Free Edge of Courage (Edge Security Series Book 5) by Trish Loye

raised his rifle so he’d have line of sight down the hall when the door opened. Jake tensed, then nodded. Dylan sucked in a deep breath and cracked the door silently. His heart thudded hard in his chest. Still no noise and no light either.
    But Dylan couldn’t see all the way down the hall.
    Dylan threw the door wide. Jake moved his rifle slightly to sight his target and pulled the trigger once. Even with the suppressor on the end, the shot made a crack as the bullet broke the sound barrier, but the suppressor contained the muzzle flash. A thud followed and then Jake entered with Marc and Dante behind him. Dylan followed, letting the door swing shut behind him.
    A guard lay sprawled on the floor. Dark blood pooled below his head. The shot meant they were on a time limit now. Anyone could have heard it. They needed to grab their guy and get out.
    Jake went up to the door and tried it. “Locked. Check the guard.”
    Marc bent to frisk the guard while Dylan kept focused on the stairwell they’d come from, making sure no one snuck up on them. Dante covered the other end of the hallway.
    “I’ve got keys,” Marc said.
    Dylan risked a glance. Marc unlocked the door and swung it open. “Got him,” he said.
    A voice warbled out in Arabic. It was the dead guard’s radio.
    “We’re on the clock,” Jake said. “Gears, Cowboy, get our guy. Spooky and I will keep our exfil clear.”
    Dylan moved into the small room. It was an interior room. No windows. The stench of shit, sour sweat, and pain hit him. A thin man with brown skin and a beard sat against the wall. One eye had swollen shut. He raised bloodied hands. “Please, no.”
    “William Patel? My name is Sergeant White of the United States Army.” Dylan gave a false name. It was SOP for anyone in special operations, but especially for E.D.G.E. The unit was so secret that most people in the military hadn’t heard of it. “We’re here to rescue you. Can you stand?”
    “Thank you. Thank you.” Patel tried to get up but stumbled. Dylan wrapped an arm under the guy’s shoulder, ignoring the stink of the man.
    “I’m sorry,” the man said. “I’m a little dizzy.”
    Dylan shuddered to think of what this man had been through in the last few days. Dried blood coated his fingertips where they held on to Dylan. They’d pulled out the man’s fingernails.
    “Come on, sir. I’ve got you.” The man didn’t weigh much. He shifted his rifle to a one-arm hold and held on to Patel with his other arm.
    “You got him?” Dante’s gruff voice echoed in the room.
    “Affirmative,” Dylan said.
    “Move it, guys. Someone’s coming up the stairs,” Jake said over the comms.
    Dylan ran down the hall, half dragging the agent. Dante followed and covered behind. In the stairwell, Jake motioned them to the top. Patel wheezed as he breathed, but it couldn’t be helped. Dylan had to make him move faster.
    Patel must have sensed the urgency, because though he didn’t speak, he nodded at Dylan.
    Marc held the door to the roof open. He had his back to them while he scanned the area. Their comms clicked on.
    “There’s a patrol coming down the street,” Sarah said, her voice hushed over the line.
    Jake had made it to the roof at this point. They could hear men running up the stairs to the fifth floor. It wouldn’t be long before they checked the roof.
    “Fuck.” Marc peered over the edge. “Ten men below, College. Heavily armed.”
    Dylan set Patel down so he leaned against the lip of the roof. He glanced over. Ten ISIS fighters stood below. Sarah huddled in the shadows of the far alley, barely visible to him.
    Their radios clicked again. “I’m going to create a diversion,” she said.
    “Wait out,” College said.
    But there was no stopping Sarah.
    Shots rang out below; Sarah fired three times in rapid succession. An ISIS fighter fell with each shot. Then she left cover and stood for a whole second in plain sight while his heart stopped.
    Fucking get out of