After that, they’d be on the chopper and someone with a lot more medical training than Logan had would take over. They’d take over, and Hunter would be okay.
“Open your eyes, sailor!” he yelled down at the lethargic man. “That’s a fucking order!”
Technically, the two men ranked the same. But Logan was the team’s Number One, which meant he gave the orders. Orders a highly trained SEAL like Hunter Garrison wouldn’t allow himself to refuse.
A sliver of blue appeared, the thin line growing a tiny bit more with each slow blink of the decorated SEAL’s eyes.
“That’s it, brother.” Relief had Logan smiling. “Just keep looking at me, okay? Help is on the way. Air support’s going to take out those fuckers, and then we’ll get you all patched up.”
Another RPG landed damn close to their left, sending a cloud of dirt, dust, and rocks up into the air around them. On reflex, Logan threw his body on top of Hunter’s to block the falling debris.
When it cleared, he shouted out, “Everybody good?”
Chase, Lucky, and Van were quick with their standard check-ins. Arch, on the other hand, called back with a, “Be a whole lot better if that fucking chopper was here!”
Amen, brother!
Logan looked back down, his stomach immediately filling with dread. In the very short time it took for the air to clear and the team to check in, Hunter’s skin had grown pale as a sheet. His lips had all but vanished, and blues of his eyes were starting to dull.
Ah, fuck.
Panic threatened to take Logan over. The blood at the surface had ceased to spill, the hemostatic gauze having done its job to perfection. But it was clear Hunt was still losing blood fromsomewhere, and if that chopper didn’t show soon, Logan was going to be forced to watch his best friend in the entire world bleed out right in front of him.
So don’t let him! It’s your job to keep him alive, damn it! Donotlet him quit!
With a quick glance at his watch, Logan needed Hunt to know, “Five more minutes, man. The chopper will be here in five short minutes, and then—”
“D-don’t…have…f-five…min…”
“Yes, you do!” He refused to accept anything less. Using the last thing in his arsenal, Logan went with the one thing that mattered to Hunter the most. “Youhave as long as it takes to get your ass off this fucking mountain; you know why? Because you promised Natalie you’d make it back home. You promised Nat you’d be home for your anniversary, remember? So you’re gonna keep your fucking eyes open; you’re going to keep fighting; and you’re gonnakeepthat fucking promise!”
“Not this…t-time…broth…er…” A tear leaked from the corner of Hunter’s left eye, creating a silver streak through the dirt and grime covering the man’s skin. “Y-you have t-to tell…N-Nat…I l-lo—”
“Nope.” Logan gave a stern shake of his head. “Donotfinish that sentence, you understand? We arenotdoing that shit, sailor. Not today.”
“P-please…” A hard swallow. “Please…t-tell…h-her—”
“You can tell her yourself when we get back home.” Reaching for his comms, he abandoned all sense of decorum and shouted into the mic,“TOC, where the fuck is that chopper?”
Logan had barely finished the transmission when another RPG landed nearby. Pieces of jagged rock flew in every direction forcing the team to immediately take cover. When he felt it was safe enough to do so, he lifted his upper body up once more.
Determination reflected back at him from Hunter’s glassy, heavy-lidded eyes as he struggled to lift a trembling hand. Logan grabbed it without hesitation, holding onto his friend so tight he thought the man’s bones might actually break.
“’member…your…p-promise?”
“Mine?” Logan frowned.
His friend’s head moved with the slightest of nods. “Promised…s-something…happens…to m-me…you’d…take c-care…Nat—”
Ah, Christ.
This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be. They’d just been talking about who was buying the first round of beers, for fuck’s sake!
Hunt had been smiling and going on about how badly he wanted to get back home, and now… Now the man was asking him to repeat a promise made the day Hunt and Natalie got married.
Jesus, no!
Tears Logan didn’t know existed fell in streaks down his face, the ignored droplets landing on the chest of a man who was dying. Ignoring the battle still going strong around him, he tried like hell to control the one consuming his very soul.