Codename Blade (eBook)

J. R. Tootill (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
336 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-0944-9 (ISBN)

Infos

Joshua Bennett is a dead man. He lost everything when his SEAL team was ambushed. As he watches his family bury an empty coffin, he vows to make whoever is responsible pay. He wants revenge. For his lost leg. For his lost brothers-in-arms. And for the life he will never have. Samantha York is the daughter of a religious cult leader. She knew he was cruel, but she never realized he was the kind of man that would auction off his own daughter to pay a debt. She cannot remember what happened to her that night. But it broke something in her just the same. Something that keeps her hopelessly trapped inside herself. When Josh meets Sam, the darkness that surrounds him fades. He suddenly wants a life again. With his former team. With his family. But mostly with her. She is his broken Angel, and he will do anything to protect her and give her the life she deserves. Sam is attracted to Josh from the moment they meet. And she can even see the life they can have together. But how does she come to terms with a past that lives in her nightmares? And when that nightmare comes back to claim her, can she ever be what Josh truly deserves? Sometimes when the universe answers your prayers, it shakes your entire world. Codename Blade, book 3 in The Omega Series, is intended for mature audiences over eighteen due to language, sexual situations, and depictions of trauma and loss of limb.

J. R. Tootill writes contemporary romantic suspense novels with a Criminal Minds, CSI edge and a side order of spice. She began her love affair with romance novels because, unlike real life, the monsters were always destroyed, and the heroes got the happy ending they deserved. On a dare, she wrote a short story that turned into a novel, and that became The Omega Security Series. Her fascination with how people can rebuild their lives from hardship is what fuels The Omega Security Series. Her characters are sometimes broken, often battered, and always at a life-changing crossroads. And, because she still believes in happy endings, all of her stories have a hard-won happily ever after. J. R. was a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book awards. She holds a BA in Writing Arts and an MFA in Creative Writing. And has been teaching creative writing on a university level for over twelve years.

Textauszug

Prologue

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany

10 Years ago

Josh

“Just get the fuck out, Tuc.” Josh hadn’t yelled the words, but the energy it took to say them pinged down his left thigh and calf and into his foot with little shocks of electricity. He tried to rearrange his foot, which was impossible because his foot wasn’t fucking there. And that was mind fuck number one-thousand-seven-hundred and fifty, or maybe fifty-one. Who the fuck knew at this point? His right wrist had been shattered and reset; he forgot how many pins were put in. So that was in a big ass cast. His left shoulder had been dislocated, with the ligaments torn from the bone. That was a painful repair: they reattached his ligaments, repaired the torn labrum, and stabilized the humerus. Fucking movies lied. Just snap the shoulder back in place, his ass.

Then, an infection set in on his leg a few days later. His left foot and ankle had been gone, shredded in the explosion. The last operation had taken his leg to about mid-calf. The only thing that didn’t hurt him was his right eyebrow. And even that was twitching. They got all the infection in the leg, they said; he was lucky, they said. He didn’t feel fucking lucky.

He couldn’t remember if he had stepped on an IED or hit a trip wire he had missed in the sweep. He figured a tripwire triggered the IED planted somewhere away from where he searched. He figured he wouldn’t be here if he had stepped on the IED. He wasn’t so sure he was happy about that. But in the end, it didn’t matter. The leg was gone either way. They said he was fortunate he still had his knee. He guessed fortunate was a vague way to tell him to stop being a whiny little pussy and man up. Whatever.

So here he was. One leg was gone. One hand and wrist cast. The other arm was bandaged from his shoulder to his elbow and strapped to his body. And he was in pain. More pain than he ever thought he could endure. And his new best friend was his morphine drip.

“Not leaving you, Josh.” Tuc was saying in that reassuring tone that made him want to punch something. Can’t punch shit with one arm in a cast and one strapped to your body, asshole. Oh, yeah, and you can’t kick shit when the leg you have to kick with is all you have to stand on. Fuck. He was a mess.

And why did Tuc keep talking? All Josh needed was for him to shut the fuck up and leave him to his morphine drip. “We are headed to Bethesda.”

“We?”

“Yeah, Skeet just got the go. You are both being released.”

“Skeet made it?” Josh’s voice was weak and raspy. This was the first time he had spoken in days. Between the surgeries and the morphine, he’d been out of it.

“Yeah. They saved his arm.”

“Good. That’s good.”

“You are both gonna be okay.” Tuc cleared his throat and pulled his baseball cap down to hide his eyes. So, he was feeling it too. Josh let out a snort. Okay? Yeah, that was a relative term.

Because he sure as shit did not feel okay.

He was pretty sure he was never going to be okay again.

“Anyone else make it?” He watched Tuc’s Adam’s apple bob as tears breached the brim of the hat and rolled off his chin. He shook his head once and cleared his throat.

“Just us.”

“Fuck.” Josh turned his head away since it was the only fucking thing he could move. “I told you to let me bleed out.”

“Couldn’t do that.” Tuc gripped the bicep on the arm not strapped down and tugged lightly until Josh turned his head back. “Listen to me. You can get through this, brother.”

