by KD Michaels
“Detective Laura Pratt?”
“Who the fuck are you?” Laura responded tersely.
“Ma’am, I’m Lt. Matthew Steel with the United States Navy, we’re SEALs. We’re the good guys. We’re here to get you and Detective Cortez and the young girls you were trying to find back to safety. You have a lot of people creating hell to get you guys back home,” Wolf calmly told Laura. “This is Mozart. He’s the team medic. He can look you over really quick and then check on Cortez and the girls. Anyone else beside you hurt?”
“Cortez is pretty bad off. They’ve focused on us, which is what we wanted. Mendoza finally caught on to what we were doing. Think Cortez and I pissed him off with the Captain Kirk and Star Lord references. Asshole on the ground here got pissed with the Jabba the Hutt reference. Damn pussy. The girls are in good shape to hike, scared but unharmed. I’m ok, I can make it. Cortez is strong. Probably a broken rib or two but can walk.”
“Ma’am, I’m Mozart. Where does it hurt the most?”
“Dude, if you call me ma’am one more time I’m going to punch you despite the fact you’re rescuing me. Makes me sound like I’m old. I’m ok, really. Yeah, I don’t look it. I know they worked me over good and I’m slow right now with everything aching, but I’m fine. My concern is my partner. Check her out. I’ll be ok. I promise you won’t have to carry me out.” Laura started to walk away and stumbled.
Dude caught her with a growl, “You’re not fine. You can barely stand. You need to be honest and tell us where you’re injured. And for the record detective, his name is Mozart, I’m Dude. Now please tell us what hurts so we can get you guys out of here safely.”
“I thought there were more of you? Why are you two the only ones here? Where did the others go?”
“Detective, they went to search the compound for Mendoza and make sure there’s no more risk to you and your partner so we can get you out of here fast. Now please tell me what injuries you have,” Dude asked quietly.
Laura looked at Dude and sighed. “What is it with SEALs and the alpha gene? I’m ok. Yeah, my leg is a little unstable because they took a baseball bat to the knee and ankle but I can walk. Just give me a few minutes. I need to get to Cortez to make sure they didn’t do anything to her while they had me in the room they used as their torture chamber. I need to make sure all four girls are still in there with her.”
Laura led Mozart and Dude to where the rest of the group was last seen. When they opened the door, Cortez was ready to attack before she saw Laura come forward. “Taz, it’s ok. They are the good guys. This is Dude and this is Mozart. They are SEALs coming to rescue us. Are all four girls here?”
“Yeah, Mendoza came in to get one of them, saying that it was time to take out the trash and that head lugnut would be back to get me. But all of the sudden he ran out like the hounds of hell were on his ass.”
“Probably because the asshole knew he was next. These guys took out four of his guards, including Jabba. Are you ready to get the hell out of here?”
“I’m good, Red. Let’s get these girls ready to go,” Cortez heaved out.
Cortez and Laura got the girls together and explained who Mozart and Dude were and said that they could trust these men to get them home to their parents. Juanita and Tabitha each got on one side of Cortez to assist her while Danika and Farzooh glued themselves to Laura.
“We are ready to go, sir. I am Danika. Farz and I will help you with Detective Pratt. Juanita and Tabbie have Detective Cortez. They didn’t abandon us so we refuse to do the same to them. We’ll make sure we help them keep up.”
Dude nodded and lead the group out of the room. They met up with Wolf and the rest of the team. Introductions were made. “Mendoza is nowhere to be found. It seems like the four guys we took out are all that’s here.”
“Cortez here just told us he was in the room with them when they heard the shots. He probably has an extraction plan in place. We saw no cars leaving so he’s got to be close,” Mozart reported.
“We need to get the hell out of here. Ladies, how good are you to hump it out of here on foot. Our extraction point is about 5 miles out,” Wolf asked Laura and Cortez.
“Lt., we’re good to go. We know we look the opposite of that, but I promise we won’t slow you down. Let’s do this,” Cortez informed the team.
Wolf and Abe led everyone out of the compound, Mozart and Dude in the middle assisting with the precious cargo, Benny and Cookie taking up the rear. The men had to admit they were impressed with the women’s determination to watch over the young girls They kept a close eye on the two detectives knowing they put themselves in harm’s way for the last four days to make sure the girls weren’t touched. Cookie was very impressed and appreciative of what the two women sacrificed, even if they didn’t talk about what happened to them.
At mile four, something didn’t feel right. They had to take it slow since the girls had shorter legs, tiring easily and the detective’s injuries. Wolf turned around and nodded at the men, Abe and Benny took off. Wolf motioned for the women to have a rest and handed them a canteen with some water in it. “How are you holding up?”
“We’re fine. Just ready to get out of here, I want to hug my son and be able to tuck him into bed tonight,” Laura responded to Wolf.
“You need to get that leg checked out, Red. I know you don’t want to admit it to these guys, but you’ve been babying that damn leg since we left the compound. These guys don’t know you but I do,” Cortez spoke up, worried about Laura’s leg.
