Hard Man to Kill (Dark Horse Guardian Series Book 4) Read Free Page B

jacked.”
    “You’ve had one too many espressos,” Ben joked with him.  But then he became deadly serious. “Yes, I'm ready. I've been waiting to beat these guys to death with my bare hands ever since I heard of the first ones being released back onto the battlefield.  After watching on YouTube what these jihadist-bastards have done, the heinous crimes against humanity – I don’t need any more inspiration. And, I think I just might sucker punch the next idiot who bitches about how awful it is to water board them.”
    Moshe smiled. “Ah, you’re ready.  I have the records waiting in the war room.” 
    “The more information we have, the better.  We need it all, their habits, what they eat.  You got the data from Gitmo, right?” Ben queried.
    “Yes, and we even have footage of their activities while there.  It’s very telling.  We will watch some of that in the war room.”
    Ben nodded. Rule number one, know thine enemy . Moshe would occasionally joke that rule number two was, kill them wherever you find them .  Ben knew the verse was from the Quran, referring to Muslims being instructed to kill infidels.  But, now this theory was turned upon the jihadists.  Fighting fire with fire was Moshe’s strategy, and it was working.
    The team scrambled to the plain white building, entered, and walked down a flight of stairs leading to a tunnel.  Fifty feet beneath the ground was a steel-reinforced bunker the size of a city-block.  Personnel of all stripes were gathering data, preparing for the briefing in the war room.  The Dark Horse Guardians were led to their sleeping quarters.  Moshe put his hand on Ben’s shoulder. 
    “We’re in this together.” He said with a defiant little smirk. 
    “Damn straight.” Ben smiled back. “Let’s do this.”
     
     
    ~ Lara ~
    It was a good idea she asked Monique to spend the night.  Her friend was exhausted from crying and worrying about Bettencourt on his first Dark Horse mission.  Lara could only comfort her and listen.  She was all too familiar with the fear and uncertainty.  She knew it would be best to let Monique rant and rave for a while.  She had to get it out of her system before she could speak sensibly.
    At one in the morning, after two hours of listening to her ride the roller coaster of emotions, Lara said, “You’ve got to eat something, Monique.   “You’ll just feel worse if you don’t.”
    “Okay,” Monique acquiesced, “Maybe something.” 
    “Scrambled eggs and toast?” Lara offered. 
    Monique curled up on the sofa.  Lara tossed her a blanket and switched the television on, finding a crazy late night show.  Eventually Monique showed signs of watching it.  Once she saw Monique smile, Lara allowed herself to laugh at some of the outrageous comments.  Then Lara noticed Monique was shoveling scrambled eggs into her mouth. 
    Good, the distraction was working .  After a night of sleep, Monique would begin to stabilize.  Her spirit would start the process of strengthening.  It was a sort of self-preservation that would take place one day at a time.  But the waxing and waning was the difficult part.  The reinforcement of one's soul did not take place overnight. 
    By 2:00 AM they were tucked into bed.  Monique in the guest room and Lara in the big empty bed she shared with Ben.  His sandalwood scent lingered in the sheets and she would not change the bed until he returned.  It as a ritual, a crazy superstition.  She slept on his side, inhaling his masculine smell and wept silently before falling asleep.  She prayed to God to keep him safe, but knew the evil forces Ben was fighting were strong and doing all that they could to blot out anything to do with God or goodness. 
    In the morning, Lara made pancakes for her mother, Rusty, Monique, and an extra-large serving for William.  Driving William to the airport and saying goodbye was painful.  But his face exuded happiness, and that was all that mattered at the