by Elle James
Jake patted his flat belly. “Agreed. Now we should be heading back to the police station. Our ride will be expecting to collect us there.” Jake pulled a wad of local currency out of his pocket and laid some of it on the table.
“Where did you get that?” Alex asked.
“We always carry the currency of the area, in case we get stranded.”
“Smart.” With a full stomach, all Alex wanted to do was take a nap. After two nights of little sleep, she wished she could crawl onto a flat spot on the ground and close her eyes.
When they returned to the police building, they were met by a large dark SUV.
Five men climbed out and engulfed Jake in bear hugs.
A tall man with black hair and brown eyes clapped him on the back. “Man, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”
Jake grinned. “You have no idea how good it is to see all of you.”
“We thought for sure you were dead,” said a slightly shorter man with a stalky build and a broad barrel of a chest.
An auburn-haired man with blue eyes stepped in and clasped Jake’s forearm. “We’ve had a drone flying over the village, but couldn’t spot you nearby.”
“Because we headed straight into the hills.” Jake turned to Alex. “I met Alex in the village right before we had to make a run for the hills. She and I have been hoofing it through some pretty rugged terrain, chased by the guys who ruined our day.”
“No kidding?” A man with brown hair and blue eyes stuck out his hand. “I’m Buck. Nice to meet you, Alex.”
Alex shook his hand and nodded politely, slightly overwhelmed by the group of muscle-bound men.
The auburn-haired guy reached out. “T-Mac.”
She shook his hand and turned to the shorter man with the barrel chest.
He nodded and took her hand in a bone-crushing grip. “Pitbull.”
“Nice to meet you,” Alex said and turned to shake the next man’s hand.
“Harm,” said a man with black hair and brown eyes. “Not that I’d do you any harm, but that’s what they call me.”
“And I’m Diesel,” said the man who’d first hugged Jake. He shook her hand and backhanded Jake with his free arm. “Roughing it in the mountains, huh?” His lips curled into a sly grin. “I’m sure it wasn’t all that rough with Alex.”
Jake’s brows drew together. “Alexandria was a teacher in that village. She worked with a missionary couple. She’d like to find out what happened to them. Any word on the status of the village?”
“None. Our contact via the Special Forces say al-Waseka’s militants have set up security around the village. No one is getting in.”
“Or out?” Alex’s heart squeezed tightly in her chest. “What about Reverend Townsend and his wife?”
Harm shook his head. “We haven’t heard anything about the missionaries.”
“No word from al-Waseka concerning any ransom?” Jake asked.
“None,” T-Mac confirmed.
“We’ve made contact with the American embassy in Niamey.” Harm held open the door to the SUV. “They’re expecting you to debrief them on what happened. We should get moving.”
Diesel, Buck and T-Mac climbed into the rear seat.
Jake handed Alex up into the middle seat next to the man who introduced himself as Pitbull and then climbed in next to her. “What’s our mission?”
“We’re to stand fast in Niamey until intel digests everything. But we’re to be prepared to mobilize if we’re needed. We have a helicopter on standby with the closest Special Forces team.”
“Good.” Jake took Alex’s hand in his. “We can’t leave the missionaries to al-Waseka’s mercy.”
Alex shot a glance toward Jake. She hadn’t expected him to express an interest in rescuing the reverend and his wife. He’d been clear that he was on military time and took his orders from them. Her heart swelled with hope.
“We also found something interesting in the hills,” Jake added.
“What’s that?”
“A mining operation that isn’t supposed to be mining yet.”
“Interesting. How close was it to the village?”
“Close enough.” Jake’s jaw tightened. “And at the last place we stopped, we discovered men had been taken by a mining company and promised work, and they haven’t been heard from since.”
“Conscripting?” Harm asked from the driver’s seat.
“Could be,” Jake said.
Alex’s pulse kicked up. “You think what happened in my village has anything to do with the mining operation we ran across?”
Jake shrugged. “It seemed a little too coincidental that the villages surrounding the mining operations have been targeted by ISIS.” He turned in his seat to face T-Mac. “Can we get the drones to do some scouting over the hills?”
“As soon as we get back to Niamey, I’ll contact the drone squadron and get them on it.”
Alex sat back in her seat, hope building inside. When she’d left the village, she’d thought for certain the reverend and his wife would be casualties to ISIS. But since no one had reported seeing their bodies, as gruesome as it sounded, they could be prisoners in need of a sharp SEAL team to rescue them.
Her only concern was that she wanted to be with them if they did decide to go after the Townsends. And she’d bet her last dollar Jake wouldn’t allow it.
* * *
JAKE HELD ALEX’S hand all the way back to Niamey. Not long after they left Ouallam, she fell asleep against his shoulder and slept the entire hour and a half back to the capital city of Niger.
They didn’t stop until they reached the gates of the embassy.
Jake woke Alex so that she could show her passport. Once the marine gate guard was satisfied by their identities and another had checked their vehicle for explosives, the gate was opened and they were allowed to enter.
