Hot-Blooded by Karen Foley Page B

door to her hut, she saw three female soldiers inside, stuffing gear into their backpacks. The one nearest the door gave her a brief nod. She looked to be in her early twenties, with a freckled face and pale blue eyes.
    “Ma’am,” she said in way of acknowledgment, and bent back to her task.
    The other two soldiers were slightly older, and they barely glanced up as Elena entered. At the far end of the hut, Sylvia sat on her bed watching them, her eyes wide with apprehension.
    “Hey, Sylvia,” Elena called. “Sergeant Corrente is going to bring us over to the chow hall.”
    One of the soldiers, a pretty girl with dark eyes and hair, looked up when Elena mentioned Sergeant Corrente. Her gaze moved beyond Elena to the door and without a word, she stood up and slung her pack over her shoulder. Squeezing past Elena, she left the hut.
    “Perfect,” muttered the other woman, shoving a pair of socks deep into her rucksack. “We’ll be lucky if we get out of here today. Once those two catch sight of each other, nothing else matters.”
    The freckle-faced girl laughed. “Yep, got that right. Poor Mike. He doesn’t know whether to be pissed off that Valerie got assigned to the same base as himself, or get down on his knees and thank his lucky stars.”
    The first woman snorted. “He’ll be pissed until the first time she gets him alone and rocks his world. Then he’ll be thanking his lucky stars.”
    Her interest piqued, Elena stepped into her little cubby and pretended to be absorbed unpacking her duffel bags. In reality, it took all her self-restraint not to peek out the window to see what was happening with Sergeant Corrente and the girl named Valerie.
    She looked at Sylvia, who hadn’t moved.
    “Sylvia? Hey, you okay?”
    “I think your friend is freaked out over the news that the Taliban is closing in,” said the freckled-faced woman, extending a hand toward Elena. She spoke in a soft, Southern accent. “I’m Corporal Callie Linden. I told her it’s no big deal, but I don’t think she believes me.”
    “I’m Elena de la Vega.” Elena frowned as the woman stood up. “You’re not actually going out there to confront the Taliban, are you?”
    “I’m a gunner, ma’am. If they send a convoy out, then I’ll go with them.” She jerked her head in the direction of the third woman. “Corporal Chapman here does house-to-house searches with the guys because only female soldiers can perform body searches of the local women.” She shrugged. “Like I said, it’s no big deal.”
    Elena hesitated. “What you said about your friend and Sergeant Corrente…”
    “Val and Mike? What about them?”
    “I know it’s none of my business, but were you referring to them having, you know, sex?”
    Callie grinned. “Val’s been plotting to get that boy alone since she first laid eyes on him, and I don’t think he’ll put up too much of a fight.”
    “Okay, I know this sounds stupid, but I was told in no uncertain terms that sex is strictly forbidden. Is that true?”
    The first woman, Corporal Chapman, gave a hoot of laughter. “They can try to forbid it, but it’s happening whether the brass likes it or not. General Order One doesn’t expressly prohibit having sex, but it’s highly discouraged. Yeah, there are rules about how we’re supposed to behave, like we’re not supposed to be in each other’s quarters with the door closed.” She gave another snort. “Like that’s going to deter anyone. Believe me, if two people want sex, they’ll find a way.”
    “Those rules,” Elena ventured. “Do they apply to everyone? ”
    Corporal Chapman sharpened her attention on Elena. “Why do you ask? Do you have your eye on one of our boys already?”
    Elena couldn’t prevent the heat that washed into her face. “Of course not. I was just wondering.”
    “Uh-huh. Sure.” But when it became clear that Elena wasn’t about to offer anything more, she shrugged. “Even if the rules don’t apply to you, they