Fight By The Team (Team Fear Book 2) by Cindy Skaggs Page A

the anger in a box. “Let’s do this.” He tapped another compress against the wound. Even in sleep she moaned against the invasion. Shit. His hands shook. He wanted to shove them in his pockets so no one noticed, but he had work to do. They covered the wound, added the sling. Before they were done, he’d had to cut her whole shirt off. Ryder came from the back carrying a duffel bag.
    “Bring me a blanket we can wrap her in. Maybe some slippers or wool socks,” Rose said.
    Ryder dropped the bag and headed back to the bedrooms. Craft and Rose wrapped the sling around her shoulder so movement wouldn’t aggravate the pain. The morphine and compresses must be doing the work, because she didn’t make a sound.
    Fowler slammed back into the kitchen, the amount of noise he made an indication of his frustration. “Saddle up. I got us a doctor. Ryder, you and Craft finish getting supplies and anything you need from here. Rose and I will head to the doctor. We can meet up after the doctor finishes.”
    “You giving the orders now?” Ryder’s voice lowered. “Because splitting up is a shit idea.”
    “Wasn’t my idea for one of us to take a hit.” Fowler’s tone bordered on insubordination. “You want to leave Lauren back at the motel alone?”
    Rose stepped between the two soldiers. “Debi can’t wait for us to backtrack, so unless the motel is on the way—”
    “It’s not,” Fowler answered.
    To Rose, that left one solution. They weren’t in the desert with the Army at their back. They didn’t have a base to fall back to and get medical attention. No reinforcements would dig them out of this mess. They had four men and zero intel to guide their movements. They’d lost all focus and cohesion in the months since they’d left the team.
    “Fuck.” Ryder draped a blanket on Debi and put slippers on her feet.
    Ryder’s gentleness in the midst of their anger settled Rose more than anything. The tension existed still in the tightening muscles of his shoulders and back, but anger diminished to be replaced by guilt and frustration over Debi’s injury. The bloody wound fell one hundred percent onto Team Fear and the clusterfuck of their current mission.
    “Did you pack her comfortable clothes?” Rose asked. The woman wouldn’t be wearing her typical skinny jeans and t-shirts until she healed.
    “I packed a bunch of Lauren’s stuff. The women can share.”
    Debi was taller and leaner than Lauren. “You know dick about women.” Rose took off down the hall until he found a room full of sunshine and light. The clean, cheerful lines matched Debi’s personality. The walk-in closet was filled with more shoes than he had clothes, and every single one had heels. Not a sensible shoe in the bunch. He grabbed several pairs of jeans, workout clothes already stacked in sets, and anything else he could lay hands on. A lone pair of tennis shoes was tucked into a gym bag in the far corner. He tossed the rest in with the shoes and headed out.
    Walking back into the room was like a bomb ticking down. If anything, the men looked angrier despite the extra time to cool down. They were all feeling caged by a situation out of their control.
    Craft tossed pantry food in a box while he and Fowler groused back and forth. Stress vibrated off Ryder. The anger flowing through them individually and as a team was a byproduct of the conflict between them and Echo. It was the reason he’d slammed Fowler into the wall. The reason Fowler and Craft were fighting like teenagers. They had survived, but pieces of the team were starting to unravel.
    Rose understood Ryder’s dilemma. Splitting up was a dumbass move, but it was the only play they had. The argument between Craft and Fowler escalated so Ryder finally whistled long and loud.
    “Shut. Up.” Ryder twisted his neck to relieve the tension. The click of his vertebra popping filled the new silence. Finally, Ryder shifted. The anger visibly faded and he faced them much as he had when they