No turning back, p.17
No Turning Back, page 17
“We’ve already got a replacement combat medic for his team,” the major said briskly. “That aside, do you have any other questions right now? You will be meeting in,” he looked at his watch, “one hour with the chief medical officer for the Ukraine Army. I think you will be spending a long night with him. There’s a lot of logistics to assimilate. I’m sure you will give him vital information that will help him make the best decisions on field hospitals. You will be his adjutant.”
Stunned, she whispered, “No, sir, no other questions.” Her throat went dry and she felt as if someone had gut-punched her, the wind out of her lungs temporarily.
Ram scowled and stared at the major. He knew he had to sit and be silent. The major closed Dare’s file, placing it in his out-basket. He picked up a blue file with his name on it.
“Captain Kozak, you are being reassigned,” the major said. “You will no longer run the team you have. You are being ordered back here, to HQ, to be assigned to the Tactics and Strategy section. You will receive a promotion to major.” He handed him a piece of paper. “Congratulations, Major. Further, you will be part of Colonel Marchuk’s advanced strategy team and supplying him from your extensive field experience, which is considerable. You will be working here, in HQ, but in another nearby building where our intel people work. Here are your orders.” He handed him the set of papers.
Ram took them, stunned speechless as he opened and slowly read them. He’d heard Dare gasp, her hand flying to her lips, her eyes huge with shock. That was how he felt. “Then, sir,” he rasped, “you’re taking my team away from me? I’ve been with them since Afghanistan.”
“I understand that, Major Kozak. Your team has performed brilliantly and that was due to your remarkable leadership. You are now being rewarded because of it.”
“But who is taking over my team?” Ram demanded harshly.
“Your second-in-command, Adam Vorona. He will be receiving a field command and commission to lieutenant, and I will be seeing him in person in an hour. He will assume responsibility for the team. We believe that you had great trust in this man’s abilities, is that true?”
Stunned, Ram said, “Yes, sir, I do.”
“And, if you were no longer leading your team, that Lieutenant Vorona would be whom you would choose for such a trusted position?”
“Yes, sir, I would. He’s as good as I am. The men trust him with their lives. He won’t disappoint you or Command.”
“Good, we thought the same. Then we are in agreement?”
“Yes, sir,” he responded.
“Your familiarity with the US military, their customs, their mindset, as well as working directly with them for the last four years, has led us to conclude that your cross-training and experience is going to help us stop the Russians and win this war that is coming. The US president is fully behind us and they are in the midst of getting us whatever we need to win it. You have a deep understanding and experience with US Army infantrymen, with their black ops groups, which will be your focus here at HQ with Colonel Marchuk’s group. You will still be instrumental to the Black Wolf Brigade, Major. Only you will be strategizing with the colonel and his team to keep them at the point of the spear, active and being the first to encounter, engage and stop the Russian tanks.”
“Yes, sir, I’m glad I’ll still be in the mix with the Black Wolf Brigade.”
“You are the right officer to put in this very critical position, Major Kozak. You are to leave here as soon as we are done and go to meet with Colonel Marchuk and his group at his office. My assistant in the other office will give you info on how to get over there.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
“Questions?” The major looked at both of them. “Your clearances will be above top secret and badges denoting that on your uniforms will be given to you shortly.”
Shock rolled through Dare. She had top-secret clearance, but there was another one above that. And few people were given that status.
“My assistant has a set of officer’s insignias to put on both your uniforms, Captain Mazur. She’ll also get you an officer’s clothing allowance, credentials to go to our uniform and supplies depot, and get the rest of whatever you need. That set of papers will get you into the Officer’s Store to make the purchases you must have. Even though you are a US citizen, you’re also a citizen of Ukraine. You will be wearing Ukrainian uniforms at all times when on duty.”
“Yes, sir,” she said faintly.
“Major Kozak? Your job starts immediately and they are waiting for you right now. Captain Mazur? You will start your new job tomorrow at 0900, here, in this building. My assistant will have an information packet ready for you once we’re finished here. Questions?”
Dare and Ram stood, coming to attention, saying simultaneously, “No, sir,” did an about-face and left his office for a brand-new world that had just been handed to them.
January 2
IT WAS 0100 when Ram finally made it back to Dare’s apartment. He’d called her two different times, letting her know that he was up to his hocks in a strategic plan that he couldn’t leave or discuss, and that it was going to be a long night. Entering the ground-floor apartment, he found Dare in her flannel pajamas and fuzzy, long bathrobe. Her legs were tucked beneath her and he saw she was working on a lot of papers that were spread out around her rocker. She looked up when he entered.
“You’re home,” she said, setting her papers aside and meeting him halfway across the living room. She placed her arms around his shoulders, and he carefully pulled her to him and they kissed. He smelled of cold, fresh winter air, and she pulled away enough to see the tabs with the major insignia on his shoulders. “Are you in shock? I know I am.” She released him and they walked to the couch.
