Cole took another drink as flashes of that day played in his mind. They’d been canvasing a small village and thought they were well hidden. That day, something went wrong, and their building exploded, throwing them all.
Most of the guys had gotten up and fought off the few insurgents that were coming at them, but he and Jerry hadn’t been able to. Cole knew it was bad when their medic went to Jerry, felt for a pulse, and then came to him.
They knew he was dead but had to prove Jerry was gone.The fact the man was mostly in pieces hadn’t been enough. One of their own was gone.
They concentrated all their energy on Cole. After Doc, the team medic, tied his wounds to keep them from bleeding, four of them picked him up, and the last two got Jerry.
They’d flown Cole to a hospital in Germany, and then he spent months getting well enough to take care of himself.
“Where’s the leg, man?” Blake asked.
“At the rehab here in town. They’re waiting on me.”
“What’s holding you up?”
Cole shrugged and took another drink.
Blake nodded. “I’m guessing Jerry.”
Cole wiped a hand down his face. “That’s what I think it is. Even though I didn’t come back whole, I got to come back.”
“Don’t you think the rest of us have been dealing with the same thing?” Blake asked.
Cole nodded.
“Dude, if Jerry knew what the fuck you were doing, he’d kick your ass.”
Cole smiled. His buddy would do exactly that, and Cole would do the same to any of the guys who held themselves back.
“I thought about going Monday and starting the rehab process.”
“Good for you.” Blake grinned. “Froggie, the military reverend, and I went to Jerry’s place to tell Christy.”
“How’d that go?” The woman was a slut with a capital S and had tried to get in the pants of all the men on the team. When Jerry and the team were overseas, they’d heard that the bitch fucked half the base.
“Jesus. There were no tears at first, and the first question out of her mouth was if she got his pension.”
“They weren’t married,” Cole said.
“Yeah, the reverend reminded her of it. She got so pissedthat she cried and yelled. Froggie and I told her they were coming to get all of Jerry’s things to send them back to his mom and sister. Christy screeched that it was hers since it was in the house she lived in.”
“Fucking cunt.”
“Yeah, we didn’t trust her at all, so after we left, the team met up, grabbed boxes, and was back at the house within the hour.”
Cole grinned. “I bet she loved that.”
Blake made a sound of disgust. “She already had a stack of electronics and stuff in a pile by the door. We parked in the driveway and caught a guy coming out of the house with his arms full. After we told him what was happening, he handed over the things, yelled at Christy, and left. She had told him it was all hers and she needed to move it out into storage.”
“I’m glad you guys went back that day.”
“I’m glad Jerry didn’t marry the bitch,” Blake said.
“He was never going to. He knew what she was like. I asked why he let her stay, and he said because she gave the best head. He hadn’t fucked her for a long time but still got something from her.”
Blake laughed. “That sounds like Jerry.”
“Is anyone from our team going back?” Cole asked.