Tracking Talia

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An Excerpt From: TRACKING TALIA

Copyright ? N.J. WALTERS, 2011

All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing,
Inc.

Prologue

?Don?t
you die on me, you bastard.?

Marshall
Courage could barely hear the voice above the loud whoop whoop of the helicopter blades. He almost smiled. As
usual, Talia Koslov was trying to tell him what to do. They were friends,
comrades, partners and more. They?d broken the unwritten rule of people in
their line of work. They?d gotten physically and emotionally involved.

He was
cold. So damn cold. He could feel his body shivering, the pumping of blood
as it left his body. He?d taken two solid hits. One to his chest and the
other to his leg. It didn?t look good.

?Can?t
this bucket of bolts go any faster?? Beneath the anger in Talia?s voice, he
could detect a thread of fear. That alone told him just how dire the
situation was. He?d been in tight spots many times. He?d been stabbed and
shot before. But it looked as though he might not make it home this time.

He
licked his dry lips and tried to speak. It was appallingly hard to make
them move. For a strong man, a man used to relying on this physical body to
quickly respond to whatever demands he made of it, it was a frightening
experience.

He was
going to die.

?I?m
finished,? he managed to whisper.

Warm
fingers brushed his hair off his forehead. ?I?m here, Marshall.? Even above
the stench of sweat and fear and the coppery scent of blood, he caught a
light perfume. Talia. She didn?t wear any artificial scent, but there was
no disguising her natural feminine essence.

He
tried to speak. He wanted to tell her he loved her. Those were words
neither of them had ever uttered, but it was there between them with every
look, every touch.

?Talia,?
he groaned.

?Shut
up, Courage, and save your strength.? She turned away from him to yell
through her headset at the pilot. ?What?s our ETA??

Marshall
could have told her that, no matter their estimated time of arrival, it
would be too late. His life?s blood was pumping out of his body at an
alarming rate.

He?d
always known it could end like this. He wasn?t a man given to regrets but,
right now, he regretted what he hadn?t told her. The words hovered on his
lips. He needed to say them to her before it was too late.

The
helicopter hit a wind pocket and his body was jolted. Pain surrounded him,
encasing him in a prison of darkness. Then there was nothing.