Laura went to stand up when a shot rang out. Laura flew back, landing hard on the ground. Wolf and the other SEALs went into action getting the girls covered. Cortez went to Laura and started dragging her along with Wolf. Abe and Benny came running back giving cover fire.
“Where the hell did that come from? We need to get these girls out of here now,” Mozart growled at Wolf.
“How is she?” Wolf asked Mozart.
“Not good. They got her in the upper left chest area. She’s lucky she moved the way she did or it would have been a heart shot. We need to get her out of here fast or she won’t make it.”
“Red, hold on please. You’ve got Cody to tuck in and Highlander to wait for when he comes back from his mission. You promised him you’d be ok. Damn it, fight,” Cortez pleaded.
“Highlander?” Mozart questioned Cortez.
“Yes. She’s been seeing, living with, or whatever you SEALs call it with Lt. Joe MacLeod. He’s deployed right now on assignment.”
“Detective Pratt, you need to hold on like your partner says. You have a SEAL to get home to. He won’t be happy if you die on our watch. Help a brother out and fight so he doesn’t cap our asses.” Cookie held onto Laura’s hands to let her know she was surrounded.
“She’s one of ours. Damn it, MacLeod is going to be pissed if she doesn’t make it. What do we do, Wolf? We have to get her out of here if she’s going to make it.” Dude watched Cookie and Mozart work on Laura to stabilize her.
“She’s his. Lander came by just before his mission to ask if it was ok for him to introduce her to us. He was hesitant because of Fiona finding out her background, and I couldn’t understand why. Now I do. Caroline and I were planning on doing a cookout for the teams once they got back if we weren’t shipped out. We need to find this shooter so we can get her out of here. You and Abe are with me. Have Cookie, Benny, and Mozart on the girls while they get Laura stabilized and ready to go after we dispatch this son of a bitch. We have to get her home now.” Wolf gave the orders, as he, Abe, and Dude took off to find the shooter.
Thirty minutes later they returned back to the group satisfied with their mission to find the shooter and dispatch him. When they met up with the rest of the group, Mozart had taped Laura’s wound to help slow the bleeding. Dude picked up Laura and carried her the rest of the way to their extraction point.
8
Laura woke up looking around the room she was in. She saw Raso in the chair at the far end of the bed talking with
Cody and helping him color and Dom standing near the window talking to someone on her other side. She slowly turned her head to the left and saw Joe sitting in the chair holding her hand.
“Joe?”
“Hey beautiful, boy am I so glad te see ye eyes.” Joe leaned over and kissed her forehead.
“Where am I? Last thing I remember is following Lt. Steel and his team to their extraction point and stopping because they were worried about Cortez and I, then nothing. Oh my God, Cortez, is she ok? Where is she?” Laura started to get worked up.
“Baby, it’s ok, calm down. She’s ok. She’s just down the hall. Diesel and Rameriez are with her. She’s ok. How are ye? Are ye in any pain? The surgery te remove the bullet went smooth. They were more worried about ye bleeding out since there was nae vest on.” Joe rubbed Laura’s arm.
“Yeah kind of hard to get your ass beat and wear a vest - kind of defeats the purpose,” snapped Laura.
“Well at least ye didn’t lose your fire, lass. Now are ye in any pain? Is there anything that ye need?” Joe tried again a little firmer.
“I’m fine, Joe. How long have you been home?”
“I got home the same day Wolf and the guys went te get ye. They had just taken off a few hours before we landed. I found out when they came back that ye and Cortez were their mission.”
“The girls, are they ok? They will need counseling. They weren’t touched but they were still traumatized with everything else going on,” Laura whispered to Joe.
Raso walked over to the bed. “The girls are ok. They have contacted the Captain several times to make sure you’re ok. They’ve asked to be able to come see you and Taz when you’re ready for visitors. They are already scheduled for their recommended counseling sessions. So you and Taz need to focus on getting better. How are you feeling there, partner?”
“I’m fine. A little sore, but it’s manageable. I don’t want any more drugs. I hate how they make me feel.”
“Ack lass, I’m here. Ye need te rest and get better. If ye are in pain, take the meds so ye can rest,” Joe soothed.
Dom chimed in as he crossed the room, “Sis, I have Cody. One more night at my place isn’t a problem. I love having the squirt when you guys let me. Focus on getting better so you’re out in the next day or two. Cody and I have this. I love you.” Dom held his sisters hand as he kissed her forehead. “Come on, squirt. Give your mom a kiss and we’ll go get some ice cream.”
“Yay!!” Cody jumped up from his spot and ran over to Laura’s bed and climbed up. He enthusiastically started signing to Laura, “I love you mommy. I’m glad you’re home. I missed you. Can’t wait for you to come home, love you.” Cody leaned up and kissed Laura then hopped down grabbing Dom’s hand.
Raso decided to leave with them so Laura could get some rest, plus she wanted to check on Cortez, too.
When Dom, Cody, and Raso left, Joe and Laura were alone in the room. “You can go home if you want. I know those chairs can’t be comfortable. I’m sure there’s things that you need to do – don’t stop just because I’m in here.”
“Ye just don’t get it, do ye lass. I’m here with ye. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. The chair is fine. I’m nae leaving ye, love tha goal agam ort.”
