10. River

10

River

I felt like crap letting Kat think I was with Charlotte. When Charlotte showed up, I thought her timing was perfect, so I walked her to her vehicle and told her I wasn’t interested, explaining that I was in a relationship. She thought I was playing hard to get. And she draped her arms around me. It took a little more talking to convince her I was serious.

I walked my puppy outside and looked around. “Where’s Kat?” I asked as I stepped into Gage’s office.

“She’s on vacation. Kat took two weeks off. I’m surprised you even want to know. I mean, you kissed her like you were ready to strip her, then ignored her and left with that skinny woman who laughs like a damn hyena.”

“Do you have something to say?”

“I thought I just said it. Okay, yeah, I do have something to say. You hurt Kat yesterday. I was surprised you’d do that to her.”

I ran my hands through my hair, turned around, and sat in the chair across from him. “I feel like shit for that. It’s just that when Charlotte showed up, I thought it was perfect timing. I walked her to her car, then got in mine. I wasn’t with her.”

“Why the hell was it perfect timing? That doesn’t make sense,” Gage argued.

“I didn’t want to start something with Kat that might cause her to leave when things ended.”

“Why would it end? You might be together forever. You won’t know until you take the risk and tell her. Take her out for dinner. Take it slow. See if you want to be with her or if it’s just something you’ve built up in your head.”

“It’s not just in my head. I want her more than I’ve ever wanted anyone. But I’ll have to wait until she gets back from her vacation. Where did she go?”

“She said she was visiting a friend in another country.”

“What country?”

“She didn’t say. Now that I think about it, she changed the subject when I asked. I guess she didn’t want us to know where she was going.”

I frowned and shook my head. “Hmm, I think you are right. She didn’t want us to know where she was going.”

“Why wouldn’t she want us to know where she was going?” Gage asked.

“I don’t know. Something feels off. Did she take her puppy?”

“Why would she take her puppy to another country? No, her neighbor is watching Penny,” Gage said as his phone rang, pulling us back to work.

Four days later, I had to leave the country to help a man who was being held in Russia. They wanted to lock him up for spying, and since I knew him and knew he’d never spy, I didn’t hesitate to help—especially with all the shit going on between Russia and Ukraine right now.

I crossed into Ukraine and decided to get a vehicle to drive as close to the Russian side as possible. Along the way, I saw a kid pulling all his gaming equipment in a little red wagon, trying to escape the war. He had to navigate around rubble from bombed-out buildings. Poor kid—all he wanted was to play his game. Why do these fuckers always start wars?

I shook my head, thinking about all the kids who were going to die, just wanting to go home and play.

I crossed into Russia from the Ukrainian side and was supposed to meet Drew five miles in. But when I looked around, I saw soldiers everywhere—Russian soldiers, boys who couldn’t be more than sixteen.

They didn’t look like they wanted to fight any more than the Ukrainian boys did. I waved to them, but they didn’t respond. They didn’t want to cross into Ukraine and kill their friends. I shook my head and kept driving.

My thoughts turned to Kat. I hoped she’d be home when I got back. I needed to talk to her. Something felt wrong, and the feeling wouldn’t leave me.

I drove a few more miles before spotting a building. I parked behind it and saw a group of older men carrying guns. I kept walking, listening to their conversation, understanding everything they said. They thought I was Ukrainian.

“I’m American. I’m not Ukrainian. I’m friendly.” But before I could say more, someone shot me in the leg, and bullets flew around me. The impact knocked me to the ground, and I returned fire. I didn’t want to shoot them, but I had no choice. It was them or me. I had to save myself.

I took down all three and quickly scanned the area. Before anyone else spotted me, I needed to find a place to take care of my leg. I couldn’t believe they shot me. I should have been more careful; they were at least in their eighties. Here I was, thinking they didn’t want to fight, and I got shot.

I hobbled behind a small shed and pulled my pants down to examine the wound. At least the bullet went straight through, but there was a lot of blood.

I grabbed a water bottle from my backpack and poured it over the wound. Damn, that hurt. Then I pulled out a T-shirt, tore it in half, and wrapped it around my leg. I needed to find Drew and get this looked at.

I couldn’t sit there moaning about my injury. I took out my phone and called Drew. It rang twice before he answered. “Where are you?”

