Collateral Damage by Kaylea Cross Read Free Book Online Page B

maneuvers were enough. Nothing exploded, which she took as a good sign and then the crew chief opened up again with his minigun.
    As the helo leveled out Honor grabbed the rear of her weapon and searched for a target. The instant she saw the AAA she hit the triggers, unleashing hell on the mounted weapon. Between her and the crew chief, the AAA disintegrated in a matter of seconds. Torn to shreds by the hail of fire it exploded in a fireball.
    A wave of satisfaction raced through her. Yes!
    Liam turned them to the starboard this time and maintained their altitude. Honor glanced toward the tail. Out the opening above the closed loading ramp Honor could see another Chinook and two Black Hawks engaging other targets, already burning in the distance.
    “Heading back toward base,” Liam announced. Everyone was silent as the minutes ticked past while they circled Bagram, searching for any more threats. Honor saw nothing but open desert and the scattered, burning remains of the failed attack.
    “No other targets reported,” Liam said. “We’re returning to base.”
    Honor uncurled her fingers from around the handles of the minigun and let out a deep breath of relief that it was over. But then biology took over.
    Now that the threat was neutralized and she knew she was safe, the adrenaline that had been flooding her system began to wear off. The wound in her shoulder started burning like someone had aimed a blowtorch at her skin and her headache came back full force. Her breathing was shallow and she could feel the slight jerking of her muscles as she began to shake a little.
    She stayed silent, struggling to get a grip on her nervous system and even managed to flash Ipman a thumbs-up when he called over to her. She became aware of the warm, sticky blood still leaking from her shoulder, of the throbbing in her battered elbows and already stiffening hip. She’d definitely need at least a band-aid once they were on the ground. Outside her window the dun-colored scenery passed by in a blur, a slight numbness beginning to take hold of her. At least it dulled the pain.
    She’d just killed people. Probably dozens of them. Sure it had been justified but she’d never taken a life before and—
    “Girard. You good?”
    It took her a moment to realize the other crew chief was speaking to her. She turned her head to look over her shoulder at him and gave him a thumbs-up as well. He was grinning at her. “Good shooting.”
    Honor forced a smile and turned back to stare out her window for the remainder of the flight. While hovering over the base she could see the emergency crews dealing with the fires the rockets had caused, and others rushing the wounded toward the hospital. She knew they’d taken casualties in the attack, she just hoped there weren’t many. She’d have someone look at her shoulder when things calmed down.
    Warm air rushed through her window. Within a few minutes they were coming in to land on the tarmac near the hangar she’d been in when the attack had started.
    After hovering for a few seconds just above the ground, the wheels touched down. Then one of the pilots hit shut down and the sound of the engines immediately changed as the big rotors began to slow. Ignoring how clumsy her hands were, Honor undid her safety harness and removed her helmet. Her hair and face were damp with sweat. The pounding in her head seemed to double.
    She rubbed the back of her neck to ease the tension there and turned toward the aft of the aircraft as the crew chief lowered the ramp, wanting to get out of there as soon as humanly possible. She didn’t want to see Liam, wasn’t up to another awkward conversation at the moment.
    The acrid smell of burning metal grew sharper as she moved stiffly across the deck. There’d be a debriefing and paperwork and God knew what else to complete. She might even catch hell for doing what she’d just done, though she was pretty sure they’d go easy on her due to the circumstances.
    She