Beneath the Sheets by Shandi Boyes

Author:Shandi Boyes [Boyes, Shandi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shandi Boyes

After a handful of beers, I decide to call it a night and head back to base. I straighten my spine, extending to my full height so I can seek Gemma in the crowd of people cavorting on the dance floor. Although we aren’t a couple, we always arrive and leave together when we go out drinking. When my search fails to locate her shiny blonde locks, I move to the bar. A bartender with inky black hair and a neck tattoo stops wiping the counter and paces toward me.

“Have you seen Gemma? Blonde hair, green eyes, around this tall,” I ask, holding my hand across my chest. “She’s been ordering virgin margaritas all night.”

He smiles. “White floral dress?”

“That’s the one.”

Gemma is the only girl who can pull off a floral dress in a war-torn country.

He stops drying a glass and gestures his head to the entrance door. “She left a few minutes ago.”

My brows furrow. “She left?” Skepticism radiates from my voice. I normally have to drag Gemma out of any bars we visit.

“Thanks,” I say, tapping my knuckles onto the wooden bar top before spinning on my heels.

As I walk to the double swinging doors, the churning hampering my stomach revs up a gear as the feeling of something not being quite right overwhelms me. My steps to the door become urgent, only hindered by the beer sloshing in my twisted stomach. When I emerge out the double wooden doors, a blast of humid air hits me in the face, making my stomach churn even more. My neck cranks to the right before drifting to the left. There's a handful of late-night, drunk partygoers scattered on the sidewalk, but Gemma is nowhere in sight.

My head shifts to the side when a young blond-haired man stumbles out of a side alley. His face is ashen and his pupils wide. I lift my chin in greeting as I eye him with curiosity. I’ve never seen a kid look so rattled before, even after serving in Afghanistan for two years. The blond kid’s eyes stare into mine. His chest thrusts upwards as he battles to secure a full breath.

His eyes snap to the side at the same time a faint scream overtakes the hum of music pumping out of the bar. My head rockets to the side at lightning speed. I freeze and take a step backwards, winded like I’ve been sucker-punched in the guts. The shock of what I witness quickly converts to fury as the scene unfolds in front of me. I charge down the alleyway, my steps no longer impeded by the alcohol I drank. The blood rushing through my veins turns potent, blackened by the fury scorching it.

“Get off!” I scream, my deep angry snarl bouncing off the stained brick walls.

“Stop it! Stop it! Get off!” I scream again.

Blinded by rage, I grab the first man I see and throw him against the trash can he is standing next to. His head connects hard with the steel edge, sending a stream of blood running down the side of his face.

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