“I’m in a building with a bunch of graffiti. It used to be a mattress warehouse. Where are you?”

“I’m not far from those buildings. I’ve been shot in the leg.”

“Damn! Are we going to get shot trying to leave?”

“Not by those guys. My car isn’t far away. I need you to come outside so I can see you.”

“Hang on... do you see me?”

“No.”

“I’ll walk down the street. Do you see me now?”

“Stay close to the buildings. I see you. Do you see the green shed?”

“Yes.”

“I’m behind it.”

“I’ll be right there.”

“What the hell happened?” Drew said, looking at my leg.

“I saw some soldiers and waved to them. I told them I was American because they were getting agitated that I was on this side of the border. Then they shot me. I didn’t want to kill anyone, but I had no choice,” I explained.

“Let’s see if we can get out of here,” Drew sai d

“How did you get away from the people who were after you?”

“A woman I know told them I went the other way. So I’ve got very little time left before they find me. Can you walk?” Drew asked.

“Yes, help me up. I don’t want to get caught helping you leave the country.”

Standing on my leg hurt like hell, but I had to push through the pain to reach my car. Drew put his arm around me, and we jogged as fast as my leg would allow. I saw men running toward us.

“Is that the men who’s after you?” I asked.

“Yes, I think it is. Where’s your car?”

“Behind this building.”

I got in the driver’s seat, fighting the urge to scream from the pain as we crossed the border into Ukraine. All I wanted was to get back to America as soon as possible.

We got stuck in Ukraine for a few days. I ended up in the hospital, helping with the incoming wounded. So many kids came in, and I wanted to kill those bastards responsible for the terror they were going through. When the boy with the wagon was carried in, I might have shed a tear.

I took his name and put it in my pocket. He was maybe fourteen. When he opened his eyes, he looked terrified.

“Hey, I’m going to fix you up. I’m not a doctor but an Army Special Forces medic,” I reassured him.

“I saw you pulling a wagon a few days ago. What happened to it?” I asked.

“The bomb got it. I worked hard to buy my Xbox and games, and now I don’t even have a home.”

“Where’s your family?”

“In Poland, with my grandma. I said I’d help fight the Russians—some of them are my cousins and friends. I should have gone to Poland with my family.”

“I’ll take you to Poland when I leave. You’ll be here for a couple of days. Why don’t you get some rest?”

As I was leaving the hospital, a bomb exploded in the building across the street. I ran to help the survivors, knowing there were many people inside. I spotted Drew, live-streaming the war for his podcast.

He caught me on video as I ran to help. I saw a baby sitting amid the broken cement chunks, debris swirling in the air. I picked her up, and she smiled at me. This sweet baby who was just bombed smiled at me. I kissed her and turned around as Drew was videoing us.

Then I heard a woman screaming for her baby. I turned, and she saw me. She was so relieved that her baby was alive that she collapsed. I walked over and handed her the baby, noticing a deep cut on her leg running from her knee to her ankle. I picked them both up and carried them into the hospital.

I didn’t know Drew had recorded everything until Gage arrived in Ukraine.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I saw you on TV. You haven’t contacted anyone, and I noticed you’re limping. What happened to your leg?”

“I got shot. It still hasn’t healed. Let’s grab some water and sit for a while.”

“Kat’s neighbor came by.”

“Why did she come by?” I asked, a sinking feeling in my gut.

“She said Kat told her she’d be back in three days, but it’s been eleven. She’s worried because Kat went to Afghanistan to rescue a little girl. She said two men showed up dressed in fatigues with guns, and Kat was dressed the same.”

“What? Kat went to Afghanistan, and now she’s missing? When did she tell you this?”

“Two days ago.”

“And you’re just now telling me?”

“You don’t have a phone. If I hadn’t seen Drew’s podcast, I still wouldn’t know where you are,” Gage said.

“We have to get her out of there.”

“Tag and Gideon are there right now, searching for her. The little girl is her captain's daughter. Gideon said the Taliban are swarming like army ants. They have no idea where she could be.”

I went looking for Drew and told him I was leaving. He wanted to stay, to show the people what was happening in Ukraine.

“I’ll leave you the car. I’m going to take the boy to his grandma. I’ll see you around. Be careful—bombs are falling everywhere.”

“I will be. I’ll see you around.”