Damage Assessment: Career Soldier, #5
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About this ebook
These are the men of the 94th ID. They fight with honor, they defend their nation and their brothers fiercely, and when they love, they do it with single-minded passion.
When a freak accident seriously injures Derek McTavis, he’s afraid that his Army career might be over. Even after he returns to Fort Lee, he has a hard time recovering and returning to his old lifestyle, despite the encouragement and support of his friends.
And then he meets Tasha O’Hare.
After years of uncertainty about her future, Tasha’s working hard toward a career in physical therapy. She doesn’t need anything--or anyone--to distract her. But when she’s assigned the broody Captain McTavis, she soon realizes that she’s becoming invested in more than just his physical recovery.
Derek resists Tasha’s help, but it turns out she’s just as stubborn as he is. Her passion and determination give him hope not only for his broken body . . . but also for his heart and his future.
For these two wounded souls, love may be the only path to healing.
Tawdra Kandle
Tawdra Kandle writes romance, in just about all its forms. She loves unlikely pairings, strong women, sexy guys, hot love scenes and just enough conflict to make it interesting. Her books run from YA paranormal romance through NA paranormal and contemporary romance to adult contemporary and paramystery romance. She lives in central Florida with a husband, kids, sweet pup and too many cats. And yeah, she rocks purple hair.
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Damage Assessment - Tawdra Kandle
Damage assessment
Career Soldier, Book 5
TAWDRA KANDLE
Damage Assessment: Career Soldier, Book 5
Copyright © 2017 by Tawdra Kandle
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Cover design by Meg Murrey
Formatting by Champagne Formats
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Synopsis
Glossary of Military Terms Used
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Other Books
Scheme of Manuever Sneak Peek
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Dedication
To all the servicemen and women who have the courage to go on, in the face of incredible obstacles.
These are the men of the 94th ID. They fight with honor, they defend their nation and their brothers fiercely, and when they love, they do it with single-minded passion.
When a freak accident seriously injures Derek McTavis, he’s afraid that his Army career might be over. Even after he returns to Fort Lee, he has a hard time recovering and returning to his old lifestyle, despite the encouragement and support of his friends.
And then he meets Tasha O’Hare.
After years of uncertainty about her future, Tasha’s working hard toward a career in physical therapy. She doesn’t need anything—or anyone—to distract her. But when she’s assigned the broody Captain McTavis, she soon realizes that she’s becoming invested in more than just his physical recovery.
Derek resists Tasha’s help, but it turns out she’s just as stubborn as he is. Her passion and determination give him hope not only for his broken body . . . but also for his heart and his future.
For these two wounded souls, love may be the only path to healing.
Glossary of Military Terms Used
BDU: Battle Dress Uniform, more commonly known as fatigues. This is the uniform worn by most soldiers on duty. These are made of a heavy camouflage cotton, either in dark green (jungle fatigues) or lighter sand colors (desert fatigues).
BOQ: Bachelor Officer Quarters, where unmarried officers can live. Officers also have the option to live off-post, in their own rented or owned home. While on temporary duty, officers are assigned quarters in the BOQ at their temporary post.
PT: Physical Training, which is a set of morning exercises required of all soldiers.
TDY: Temporary Duty, wherein a soldier is temporarily assigned to a post other than his/her permanent assignment. Temporary duty might be assigned for a short course, for training, or for a limited-time duty of another sort.
PCS: Permanent Change of Station, where a soldier and his/her family move from one permanent assignment to another. This usually takes places every 3-4 years, depending on the branch of service or other circumstances.
Dress Blues: the uniform worn by Army officers and enlisted men on more formal occasions.
Air Assault School: In Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the United States Army Air Assault School qualifies soldiers to conduct air mobile and air assault helicopter operations, to include aircraft orientation, sling-load operations, proper rappelling techniques and fast-rope techniques.
MP: Military police
E-5: A Non-Commissioned Officer rank (Sergeant)
Prologue
Derek
The sway of the helicopter as it hovered two hundred feet in the air was almost comforting as it lulled me into a state of relaxation, even while I watched the men and women in front of me swing out the open door and vanish down the rope that dangled to the ground below. The earplugs I wore didn’t completely drown out the incessant thwap-thwap-thwap of the blades above us. Next to me, a soldier shifted, his jaw clenched and his eyes fastened on the sergeant who was motioning directions as each one took his or her turn.
