A Soldier's Heart Read Free Page B

Spence started shooting again, he charged down the street running full out. He skidded to a halt behind an upturned cart to reload. By the time he came up firing, a handful of the enemy had emerged on the far side of where Nick was pinned down.
    Leif screamed in rage and took off running, firing in short bursts. Two of the enemy fell to the ground, while the other three immediately retreated. Only one made it to cover.
    More men poured out onto the rooftop, spreading out along the street side of the roof. Spence paused only long enough to catch them up on the situation.
    “Sergeant Jenkins is pinned down with at least one wounded man two blocks down the street. Corporal Brevik is moving in to assist. The rest of you provide cover so I can go help him.”
    That was the most positive spin he could put on things for now. The good news was that a sniper and his spotter were among the newcomers. They immediately picked the best position and set about evening up the odds.
    “Kelly, you and Kowalski on my six.”
    By the time Spence got back down on the street, the sniper and his buddies were lighting the place up, drawing the enemy’s attention in their direction. Spence and his companions took off running after Leif and Nick, using what little cover they could find. Before he’d gone more than ten feet, a spray of bullets hit the wall just over his head. He dove for cover, breathing hard and counting all of his body parts.
    “Son of a bitch!”
    Another burst of fire from the rooftop above ended with a scream.
    “Spence, you’re clear!”
    He was about to go forward, when he heard Leif shouting.
    “Hold your positions! We’re coming back your way!”
    Spence and the others took advantage of the scant protection offered by a low wall, focusing on keeping the last of the enemy resistance pinned down while Leif and Nick half-carried, half-dragged a wounded man between them. Spence zeroed in on the blood dripping from Leif’s left arm.
    “How bad is it?”
    Leif actually looked surprised to realize he’d even been hit. He pulled up his shirtsleeve far enough to check. He had a shallow groove running along the outside of his upper arm, the kind of wound that bled like crazy, painful but not life threatening.
    “Is anyone else trapped up there?”
    Nick shook his head. “He’s the last one. The two of us hung back to provide additional cover while the others withdrew to safety. We’d almost gotten clear when Alden here took a hit.”
    Spence took Leif’s place in supporting the wounded man as they carried him back to safety. The other men played rearguard until they reached the entrance to an alley that provided enough cover for them all to run full out for the next street over.
    As they ran, Leif called in their location and asked for a medic for the wounded man and himself. Reinforcements were waiting for them. After making sure the wounded were seen to, Spence rejoined the mop-up efforts, relieved he had a target for his anger other than Nick. The stupid bastard had almost gotten himself killed, not to mention Leif as well.
    Later, when Spence had had time to cool down, they were going to have words. And if that didn’t get his message across, his fists would.

Chapter 3
    Spence waited outside while Leif got his arm patched up. He’d be off duty for a few days, but otherwise was expected to make a quick recovery. The other poor bastard wasn’t quite so lucky. Rumor was Alden was in store for some big-time surgery but that he was expected to make it. The wound would be his ticket home, most likely after being evacuated to a hospital in Germany first.
    The good news was that the rest of the convoy had made it back without any other major injuries. With that happy thought, Spence started to take another lap around the building to walk off the last of his adrenaline rush. By the time he and Leif got back to their quarters, he should be ready to crash for the night.
    Nick was busy reporting in on what had gone down, for