Sophie Oak - Siren Beloved

“Keep up, you green piece of shit.” The Sarge was staring at the soldier behind Aidan.

Aidan moved past the Sarge, who was spewing some serious venom at the new guy. PFC Creely had been with the squad for a month, but he was still the new guy, and the Sarge had taken an instant dislike to the soldier from Wyoming. It wasn’t surprising. Aidan had been damn sure the Sarge hated his guts, too. After a while, Sarge had let up and Aidan had just been a member of the team, but those first few weeks had been hell.

“You’re nothing but bullet bait,” Sarge yelled as PFC Creely jogged by. “Do you know that?”

For once Dwight seemed to know to keep his mouth shut. On more than one occasion, Dwight Creely had popped back at the CO and gotten his ass handed to him. If he didn’t watch out, he’d get thrown in the brig again. Dwight was rapidly becoming a certified brig rat.

“Take up your positions.”

The four snipers took off, jogging toward the burned-out building that always served as their perches, but the rest of the squad stayed together.

They had made it to the farthest point of their patrol—a wall that used to surround some sort of business. The building it guarded was in rubble, but the wall could be useful. Aidan took up his position on the west facing end of the wall. He would watch their backs, while the senior team members guarded the road. He set his M16 up and checked for anything out of the ordinary. There wasn’t a ton of cover here. Behind him, he could hear the rest of the squad setting up for the few hours they would be here.

Tanner, Mills, and Link were set up on the other side of the wall. Thompson stood at the back with the CO. It was just guard duty, but they had all had to hump it five clicks to get here. Aidan’s feet hurt, and he missed home. Hell, he didn’t give a shit about home. He missed them. Lexi and Lucas. It was getting easier and easier to admit that he missed Lucas, too.

“FTA.” Dwight was grumbling as he got into position beside Aidan. Aidan had a lot in common with the Wyoming boy. He came from a ranching family, but there was something about him that made Aidan hold back. Aidan was friendly enough with the man, but Dwight was always getting in trouble.

“Keep it down, soldier,” Aidan said under his breath. “You do not want Sarge hearing you say that.”

Fuck the Army . Aidan thought it, too, sometimes. Hell, there wasn’t a soldier alive who didn’t think it when the going got really rough and the CO was on your ass, but the Army was also a family. And when a soldier was in the middle of a mission, it wasn’t good luck.

“Maybe I don’t give a shit anymore,” Dwight muttered.

But Aidan could see he did. Dwight’s hands were shaking, and his face had flushed. He hadn’t seen a moment of combat, and Aidan got the feeling Dwight was really dreading it. Aidan had seen some light combat, but nothing like what others had been through.

“It’s going to be okay,” Aidan tried in an even voice. “Just stay calm and do the job. We don’t even know anyone’s going to try anything today. It’ll probably be smooth as glass. The bigwigs drive through, and then they’re someone else’s problem.”

Dwight’s eyes kept moving around. “I heard El Cid came in and talked to the Lieutenant.”

Aidan laughed. Dwight thought the CIA was behind this little mission? They were like the boogeyman. Everyone was afraid of the spooks because generally when the CIA got involved, it turned into a cluster fuck, and the lower pay grades were nothing but cannon fodder. The clerks at base loved to scare the shit out of newbies. “Don’t listen to the clerks. They love to gossip. This is totally routine. The General is making an appearance is all. Thompson, tell Creely here that we’ve done this duty a bunch of times, and no one’s died yet.”

PFC Thompson snorted. “Nope. We’re all alive, but you never know. Today could be our lucky day. Don’t you worry none, Creely. We’ll be back at base in time for whatever crap they’re serving tonight. God, I want to be home eating a cheesesteak.”

Aidan wanted to be home waiting on Lexi. She couldn’t cook to save her life, but she tried. Now, Lucas on the other hand, he was practically a freaking gourmet. The last weekend they had spent together, Lucas had put together a lasagna that Aidan could still taste on his tongue.

He had to keep his mind on the mission. He winked at Dwight, hoping it made him feel better. “This is a very safe part of the city. It’s constantly patrolled. We cleaned it out a long time ago. Seriously, who wants to be here? There’s not a goddamn thing out here.”

“Eyes front, soldiers.” Sarge walked behind them. He was a big, rough man, but he sighed as he stood behind Dwight. “O’Malley is right. It’s safe. We’ve done this several times. It’s a pain in the ass, but it’s fine. In twenty minutes, the convoy will move through, and we’ll hike it back.”

Aidan noticed how the CO shook his head as he walked away as though he knew Dwight shouldn’t be here at all. Aidan agreed. Dwight was a nice enough guy, but far too touchy for combat.

Aidan settled in. He would be in this position for a while. He let his eyes roam across the area they were protecting. Another squad was parked a mile down the road, further into the city. They had the more dangerous job. There were only two positions at this point. Guerilla Squad had a much more difficult position with buildings all around them, a hundred places for insurgents to hide.

He had another year. A whole year here before he had to go back and figure out what to do with his fucking life. Aidan was a good musician, but maybe not good enough. He’d played a bunch of gigs, but his guitar play was better than his vocals. He wondered what he would have done if that recording deal hadn’t fallen through the day after Armageddon. It was how he’d started referring to the night he’d spent fucking another man. It wasn’t just another man. It was Lucas, his best friend. And they hadn’t been alone. Lexi had been there. She hadn’t been shocked by it. Hell, she’d encouraged it. Her own mother was in the same kind of relationship.

They had made it work, Lexi’s mom and her two husbands. Jack Barnes was about as tough as a son of a bitch could get. He was a seriously scary motherfucker, but he was bisexual. Jack managed to have both Abby and Sam, and no one bothered him. And what would it matter if someone did? Why should he live his life and deny his own feelings because it bugged someone else? Why did he have to live by someone else’s rules when what he did would never harm anyone? How did loving someone make him less of a human being?

“Goddamn it, O’Malley.” The Sarge’s irritated huff brought Aidan out of his thoughts. “Your mutt’s here. I thought you tied him up.”

Aidan turned. Sure enough, Ike, the mutt he’d found starving on the roadside two days after he got to Fallujah, was trotting along as though out for a leisurely walk. His big tongue lolled out of his head, and he walked up, obviously waiting for a pat. Aidan leaned down and held out his hand. “What are you doing here, boy?”

There was the sound of distant gunfire. It came from the east, from the three story building in front of him. No mistaking the sound. Suddenly Sarge’s radio cracked to life, the sound splitting the air around them.

“Insurgents! At least five.”

Aidan knew the voice. It was Mike Garza, a corporal. He had led the snipers. The radio erupted with the rapid-fire explosions of a close-in firefight. Aidan’s heart clenched. His teammates, his friends, were fighting for their lives.

Suddenly the air around him exploded.

Bullets hit the dirt around him like lightning striking the ground.