Day One
…. NICKSHIFTEDhis weight from one foot to the other. He wanted something; Jed could tell.
“Are you coming to the dance tonight?”
Jed tossed an armful of clean clothes in Nick’s general direction. “Put those away, and no, I’m not. I have to work, remember?”
It was true, though Jed was pretty sure his boss at the lumberyard would’ve given him the evening off if he’d asked for it, but he wasn’t about to do that. Hell, no. School dances were lame. A night spent out in the open, the smell of fresh cut wood in the air, and his boss’s fuck-hot son for company. Yeah, that was more like it.
“You’re always working.”
Jed finished putting clean sheets on his bed, and flopped down on the sagging mattress, covering his eyes with his arm. “Someone’s gotta pay for all those nerdy field trips you go on.”
“Hector said he’d lend us the money.”
“Hector’s got less money than we do. Don’t go taking shit from him.”
Nick hovered in the doorway. Jed sighed and sat up. This was the problem with Nick—he was wet behind the ears and needed everything explained to him eleventy damn times. “Dude, Hector means well, but he’s broke, and even if he wasn’t, we’d still have to pay him back. We might as well pay for it ourselves in the first place.”
“You shouldn’t have to work day and night. No one ever sees you. Anna thinks you have a girlfriend.”
That was a new one. Jed reckoned Dan had put that in his mom’s head to yank his chain. Still, he wasn’t going to fall for Nick using Hector’s good nature against him. Nick knew Jed would never take money from the Valescos. “You just don’t want to do the project that comes after the trip. Don’t pretend you give a shit about me.”
“How do you know there’ll be a project?”
“Because I did Dan’s for him last year.”
“So you’ll do mine for me?”
Nick’s eyes were hopeful, but Jed shook his head. His little brother’s brains were gonna be his ticket out of this goddamn town. “I did Dan’s for my benefit, not his. You won’t learn anything if I do it for you.”
“Asshole.”
Nick tossed a book at him. Jed caught it easily. Nick scowled and looked around for another missile, but was distracted by the crash of the front door. The sound reverberated through the house, signaling that Frank Cooper was home.
Jed slid off his bed in one smooth motion, rolling his eyes as he heard Frank walk into the dresser. Nick kept trying to move it, but Jed wouldn’t let him. Where was the fun in that?
He opened his bedroom window and climbed out onto the ledge. He jumped. His feet hit the tarmac below before Nick could protest….
…. JEDCREPTforward another inch, tracking the approaching enemy. It didn’t look good. Their tanks were old and dilapidated, ancient Soviet rejects, but it didn’t matter. They still had enough firepower to roll right over Jed’s crew.
Raffi crept up beside him. “How many?”
“Too many,” Jed replied out of the corner of his mouth.
“We got a plan, boss?”
Jed thought on it. He had thirty seconds or less to make a decision. His team of eight was outnumbered, outflanked, and outgunned. Against the ropes, and their options were limited to three: Fight, die, or surrender.
Jed tightened his hold on his gun, checking his pockets for extra magazines. “Get ready. We’re moving out.”
It was a no-brainer to move forward and take the battle to the enemy. It was the last thing their opponents expected them to do, and their only chance.
Jed met Raffi’s eyes and nodded.
Fuck you. I’m not going to die today….
… ITWASall over a few hours later. Jed’s crew was battered and bruised, but alive.