I understood the nerves. After all, we’d only been in Air Assault school for ten days, and today was the final test. Once I hit the ground, I’d be finished and free to celebrate. Since it was a Friday afternoon, I’d intentionally booked my flight home to Fort Lee, Virginia, for later on Sunday, giving me two nights of fun here in Kentucky with some of the guys I’d just met before it was back to the grind of being a company commander.
Not that I didn’t love my job. I did. But every now and then, it was a relief to be in a new place, with different people, letting loose. I’d hoped my buddy Shaw, another company commander in my battalion at Fort Lee, might hang around with me this weekend, too, but he was flying home today, eager to get back to some chick he’d just begun dating.
Whipped,
I muttered to myself. The guy next to me frowned. He’d seen my lips move, but of course, he couldn’t hear what I’d said. I shook head, smiling to show I hadn’t been talking to him.
Shaw was already down on the ground, having been in one of the earlier groups. I knew he was probably watching for me, because that was what all of us did: we had each other’s backs, supporting our friends no matter what. I frowned a little. It hadn’t been so easy lately. My buddies who’d been just as fervently devoted to living the single life as I was—we totally bought into the saying that if the Army wanted us to have a wife, they’d have issued one—had begun dropping like flies. First it had been Max Remington, who’d fallen in love with Samantha, the most unlikely woman ever—they’d met after she’d been picketing the post, protesting actions of the Army. And now those two were talking about tying the knot. And then Kade Braggs had gone TDY for some course up at Fort Davis, and he’d returned with a wife and kid on the way. That had blown my mind, but the dude seemed happy about it, believe it or not.
Then more recently, Shaw, the man’s man, the one we called Danger Ranger, stopped hitting the bars and clubs with what was left of us single guys. Instead, he was spending his free time with some school teacher he’d met, helping to train her for a half-marathon. He’d been talking about her non-stop on our way and since we’d been here at Fort Campbell.
All I could think was . . . another one bites the dust.
Still, I wasn’t going to be the next one to succumb. There were too many hot chicks out there just waiting for me to bang them. Giving all that up to stay with one woman indefinitely? It would be a tragedy.
Movement roused me from my preoccupation as the lieutenant next to me rose to take his turn. I watched as he hooked onto the rope, tested it and then with a deep breath, backed down through the doorway. I waited a few seconds until the sergeant looked my way, gesturing for me to take position.
This wasn’t my first rappel. We’d been training for ten days and actually doing these exercises the last few days. All I had to do was to slide down the rope and get to the ground in one piece, and then the staff sergeant waiting there would smack my wings onto my chest, and I’d be finished, Air Assault qualified.
I attached the rope to my waist with the D-clip, keeping my eyes on the sergeant as I awaited his direction. He gave me the same cursory check he’d given the previous soldiers, followed by a nod and a point of his two fingers.
Time to go.
With one hand behind my back, holding the rope slack and the other hand gripping the rope in front of me, I rolled so that I was facing the interior of the helicopter and immediately began sliding down. I hadn’t gotten very far when suddenly everything went very wrong.
The world rocked. I felt a gust of air and raised my eyes up to the helicopter, which was now teetering drunkenly.
Shit!
I yelled the word, though no one would hear me. For a split second, I thought I was going to be all right. I thought I was still stable and could drop the rest of the way, hit terra firma and detach myself from the bird.
But I was wrong. Something else happened, and I no longer had control. I felt like I was falling as adrenaline raced through me, and then I stopped with a sickening and painful jerk. Agony shot through my body just before the wind blew again, and this time, I was buffeted by the current, slamming into the bottom of the helicopter.
Everything went dark. The shock of hurt in my head battled briefly with the pain in my back before it all faded away into blissful nothingness.
Derek? Earth to McTavis.
Jake Robinson snapped his fingers in front of my face. Dude, are you having one of those grand mal seizures or something?
"Don’t even joke about that,