“Ma’am, I’m Master Chief Scott Warren with the United States Navy SEALS. I’m here to get you to safety.”
So not a soldier. An operator.
Working her every-day job at Homeland Security’s private medical facility back home in Dallas, Sophie had treated enough military patients to know the different titles each branch preferred to be called. One thing she’d quickly learned was that SEALS wereneverto be called soldier.
More than anything, Sophie wanted to follow this operator out that door and never look back. She wanted to be away from the danger and violence raining down on the city of Djibouti. To be home in the warmth and comfort of her own bed.
Did that make her weak or lesson her dedication to taking care of those in need? She didn’t think so. At least, she prayed it didn’t.
Like she’d told Christine...she was human. Yes, she’d come here to help the less fortunate, and for the past three weeks, she had. Intentionally keeping herself in harm’s way with no backup or professional training wouldn’t make her brave. It would make her foolish.
Even so, the doctor in her couldn’t help but ask the SEAL, “What about the patients?”
She glanced toward the man lying in the bed next to her, oblivious of the situation surrounding him. The Master Chief’s gaze followed hers.
“They’ll be taken care of.”
Sophie swallowed. “How can you be sure?”
“There’s another team on their way here to keep guard over the patients who were unable to be transported when the riots began.”
That was good news.Reallygood. There was just one more thing.
“What about the rest of the volunteers?”
There were eight of them in all, including a well-known journalist who’d joined the trip last-minute to do a story on the work they were doing in the war-torn city.
“My team has been assigned to locate you and your group, and escort you out of harm’s way. The other men are rounding up the other volunteers on the list as we speak. So far, the building remains clear of insurgents, but if things keep progressing the way they have been, that won’t last forever. We need to go. Now.”
Master Chief Warren’s voice was calm and steady, but it was clear he was anxious to get the heck out of Dodge.
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Christina grabbed her bag from its place on the floor and walked to the door.
They’d both gotten their things from the lockers in the staff lounge earlier, before coming to this room to wait for reinforcements.
Knowing there really wasn’t anything more she could do, Sophie gave her patient a parting glance before removing the white coat the hospital had provided and laying it across the foot of the bed.
Walking over to the cheap, particle board armoire on the other side of the room, she grabbed the messenger bag she used as a purse-slash-emergency medical bag and followed Master Chief Warren and Christine out into the hallway.
Bypassing the elevators, the three entered the nearest stairwell and began their descent. They’d started on the fourth floor, but it didn’t take long before they were approaching the first floor.
“These things always give me the creeps,” Christine muttered as they took the steps as quickly and carefully as possible. “Makes me think of the clichéd movies where the girl gets attacked by a masked man while in the stairwell alone.”
Behind her, Sophia chuckled. “Well, seeing as how we’re following a sort-of masked man of our own, I’d say our chances of survival are pretty good.”
The words had no more passed her lips when the door at the bottom of the stairs flew open and bullets began to fly.
Master Chief Warren returned fire, shouting over his shoulder for the two women to get down. When the enemy gunfire temporarily ceased, he motioned for them to run back up the stairs and then used his comms to call for his team.
Shooting another round of bullets at the open doorway, he did his best to keep his voice low as he ordered Sophie and Christine to find the nearest room and hide.
Following the man’s orders, Sophie grabbed hold of Christine’s hand and pulled her back up the stairs and through the first door they came to. After checking both ways to make sure the coast was clear, she then led the other woman into the first patient room she saw.
Blowing out a breath, she was glad as hell to find it unoccupied. The last thing she wanted was to lead whoever was shooting at them into a helpless patient’s room.
“Ohmygod!” Christine blurted. “I can’t believe we just got shot at!”
“Shh!” Sophie reminded her to keep quiet. Looking around the room, she found the only hiding place available...the other side of the bed. “Come on!”