Delta Force Rescue (Brotherhood Protectors Book 15)

by Elle James

  Rafe pulled the trigger too late to save the dog. The man with the club tipped sideways and collapsed, unmoving in the dust.

  His head spinning and a gray cloud closing in on all sides, Rafe turned back to the cabin. The lead Jeep had come to a halt in front of the door, and four men jumped to the ground.

  “Briana, don’t come out!” he yelled.

  Two men raced up beside Rafe and grabbed his arms. Through the gray cloud, he fought them, swinging and missing. When one of them coldcocked him in the jaw, he hit the ground, his vision blacking out for a moment. Long enough for the men to grab his gun, yank his arms behind his back and slap a zip-tie around his wrists.

  They jerked Rafe to his feet, dragged him to the lead Jeep, and stood him in front of the headlights.

  “Briana Hayes, if you want this man to live, come with us,” a man in a black leather jacket and a ski mask called out.

  “Don’t,” Rafe shouted.

  The man beside him slammed a meaty fist into his gut.

  Rafe doubled over, fighting back the black abyss threatening to consume him.

  The man in the black leather jacket waved a pistol toward Rafe. “Bring him closer.”

  The two men on either side of him dragged him forward.

  The man in the leather pointed his gun at Rafe’s head. “You have until the count of three to come out or the man dies.”

  The door remained closed.

  Briana, don’t. Too dizzy to form words, Rafe hung between the two men, praying Briana didn’t cave in to their demand.

  “One… You really want to watch his head splattered all over the ground? Two…I ain’t shittin’ you. It’s your decision. You want him to die?”

  “Wait!” Briana’s voice called out through the wood-paneled door. “How do I know you’ll let him live?”

  “You don’t. We’ll get you one way or another. But you have my word we won’t kill him if you come with us without a fight.”

  Briana snorted. “The word of a thug?”

  “It’s the best you’ll get. You don’t have much choice either way.”

  “Let him go, and I’ll come out,” Briana said.

  “No,” Rafe said.

  Again, he was punched in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.

  “Don’t hurt him. I’m coming out,” Briana cried.

  Rafe tried to tell her no, but he couldn’t get air past his vocal cords.

  The men holding his arms were the only reason he hadn’t fallen on his face. He hated that he couldn’t fight back, that they were outnumbered, and that Briana was giving up her freedom to save his sorry ass. He should have been more prepared. He should have been ready.

  But they’d never expected El Chefe would send an army of men to secure one woman when he’d only sent one before.

  The cabin door opened, and Briana stepped out, her hands raised in the air. “Don’t shoot him. I’ll go with you. Just let him live.”

  The man in the black leather jacket tilted his head toward the Jeep. “Get in the back.”

  Briana walked toward the Jeep, her brow furrowed, her gaze on Rafe. “Don’t hurt him,” she said as she climbed into the backseat.

  Two men got in with her, one on either side.

  The man in the leather jacket slid into the passenger seat, and his driver got behind the steering wheel.

  “What do you want us to do with him?” one of the men holding him up asked.

  “Leave him,” their leader said. “Maybe the bears will eat him and put him out of his misery.”

  The men on either side of him shoved him to the ground and left him lying there as they grabbed their guy on the ground, leaped into their Jeep and followed the lead vehicle out of the yard.

  Rafe lay with his face in the dirt, his vision fading in and out. He knew he had to get help fast. The longer they had Briana, the farther away they’d get. But every time he tried to move, his head spun, and he blacked out for a few seconds.

  “Can’t give up,” he muttered. “Bree needs me.”

  He tried again to roll onto his back. He blacked out only to feel something warm and wet scraping across his skin. When he opened his eyes, Lucy lay beside him, licking his face.

  “Hey, I thought you were dead.”

  She continued licking, whining softly.

  This time when Rafe rolled onto his back, he didn’t black out. He was able to sit up without falling again. Then he folded his legs beneath him and staggered to his feet, swaying. He thought he’d fall to the ground, but he managed to remain upright long enough to get to the cabin and through the door Briana had left open.

