Hot Zone (Elite Force 2)

After Rachel’s dog got the hit on a live find around what must have once been the third floor, the crews had started digging—a laboriously slow process with everything from jackhammers to pry bars. The voices answering were high-pitched. Kids. A baby girl and her five-year-old brother. Stuck below with the dead bodies of their parents and another brother.

The little girl was in his arms, while Bubbles carried the boy.

An army nurse waited at the base of the rubble with a papoose board and actual transportation. As he neared he recognized her from when he’d gone to the hospital housed in the school. “Lieutenant Gable?”

“Hello, Major. Did you ever find your friends?”

So much for asking her if she’d seen them. He squashed down another disappointment on an already-crappy day. He passed over his charge. “Six-month-old girl, parents died along with one of her brothers. The kid there is the only other survivor in the family.”

Even saying it sliced him through with memories of seeing the dead mother’s body curled around her other son. The father had shielded the two living kids at the expense of his life. His eyes met the tiny girl’s heart-melting gaze that—thank God—could still focus. He forced himself to look away, to disengage.>“So you became the incorruptible lawyer.” Her quest for justice fell into place. What career would she have chosen with a different kind of childhood, a different father?

“And my brother is a surgeon with a specialty in genetics. Spends his spare time traveling for programs like Doctors Without Borders and Operation Smile, fixing the smiles of kids with cleft palates. Fixing children’s smiles… there’s symbolism there if ever I saw it.” She whacked a tree, sending a flock of birds flying.

He grabbed her shoulders, stopping her there under the sprawling branches. “You don’t have to pay for what your father did. It’s okay to live your life.”

“You’re one to preach about moving on with life,” she snapped.

Her words struck home. Hard. He should have followed his first instinct and stayed away from deep conversation and soul-searching today. But he couldn’t simply walk away from her. Maybe if he just… hugged her? He tugged her closer.

Her eyes went wide and he had to admit he was glad to have surprised her. Maybe that meant he was on the right track. She reached toward him…

Past him?

She shoved him aside with one hand and fell past him. Her push was surprisingly strong and he stumbled once before realizing she held a snake in her fist.

Shit.

She threw it away as he drew his gun and shot the head off.

The world went still. His ears rang, the gun in his hand pointed toward the headless snake, still thrashing. A scream split through the aftermath. The baby. Joshua grabbed and clawed at Hugh’s shoulders. He reached around and pulled the boy out, holding him.

Amelia slumped down with her back against a tree, drawing in shaky breaths one after the other. She hugged her knees to her chest.

“Amelia”—he knelt beside her, holding Joshua—“I thought you were scared of snakes, but good God, woman. You didn’t even flinch.”

“I was afraid if I took the time to say something…” She turned toward him, burying her face in his chest. “It was so close to Joshua. I didn’t have a choice.”

He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her arm. If they were alone he would have done more. His insides were shaking with relief. “You did well.”

Her breath hitched one after the other, visibly pushing back hysteria. “Hugh, I need to know. Was it a poisonous snake?”

Hugh looked at the thin length—about five feet long. “A brown racer, a mature adult. They carry a minor poison, for small animals.” He tucked Joshua closer. “A child would have been particularly vulnerable. Even some small adults, given its size.”

“But Joshua’s okay?” She skimmed her fingers along her nephew’s cheek. The little boy hiccupped as his cries died down.

“He’s fine.” Hugh scanned his tiny arms and legs again to be sure. “Just scared. I don’t see a mark on him.”

“Good, good.” A sigh of relief shuddered through her. “Hugh?”

“Yeah, Amelia?” He rested his chin on her head, willing his heart to slow.

“You were really great there, doing your Superman PJ rescuer.” Her fingers toyed with his survival vest.

“You weren’t so bad yourself.”

“Yeah, well, I need you to be the medic PJ now.” She looked up at him, the fear finally showing on her face as she held up her arm, her hand puffy and red. “The snake… It bit me.”

Chapter 11