Jake helped Alex out of the SUV and slipped an arm around her. “Just think, you’re only a few steps away from a shower and a real bed.”
“Almost heaven,” she murmured.
“Just have to attend a debrief with the ambassador’s staff, and we’ll see about getting you some clothes and toiletries.”
“Everything I brought with me to Africa is back in that village.”
“I know. If the militants still have control, you won’t be getting your things back anytime soon.”
“And I need to call my parents and let them know I’m safe.” Alex smiled. “Hopefully, they haven’t heard anything about the village being overrun. Not much news from Africa makes it back to Virginia on the television stations. But my father reads online news and worldwide news sites. He might be worried.”
“The embassy staff will help you with your phone call,” Harm said. “All of that will have to wait. The ambassador wanted to conduct your debrief as soon as you two arrived.”
Harm led them into the embassy building where staff members took Alex and Jake to a conference room. An army lieutenant colonel and a marine major were present, along with the state department staff. One staff member offered apologies for the ambassador, who was in a meeting with representatives from the African Union.
Alex gave her statement about what had occurred from the moment Reverend Townsend had entered her schoolroom and told her to evacuate the children to the point where she returned to the village to try to find the reverend and his wife.
Jake gave a brief description of how he and his team had been overrun by militants and how he’d rammed their truck to buy time for his team to escape. He continued the tale of finding Alex and their race through the hills to stay ahead of the fighters following them.
He stopped short of telling the group about the people who’d helped them in the town along the way or about the mining they’d run across in the hills. He didn’t know why, but something inside made him keep that information to himself
and his team.
Alex shot a questioning glance his way.
He gave a slight shake of his head.
Apparently, she got the message and didn’t say anything to the gathering about the ride they’d received, the people in the last village or the mining operation.
Jake answered a few questions until he’d had enough.
Beside him, Alex sat straight, holding herself together, but he could tell by the dark circles beneath her eyes that she was exhausted and needed sleep.
Pushing to his feet, Jake announced to the room, “We’ll be here for at least a day, and we’ve had very little sleep the past two nights. After we’ve rested, we’d be happy to answer any more questions. But, for now, let Alex and I take showers and find a couple of beds to sleep in.”
The embassy staff excused themselves. On his way out, one man stopped beside Jake and Alex. “The ambassador would like to have a word with you tomorrow, after you’re rested. Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll make the arrangements for you to see him. And so that you know, there is a reception tonight in the embassy ballroom. You and Miss Parker are welcome to attend, along with the other members of your team.”
“Thank you,” Jake said. “We’ll let you know about the reception.” He’d had it in mind to sleep through to the next morning, but if he could speak with the ambassador that evening at the reception, he might ask him about mining activities and the American companies involved in Niger.
How many people in Niger knew what was going on with the mining interests? Surely the American embassy had a finger on the pulse of all American corporations doing business in Niger, in which case the ambassador might know what Snyder Mining Enterprises was up to.
First, though, Jake needed to brief his teammates on what he expected to get out of the reception that evening. Until he knew more about what was going on in Niger with the mining and the ISIS attacks, Jake didn’t want to share with the embassy staff all of the knowledge he and Alex had gained on their trek through the hills.
Knowledge could be power. It could also make him and Alex targets for someone who didn’t want anyone else to know what was going on in the hills.
Chapter Nine
Alex was assigned a room next to the one Jake had been given. With no connecting door between them, she couldn’t get to him without venturing out into the hallway.
After spending the past couple days with him in life-and-death situations, she felt bereft and exposed.
She told herself it was ridiculous, but she couldn’t stop that feeling. They were in an American embassy, surrounded by Americans who’d sworn to uphold the constitution and protect people from their own country.
Then why didn’t she feel safe? In the two days she’d known Jake, had she become dependent on the man? Now that she was away from him, all she could think about was when she’d see him again. Two days wasn’t long enough for her to fall for a guy, was it? She’d spent six years getting to know Paul before she’d agreed to marry him.
Yet she’d taken only a couple of minutes to realize what a mistake that was and ended her engagement.
Falling for someone she’d known for two days was silly.
She gathered the bathrobe and travel-size toiletries and entered the bathroom. For the next fifteen minutes, she stood under the shower’s spray, washing away the dirt and grime of the past forty-eight hours. No matter how long she stood there in the warm water, she couldn’t shake a feeling of unrest.
Then she stepped out, toweled off and blew her hair dry, smoothing it with the brush that had been provided. She felt almost human.
One of the ladies on the embassy staff had given her a dress and open-toe sandals to wear, which helped with the guesswork of shoe size. She’d also given her a scarf to wrap over her head in deference to the culture of the area.
She could have put on the nightgown and gone straight to bed. After the debriefing and Jake’s withholding of key information, she wanted to talk to him, to ask him why. An embassy staff member had escorted them to their individual rooms, giving them no time to discuss anything in private.
