Mercy: Second Chance Military Romance (2 page)

Why the hell did I come to Afghanistan in the first place? Oh yeah…

“Are you even listening?” he asked.

“I am, but…”

“No damn buts about it. You made a bad situation worse. If Harris and I hadn’t arrived at just the right time, I don’t know what would’ve happened.”

“Thanks, Harris,” I said to the driver.

“Not a problem,” he said, jolly as ever.

“It’s foolish for you to even be out here,” Tyler added.

“It’s not foolishness.”

“Whatever,” he said coolly, his assault rifle nestled in his arms as he scanned the horizon.

Ugh. He’s so infuriating!

“Thanks for saving me. I appreciate it.”

“Just doing my job,” he said, shaking his helmet covered head.

I sat back, wishing my head would stop hurting so damn much.

“Were they Taliban?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“Damn straight they were,” Harris said.

The Humvee bounced and jostled all of us as he sped down a dirt road toward FOB Rushmore. I’d only been embedded with the forward operating base for two days. As we headed back, I wondered if they would send me back.

By embedding with the U.S. military, I had cut the costs for my Afghanistan trip down considerably. In exchange, I agreed to let the Army approve anything before I published it online. They could not stop me from reporting the truth though.

The regulations and restrictions had turned out to be harsher than I ever imagined once I’d arrived, which is why I had snuck into Ghazni on my own. Several sources had given me information about a huge smuggling operation out of Afghanistan that involved members of the U.S. Army.

I suspected everyone at FOB Rushmore, including Tyler and Harris. The two were best buddies from what I’d been able to gather. All the military types were usually close-knit groups, but I had thought I could get to the bottom of the story and find out if my sources were lying or not.

“Why do you have to be so damn secretive, anyway?” Tyler asked.

“I’m just a journalist doing my job.”

Outside, I noticed a tall, metal fence surrounding the small military base, one of a few still in operation a decade after the war in Afghanistan had started.

“The CO will want to see you,” Tyler said.

“I can handle him.”

He snorted.

“We’ll see. You’ve got balls, though, Ms. Jones.”

“Huge!” Harris added, laughing along with him.

The laughter died down as we approached the entrance of the camp, the entry control point or ECP as they called it. I’d been getting myself up to speed on military lingo and jargon for two weeks, but I still had a long way to go.

As we stopped at the outer gate, a fully armed soldier whose name I didn’t remember walked up and glanced into the back.

“What happened?” he asked.

“The Taliban were about to take her from the city forcibly. We had a firefight and saved her.”

I frowned but said nothing to correct his version of the events.

“Damn,” the soldier said then stepped back and waved us on.

When we reached one of the long, metal buildings with a rounded roof, Harris stopped.

“This is you,” he said.

I opened the door and climbed out.

“Hey,” Tyler shouted out.

I shielded the sun from my eyes with my hand and stared at him.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t let him give you too much shit, okay? I’m glad you’re safe.”

Despite my best efforts to mask my emotions, I smiled.

“Thanks. I’ll catch up with you later.”

“You better,” he said then added. “And get that head checked out.”

“I will.”

After Harris drove away, sending up a cloud of smoke, I walked to the entrance of the building that reminded me of a huge metal shipping container.

Captain Jeffries, the Commanding Officer of FOB Rushmore, would not be happy with me sneaking out, but if I was investigating claims against the military, I wasn’t able to work too openly with them.

I opened the door and walked inside. While cooler than outside, without air conditioning, it wasn’t too comfortable. Tony Roth, His aide-de-camp, sat at a tiny, sparse desk.

“Hey,” he said. “You made it back. Are you okay?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I think so. I came here first. Jeffries wants to speak with me?”

He nodded, his frail facial features so out of place in Afghanistan.

“Yes, he does. You should go see the medic first.”

“No, I want to get this over with,” I said as I walked past his desk.

“Hold on,” he said, standing up.

I kept going, opening a door that divided the two halves of the metal container. Captain Jeffries looked up from his desk. He frowned the moment he saw me.

“You wanted to talk?” I asked, standing near the door.

“Do you know how much trouble you caused today?” he asked.

“I’m just trying to do my job.”

“And so am I. Sit down.”

He pointed to the plain armless chair in front of his desk.

“I need to go see the medic,” I said, changing my mind.

“You were fine enough to come in here, you can sit down and talk a minute.”

I sighed, annoyed, then walked over and sat down, my arms crossed over my chest.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he asked, shaking his head.

“I needed to see Ghazni without soldiers with me. You guys frighten people.”

“We save their asses is what we do.”

As he scowled at me, I lifted a hand to my head and gingerly inspected the bandage.

“Go see the damn medic,” he said. “If you sneak out again, you will be shipped back to the States. Do you understand?”

“Yeah,” I said as I stood up.

I turned and walked toward the door.

“One more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“How did you sneak out? We’re secure here, so someone must have helped you.”

I swallowed, not turning around.

“Nobody helped me.”

“Bullshit,” he said. “I’ll sort this out.”

