Zeke (Delta Forces #2) - Elizabeth Lennox
Chapter 1
“Zeke! You’ve been shot in the back! You’re going to the emergency room!” Major Derick Jones snapped.
Lieutenant Colonel Zeke Jeffers glared at him. “I’m fine! It’s just a scratch! The bullet only grazed me.” In truth, his back hurt like a mother…bad! He felt wetness and knew that the wound was bleeding, but…he seriously didn’t want to go to the hospital.
Zeke could handle snakes and evil, merciless terrorists. He and his team routinely swam through shark and piranha infested waters when necessary. One time, he’d even walked through one of those bird eating spider webs. Those bird eating spiders were the stuff of nightmares. Those suckers could grow bigger than both of his hands put together – and he had huge hands. In that instance, he’d simply pulled out his pistol and shot the massive spider, then muttered expletives while he fought his way out of the disgusting spider web, all the while, threatening his team members with violent repercussions for their amusement at his expense.
But the truth was, Zeke would rather deal with a bird-eating spider any day than go to the emergency room. Too many needles!
Just considering the possibility made him shudder with horror! And that hurt his back, so he banished the thought of…those things…from his mind.
“You’re going,” Colonel Mike Cain told him, his hands fisted on his hips as he glared at Zeke. “PFC Jones!” Mike barked.
Immediately, a young and eager private first class sprinted over and stood at attention. The enlisted man saluted smartly and yelled, “Yes sir?”
“Take Lieutenant Colonel Jeffers to the emergency room. Make sure he goes inside and sees a doctor.” Mike’s lips curled slightly upwards as he continued. “I want you to make sure that he sees a doctor and, if Lieutenant Colonel Jeffers doesn’t follow the doctor’s orders, I want to know about it.”
The enlisted man gulped as he glanced at Zeke. Zeke was a big guy, well over six and a half feet tall. And he was massively built with muscles on top of muscles. Colonel Cain was also tall and muscular, as was Major Joe Hancock and Major Derick Matlock. But there was just something about Lieutenant Jeffers that…he scared the enlisted soldiers! He was mean and demanding, although he never asked anything of the enlisted men that he wasn’t willing to do himself.
Except go to the emergency room!
“I can manage myself!” Zeke snapped.
Mike wasn’t having it. “PFC, you have your orders,” he replied, not taking his eyes from Zeke’s. “Drive him to the emergency room and…” Mike paused slightly as he smirked. “Make sure he doesn’t get blood on my truck.”
“Yes sir!” the private first class responded with another smart salute.
“Payback,” Zeke muttered to Mike. Thankfully, Mike was able to keep a straight face until Zeke was in the passenger seat of the truck. But as soon as the two men had driven off, Mike turned to Joe and Derrick and burst out laughing!
“He’s going to faint,” Joe predicted, high-fiving his friends.
Mike chuckled. “He wouldn’t dare. Not around Jones.”
They pulled out their wallets, offering the normal amount. A ten dollar bill was retrieved from each person by Derick who pocketed the money until they heard from PFC Jones. The enlisted soldier would report on Zeke’s emergency room visit and that would determine the winner of this particular bet. Unfortunately, that might not be for another few hours.
“So glad Zeke is providing the entertainment as well as beer for tonight,” Derick laughed.
Joe pounded the other man on the back, chuckling as they went to observe the training of the newest potential Delta Force team members.
Mike looked at the group of soldiers who were standing in small groups, shocked at what had just happened. “Okay, gentlemen, how about if we do it again! And this time, let’s not shoot the officers, shall we?”
Thirty recruits from all over the country, the best soldiers the Army had trained, didn’t protest even though they’d been through the complicated obstacle course three times already today, beginning at four o’clock this morning. Since it was now two o’clock in the afternoon, and they were starving, it was going to be a test of their endurance. They’d paused for breakfast and lunch, but this obstacle course was tougher than normal, built to challenge their capabilities, their strength, and their ability to think on their feet. One needed more than just brute strength to get through this course. One had to think, to maneuver, and work together to reach the end. What the recruits didn’t realize