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Authors: Elle Kennedy
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who might be looking for you. And second, I won’t apologize for wanting to save my own skin above all others. I already risked my neck to save you. I can’t save the whole damn world, Doc.”
Without letting her respond, he dug the heel of his boot into the mare’s flank and urged her into a gallop. The wind blew in their faces, lifting Julia’s braid and smacking the end of it into Sebastian’s cheek. He grabbed hold of the silky plait and tucked it underneath the collar of Julia’s shirt, then focused on leading the horse through the darkened foothills. There was a rise in elevation, the slope curving and climbing, and they followed the rocky trail to the outskirts of town.
When the Doctors International building came into view, Sebastian’s spirits sank like a capsized raft.
“Oh, my God,” Julia whispered.
There was no way to sugarcoat what was happening down below. No way to console the suddenly shivering woman in front of him. No way to reassure her that everything would be okay.
The clinic was engulfed in flames.
Great plumes of smoke rose from the wooden roof and were carried away by the late-night breeze. The orange flames were merciless, relentless, licking at the building, dancing around the wooden beams on the covered porch. Out front, two military Jeeps were parked on the dirt.
Soldiers in blue-and-gold San Marquez uniforms surrounded the burning building. Some simply stood by and watched the conflagration as if it were a fireworks display. The rest had weapons trained on the front door, and Sebastian suspected there were more soldiers positioned at the rear, manning all possible exits.
Making sure no human being made it out of that clinic alive.
Julia’s slim frame shook even harder. Her soft sobs sent an arrow of pain to his heart. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her tight. “I’m sorry, Doc.”
A strangled sound left her mouth. Another shudder wracked her body.
“Do you...do you think... Oh, God,” she whispered, her voice thick with tears. “I hope they showed them mercy.”
Sebastian’s heart splintered in two. He was hoping for the same damn thing, because the thought of those doctors and nurses alive in there...burning alive... Christ. The memory of the teenage girl he’d met this morning embedded itself in his head, and agony sliced into his chest like a broadsword. Simone. Feisty Simone.
He found himself praying to a God he hadn’t prayed to in years. Praying for the unthinkable, praying that those sadistic soldiers had at least had the courtesy of putting bullets into those people’s heads before lighting that fateful match.
He and Julia watched the horror in complete silence. They sat astride the horse, shrouded in the darkness, Sebastian wishing he could take away the hot waves of pain rolling off Julia’s body.
“What are they doing?” she asked suddenly.
Several soldiers were now taking spray cans to the vehicles littered in the courtyard. Sebastian’s gaze followed the movement of their arms for a moment. He had to squint to make sense of what he was seeing. Once it registered, he clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw hurt.
“They’re tagging the area,” he hissed out, his vision becoming a red haze of fury and incredulity. “That’s the ULF’s symbol. The snake coiled around a machete. Sons of bitches are laying the blame for the fire on the ULF’s door.”
The sheer audacity of it triggered the impulse to raise his rifle and shoot every last one of those bastards. They’d just burned down an entire medical facility full of innocent people, and now they were planning on passing it off as a rebel offense. Christ, once the U.S. caught wind of this... No, once the entire freaking world heard about this, the rebels would be hunted down and slaughtered for their “crimes” against these foreign relief workers.
But he couldn’t dwell on the grisly implications for long, not when he realized that Julia was now shaking like a leaf
Without letting her respond, he dug the heel of his boot into the mare’s flank and urged her into a gallop. The wind blew in their faces, lifting Julia’s braid and smacking the end of it into Sebastian’s cheek. He grabbed hold of the silky plait and tucked it underneath the collar of Julia’s shirt, then focused on leading the horse through the darkened foothills. There was a rise in elevation, the slope curving and climbing, and they followed the rocky trail to the outskirts of town.
When the Doctors International building came into view, Sebastian’s spirits sank like a capsized raft.
“Oh, my God,” Julia whispered.
There was no way to sugarcoat what was happening down below. No way to console the suddenly shivering woman in front of him. No way to reassure her that everything would be okay.
The clinic was engulfed in flames.
Great plumes of smoke rose from the wooden roof and were carried away by the late-night breeze. The orange flames were merciless, relentless, licking at the building, dancing around the wooden beams on the covered porch. Out front, two military Jeeps were parked on the dirt.
Soldiers in blue-and-gold San Marquez uniforms surrounded the burning building. Some simply stood by and watched the conflagration as if it were a fireworks display. The rest had weapons trained on the front door, and Sebastian suspected there were more soldiers positioned at the rear, manning all possible exits.
Making sure no human being made it out of that clinic alive.
Julia’s slim frame shook even harder. Her soft sobs sent an arrow of pain to his heart. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her tight. “I’m sorry, Doc.”
A strangled sound left her mouth. Another shudder wracked her body.
“Do you...do you think... Oh, God,” she whispered, her voice thick with tears. “I hope they showed them mercy.”
Sebastian’s heart splintered in two. He was hoping for the same damn thing, because the thought of those doctors and nurses alive in there...burning alive... Christ. The memory of the teenage girl he’d met this morning embedded itself in his head, and agony sliced into his chest like a broadsword. Simone. Feisty Simone.
He found himself praying to a God he hadn’t prayed to in years. Praying for the unthinkable, praying that those sadistic soldiers had at least had the courtesy of putting bullets into those people’s heads before lighting that fateful match.
He and Julia watched the horror in complete silence. They sat astride the horse, shrouded in the darkness, Sebastian wishing he could take away the hot waves of pain rolling off Julia’s body.
“What are they doing?” she asked suddenly.
Several soldiers were now taking spray cans to the vehicles littered in the courtyard. Sebastian’s gaze followed the movement of their arms for a moment. He had to squint to make sense of what he was seeing. Once it registered, he clenched his teeth so hard that his jaw hurt.
“They’re tagging the area,” he hissed out, his vision becoming a red haze of fury and incredulity. “That’s the ULF’s symbol. The snake coiled around a machete. Sons of bitches are laying the blame for the fire on the ULF’s door.”
The sheer audacity of it triggered the impulse to raise his rifle and shoot every last one of those bastards. They’d just burned down an entire medical facility full of innocent people, and now they were planning on passing it off as a rebel offense. Christ, once the U.S. caught wind of this... No, once the entire freaking world heard about this, the rebels would be hunted down and slaughtered for their “crimes” against these foreign relief workers.
But he couldn’t dwell on the grisly implications for long, not when he realized that Julia was now shaking like a leaf
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