Page 7 of Fighting for Family

“I have half a goat,” Patch said. “Can’t you smell it?”

“I thought it was you,” she teased.

Patch grunted and scanned the area. “We’ve scoured every village within a ten-mile radius. How can no one see anything?” he asked, venting his frustration.

“These people live in fear daily. It takes time to build trust. There’s talk of two villages on the verge of war with one another. It makes them uneasy and less trusting of outsiders,” Sparky explained. “Don’t scowl. We’re trying to make friends.”

“How do you know what I’m doing?” he asked, growling.

“Your voice changes when you get pissed off,” she replied. “It sounds exactly like the time when Brody kept stealing the bacon, and Leo made you clean toilets for a month,” she said, laughing, and then stopped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound unkind.”

“You didn’t,” Patch assured her. “We’ve asked people for weeks with the same result. It’s nice to hear us talk about Leo without feeling guilt about not finding his body. The bastard’s probably in hell getting a good kick out of watching us traipse all over the desert. I can hear him now. “Move it, assholes. It’s taking you too damn long to find me. I’m giving you ten more laps in this sand trap.”

Knight chuckled into the comms. “You sounded exactly like him. What about the time when he caught the flu and whined nonstop?”

“Geez, don’t remind me. He called me every fifteen minutes to take his temperature. The man has three kids and one on the way, and he didn’t know how to swipe the thing across his forehead,” Patch said, shaking his head.

“We’re not on a joy ride down memory lane,” Saint barked at them. “Our friend and brother has died, and we can’t bring him home to give his family some peace. Do you find something funny about it?”

“No, sir,” all three of them responded.

The man returned from the village, pointed at Sparky, then at his wife, and spoke in a language Patch and Knight didn’t understand.

“No,” Sparky said, shaking her head and firing a rapid response back to the man, ensuing an argument between them.

“What’s going on, Sparky?” Patch said, scanning the area for any threats.

“He wanted to know if we knew the woman who has red hair like me. The wife insists I made empty promises. It’s getting tense down here,” she warned the men.

Villagers came out of their huts to see the commotion, making the men go on high alert.

“Thank them and let’s go,” Patch urged, not liking the gathering crowd.

“Get out of there,” Shadow growled. “I can’t see you with the crowd surrounding you.”

Knight grabbed Sparky’s arm, pulling her down the dirt road.

“Hollywood and I have the dogs ready. Say the word,” Cole said, his voice steady.

“Hold back,” Saint said. “They’re leaving them alone. We’re leaving. Let’s head back to base. We’re getting nowhere.”

Patch and Saint guarded the beat-up truck as Knight guided Sparky inside and shut the door. When he turned the engine over, the two men jumped into the back, and Saint pounded on the side, letting him know to give it some gas.

When they arrived at the cave, Sparky took off her gear and dropped it near her space on the floor. Taco did the same while Cole and Hollywood stood guard. Saint took a long drink from his canteen and wet a cool cloth to wipe his face and hang around his neck.

“Shadow, you and Taco take second watch. Sparky, what did they say?” Saint asked as he sat down beside her.

“They spoke of a redheaded woman. Didn’t you have Victoria and Ivan’s men searching the west side?” Sparky asked.

“Yeah. Victoria always wears a cap. I doubt he referred to her,” Saint said thoughtfully. “I’ll confirm with Ivan to clear any confusion.”

“He said they haven’t seen me in months. They wanted some sort of payment. Toward the end, he wanted American money. What good will it do him out here? If he uses it, he risks others thinking he cooperated with the Americans,” Sparky said, taking another drink.

“I don’t like this,” Saint growled. “You’re risking your life coming out here with us. I wish we didn’t need a translator.”

“What? Do I need a dick to join your team now? I know this blindness thing can really cramp your style. It’s not a picnic for me either, but I’m still here and doing everything to bring our leader home,” Sparky snarked, slamming her canteen on the cave floor.

“I’m sorry, Sparky. I don’t like you vulnerable. It’s not a woman thing. If we get separated, we may lose you,” Saint argued. “Then I’d have Leo’s ghost bitching me out for my stupidity and Ty saying, ‘Fuck you, you lost my wife, no steaks for you, buddy.’”