  Once inside, he found a knife in the kitchen utensils and fumbled to get it into his hands behind his back. After several failed attempts, he finally sawed through the plastic and freed his wrists. He lunged for the satellite phone and dialed Hank.

  “Briana?” Hank answered.

  “No. Donovan.”

  “Fuck,” Hank cursed. “They got her, didn’t they?”

  Rafe had a lot more curses he wanted to say, but they would serve no purpose. “Yes.”

  “You okay?” Hank asked.

  “I will be,” Rafe said. “I hope they don’t hurt Briana. I should’ve been more prepared. They brought more than a dozen men to secure her.”

  “I’ve gathered as many of my guys as I could. We’re on our way.”

  The roar of rotor blades echoed off the hillside.

  “I have a feeling it’s too late. Sounds like they’re taking her out by chopper.”

  “Was she still wearing the necklace I gave her?” Hank asked.

  Rafe squeezed his eyes shut against the throbbing in his head. “I think so.”

  “I’ll get Swede monitoring her progress on the computer right away. I have the handheld device. We’ll be able to see where she’s going and hopefully intercept them.”

  “God, I hope so. I can’t believe they sent so many men to get her. The other two times were one- or two-man jobs,” Rafe said.

  “El Chefe must want Alejandra really bad to send a dozen mercenaries in to retrieve someone who might know where her and the baby are hidden. Seems like overkill.”

  Rafe cringed. “Let’s hope they don’t kill her once they discover she has no idea where Alejandra is hidden.”

  “Are you in any shape to meet me at the highway?” Hank asked. “Looks like the chopper is headed in the direction of Bozeman.”

  Rafe fought back waves of nausea and pressed a hand against the growing lump on the side of his head. He didn’t have time to pass out. Briana needed him. “I’ll be at the highway when you get there.”

  He shed his jacket, pulled on a T-shirt, slipped his shoulder holster over his arms and buckled it across his chest. Grabbing his AR15, he stowed it on the back seat of his truck and called to Lucy.

  The border collie dragged herself up into the truck and settled in the passenger seat. She hadn’t run off when he’d released her leash. She seemed to have bonded with him and Briana in the few short days they’d been together. He was glad the blow she’d sustained hadn’t killed her. Briana would’ve been heartbroken.

  Briana…

  Sweet Jesus, he’d failed to protect her. Even with the surveillance monitors, he’d let them get past him to her. And she’d willingly stepped out of the cabin to save his sorry ass. She was amazing and courageous. By God, he’d bring her back safely, and then go after the man who’d taken her.

  Rafe raced down the mountain road, fishtailing around curves, skidding on gravel. The men in Jeeps were long gone, as was the helicopter in which they’d airlifted Briana.

  By the time he reached the highway leading into Eagle Rock in one direction and Bozeman in the other, Hank’s truck was slowing to a stop. Two more trucks pulled in behind him, and several men climbed out, carrying rifles or handguns.

  Hank left his truck and joined Rafe next to his. “The chopper landed at a private airstrip on a ranch this side of Bozeman. I notified the sheriff, but by the time they got
out to the ranch, a small jet had taken off. The helicopter was gone, and the jet was well on its way to wherever they’re flying her. I’m in contact with the ATC. They’re researching the flight now. So far, they don’t have a tail number to allow us to identify the owner. The ranch owner where the landing strip was located is an absentee owner. He flies in once a year during hunting season. He didn’t know someone was going to land on his property, and he didn’t authorize it.”

  Rafe’s fists clenched. “So, at this point, we have no idea where they’re taking her.”

  “Unfortunately, no.”

  Rafe’s jaw hardened. “I want to talk to Alejandra. It’s got to be more than a jilted man wanting his woman and child back. Why is he so desperate to get to her that he’d hire a dozen thugs, mercenaries, a helicopter, and a jet plane to find her? And then to transport another woman back instead… It doesn’t make sense.”

