HOSTILE: A Military Romance Novel (Military Men Book 1) by Leila Haven Page A

Taliban, holding their guns high in triumph, filled the streets. They were celebrating, dancing on the graves of countless soldiers.
     
    They were little more than monsters.
     
    Tears started to sting my eyes as I ran. Our lives were just as much at stake now as those poor soldiers’ had been. If just one of them identified us as American, they would swiftly deliver death – if we were lucky.
     
    I stumbled over a loose rock and Derrick caught me before I hit the ground. My ankle was twisted in the process, pain shooting through it.
     
    “Can you walk?” Derrick asked, his eyes wide open in panic.
     
    I tried a few steps and covered my mouth to stifle the yelps of pain. I shook my head side to side – no.
     
    Derrick didn’t hesitate. He lifted me into his arms and started running. My arms looped around his neck to hold on, but I felt safe in his grip.
     
    He could run much faster than I could even while holding my weight. I lost track of our position as we barreled through alleys and wove in and out of streets.
     
    In my head I could picture the explosion in slow motion. Everything had happened so quickly at the time, but now I could see everything. The bomb going off, the trucks exploding, everything being obliterated in a few seconds’ time.
     
    Now wasn’t the time for crying, but I couldn’t hold it back any longer. Derrick was focused on getting away. He wouldn’t notice a few stray tears as they trickled down my cheeks.
     
    Derrick finally stopped outside a building that had seen better days. He placed me on my feet. “Can you stand?”
     
    “Yes.”
     
    “Wait here while I look around.” He wasn’t even breathless from all the exertion. Even covered in sweat and fleeing from the enemy, he was incredibly hot. I wished I could forget about everything else and just focus on him for a while.
     
    Derrick returned a few minutes later and picked me up again. “This building looks abandoned. We’re going to hide out here for a while.”
     
    He took me inside. The building was little more than a shell of what had perhaps once been a warehouse. It was largely empty, with only a few crates and trash scattered around the concrete floor.
     
    He settled me on the floor, making sure I could stand before letting go. Instantly, he inspected the building more closely, making sure it was safe for us to hide in. I waited, my legs still shaking from the whole ordeal.
     
    Derrick finally returned, standing directly in front of me. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” His eyes slid over my body as if searching for a bloody wound.
     
    “I’m fine,” I muttered. I tried to control the tears but a floodgate was opening. Derrick stepped closer, wrapping me in his arms and pulling me against his chest. He stroked my hair while letting me weep.
     
    Everything from relief to grief and horror flowed out through my tears and stained his shirt. He didn’t say anything, just held on to me like he knew that was exactly what I needed.
     
    I wanted to forget what I had seen but I couldn’t. Those images would never leave me, even if I lived to see my hundredth birthday.
     
    When my body had stopped shaking and I couldn’t cry anymore, Derrick let me go. His hands moved to my shoulders, holding me in place while he spoke. “I’m not going to let them hurt you, Ariana. I promised you that before, and I don’t go back on my word. We’re going to get out of this shit and get back home.”
     
    “But they’re everywhere,” I protested, remembering all those men with guns. The city was crawling with them, and those were only the ones I could see. No doubt there would be many more hiding, just waiting to take the enemy out and make an example out of them.
     
    “We’re stronger than they are. We can do this. It doesn’t matter how many of them there are. I am going to get you to a base, and you’re going home.”
     
    “What about you? What happens to you?” I asked. The thought of leaving him in the war zone