Running his hand through his short hair after dropping his cap on the lamp table, he said, “I didn’t see this coming at all.”
“Neither did I,” she whispered, sitting down next to him. “I’m assuming you were in a serious planning session.”
“Yes, and it’s top secret.” He turned to her, worry in his eyes. “How are you? Your back? Those bruises?”
“I know they’re there,” she said, smiling slightly. “I think some more arnica on them after you get a shower is in order. Otherwise, I’m fine. I’m just in general shock over this turn of events, Ram.”
He sighed and shook his head. “Makes two of us.” Holding her warm gaze, he said, “You know what this means, don’t you?”
“I think I do, or at least I hope I do.” She reached out, sliding her fingers into his. “We are safe, in a manner of speaking. That doesn’t mean the Russians aren’t going to try and take Kyiv, or that we’re safe here because I know we’re not. But we’re not out on the front lines, either.”
He lifted her hand, kissing the back of it. “To tell you the truth, Dare? I’m glad this happened. I was torn up inside by the fact you and I, and our love for one another, must be a secret. Hiding it or pretending it didn’t exist in the team bothered the hell out of me. I didn’t know what to do,” he rasped, holding her gaze. “After what happened with that boy the other day? And how I felt when I thought you were going to fall to your death? I came out of that event realizing that I couldn’t put my emotions away when it came to you. I didn’t know that until that accident happened.”
She compressed her lips and nodded. “We haven’t had a chance to really sit down and discuss all of what happened on that day. I was thinking what if that had been you with the boy? That the ledge gave way and I was the one up above, watching it happen and me thinking you were going to fall to your death.” She placed her other hand over his. “Ram, you and I came to the same understanding that we couldn’t stop our emotions, our worry and anxiety for one another out in the field.”
“I didn’t know what to do,” he admitted again gruffly.
“I was going to come back here and ask my commanding officer to take me out of your team and put me in another one,” she said in a low, emotional tone. “I didn’t know what else to do, except remove myself from the team. I didn’t want to do that, but I couldn’t see any other way out of our dilemma.”
“Well,” he said, drawing in a deep breath, “command did it for us.” He managed a sour grin. “What I like about it is that you and I can live here, we can get married now because we’re both officers and we’re not working together. We can have a home, Dare. A life together. I know it isn’t a hundred percent safe here in Kyiv, but it’s a lot better than being the tip of the spear in a black ops team.”
“I’ve been thinking about all of that, Ram. The thought of having you safe, probably squirreled away in a basement-level concrete-like bunker with intel people, you are very safe even if missiles or bombs start falling.”
Nodding, he said, “You’re right. We’re three stories belowground and with plenty of escape routes if we do take a hit.” He released her hand and drew her gently against him, holding her. “I want you safe. And I know that when a field hospital is set up, it’s usually behind the lines, but you’re still not that safe.”
“I know,” she said, sliding her hand across his upper chest. “But I’ll be careful. And it’s part of my job as I see it to be out where these field hospitals are going up, to ensure correct and proper procedures are being followed.”
“It’s a lot safer than being with a team,” he agreed. “I have to tell you, I’m so relieved you are not going to be on the front lines.”
“I saw that in your face the instant the major told me my orders. I could almost read how grateful you were for the sudden twists and turns in our lives.”
Turning, he kissed her lips, taking in the honey of who she was, her taste, that fragrance signature that was only her. “I love you,” he whispered against her wet lips, looking into her partly opened eyes, seeing her love for him mirrored in them. “Be my wife. Marry me soon? We don’t have to hide that we’re in love or that we want a life together anymore.”
Nodding and lifting her hand, her fingers against his unshaven cheeks, she whispered, “Let’s go to a jeweler and we’ll pick out the ring soon.”
“I’ll make sure it happens.”
“We can live here, in this apartment. I’m happy to do that because Lera will need help when Adam leaves with the team. I want to be near Lera and the girls. I can be of help and support to them.”
“Yes, to all of that.” He eased away. “I’m going to get a shower. Meet me in the bedroom and I’ll put the arnica on your bruises for you.”
“And then,” she said, smiling into his darkening eyes, “I want to celebrate this moment with you, with the turn of our luck and being able to live together as wife and husband. This is the best secret Christmas gift we’ll ever receive.”
He kissed her gently. “Roger that, sweetheart. We have a war to fight and we’re going to win it. It won’t be easy, but just knowing that I’m coming home to you every night is a priceless gift that will keep on giving. I love you...”
* * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from Cold Case Investigation by Nicole Helm.
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Cold Case Investigation
by Nicole Helm
Chapter One
Anna Hudson was no stranger to mistakes. She was an act first, think later type of person. Because more often than not, that worked out for her.
And if she was being bracingly honest with herself—which her current situation seemed to call for—it tended to work out because she had five overbearing, determined and with-it older siblings to help her clean up her messes.