When he said nothing else, I continued forward. My headache had gotten worse since we returned. I hoped the medic would put my mind at ease or at least give me something to numb the pain.

THREE

Tyler

When I finished my reports about the interactions with the Taliban in Ghazni earlier that morning, I left the CO’s office and headed to check on Mercy in the metal building that served as our medical center. We hadn’t gotten along well since she arrived, but I admired her fighting spirit.

The other reason was that I hadn’t seen a sexy American woman in over a year, at least not one in person. With no females stationed at FOB Rushmore, I spent long stretches of time forgetting what it was like to be around a woman, at least one I’d be interested in.

As I approached the CHU (Containerized Housing Unit) she had all to herself, I cleared my mind of all negative thoughts. Normally, I would have nothing to do with a woman life her, a liberal media elitist, spending time with her wouldn’t be all bad.

The door to her CHU opened, and she walked out. The setting sun lit up her face, making her skin glow. She nodded her head when she noticed me. I smiled and stepped faster. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Roger making a beeline for her too.
Fuck
.

“Hey,” I said. “Your bandage is off. How are you feeling?”

I stopped in front of her, hoping Roger went away.

“Better, thanks. The CO yelled at me. How pissed is he?”

“I’ve been avoiding him all day,” I said with a sheepish grin.

“I don’t blame you. That guy has issues.”

“He’s kept us safe.”

“Hello, beautiful,” Roger Ericson said as he walked up.

Mercy turned her head to the huge, burly man everyone hated.

“Hey yourself.”

“I heard you got in some trouble today,” Roger continued, ignoring me.

“Yeah, and I took care of it,” I said. “We were on our way to eat.”

“We were?” Mercy asked.

“Yeah, we were.” I held my hand out. “You ready?”

“I’ll come with you,” Roger said.

“No, that’s okay.”

I stared into his eyes. He didn’t flinch.

“Now, boys,” Mercy said. “No fighting over me.”

She stepped in between us and walked toward the chow building.

“Hold on a minute,” Roger mumbled, grabbing my arm.

I looked down at his hand then up to his face.

“What?”

“About the secret operation.”

“Yeah? What about it? I said I’m getting out.”

He laughed, his bulky body shaking.

“There’s no getting out once you’re in, stupid.”

“We’ll talk about it later, okay?”

“You gonna hit that?”

He nodded at Mercy as she walked away.

“A gentleman never tells.”

“You ain’t no fucking gentleman, Tyler. We both know that.”

“Whatever, man. I’ll catch up with you later.”

I jogged toward Mercy before he went on about our illicit activities in Afghanistan.

“Hey,” I called out. “Hold up.”

“You can’t keep up with a wounded woman? How the hell are we going to win this war?”

“Funny,” I said, not laughing as I slowed down beside her. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“Did your CO send you to babysit me?” she asked.

“No, of course not. Although if he did, I would never tell you.”

She kept up her pace. Outside the mess hall, she stopped and turned to face me.

“What?” I asked when she said nothing.

“Exactly. What do you want?”

“I thought we would dine together. If you’re wanting to go into the villages without soldiers, I can see about going with you undercover in local garb.”

“You would do that for me?”

“I might,” I said, not ready to commit all the way.

“Fine. We can eat and talk if you’ll help me get what I need to tell my story.”

“What paper do you work for again?” I asked.

“I don’t work for a newspaper. They’re all dying. I write online for an audience around the world.”

“Uh huh,” I said, not interested.

I couldn’t think clearly with her sizable breasts pressing against an Army-issued green tee-shirt at least two sizes too small. Her hard nipples were clearly visible through the cloth.

“Come on,” she said. “I’m starving.”

Behind us, Roger called out, “Tyler! Come here!”

I sighed then said, “I have to go.”

“Wow. He’s got that kind of control over you?”

“You don’t understand,” I said.

“You’ll have to tell me sometime.”

“Maybe I will,” I said, not breaking eye contact.

“Come on, Tyler! Now!” Roger bellowed.

“I’ll take you on a date tomorrow or later this week.”

She tilted her head to the left and peered at me.

“A date?”

I grinned.

“A working date. I’ll get you into a nearby village friendly to our side. They might answer your questions and help with your story.”

“That would be wonderful,” she said. “Thanks again.”

“No problem. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Tomorrow.”

“Come on, Tyler, you faggot!”

I rolled my eyes. She laughed then turned and went inside the mess hall.

What the fuck does he want now?
I wondered as I turned and walked back toward Roger. I regretted ever having gotten into anything with him.

FOUR

Tyler

The next day, I convinced Jeffries to let me take her to a nearby village so small it wasn’t on any maps. I told him it would keep her under control and happy. He agreed, to my surprise but delight. After I had permission, I went to tell Mercy the good news.

Part of my attraction to her was the fact she was the only American woman for miles around, but more than that, I found her interesting. For one, she had traveled thousands of miles from her home to one of the most dangerous places in the world. That took guts.

As I walked toward her sleeping quarters, I wondered where she lived back in the States. Did she have a boyfriend? The closer I got, the more questions floated through my brain. Getting them answered would not be a bad way to spend the day with her.