  “If someone stole Sadie away, I’d do everything in my power to get her back. But it bears questioning Alejandra to know what El Chefe might do next. I’ll have my guys bring her to the ranch. Maybe she can shed some light on why the man is so anxious to get her back that he’d kidnap another woman. In the meantime, you might as well come back to the ranch with me. We can monitor Briana’s progress on my computer. If they’re heading for an airport, we can call the sheriff or police in that area and have them waiting when they land.”

  “And if they’re headed out of the country?” Rafe asked, cold dread settling like a lead weight in the pit of his belly.

  “I can call in all my men and organize a rescue operation. I know someone who owns and operates a large cargo plane who could transport us. I also have contacts in Washington with decision-making power over the Special Operations Command. If push comes to shove, we’ll launch an extraction operation to get her out.”

  He'd heard Hank had connections in high places, but to be able to tap into Spec Ops authority was huge. “You can do that?”

  “There are a lot of people who owe me a favor. I can cash in my chips. However, we’ll need to have all our ducks in a row and all the intel we can dredge up to plead our case.”

  “Sounds like it’ll take a lot of time.”

  “Most likely, it won’t happen overnight,” Hank said, shrugging. “But I think we could mobilize in under forty-eight hours.” He frowned at Rafe’s truck. “What kills me is how he found you in the first place.” His eyes narrowed. “I’m betting he had a tracker placed on your truck.”

  Rafe stared at the vehicle in the glare from Hank’s headlights. “It’s possible. They could have tagged it when they found Briana’s cellphone. She’d left it in her purse, locked up in the truck when we stopped for the night in Springfield, Illinois.”

  “And they waited to attack until you two came out of the hotel.” Hank nodded. “It makes sense. Let’s leave your truck here. He can find my place easily enough, but why make it easy?” Hank jerked his head toward his men and his truck. “Let’s get this ball rolling.”

  Hank led the way. Rafe climbed into the passenger seat of Hank’s truck.

  Within the next fifteen minutes, they were rolling through the gates of White Oak Ranch.

  Sadie came out on the porch, dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, her brow furrowed. “I’m so sorry to hear about Briana.” She held the door as the men marched into the house and downstairs to the Brotherhood Protectors’ HQ-bunker beneath Hank and Sadie’s ranch house.

  Hank made quick introductions to the men standing around. “You’ve met Swede.” He motioned to a barrel-chested man with brown hair and brown eyes. “Tate Parker, former Delta Force.”

  Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t I know you?”

  The man’s lips curled upward at the corners. “We met briefly on a mission in Afghanistan a couple years ago. You might remember me as Bear. That’s what people call me.”

  Rafe nodded. “That’s right, Bear Parker. You ran into that building to pull a few kids out after the Taliban lobbed a grenade at it.”

  Bear nodded, his lips thinning. “Got all but one out alive.”

  Hank jerked his thumb toward a man with dark hair and darker eyes. “This is Taz Davila, former Army Ranger.”

  Rafe shook hands with the man.

  The next man had black hair and blue eyes. “This is Boomer, or Brandon Rayne, former Navy SEAL,” Hank said.

  Next was a man with dark hair graying significantly at the temples. “Chuck Johnson is the old man of the team. Prior Navy SEAL.”

  Taz leaned toward Rafe. “Don’t underestimate him. Chuck’s in top physical condition and can outrun, outshoot and out-bullshit any of us, any day of the week.” He grinned and held up his hands in surrender when Chuck glared at him.

  After shaking hands with all the men. Rafe turned to Swede. “Where is she now?”

  “They’re flying over Colorado right now,” Swede reported.

  “There has to be a way to intercept that plane.”

  “It would take too much red tape to scramble fighter planes to intercept a private jet for a civilian,” Hank said. “All we can hope is that they land somewhere in the States, and we can get local law enforcement to seize them.”

  Rafe paced the room. “We can’t just stand around waiting for them to land.”

  “We’re not.” Hank glanced up from a simple cellphone. “My guys are on their way now with Alejandra. We can spend the time we’re waiting to see where Briana lands by questioning Alejandra.”

  “By bringing Alejandra here, you’re exposing her.”

