But now? When he looked at her, would he still see the woman he loved? Or would Brad’s eyes be continually tormented by the sight of her scars and missing limbs? He blamed himself for the wounds she’d taken in that final battle… as unfair as that was. During his visits to her hospital room and then later in the rehabilitation center, his feelings of guilt and regret had lain between them like the black shadow of the moon as it eclipsed the sun.
If only he’d been free to spend more time with her — learning to cope with what had happened just as she had. But he was a serving soldier in the Iron Wolf Squadron and his time was not fully his own… especially in a world reeling from the aftermath of Grzylov’s most recent vicious schemes.
Right now, Nadia feared she might lose him forever. America’s newly inaugurated president Farrell had lifted all of Barbeau’s sanctions and threats of prosecution against those who’d served with Iron Wolf and Scion. She’d heard the joy in Brad’s voice when he phoned her with the news that he and his father were flying back to the United States to visit with family. Weeks had passed since they’d left, with only an occasional, awkward call or e-mail or text. What if Brad decided to stay in the land of his birth rather than return to Poland? Through all their time together, she’d known in her heart that he’d never fully reconciled himself to the possibility of a life spent in exile.
She knew she just feeling sorry for herself, that as a member of the military she should expect to make sacrifices. After all, Whack Macomber was also going through his own rehabilitation — in his case for several shattered ribs and badly broken arms and legs. He hadn’t suffered any amputations, but the big man joked that he had more pins in him than there had been in his grandmother’s sewing kit. Each time they spoke in the hospital or on the phone, the colonel’s encouragement in spite of his own injuries had helped her stay motivated. Yet even with her determination to overcome her physical limitations, Nadia felt emotionally raw.
She stopped to catch her breath, staring down at the hard-packed sand in front of her blades without seeing anything more than a blur. You will survive, she told herself, whatever happens.
Steeling herself to push through the next five kilometers, Nadia looked up… and saw a tall, broad-shouldered figure in the dark, rifle-green uniform jacket of the Iron Wolf Squadron. He stood alone on the sand, waiting for her.
With new energy, she sprinted toward him… and found herself caught up in his arms. “Hi, there,” Brad said. “I’m back.”
Nadia looked up at him in wonder. “I was afraid you would go home now that your president makes it possible. Home to America.”
Smiling gently, he shook his head. “America. Poland. Anywhere in the world. It doesn’t really matter to me. My real home is wherever you are, Nadia Rozek. Always and forever.”
Acknowledgments
Thanks as always to Patrick Larkin for his skill and hard work.
Weapons and Acronyms
96L6E — Russian surface-to-air missile search radar
AH-64D Apache — U.S. Army attack helicopter
AIM-120 — radar-guided air-to-air missile
AK-400 — Russian assault rifle
ALQ-293 — American advanced electronic warfare system (SPEAR)
APC — armored personnel carrier
AT-4 — Russian antitank rocket
B-1B Lancer — U.S. Air Force strategic heavy bomber
B-21 Raider — U.S. Air Force next-generation stealth bomber
B-2A Spirit — U.S. Air Force strategic stealth heavy bomber
B-52H Stratofortress — U.S. Air Force strategic heavy bomber
BMP-1, BTR-82 — Russian armored personnel carriers
C-17 Globemaster III — U.S. Air Force heavy-cargo aircraft
CH-47 Chinook — U.S. Army heavy-lift cargo helicopter
CID — Cybernetic Infantry Device, manned combat robot
CIWS — Close-in Weapon System, U.S. Navy ship defensive weapon
CO — Commanding Officer
DARPA — Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, U.S. Defense Department agency developing new military technology
DEFCON — Defense readiness Condition
DTF — digital terrain following
E-2C Hawkeye — U.S. Navy carrier-borne radar surveillance and control plane
E-3 Sentry — U.S. Air Force radar surveillance and control plane
E-4B — U.S. Air Force National Airborne Operations Center, flying command post
E-8 JSTARS — Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, U.S. Air Force ground surveillance radar aircraft
F-15 — U.S. Air Force air dominance fighter aircraft
F-15E Strike Eagle — U.S. Air Force tactical bombing and fighter aircraft
F-16 Fighting Falcon — U.S. Air Force multirole tactical fighter
F-22 Raptor — U.S. Air Force fifth-generation stealth air dominance fighter aircraft
F-35 Lightning II — American multiservice fifth-generation multirole tactical fighter aircraft
F-4 — American multirole tactical fighter aircraft
FAA — American Federal Aviation Administration
FSB — Russian Federal Security Bureau (formerly KGB)
FXR — Francis Xavier Regan, multinational business mogul
Glock 22 — Austrian .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol
GLONASS — Global Navigation Satellite System, Russian space-based satellite navigation system
GPS — Global Positioning System, American satellite navigation system
Groza-4 — Russian Special Forces assault rifle
GRU — Glavnoye razvedyvatel’noye upravleniye, Russian military intelligence
GSH-30-1 — Russian heavy rapid-fire cannon
Hellfire missile — American air-to-ground laser- and radar-guided attack missile
HH-60G — U.S. Air Force special operations helicopter
HUD — heads-up display; displays flight and weapon information in front of the pilot
Huey — nickname of the American UH-1 Iroquois utility helicopter
HUMINT — Human Intelligence
IR — infrared
JAS 39 — Swedish-designed multirole tactical fighter
Kh-35UE — Russian air-to-ground attack missile
klicks — kilometers
KVM — Kiberneticheskiye Voyennyye Mashiny, Russian manned combat robot
LEAF — Life Enhancing Assistive Facility, robotic life-support system
LED — Light Emitting Diode, advanced lighting system
LZ — Landing Zone
M1911A1 — American .45-caliber pistol