Chapter Three
Simon Riley
She didn't flinch.
That was the first thing he noticed when the firefight broke out.
Most new recruits—hell, even a few seasoned ones—flinched when bullets started flying. But not Lilly Rose. She ducked, moved, and started patching a man's leg like it was just another Tuesday.
Simon kept his rifle steady as they moved through the crumbling alley, sweeping left, clearing corners. The extraction point was still ten minutes out—long enough for everything to go to hell if someone lost their nerve.
He didn't have time to babysit a nurse.
But she wasn't acting like one.
"Riley!" her voice snapped in his comms. "I need cover. I've got two down and they're not moving on their own."
He turned, saw her crouched low over a wounded soldier, blood slicking her gloves, her jaw set in a tight line. Gunfire cracked from the rooftops. She didn't look scared—she looked pissed off.
"Stay behind me," he ordered, stepping in front of her as he laid down suppressive fire.
"Yeah, no. I'm not done."
His head snapped toward her. "Are you insane?"
She didn't answer. Just pulled a tourniquet tighter and shoved gauze into the wound. Her hands were shaking, just barely—but her eyes? Steady.
Simon cursed under his breath, shot another round toward the enemy position, then keyed his mic. "Bravo Team, moving out with wounded. Package secure."
He glanced back again. "Three seconds. We're moving, whether you're done or not."
She didn't even blink. "One."
She lifted the soldier with effort, dragging him to her shoulder.
"Two."
The second soldier groaned as she reached for him, blood smeared across her cheek.
"Three," Simon growled, grabbing the second man's vest and hauling him over his own shoulder. "Move!"
They ran.
Dust kicked up behind them, bullets whizzing past too close for comfort. Simon didn't stop until the evac truck's ramp dropped. He shoved the soldier inside and turned, ready to yell for Lilly—
But she was already there, heaving the other man in after him.
And then she dropped into the seat across from Simon like she hadn't just pulled off a miracle.
Their eyes met.
Neither of them said anything for a long moment. Just the sound of the truck rattling and the distant echo of gunfire fading.
"You didn't follow orders," Simon said finally.
"And we're all still alive," she shot back.
He leaned forward just slightly, voice low. "I don't care how good you are. Disobedience on the field gets people killed."
She raised an eyebrow. "And following orders blindly gets them buried."
His jaw tensed.
She didn't back down.
Simon leaned back again, folding his arms. "This isn't a game, Rose."
Her lips curled into a slow, defiant smirk. "I'm not here to play, Lieutenant."
God help him.
He was starting to believe her.