Now that she was bathed, dressed and feeling more human than before, she wanted to talk to Jake. The man was on the other side of the wall. So close, but so far.
Alex edged the door open and stepped into the hallway. She had raised her hand to knock when Jake’s door opened.
She stood still, staring into his eyes. Her own stung, embarrassingly close to shedding tears. Why was she so emotional? They’d only been apart for a few minutes, not days or weeks.
Jake grabbed her arms and dragged her into his room. Once she was over the threshold, he kicked the door closed and backed her against it, his mouth crashing down on hers.
Shocked by his desperate kiss, Alex opened her mouth on a gasp.
Jake dived in, caressing her tongue with his in a long, sensuous kiss.
She clung to him like a life preserver in a stormy sea.
When at last he raised his head and inhaled deeply, he pressed his cheek to the top of her hair. “I don’t know why, but it felt like the past fifteen minutes was the longest stretch of the entire time I’ve known you.”
Alex chuckled and rested her forehead against his chest. “I felt the same.”
Jake smoothed a hand over her hair. “I wanted to tell you why I didn’t say anything about the mining camp we ran into.”
“Good.” She smiled up at him. “Because I wanted to ask you why you didn’t mention it in the debriefing.”
“Harm came by my room. I told him not to mention the mining camp until we could find out a little more by doing some of our own sleuthing. T-Mac is a master at the computer. He can find out anything you never wanted revealed.”
“What exactly are you looking for?” Alex asked.
“I want to know who is in charge of the Snyder Mining Enterprises activities here in Niger. Who owns it? Who does the owner have in his pocket to slide by the fact that they were supposed to be simply looking for places to mine, not start the mining operations?”
Alex nodded. “All valid questions. Still, why didn’t you bring the embassy staff into your confidence?”
“I want to know these things before I talk to them. What if they know what’s going on and are turning a blind eye to it? They might attempt to cover up the problem rather than admit there is one.”
Alex frowned. “What makes you think the embassy personnel aren’t loyal, law-abiding citizens?”
“Nothing but a hunch.”
“Will you at least clue in the ambassador?” Alex asked.
“Not yet.” He stared down at her, holding her at arm’s length. “If you’re going to a reception tonight, you will need a cocktail dress.”
“A cocktail dress in Africa?”
“You’d be surprised by the level of decorum the leaders strive for. I want you at the reception to listen for anything that might have to do with the mining and circumventing the Niger government rules and regulations. We also need to listen for anything concerning the ISIS uprising.”
“Okay, I’ll buy a new dress.” She glanced down at the one she was wearing. “At least I won’t have to shop in my underclothes.”
Jake’s eyes flared. “Now that gives an interesting mental image.” He tipped her chin and stared down into her eyes.
For a moment, Alex thought Jake would kiss her again.
Instead, he sighed and offered her his arm. “Shall we go?”
Alex felt a flash of disappointment, followed by a warm feeling of being close to Jake.
In the lobby of the embassy, they met up with four other members of the SEAL team.
“Where’s T-Mac?”
“He’s on a borrowed computer, working his magic,” Diesel said.
Harm leaned close to Jake and Alex. “He wanted to get all the information he could before the recepti
on tonight. One of the staff members here showed us the guest list and told us who’s who of the invitees. You’ll want to be there. Hell, we’ll all want to be there.”
“Who’s coming?”
“Mohamed Rafini, Niger’s president.”
“Nice. And they’re letting us in?” Jake smirked.
“That’s not all,” Buck said. “Several National Assembly members will be here, along with some bigwigs from prominent corporations doing business in Niger.”
“Anyone from Snyder Mining Enterprises?”
Harm crossed his arms over his chest. “As a matter of fact, yes. Quinten Philburn, CEO of Snyder Mining Enterprises. He’s had an office in Niamey for over a year, negotiating mining speculation projects with the Niger trade commission.”
“He might be the one causing all the unrest in the area,” Jake said. “If he’s conscripting men to do his mining, he’s a problem.”
“True.” Harm’s brows formed a V over his nose. “But is he our problem?”
Jake knew what Harm was saying. But with Alex standing at his side, the voice of reason and empathy, he had to measure each word carefully. “If the ISIS attack has anything to do with the mining operations, yes. We were attacked. The missionaries, who are American citizens, were attacked. We have an obligation to our countrymen to help them when they’re in trouble. So, yes, he is our problem.”
“The CO will have to agree on that.” Diesel lifted his chin and stared at his teammates through narrowed eyes. “We can’t conduct unauthorized missions in a foreign country without stirring up a hornet’s nest with our higher-ups.”
Jake’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Since when has that stopped us from doing whatever it takes to make things right?”
“He’s right,” Pitbull said. “When Marley was in trouble, we didn’t hesitate to help even though we weren’t authorized to.”
“And when the All Things Wild Resort in Kenya was targeted, we didn’t back away. We engaged...without permission.”
With a chuckle, Jake nodded. “That’s right. We just have to be smart about it.”
