“Dispatch, one suspect’s down,” Isaac said.
“Roger that, Bravo. Charlie, you copy?” Dispatch said.
“Good, Copy,” Oliver responded. “Charlie is right behind Bravo in an airboat.”
Isaac didn’t take the time to glance around. He figured he wouldn’t be able to see Charlie team anyway because he and Zane had a good head start.
“Bravo team,” Maddox said. “The suspects you’re pursuing have got to be the Chambers brothers.”
Isaac slowed to go around a cypress tree and then floored it again.
“Roger, Alpha,” Zane responded.
Isaac combed the trees and area in front of him, slowing his jet ski.
“Shit, I lost him,” he shouted over his shoulder, not using the mic.
“Cut the engine, he has to be close,” Zane growled back.
Isaac cut the engine and they floated in the sudden silence. The only sound was that of the Louisiana swamp and the slight swishing of water.
“Alpha, this is Charlie team,” Oliver said. “We have Mike Chambers, wounded, but in custody. Half of us will go after Isaac and Zane, the rest will wait for pickup.”
“Roger that, Charlie,” Maddox growled.
“One down, one to go,” Zane murmured.
“Dispatch, anything ahead?” Isaac asked.
“One more second,” Sam muttered. “Yes. Heat signature fifty yards heading on foot southeast of your position, Bravo.”
“There,” Zane pointed.
It was easy to spot through his night vision goggles. On the banks a few yards from their position sat the abandoned jet ski.
Leaping off, Isaac waded through the water and past the jet ski and into the swamp beyond. After several yards, the water gave way to a mucky bank and the mud sucked at his jungle boots, but he kept pushing on with Zane on his six.
“Suspect is on the move due west,” Sam said. Thank fuck for the heat seeking drone.
As quickly as humanly possible, he pushed through the mud until eventually, they came across sunken foot prints and he pointed them out to Zane just as a bullet hit a nearby tree. He crouched, gazing through the trees, trying to get a bead on the suspect’s location.
“Suspect’s in sight,” Zane whispered and pointed.
Eddie had taken up a position beneath a thick bunch of swamp trees; the guy had dug in. This could be a long fight.
In the distance came the engine of the airboat.
“Bravo, we are on your ass,” Oliver’s hiss came over the mic.
“Copy, Charlie,” he responded. “Come in due west, looks like Chambers is dug in.”
The guy fired at them and Zane sent a round into the mound of branches that blocked what appeared to be a small dugout.
“I’m going around south, you keep him occupied,” he told Zane.
The soldier didn’t respond right away, so he glanced over. He couldn’t see Zane’s expression through the infrared goggles and another tick of a second went by before Zane nodded.
“Watch your six,” Zane said gruffly.
Isaac grinned and gave a thumbs up and disappeared through the trees.
It took him several minutes to make his way around and with Zane returning Eddie’s fire, he didn’t have to be super quiet. He came up on a trip wire, found the explosive, and disabled the device.
“Looks like this might be a planned bunker,” he reported.
Zane didn’t respond, but Isaac hadn’t expected him to.
“Copy that, Bravo,” Sam’s calm voice responded.
When he reached the dugout, he went up and over the top on a belly crawl and dropped a flash grenade into the opening. He dodged back, plugged his ears, and waited.
With a scramble and shout, the man stumbled out of the opening brandishing his weapon, but the guy was blinded. He jumped down and put the end of his weapon against the guy’s head.
“Drop it.”
The suspect dropped the weapon. It was not Eddie Chambers.
Zane came jogging up.
“Where the fuck is Eddie?” Zane zip-tied the guy’s hands behind his back.
“Fuck you,” the guy snapped.
“No thanks,” he said and pushed the guy back toward Ethan and Oliver, who were pulling up in the boat.
“Base, Eddie Chambers is still at large.”
“Roger, Bravo, rendezvous with Charlie team and come on back.” Maddox sounded as tired as he felt.
Ethan grabbed the guy and pushed him toward the waiting airboat.
“We’ll follow you on the jet ski,” he called out when Oliver waved them over.
Call him silly, but he wanted to feel Zane’s big body against his again.
The airboat fired up and cut through the water back the way they’d come.
Turning toward the jet ski, Isaac felt Zane’s hand on his arm before he was spun around. Their helmets knocked when Zane crowded close.
The big muscled man didn’t say one word, but Isaac could feel the tension rolling off of him.
He gripped Zane’s shoulders and they stayed like that for a long moment listening to the engine of the airboat fade before Zane eased the death grip he had on him.
“We will get him,” he said and tugged Zane back toward the way they had come, but Zane resisted.
He glanced back curiously.
“I’m bi.”
He blinked.
And then blinked again.
“Did you just say you’re bisexual?” he asked just to be absolutely clear.
“Yeah,” Zane clipped out.
Before he could respond or even process what was happening, he was urged up on the jet ski with Zane crowded against his back.
“Let’s get out of the water,” Zane rumbled near the back of his neck.
He nodded, still grappling with Zane’s admission.
Zane
“Want to talk about it?” Isaac asked in a low voice.
He pulled a change of clean clothes from his locker before turning around. His gaze clung to Isaac’s chest before the soldier pulled on a gray t-shirt over his blond head and down, hiding his chest from view.
The long flights back to base had been tight with tension. A tension created from Isaac’s hot glances rolling over him ever since he’d said the words.
I’m bi.
He dropped down to the bench, watching the way water dripped down Isaac’s face and darkened the neck of the clean t-shirt. His stomach jumped and he squeezed his hands around the jeans in his grip.
Isaac cracked open a bottle of water and took several swallows before holding it
