Free Colorado Connection (Colorado Heart Book 6) by Sara York

up at the door and keep an eye on the street. Shoot first, ask later. He positioned himself at the window on the other side of the building, watching for movement on the street.
    It seemed like they were there forever with Jazz lying in a pool of his own blood, the chances of saving his life diminishing with every second. Doc was working hard, but there was only so much he could do out here on the streets.
    Everything had been off from the moment they’d entered their transport. It had all gone wrong today. He should have set up on top of one of the buildings. The neighborhood had been too quiet. They should have pulled out before they even took one step down the street this morning. Now Bounder and Slider were gone.
    Fuck, Bounder was dead. Matthew felt like screaming but what good would that do?
    Doc came up behind him, touching his shoulder. “The transport will be here in less than a minute. Jimmy can walk with Baller’s help. I’ll need help carrying Jazz.”
    Matthew sucked in air, steeling himself against the emotions he held for Jazz. Seeing his lover hurt made his soul ache, but he wouldn’t change a thing about working with Jazz. Every second spent in his presence had been wonderful. If he weren’t here, who would have gone to pick Jazz up and carry him to this building where Doc could work on him? No, being in another unit wouldn’t have been any better. Actually, he couldn’t imagine how distraught he would have been if he’d heard about Jazz being injured while he was at the base.
    The large armored security vehicle pulled up outside of the building, and men spilled out, guns drawn. Baller helped Jimmy, and Spike stumbled out on his own. Matthew fought back tears as he helped Doc carry Jazz to the vehicle. The remains of their dead were gathered and they took off, the ASV barreling down the streets to their base.
    He moved to sit next to Jazz, praying his man would make it. Jazz looked like shit, his face pale, his lips dry. Every second he wasn’t in an operating room was a second too long. Matthew wanted to drop a kiss on Jazz’s lips before they took him away to be operated on but there wasn’t time.
    The ASV stopped, and Jazz was gone. Matthew stumbled out of the vehicle, and saw Jazz being loaded onto a helicopter. Pain knifed through Matthew, twisting in his heart, stealing his breath. He dropped to the ground and screamed, cursing the land he was stuck in as his lover was flown away to God only knew where. His cries diminished until he remembered Bounder, his closest friend in the military, was gone. Minutes passed and no one tried to stop him. No one told him he was overreacting, because he wasn’t. They’d lost Slider and Bounder, and Jazz could be next. It was too much to give. Men rushed around him as he knelt in the dirt. They went about their lives as if the world hadn’t just been shaken so hard it had cracked.
    After a while, Doc pulled him to standing and led him to the container he’d shared with Bounder. More tears ripped through him as he stepped in, realizing Bounder would never walk through the door again. He and Doc held each other and that’s where Spike found them. Spike and Doc grabbed clothes for him and led him to the showers, stripping him out of his blood-soaked gear. He washed Jazz’s blood out of his hair, watching it circle down the drain. Pain encased his heart, leaving him unable to think or move.
    Doc shut off the water and dried him. Spike helped him get dressed, holding him up when all he wanted to do was fall on the ground and cry. He was taken to medical and told to lie down. Doc hooked him up to an IV and people spoke to him, but he didn’t hear their words. His thoughts tumbled through what had happened in the streets of the shit town they’d been trying to make safe. At some point, they must have given him something to help him sleep or at least pass out. He welcomed the silence that sunk him under, taking away the pain filling his mind and his body,