wanted more than what she had.
    Just like I wanted more...of her.
    Three and a half years, and I still couldn't get her out of my head. The few times I'd hooked up with some random girl while on leave since then, it'd been Leighton's face and body in my mind.
    “Redheads aside,” Handley said, his expression sobering. “We've got work to do.”
    Conversation died and nothing more needed to be said. We suited up and were on the trail within minutes. The cluster of farmhouses, no more than huts, was dark when we reached them. The fourth one, its threshold more worn and scraped than the others, hid a cache of weapons that we had orders to destroy.
    Our team took up positions, ready to begin.
    And then we all froze as a small line of soldiers came over the rise.
    They carried crates of grain and pouches of clean drinking water. As we watched, they headed along the narrow path to the farmhouses. It was clear they'd missed the signs that I now saw with painful clarity. The absence of crops or animals. The fortified base of the fourth house. And the footholds up the canyon walls.
    The guerrillas opened fire before my team could decide what to do. The soldiers dropped to the ground behind the remnants of a low stone wall. I heard cries of pain and hoped they were from superficial wounds. Then came the sound of returning gunfire, and I knew that at least some of them were healthy enough to handle their weapons.
    “Hold your fire, soldiers!” Handley yelled at them. He was giving away his location, but his only other option was to risk friendly fire.
    Gunshots kicked up the ground in front of him. He ignored them and signaled to us. He shot off a few rounds to keep the focus on him as we moved. We fanned out, up the steep canyon walls, knives out. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a quick slice of silver and Owens dispatched one of the shooters. The rest of my team had already disappeared into the darkness, and Owens followed.
    The shooters weren't my concern though. My job as the Medical Sergeant was to take care of those wounded soldiers.
    While my team covered me, I skidded down the hill. When I was close enough, I called out my rank and name so I didn't get shot. When I got a response back, I moved around the wall to where the soldiers were crouched. Their pale faces were clear in the dim light, and I knew I’d have to take charge.
    “You'll move out in pairs,” I said. I pointed to a man with a bleeding leg. He looked to be unconscious, but I couldn't see any other injuries. What I could see was that he was their commanding officer. I snapped my fingers at the two soldiers closest to him. “You two take him.”
    They grabbed him under the arms and waited for me to roll over and deliver a few shots to keep heads down. Fortunately, my team had been trained to handle situations like this and firing without risking my men was almost second nature.
    “Next two,” I said without looking at them.
    The men moved out behind me until I had only two soldiers left, one of whom had been shot in the stomach. I could hear his breathing getting more shallow, more labored. I hadn't been able to take a good look at him, but I could see the blood soaking the sand. Even if I'd been able to get him into an operating room right this second, he still wouldn't have had much of a chance.
    “Name, soldier?” I asked the young man who was crouched next to the wounded soldier.
    “Machus,” he said. His green eyes were bright in the darkness. “Ian Machus.”
    “We're going to move, now,” I said. I saw the kid look down, and I followed his gaze.
    The soldier's breathing had stopped, and