Hell.
Camila was still out there somewhere. Kidnapped. Alone.
Given the reports that her father was in a convoy leaving the city, it was pretty damn likely she wasn’t with him. His SEAL team would grab the package and be on their merry-fucking-way, one nonstop flight back to Little Creek.
And if Camila was left behind, frightened and at the mercy of her captors?
Not their damn problem, according to the Pentagon.
Jacob glanced over at Colton from his spot behind the steering wheel. “This op reminds me of when we rushed the terrorist camp in Afghanistan—nightfall, a missing woman. A group of assholes thinking they rule the world with no fucking idea that we’re coming.”
“Except Camila’s not with her father. We’re just grabbing the Rodriguez cartel’s kingpin and getting the hell out of Dodge. Last time we knew the exact location of the missing woman. Hell—last time our op was the missing woman.”
“Yeah, well, a senator’s daughter is a little different than the daughter of a drug lord. Especially in the eyes of the U.S. government.”
Ryker leaned forward from his spot in the back of the Humvee. “What’d Hunter say? You know he wouldn’t want to leave her behind.”
“Hell. What can he do?” Colton asked. “We have orders from the CO straight from the Pentagon. It’s not like we can drive all over Bogota looking for the woman I had a one-night-stand with. We don’t even have a damn fucking clue where she is.”
Jacob grunted in affirmation. “There’s a vehicle coming our way,” he said into the mouthpiece of his headset.
Hunter’s voice came through their earpieces from the other Humvee. “Roger that. Looks to be like a civilian vehicle. Don’t slow down. The highway is coming up in one hundred yards. We’ll loop around the outskirts of the city and intercept the convoy. Last known location was five miles outside of Bogota.”
Colton’s gaze swept the area, his assault rifle clenched in his hands. The car approaching them on the other side of the dirt road drove right by them without incident. He glanced back over his shoulder, watching it continue down the road and eventually go out of sight.
“Do we have an update on which vehicle Miguel’s believed to be in?” Jacob asked into his mouthpiece.
“Negative,” Hunter responded. “The CO is getting additional sat imagery as we speak. Appears to be four vehicles, possibly a fifth trailing in the distance.”
“We’re approximately ten minutes out from their location,” Jacob said.
“Roger that,” Hunter said in a cool voice. “We’ll head off the front vehicle of the convoy if we don’t have confirmation on which one the target is. Noah and Jacob, remain in the Humvees unless it all goes to hell. This is just a snatch and grab. As soon as we have hands on Miguel, we’re out.”
“I wonder what the supposed additional vehicle is?” Jacob asked the others in his Humvee.
“Another cartel tailing them?” Ryker asked.
“Possibly,” Colton agreed. “It could be them; it could be nothing. There’s lots of traffic on the main highway.”
Their CO’s voice suddenly came over their headsets. “The new images were just sent to you. It looks like the target is riding in the fourth vehicle.”
“We’ll ambush them from the sides,” Hunter said. “Don’t worry about the first three vehicles. We go in, grab the package, and get out.”
“Roger that,” the other men said.
There was a bump as the Humvee left the dirt road and pulled onto the highway. Jacob accelerated, speeding toward the convoy. “ETA is one minute,” he said in a low voice. “Let’s do this.”
“We’ll cover the left side, you take the right,” Hunter commanded. “Let’s cut him off and take him in.”
They sped along the side of the highway, racing ahead of the other traffic, until Colton could see four vehicles traveling together up ahead.
“Target in in sight,” Jacob said, his hands gripping the steering wheel. “Fourth vehicle is a dark SUV. Looks like tinted windows. No telling which seat Miguel’s in.”
“Roger that,” Noah said over the headsets. “I’ll meet you up there.”
“Who’s that coming up behind us?” Ryker asked, twisting to look behind them.
A car speeding out of nowhere suddenly weaved back and forth between the other traffic and accelerated ahead of them. “He’s got someone hanging outside of the window,” Colton said. “Make that something. Looks like a rocket launcher.”
