Free Secrets in Battle: Secrets of Savannah Series Book 3 by S.M. Donaldson

over to the door. “Hey, we were just talking for a few minutes before I take a nap. Tell her I said to stop being a mother hen.”
    He nods. “Okay, well, Scar was worried. I’ll let her know. You gonna take your nap here or are you coming back to the house to get ready? I know that’ll be her next question.”
    “I’m gonna come back there to take a nap.” I look over at Judd. “I doubt I’d get a nap here. Plus, I need to get her car.”
    Ryder laughs and turns around. “Okay, I’ll see you in a few.”
    We shut the door to Judd’s apartment and start laughing. “I’m not sure if Ryder was asking me about coming to the house because he was curious or if he wanted to know so they could have crazy sex or something. Thanks for putting those thoughts in my head, asshat.”
    He flops back on the futon. “Hey, I was just warning you. I wish someone had warned me.”
    I lean over and kiss him. “I’m gonna go take that nap. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
    He nods. “Yep . Why don’t you come here and sleep in the morning when you get off? I’ll be out all day so it’ll be quiet.”
    I nod. “I just might take you up on that.”
    I walk back over to the door and blow him a kiss before I leave.

 
    Chapter 15

    “Hey Hughes, you see that?”
    “Where?”
    “Over a just a bit.”
    “The kid. He can’t be more than thirteen.”
    “ Yeah. Doesn’t he seem a little strange?”
    I shake my head. “Yeah . Fuck.” I grab my radio. “Walton, there is a kid at the door of the market.”
    “Roger.”
    “Check him out. It’s a little sketchy, looks a little nervous…”
    “Roger.”
    Watching him make his way to the kid up the side street, everything happens in slow motion. The kid opens his vest. “ALLAH!!”
    I fumble with the radio. “Pull back ! Get the fuck back!”
    The explosion, the screams, the smell.
    I sit up in the bed with a jolt, sweating and panting. The smell, it’s in my nose. I can’t get rid of it.
    Running to the bathroom , I empty the contents of my stomach in the toilet. I try to rinse my nose out with salt water to get the smell out but it’s still there.
    I rip open the shower curtain and step in . Turning the water on scalding hot and scrubbing my body with soap, I try to wash the inside of my nose so I can’t smell it anymore. Burning hair and flesh, I can’t forget it.
    I heave again in the shower . Finally, I sit down, shaking, and cry. I let the scalding water run over me, hoping it washes away my sins.
    That kid was fourteen, he was a suicide bomber . Walton was a twenty-two year old soldier from Ohio, with a wife and a six month old baby. There were countless people in that market. What was it all for?
    Finally , after the water runs cold, I get out of the shower and wrap myself in a towel. Walking over to my kitchen, I grab my bottle of Jack and sit on the futon.
    Taking the cap off , I turn up the bottle.
    ~*~*~
    “What the fuck?”
    “Shut up , Ryder, my head is killing me damn it.”
    “Judd , get up. You are naked in a pile of puke in the god damn barn.”
    I slowly sit up and look around. “I don’t remember coming out here.”
    He helps me up off the ground. “What do you remember?”
    I shake my head slightly. “I don’t know.”
    Ryder shakes his head. “Fuck. Go over to the mudroom and get a shower. I’m sure there is something in there of mine you can put on.”
    I try to walk, but it’s hard for me to stand . Ryder takes my hand and walks me over to the mudroom that’s in the barn. He sits me down in a chair and turns on the water. He pulls me up and takes me to the shower.
    “Man , try to sober up a little. You smell like a damn distillery. If Nana or your momma see you, we are in deep shit.”
    “Fuck , man. I think I had a bad dream, but I’m not sure.”
    I see him through the clear shower curtain grabbing some stuff out of the cabinet. “Here’s some shit to put on. I’ll wait for you outside.”
    I shake my head while I’m washing up.