Read Online Camouflaged (Hiding From Love #0.5) by Selena Laurence - Free Book Online

you’ll be out there, exposed. I mean, can’t you get something to camouflage you ?”
    I shook my head. “No. That’s what my MultiCam is for, and I can’t see to shoot if I’m trying to hide behind something.”
    She looked at me and her eyes grew even bigger if that were possible.
    “I want you to carry this rucksack.” I handed it to her. “That way, if I don’t make it, you’ll have the supplies to get you through the next twenty-four hours or so. There’s a pistol in there. If you end up alone in that cave, don’t use that gun unless someone gets all the way into the cave with you.”
    Her eyes welled up. “No,” she whispered.
    “Alexis,” I said sharply. “Listen to me. If you fire at guys who are shooting at the cave from a distance, you’ll never hit anyone and it’ll just waste the ammo. You have to wait until they’re a few yards from you. Not so close they can touch you, but close enough you can see their faces clearly. You got that?”
    “No.” She shook her head violently. “No. We’re going to go out there and you’re going to get yourself killed trying to save me. You can’t do this. It’s suicide. I don’t want to be in that cave by myself. Let’s stay here in the truck. Please.”
    My heart felt like it was bleeding a drop of blood with every drop of saltwater that rolled from her eyes. I reached out and pulled her to me.
    “Shh, shh. Alexis. It’s okay. First of all, part of being prepared is thinking about every possibility. But that’s all they are—possibilities. I wouldn’t have us do this if I didn’t think we had a good chance of pulling it off—both of us.” Finally , I thought, all that practice lying to women is serving a purpose . “Secondly, I’m a soldier. We get ourselves killed to save other people every single day. It’s my job. I’ve been putting myself at risk to protect you for three years now. You just weren’t around to see it.”
    She hiccupped and sat back. “Wow. I never thought about it that way.” I smiled at her. “But that doesn’t make it any better,” she declared.
    “Maybe not, but can we talk about it later. Maybe after we’re settled in the cave? I’m feeling like we need to get out of here sooner rather than later.”
    I saw her draw herself up, take a deep breath, and wipe the last tear from her face. She blew out the breath before looking me in the eye steadily. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s do this.”
    I couldn’t help but smile at her spunk. Dammit. I needed to get her out of this alive and whole. That was all that mattered here. Just her.
    I picked up her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Follow me and do exactly as I say.”
    She nodded, and I crawled out of the truck with one really tough little humanitarian right behind me.
    We scooted on our stomachs underneath the truck from the front to the back. I realized too late I should have given Alexis my uniform jacket because she was on her elbows in the dirt and rocks with a short-sleeved t-shirt on. I wondered how Nick had done this hero shit. There were a lot of details to keep track of.
    When we reached the back end of the truck, I signaled Alexis to stay put. She nodded, and I gingerly scooted out from under, a few inches at a time. When I could finally roll onto my side and curl my knees to get my legs clear of the back bumper, I gathered my resolve. In one continuous movement, I rolled into a crouch and threw myself up into the back underneath the tarp.
    When no shots rang out, I nearly cheered with relief. Not only had I survived the exposure, but it led me to believe the guy shooting at the front of the truck might be the only one out there. He couldn’t see behind the truck well, and that was in our favor.
    I looked around at the cargo, grabbing a few more bottles of water and stuffing them in various pockets. I finally understood why our uniforms had all those damn hidden pockets. Next I unhooked the beige camo tarp that hung across the back of the truck,