The fact that she’d spent most of her adult life—which wasn’t a huge amount of time considering she was only twenty-five—trying to create some distance, some independence from her family was something she’d been proud of. She certainly didn’t want someone always sweeping in and cleaning up her messes. She wanted to prove to the people who’d raised her from the time she was eight and her parents had disappeared that she could take care of herself.
Too bad she’d finally gotten herself into a jam no one could save her from. She took a deep breath of the cold, invigorating air. Winter held the Hudson Ranch in its grips and for the first time in her life Anna wasn’t wishing for spring. Or summer.
Especially not summer.
She closed her eyes, willing the nausea away. Her doctor—not her normal doctor, because even doctor-patient confidentiality wasn’t safe in Sunrise, Wyoming, but the doctor she’d found the county over—had told her “morning” sickness could hit at any time and last possibly her whole pregnancy.
Three months in was definitely enough for Anna, but her baby didn’t seem to be getting the memo.
So far, she’d been able to keep everything on the down-low, but the more unpredictable the nausea and food aversion got, the harder it was to hide.
She couldn’t conceal it forever. Realistically, she understood that. In practice? She’d given herself three months. She considered that fair. Lots of women waited to announce their pregnancy until they were into their second trimester.
The problem was her secret was getting harder and harder to keep. She lived with too many people, had too many friends. And the three-month mark had come and gone.
Surely she could wait until she started to show? That seemed fair. Her family would be upset, but...
“You okay?”
Anna jerked. She hadn’t heard Cash approach. She turned to face him and forced herself to smile. She couldn’t throw up in front of him. That would be too much. Someone would insist she see a doctor, and then...
“You aren’t...pregnant, are you?” he asked very, very carefully, and out of nowhere to Anna’s estimation.
Of all the people she’d expected to call her out on it, her brothers had been at the bottom of her list. Particularly Cash, who didn’t even live at the main house and kept his nose out of her business the most out of any Hudson—though that was still pretty nosy. Still, Cash didn’t butt in, for the most part. He had his own daughter to raise.
She supposed it made sense, though. Since he was a dad. Izzy was eleven, and her mom hadn’t stuck around for long, but once upon a time, Cash had been the attentive husband to his pregnant wife. So of all the people in her life, he’d been the closest to the signs of pregnancy the most recently.
“Hell in a handbasket, Anna,” he muttered when she didn’t answer.
She swallowed down all that wanted to come up. “I don’t see what business it is of yours.” Bravado was often the best response to her overbearing siblings. Or had been.
Cash rolled his eyes. “You wouldn’t.” He adjusted his hat on his head. “Who knows about this? Certainly not Jack or we’d have had a shotgun wedding by now.” His frown deepened. “You’re not even dating anyone.”
She smiled at her brother, because an off-putting offense was always the best defense. “I know you’re a monk and all, but there is this thing called a one-night stand.”
He swore again, taking off his hat and raking his hand through his hair. “Who is it?” he demanded, all furious and older-brotherly.
Anna didn’t shrink in on herself, though she kind of wanted to. Pregnancy was making her weak. She sniffed and lifted her chin instead. “None of your business.”
“Why not?”
Anna had always considered Cash the most reasonable of her brothers. Jack and Grant were the upstanding stick-in-the-muds, Palmer was more like her—or had been before he’d decided to go fall in love with her best friend—and Cash was...the reasonable one. The single dad who kept an even keel no matter what went wrong. His typical response to anything was to hunker down.
But the look on his face was decidedly unreasonable and bloodthirsty.
“I don’t need you wading in to fix my problems, Cash. I can handle this.”
Cash’s expression changed. She realized he might be the calm one, but he was also the worst one to find out about this. Because he’d been in an accidental pregnancy situation himself. As the father of the baby.
“You told the guy, right?” he said. Very carefully. All cool and detached while his eyes were hot with his own issues.
Anna decided silence was her best weapon. But that only made Cash swear even more.
“Anna, you gotta tell the guy.”
She shrugged jerkily, because anyone telling her what she had to do grated. Especially when they were right. “Why?”
“Because it’s his kid, too.”
There was no argument to be had here. First, Cash wasn’t the audience. Second, she knew she had to tell the father. Every night she told herself tomorrow would be the day.
And every morning, she chickened out. Not her usual MO, but Hawk Steele was a problem.
“He isn’t local.”
“So take a trip,” Cash replied. Firmly.
And she had to blame it on pregnancy hormones. Because she was not a soft woman. She’d learned to be hard. She’d lost her parents at eight, and though her sister had tried to fill in as a kind of maternal influence, Mary was only two years older than she was. So Anna had learned how to be tough, how to be a Hudson.
She’d done the rodeo. She was a licensed private investigator. She’d fought people, shot people, been shot at.
She didn’t cry.
But there were tears in her eyes now, even if she managed to blink them away. “Cash, I can do this on my own. Well, not my own. But I have you guys. We’ll be all right.”