“A fucking rocket launcher?” Hunter asked in disbelief. “Since when did the cartels start using those?”
“Since now,” Colton said, his voice grim.
The whiz of an RPG suddenly raced through the night sky, exploding into the fourth car in the convoy. The SUV burst into a ball of fire as it flew through the air, the other cars in the convoy speeding up to escape the explosion.
“Fuck!” Jacob shouted, swerving to avoid the fiery blast.
Debris filled the air around them, thumping against the side of the Humvee. Colton crouched in his seat, muttering a curse. Noah swerved the other Humvee in a different direction, until both vehicles screeched to a stop at the side of the highway, a safe distance ahead of the massive fire.
“Damn it!” their CO shouted over the headsets. “Someone else was trying to take him out. Is anyone getting out of the target’s vehicle? Are there any survivors? Move in!”
Colton and Ryker jumped out of their Humvee, with Hunter and Mason climbing out of the second. “Move forward!” Hunter commanded, and the men began running toward the wreckage. “Keep eyes on the other vehicles as well!”
Colton scanned back and forth, the scene before him clear through his night-vision goggles. Other traffic had stopped, and people were climbing out of their own vehicles, cell phones in hands. Some shouted in disbelief while others held their hands up to their faces in horror. Sirens sounded in the distance, and smoke filled the air.
The wreckage of the SUV blazed against the night sky, the smell of explosives and burning metal permeating the cool air.
“That was a hell of a lot of firepower to take out a damn SUV!” Hunter shouted over the roar of the flames.
The charred black vehicle could be seen through the inferno, and Colton muttered a curse. “There’s no way there are any survivors!” he yelled.
The sound of helicopters filled the air, and Colton glanced skyward to see the Colombian military in the distance.
“So much for taking that mother fucker back with us,” Hunter said. “Let’s move out!”
The men jogged back to the idling Humvees, climbing inside the vehicles. “We’re heading back to the airstrip,” Hunter said over the headsets.
“Affirmative,” their CO said. “I’ll have additional instructions once you arrive back there.”
“Damn it!” Colton said, pounding his fist against the dashboard. “God damn it!”
Jacob maneuvered the Humvee around the wreckage as fire trucks approached, driving right over the grassy highway median to head back on the opposite side of the highway to the air field. Noah followed behind in the second Humvee, and some of the cars now stuck in the traffic jam on the highway started trying to follow them across the median as well.
“Wait!” Ryker yelled from the back of the vehicle. “What’s that lying in the grass?”
Colton’s gaze swept the area outside the window through his night-vision goggles, finally noticing what looked to be a messenger bag, its contents scattered around. His eyes narrowed as he noticed a laptop lying amidst the debris.
“That can’t be from the SUV that exploded,” Ryker said in disbelief, his voice low. “There’s no fucking way.”
“What do you see?” Hunter asked over the headsets.
“A messenger bag. Laptop. Other personal belongings.” Colton’s voice was clipped.
“It must be from one of the other vehicles that sped away when Miguel’s SUV was hit,” Hunter said, the Humvee he was riding in pulling up beside them.
“Maybe even that damn car with the rocket launcher. That asshole was hanging out the car window. When they swerved and sped away, it could’ve flown out.”
“I’ll grab it,” Colton said, his hand already on the door. He clutched his assault rifle in one hand and climbed out of the Humvee. He strode over to the contents scattered on the ground, nudging the edge of the messenger bag with his combat boot. “Probably a mistake that it got left behind,” he said in a low voice over his headset. “I can’t imagine they’d leave this type of thing on purpose. I don’t see any wires or explosives.”
“Let’s bring it in,” Hunter said.
Colton stuffed the materials into the torn messenger bag, his gloved hand lightly running over the laptop. If whoever had left this behind was indeed who’d taken out Miguel Rodriguez, they might also be the one who’d taken Miguel’s daughter. Which meant information critical to finding her could be right at his fingertips.
