Free The Collective by Jack Rogan

it wasn’t the poetry or the kindness to his nephew or his surprising smile that had won her heart. It had been that first, wordless moment, the slow shake of his head—the warning that had simultaneously risked his life and saved hers. There were stolen hours of fierce lovemaking that could have had dire consequences for them both, followed by whispered plans for a future after the war, when they could find peace together. Nizam had spoken to his nephew, but the boy did not want to go to America, preferring to live with his aunt in Nasiriyah.
    With the help of Jordan and Ronnie, Cait had managed to get Nizam enough fuel for him to begin driving his taxi again. Things were settling down in Baghdad. They could foresee a time when the fear and madness would end.
    Then another bomb. Nizam had saved Cait’s life with his warning that first day, but Cait had to live with the knowledge that she had not been there to warn him. An IED hidden in a van had exploded in a marketplace. Nizam had been cruising slowly, hoping for passengers, and his taxi had been only feet away. His fuel tank—full of the gasoline she had procured for him—had provided a secondary explosion that was the final nail in his coffin.
    During the weeks of grief and anguish that followed, manyof the guys in her unit revealed themselves to be coldhearted bastards. If one of them had screwed an Iraqi woman, somehow that was all right, but they froze Cait out because she had fallen in love, and because she would soon be going home, pregnant with Nizam’s child. Ignorance, jealousy, fear … she didn’t care why the guys had reacted that way. The betrayal cut her deeply.
    Only Jordan and Ronnie had stood by her, had defended her at every turn and held her when she felt the world beneath her feet opening up to swallow her. They had proven themselves true friends, both in Iraq and here on the home-front. She wasn’t sure she would have made it home without their support. And now she had Leyla, and her world had again been forever changed, her heart filling with love for her daughter and beginning to mend.
    But,
God
, how she missed him.
    Surrendering to the inevitable, she sat up, swung her legs over the side of the bed, and reached for the jeans she’d been wearing the night before. Zipping them on, she walked over to peek into the playpen, only to find it empty.
    Cait smiled. Auntie Jane must have come to fetch her the moment Leyla had started to fuss this morning, trying to let her sleep. Cait didn’t know how she would have gotten through the past year without her aunt and uncle.
    She went quietly down the stairs, knowing Uncle George was probably still asleep. A low murmur of television voices came from the kitchen, where she found Jane with Leyla on her hip. Expertly balancing the baby, she stole a sip of coffee and then went back to stirring a batch of pancake mix.
    “Good morning,” Cait said.
    Jane looked up, her hair unruly from sleep. “Well, well, Leyla. Look who’s up,” she said, and then met Cait’s gaze. “Your badass momma.”
    Cait’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?”
    “Come on,” Jane said. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice my niece kicking the crap out of a dirtbag on the local news this morning?”
    “They’re still showing it?” Cait asked, sagging a bit at therealization that the previous night’s events would be interfering with her life for days to come.
    Jane laughed. “Of course they are. And they’ll keep showing it. You’ll be an Internet sensation by dinnertime. Scratch that; you probably already are. That was a pretty amazing thing you did last night.”
    Cait allowed herself a small smile. “He had it coming.”
    “He sure did. You’re something else, kid.”
    “Well, nobody messes with Sean McCandless’s little sister.”
    “Damn right.”
    Cait reached for Leyla, plucking her out of her aunt’s arms and kissing her several times before propping the baby on her hip, just as Jane had