is enough. Bless you.”
Jonah swallowed hard and nodded. “Take care. It was nice meeting you, Hank. And you too, Buddy.”
Jonah exited the alley and headed back to his car. The wind picked up, and the increased cloud cover made the shadows shift all around him, making the hair stand up on the back of his neck. He heard the scuffle of shoes behind him while he was midstride. Had Hank followed him? He attempted to stop and pivot, but it was too little too late.
Someone delivered a blow to the back of his head. The pain was immediate and blinding. Jonah staggered forward, trying to get away, but he only managed one step before the world spun around him. He was unconscious before his body crumpled to the ground.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat.
Jonah’s face felt like it was on fire when he regained consciousness. He tried to open his eyes but couldn’t see for the blood in them. The metallic, coppery liquid filled his mouth, threatening to choke him. He was going to drown if he didn’t move. It took all his strength, but he managed to turn onto his side.
His ears rang with a high-pitched noise that made him recoil. Acrid smoke mixed and diesel fumes filled the air, burning his throat and nose.
Eagle? Cobra? Dragon? Lion? He tried to speak but couldn’t move his lips. God, he hurt so bad. Was his face on fire? Was he in hell?
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat.
He recognized the rapid fire of the Al-Qaeda’s AK-47. Fuck. They were sitting ducks. Jonah couldn’t see a fucking thing, so he strained to listen for signs that his brothers were alive. He heard nothing but rat-a-tat-tat-tat and the high-pitched ringing.
Peaceful darkness pulled at him, but Jonah fought to stay awake. He had to get his guys to safety.
The gunfire stopped, and the silence was far scarier.
They were coming.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Water splatted against Jonah’s face, a few droplets at first followed by a deluge. Where was he? Had enemy fighters captured him? Would they torture him?
When Jonah opened his eyes, clarity didn’t come to him right away. It came to him in stages—excruciating ones because his head felt like someone had sawed through his skull and removed half of his brain. First, Jonah realized he wasn’t in Afghanistan. He was lying facedown in a dark parking lot with his cheek pressed to the hard pavement. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, and he comprehended the water was rain and not a form of torture. Thunder rumbled loudly, matching the thudding of his heart.
Where was he? What happened to his head? He needed to get to his feet and find shelter from the storm. Knowing what he needed to do and accomplishing it weren’t the same thing.
Even in the rain, Jonah could smell the metallic tang of blood. Whose blood? He opened his mouth to call out for his brothers until he remembered they were already dead. Jonah’s eyes fell shut, and darkness beckoned. It was peaceful there. All he had to do was stop fighting its pull.
Another flash of lightning rent the sky, and it was so brilliant Jonah could see it behind closed eyelids. The violent clap that followed shook the ground. There are worse ways I could die.
A phone started ringing. Whose was it? “Help me,” Jonah whispered gruffly. No one rushed to aid him as Mother Nature’s temper tantrum intensified. The phone quieted, then immediately started back up again. The cool rain helped clear his brain enough to realize it was his phone ringing. Jonah supported his weight on one arm and reached into his pocket with the other.
The caller ID looked blurry, but he could still read the name. Avery.
Jonah stabbed his finger at the phone to accept the call, as the gulf between consciousness and oblivion grew wider.
“Help me,” Jonah said into the phone as he tumbled over the edge.
Jonah’s next lucid moment came when he was getting wheeled into the hospital on a gurney. The EMTs were giving a full report to a blonde-haired ER doctor, who kept glancing down at him as she ran alongside him.
The overhead lights were too bright, and they took on a strobe-like effect as Jonah moved beneath them. Jonah squeezed his lids shut, but it was too little too late. The lights and movement made his stomach revolt, and he made a gagging noise.
“Stop,” the doctor demanded. “Roll him to his side.”
They raised the head of the gurney up. Jonah turned his head and leaned as far as he could