“Hey, Pix,” Andy snickered and Marcy growled shifting in her seat.
“What? You’re supposed to be watching where you are going, not harassing me, you overgrown child.”
The only response was a chorus of laughs. She glared at the men in her unit. She may be small but she had taken each and every one of them on at one point or another.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. But the nickname fits so perfectly! I mean, I could fit your ass in my pocket!” he laughed again turning in his seat to wink at her.
“You heard Twitch, Andy! Keep your eyes open,’ she yelled, frustrated.
“Twitch and his gut don’t scare me,” he made an attempt to sound tough and turned back around.
Marcy blew out a breath, relieved that he finally listened. “Remember that time he saved your hide from sniper fire? He was going on all day about a bad feeling he was having.” She shot the men a smug look.
Twitch and his gut had saved them all a time or two. She knew Andy just liked to look tough. He had a baby on the way though, so he definitely shouldn’t be taking any chances.
Damn it!” Andy yelled as a herd of sheep decided to cross right in front of the vehicle. He slammed on the breaks and waited for the sheep to cross.
The IED must not have hit the Humvee directly but shrapnel went everywhere and the truck went airborne with the force of the explosion. The smell of Sulphur made Marcy gag and she covered her head with her arms instinctively.
A white hot pain shot through her arm a second before everything stilled.
Opening her eyes, two things became immediately clear. The truck was upside-down and she didn’t want to think about what the eerie silence must mean.
Her safety belt was holding her in her seat, but from that vantage point she could see everything with a crystal-like clarity. Rocky was missing two fingers on his left hand and a long gash across his throat.
His eyes were bugging out and she realized then why everything was silent. The explosion had damaged her ear drums.
She released her belt and slammed into the ground. A second later she was being lifted into the strong arms of the love of her life. She sighed in relief just before everything went black.