Free Besiege by June Gray Page B

words.
     
    In the third month, the emails stopped. So too did the phone calls. I called Beth in a mild state of panic, and she confirmed that she hadn’t heard from Sam either.
    “But they’re probably just on a base comm lockdown or something,” she said. “They do that from time to time.”
    She promised she would call if she heard anything, so I sat on my hands trying to remain cool. I waited with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, that little ball of dread growing with each passing moment.
    One night while I was trying to distract myself with a Firefly marathon, my cell phone rang with an unknown Oklahoma number. The caller turned out to be David Novak, Henry’s buddy from another squadron on Tinker.
    “Hey Elsie,” he said. “How are you doing?”
    “I’m okay. Trying to keep busy. You?”
    “Doing good. Just got back from a TDY in Vegas.”
    “Sounds rough.”
    “Oh, it was. All that sun, booze, gambling, women. I’m exhausted.” He laughed. “Anyway, Logan asked me to check up on you before he left. So this is me checking up on you.”
    My heart warmed at the thought. “That’s sweet. Thanks, I’m fine.” I bit my lip, wondering if I was crossing any boundaries, but ultimately decided the question needed to be asked. “Although, I did want to ask if you’d heard of anything from Bagram.”
    Dave was quiet for a long time. Too long.
    My heart began to beat at double speed. “Is Henry okay?”
    He cleared his throat. “Well, it hasn’t been released to the media yet. So I can’t tell you.”
    “It?”
    “There was an incident.”
    The hair rose on my arms. “But is Henry… is he okay?”
    Dave sighed. He was in the same squadron as my brother, knew that Jason’s death hit me hard. “Yeah. He’s fine.”
    I breathed a sigh of relief all the way down to my toes. “Thanks, Dave.”
    “Just keep an eye out. I’ll be able to tell you more about it once the media starts squawking.”
    “I will. Thanks.”
    “So hey, a bunch of us are going out this Friday. Do you want to come?”
    “Sure why not.” That’s one Friday that I wouldn’t have to spend alone.
    “The other guys are bringing their girlfriends, so you won’t be the only girl,” he said.
    I smiled, the first real one in so many weeks. “Sounds like fun.”
     
    ~
     
    Dave insisted on picking me up on Friday night and I accepted, not really eager to walk around Bricktown in the dark by myself. Everyone was already there when we arrived, and they greeted us with drunken shouts and cheers. I played fast and loose with the alcohol, glad that for once my thoughts were not being monopolized by a certain tall, dark, and sexy man.
    “Hey, did you see on the news today?” Kelsie, the wife of one of the Captains, asked as we sat around the booth. “The base was attacked.”
    Dave nudged me with his elbow, letting me know that this was what he had been referring to.
    “What happened?” I asked. “I haven’t had a chance to watch the news.” Honestly, I’d been avoiding any coverage on Operation Enduring Freedom for fear of picking up more unfounded fears. Remaining ignorant about the goings-on in Afghanistan meant less ammo for my nightmares.
    “A suicide bomber drove a passenger van with a VBIED to the gate and shot the poor guy on duty,” Kelsie said.
    “VBIED?” I asked.
    “Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device,” Dave said. “The fucker was killed before he could get on base, but he managed to detonate the bomb and take out the gate and a large portion of the fence. A few of the buildings nearby also sustained damage.”
    My heart was pounding wildly even as I told myself that Henry was fine. Still, at least one person had been hurt in the attack “Were there any casualties?”
    I looked up at Dave, who was nodding solemnly. “One airman was shot and killed while another lost his leg to flying debris.”
    I covered my mouth and realized that my hand was trembling. It could just have just as easily