“You don’t fucking get it, do you?” Josh ripped his arm from Tuc’s hand, banging the cast onto the bed rail. Fuck. That hurt. He wanted to walk the fuck out of here. Wanted to get away from all that fucking pity he saw in Tuc’s eyes. Walk. Ha. That was never happening again. He was damaged beyond anything anyone could do. “I don’t want to get through this.”

“I’ll be here for you, man. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I don’t want you here.”

“I’ll help you.”

“I don’t want your fucking help. I told you to let me die. So, unless you’re going to put a bullet in my head or shoot something into my IV, take your two goddamned good legs and just get the fuck out.”

“Not leaving.” Tuc scraped the chair over the linoleum to the side of the bed and sat down. “I didn’t pull you out of that shit to just drop you here and give up on you.”

“Don’t you have a team to run somewhere?”

“Nope.” Tuc folded his arms across his chest. He looked like shit. Dark circles under his eyes and shadows moved back and forth behind them every time he made eye contact. Cheeks sunken in like he hadn’t eaten in days. Fuck. If Tuc looked that bad, he didn’t want to see what he looked like. He had to get him out of here. Tuc tried to give him hope, but all that did was remind him of everything he had lost. Hope was a dangerous thing to a damaged man. Josh reached over and leaned on the call button with the edge of his cast. He waited for the orderly to come in and shoved a finger at Tuc.

“He’s not family. I don’t want him here. Can you escort him out and take him off the visitor’s list?”

“Stop it, Josh.” Tuc turned his attention to the orderly. “I’m his team leader. I have a right to be here.”

“Actually, you don’t. Not a SEAL anymore. Don’t have a team leader.” Josh was done. Done trying to be brave. Done trying to accept this new reality. Done trying to show everyone he was getting better. He wasn’t. And he was especially done with this fucking war and everything about it. All he wanted now was the sting of the drugs pushing through his IV.

“Please remove him,” Josh whispered. “I can’t anymore, LT. I just fucking can’t. I’m sorry, but I can’t.” He rolled his head toward the wall, closed his eyes, and ignored the commotion as they dragged Tuc from his room. He shut out the beeps of the machines and monitors and the pain in the leg that was no longer there. He ignored the throbbing of his shoulder and stopped fighting against the strap that held his arm down. He pushed down on the morphine pump. At least he could still use his goddam thumb. He waited for the buzz to hit and the hum of oblivion to wash over him. Yeah. That felt better. Felt so fucking good. Nothing else mattered now. Just the buzz and the hum. Yeah. That was way better.

Seven Years Ago

The Redemption Commune

SAM

“Sammi.” The rough voice pulled her from sleep. “Sammi girl. Don’t make me come find you.” He coughed that ragged, wet cough that made her sick to her stomach. She had gotten away from them after they took everything from her. After they…no, she wouldn’t think about that. The cuts were still bleeding. She had made them worse by dragging herself through the dried grass. She had a sticky ooze along her thighs. She was cramping. Her head hurt. Her face hurt. Her side was burning. And she was trying so hard not to puke because no matter how many times she swallowed, she couldn’t get that taste out of her mouth. She held her breath as the footsteps came closer. He wouldn’t be able to find her here. She had crawled under the hay bales in the storage shed and curled up as small as she could get. If she died here, it would be okay. Anything would be better than going back there with him. Them.

“Sam,” the whisper woke her. “Sam, it’s Andy. Andy and Luke. Are you in here?”

“Andy?” Her voice was hoarse. She swallowed around the lump in her throat. It felt like she was eating gravel. She swallowed again and coughed out, “Andy?”

“Shit, Sam. I’m sorry. I tried to get here. I came as soon as I heard.” Andy said as he pulled the bales apart and looked down at her.

“I’m going to kill that motherfucker for doing this to you,” Luke said as he bent to pick her up.

“Is he…” she whispered.

“Passed out. They all are. It’s the only reason they aren’t dead. Come on. We’re getting out, and you’re coming with us.” Luke hitched his arm under her knees and lifted her.

“He said he won’t let me go.” She whimpered into Luke’s chest. “Said I belonged to him now.”

“The fuck you do.” Andy wrapped a blanket around her. It didn’t help the shaking, but at least she could burrow into the blanket and feel hidden.

She must have fallen asleep again. When the car hit uneven gravel and jostled to a stop, she opened her eyes to sunlight and a car full of the boys from the commune. Luke was driving, and Andy had her on his lap in the back seat with Callum, Jacob, and Isiah crushed in with them. Mark was in the front passenger seat with a rifle in his lap.

“What are you doing?” She whispered.

“We are getting you somewhere safe. And you’re not going back. Your father is a fucking asshole.”

“He’ll come for me. They both will.”

“They’ll have to go through all of us,” Andy said. “Come on; we’re here.” Andy pushed the door open and stood holding her. The air here was crisp and fresh. She took in a deep breath. That was when she saw the large house. A woman with long dark hair stood on the porch shielding her eyes from the sun.

“Shane, we need your help. She needs medical attention. Can you call someone?”

“Shit. Bring her...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 26.7.2023
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Krimi / Thriller / Horror
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3509-0944-9 / 9798350909449