  Hank held up the cellphone. “We’re using burner phones to communicate, and we’re using a van painted like a mail delivery vehicle to get her in and out. I have six guys in the van with her and several positioned at the gate for when they arrive. They’re on their way now. Should be here in the next ten minutes.”

  “Anyone want coffee or something stronger to drink?” Sadie descended the stairs carrying a tray with a carafe of coffee and mugs.

  Hank hurried to her, relieved her of her burden and set the tray on the table. “I told you that you don’t have to wait on us. Besides, you’re not supposed to carry anything heavy,” he chastised her. Then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. “Go back to bed. Emma will be up at dawn, and you’ll be exhausted.”

  “I gave Daphne a heads-up,” Boomer said. “She and Maya can come over and help watch Emma while Sadie catches up on her sleep.”

  “Thank you, Boomer,” Sadie said. “I’d love to see Daphne, and Emma enjoys playing with Maya.”

  Boomer smiled and ducked his head to send a text to Daphne.

  Rafe liked how everyone knew each other. Being the new guy, he felt as though he was still on the outside looking into a tight-knit organization. He knew he’d get over that soon enough, and he sure as hell didn’t have time to worry about anything other than getting Briana back safely.

  A few minutes later, Swede announced Briana’s tracer showed her currently over Texas.

  Hank’s burner phone pinged. He glanced at a text message coming through. “They’re here.” He shot a look at Swede. “Let them in the gate.”

  Swede hit a button on his computer keyboard. “Done.”

  “Thanks.” To Rafe, he said, “I’ll be right back.” Hank left the bunker, running up the steps two at a time and disappearing through the door at the top.

  Sadie followed at a more sedate pace, her hand resting on her swollen belly.

  When Hank returned, he escorted a dark-haired woman carrying an infant in her arms. She lifted her chin as she walked into the room full of men. Her gaze swept them, coming to rest on Lucy. “I understand the woman who rescued me off the streets of Chicago has been taken by El Chefe Diablo’s men.”

  Rafe crossed to stand in front of the woman. “She helped you. Now, it’s time for you to help her. What is it El Chefe wants? Is he upset that you ran with his child?”

  Alejandra held her baby close to her chest. “El Chefe is not in the least interested in this ch
ild,” she said. “Except that he would use my baby as insurance.”

  Rafe’s brow twisted. “Insurance?”

  “He threatened to kill Bella if I did not cooperate with him.”

  “Holy hell…what kind of cooperation did he want?”

  Alejandra looked toward a blank wall. “I kept the books for his organization. He wants me back to continue to do so. And if I don’t come back, he will try to kill me.” Her lips curled into a cruel smile. “But I have some insurance of my own.”

  Hank frowned. “How so?”

  “I have an actual book identifying every one of his business partners and what kind of money, services or products have passed between them. There are names in there that could cause major upset in many countries, including the United States. I have hidden that book with an attorney, who has special instructions to mail it to the DEA if I don’t call every three days to tell him not to.”

  Rafe’s heart sank to the pit of his belly. Briana was caught up in something even more dangerous than a drug lord wanting his girl and baby back.

  “If word gets out that this book exists, there will be a huge uproar in Mexico City, Bogotá, Paris, London and on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Major political players could lose their positions, even go to jail. El Chefe will do anything to keep that from happening. If that book goes public, he himself will be murdered.”

  “So, it was never about the child,” Rafe stated. “It’s all about El Chefe’s connections and the trouble you could stir up if that information is revealed.”

  She ran a hand through her hair, the shadows beneath her eyes a deep purple. “When I first started doing books for the cartel, I was fresh out of college. I’d just returned from university in the United States to my home in El Salvador. I didn’t realize I was going to work for a cartel. I thought it was a regular accounting job. The money was good. Better than anywhere else around. I couldn’t resist. By the time I figured out what was happening, it was too late. Once you go to work for the cartel, there’s only one way out—in a body bag.” She smoothed a hand over the baby’s shock of dark curls. “Then I had Bella. I realized I couldn’t raise her in that environment. I knew El Chefe would use her to keep me working for him. He’d threaten to kill her, and carry out that threat, if I tried to leave.”