His heartbeat accelerated as adrenaline pumped through his veins. The thump, thump, thump of helicopters filled the air as the Colombian military got closer to the scene of the explosion. So much for keeping quiet on their operation to grab Miguel. The whole damn world would know about it soon.
CNN and the other news networks would be running it as breaking news.
They needed to get the hell out before their faces were splashed across the nighttime news.
“Shit,” he muttered to himself, stuffing the laptop into the bag. He hurried back to the Humvee, slamming the door behind him. The headlights cut through the darkness as they pulled forward, rolling onto the highway back to the airstrip.
Police had stopped traffic coming from the opposite direction to grant access to all the emergency vehicles converging on the scene, and they had the highway to themselves.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Jacob asked, glancing over at Colton in the passenger seat of the Humvee.
“Hell yeah. The answers we need to find Camila might have fallen right into our hands.”
“Let’s get back to base and fire that thing up,” Ryker said. “We’ve got more work to do.”
Chapter 12
Camila fell to the side of the van she was riding in as it lurched to the left, banging her head against the wall. Pain smarted through her temple, wrapping around her entire head, and she was certain a bruise would be forming soon. She struggled against the ropes binding her wrists and ankles, trying to sit back up. Desperate to see what was happening around her despite the darkness.
The man left to guard her in the back of the van had been leering at her for the entire ride, his face lit only by the glow of his cell phone and cigarette. Suddenly he was moving toward her. Over her.
She screamed as he grabbed her arms, but he roughly pulled her back into a sitting position, shoving her against the wall, and then crouched down back where he’d been.
He glanced down at his cell phone as it began to vibrate, then frowned as he saw the message on the screen. Screaming in Spanish, he slammed it down, seeming unconcerned if he smashed it altogether. The van skidded to an abrupt stop, tires screeching, and then the back doors were suddenly pulled open.
She cringed against the bright lights of the flashlights aimed at her, for a brief moment hoping she’d been rescued. Two of the men dressed in black climbed in and grabbed her, hauling her outside of the van to the side of the highway.
She swayed between them, her bound legs leaving her unable to do much of anything.
“Let’s leave her here,” one of the men snapped. “We can come back later if need be. This is getting out of hand. The entire scenario revolved around him coming!”
“Damn it all to hell,” a second man said, kicking the ground. He threw his cigarette down, smashing it beneath his foot. In an instant he was coming toward Camila. He pulled a large knife from a pocket of his pants, tossing the sheath onto the ground. She screamed as he moved toward her, but he suddenly ducked down, gripping one of her calves as he cut the rope binding her ankles. He stood back up, towering above her. Before she could ask any questions, his fingers wrapped around her bicep, and he began painfully dragging her through a field.
She stumbled in the darkness, her ankles raw and sore from where the rope had bound her. It still cut into her wrists, but she didn’t dare ask for him to free her arms, too.
Rows and rows of caco grew all around them, and she looked around in confusion as they trampled through the plants. He moved in a strange zig-zag pattern, and she went with him, bewildered.
They were dumping her in a field? What happened to the auction? Was he taking her out here alone to rape or kill her?
The plants brushed and scratched against her bare legs, and she stumbled over a pile of dirt, still wearing her heeled sandals. If she ever escaped from any of this, she was burning her entire outfit—both her dress and shoes. She didn’t want any reminder of what she’d been through.
To her astonishment, the sound of helicopters filled the air in the distance, and she could see an eerie orange glow in the night sky.
“What’s going on? Is something on fire over there?”
“It seems that another cartel took out your father tonight. The SUV he was riding in exploded on impact.”
“What?” she gasped. “You’re lying.”
“Not lying. It’s a pity, really, since we were planning to collect millions from him. Now that he’s gone, we have to reschedule your auction. And I can’t risk us being stopped and having you taken from us for free. I’m leaving you out here until things settle down.”
“In the middle of a field?” she asked, suddenly feeling exhausted. The brief rush of adrenaline when she’d been pulled from the van was fading, any hopes of a rescue disappearing.
“I promised my men that Miguel would pay up. Come and give us a hefty ransom for his only daughter. The allure of you would have men bidding higher at the auction than we ever imagined. Of course, I was anticipating your father being forced to bid for your freedom as well,” he said with a dark chuckle. “I’ll be back to gather you shortly.”
He turned and began to walk away, leaving her standing there alone in the darkness. Was this some kind of sick joke? Was he going to come back a few minutes later and kill her? As soon as he was out of sight she was going to run. To never look back.
He stopped when he’d gotten only a few feet away. She could see his silhouette in the darkness but sensed he was looking back at her. “This entire field is rigged with IEDS—improvised explosive devices. It’s to keep the government from ruining our fields. And to keep men like your father from burning them to the ground. One wrong step, and you’ll blow your leg right off. It’ll be harder to run when you’re injured. Don’t move until I come back for you.”
Camila shivered as he walked away, her stomach dropping. This had to be some sort of nightmare. He kidnapped her just to leave her in a damn field that he claimed was rigged with explosives?
The door to the van slammed shut, startling her, and then with a roar of the engine it was speeding off into the darkness.
Smoke billowed in the sky in the distance, cast in that sickly orange glow from the flames. Was it really her father who’d been killed? Or were they just saying that to frighten her?
The cool night air nipped at her bare flesh, and suddenly the gravity of the past few days washed over her. She was exhausted. Hungry. Thirsty. Freezing.
Should she run away?
Try to get help?
There was no telling if what her captor had said was in fact true or if he was simply trying to frighten her by claiming the entire field was rigged with explosives. He’d somehow moved through it, although in that odd zig-zag pattern.
She sank to the ground, yawning despite herself. She needed to run. Hide. Take whatever chances with his claims about the IEDs. Nothing would be worse than being auctioned off to a group of men. Than being sold and treated as some man’s property for the rest of her life.
Her legs felt weak as she tried to stand, her
bound arms doing little to help her, and then she fell back to the hard ground and surrendered to the darkness.
Chapter 13
Colton drummed his fingers on the makeshift table, his gaze scanning over the emails on the laptop. Uneasiness filled his chest, and his eyes ran over the subject lines, hoping they could find something, anything, that would lead them to Camila.
Searching the whole damn city of Bogota wasn’t exactly an option—not when there was no telling when or if they’d ever find her.
Hunter hunched over the laptop screen, the rest of the team crowded around behind him. “Fuck, these guys are idiots. They didn’t even try to encrypt anything,” Hunter said, scrolling through more of the messages.
Ryker smirked. “That’s what makes them idiots? How about losing their damn laptop in the middle of a highway? Half of Bogota probably drives right by there. They take out the head of the Rodriguez cartel and then leave behind a laptop outlining their entire operation? Fucking amateurs.”
Mason chuckled. “Amateurs bringing in millions. Hell. Probably half of the drugs flowing into the U.S. are grown right here.”
Hunter clicked on another message, and images of multiple maps of the Colombian caco fields filled the screen. “Shit. That’s heavy duty stuff,” Noah murmured. “Do you see how much they’re growing? That’s a hell of a lot of product to turn.”
“And we don’t even know how much Rodriguez controlled. This is the rival cartel’s fields.”
“Is the Colombian military going to want us to turn the laptop over to them?” Colton asked.
“Possibly. Probably. Our op was focused on Rodriguez,” Hunter said. “Let’s see if there’s anything useful here before we hand it over. We can copy the files and go over the data with a fine-tooth comb later. Send it back to the States for the analysts to review.”
“There,” Colton suddenly said, pointing a finger at the screen. “There’s an email about a special auction with today’s date. Open that one.”
Seduced by a SEAL (Alpha SEALs Book 10) Page 8