Laura started crying, clinging to Joe’s hand. “I love you, too.”
“Wolf and the guys all came by to check on ye earlier while ye were asleep. Ye and Cortez impressed them with how determined ye were to protect the girls. They were a little miffed that ye didn’t tell them that ye were a SEAL’s girl, though.” Joe chuckled.
“I didn’t want special attention or the focus to be taken off of the girls’ safety. I didn’t want them to risk their lives to save me just because I was your girlfriend, Joe. I love you and would fight to get back home to you, but those girls were priority. If it meant my life for theirs, then that’s what it would have been. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but that’s the truth of it.”
Joe sighed. “I know, lass. I ken that as soon as I found out what happened that’s what ye and Cortez would do. As much as I hate the idea, I wouldn’t have expected anything less from ye.” Joe leaned over and kissed Laura. “Get some sleep, lass. I’ll be here if ye need me.”
“Will you cuddle with me? I don’t think I can handle sleeping alone, even if you’re in the chair next to me.”
“Aye lass, scoot over.” Joe climbed into the bed with Laura, bringing her back to his front and wrapping his arms around her tight. They both needed the reassurance after her ordeal.
Shortly after she had fallen asleep there was a knock on the door. Wolf, Dude, and Cookie walked into the room. “How is she? We stopped by to see Cortez and another teammate Raso said she was awake,” Wolf whispered.
“She’s ok. Refusing the pain meds because she doesn’t want te be out of it if she’s needed. She’s tough. Thank ye guys for going in and bringing them home.”
“Why didn’t she tell us she was yours, Joe? We didn’t know until Cortez was telling her that you would be pissed she got shot after she promised to stay in one piece,” Dude asked.
“The truth? She didn’t want ye to put her first. She knew that we had a code that if one of our women were in danger, they were a priority to get back to a brother. She wanted the focus te be on the girls and getting them back te their parents. If they were in any danger, she and Cortez both would have put their lives on the line to make sure they made it home, as ye can see from the looks of both of them.” Joe brushed Laura’s hair back and kissed the side of her head.
“She’s definitely a SEAL wife.” Cookie chuckled. “I have to admit I admired that she and Cortez fought tooth and nail to make sure those girls weren’t touch. Very rarely does that happen. I’m surprised Mendoza didn’t touch the girls while they were out of it. Have they talked to anyone about what happened?”
“According to Raso, Cortez hasn’t said anything. Laura just woke up a little while ago. Hasn’t really said much other than why she didn’t identify herself as mine. She did ask if you guys made it out ok since she didn’t remember much after you guys stopped to rest.” Joe started to get up so he could talk with the guys better when Laura started to whimper.
“It’s ok, we just wanted to stop by and check on them. Caroline says we’re going to have the cookout for the teams two weeks from tomorrow. That will give Laura time to heal. Caroline wants to invite the rest of her team, as well. Oh, before I forget, there’s a big meeting for all the teams that are stateside tomorrow morning. Hurt wanted me to let you know to be there at 0900.” Wolf nodded and walked out of the room with Cookie following him.
“You’ve got a good one there, Highlander. She saved Wolf’s life out there. While she may be yours, she’s ours, too. If you ever need anything, let us know.” Dude nodded and started to leave.
“Dude, what do ye mean she saved Wolf? He never said anything,” Joe called out, stopping him.
“The shot was meant to take out Wolf from the angle the bullet hit her. Had she not stood up and turned the way she did, it would have hit Wolf or been a head shot on her. Take good care of her or you’ll have one of us kicking your ass.” Dude left after one last look at Laura.
Joe lay back down and pulled Laura in closer. Hearing that it would have either been her or his brother-in-arms taken down with that shot, he thanked God she had turned at just the right angle. He needed to call his brother Mike tomorrow to give him the update on Laura and Cortez. His transfer from Bragg to Hood prevented him from coming out here and seeing for himself. Bryson and Marcus were both deployed or they would have moved heaven and hell to be here beside him. His croie had touched every single person in his family’s heart, both his blood and his brothers-in-arms. There was no way he would let anything happen to his heart. Making sure she was covered, he snuggled up behind her more and closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.
9
Laura woke up to find herself alone in the room with a note on the bedside table next to her with a rose laying
across it. Joe had written her to let her know he would be back after a meeting that his Commander had called for all the teams. She sighed and laid her head back against the pillow. She heard a knock on the door and saw it open. Standing there were two unfamiliar women.
“Hi, I’m Caroline. Matthew’s wife. This is Fiona, Hunter’s wife. May we come in?”
“Matthew? Hunter? I’m sorry I don’t know who that is.”
“I’m sorry they probably used their nicknames. Matthew is Wolf and Hunter is Cookie. Sorry, we call them by their given names despite them telling everyone their nicknames.” Caroline laughed and walked further into the room. “We wanted to come by and see how you were doing. See if you needed anything.”
“Oh, Wolf and Cookie. Hi. Yeah come in. I’m ok. Hoping they let me go home today. We shall see.” Laura smiled weakly. She was always nervous around new people, especially these women since they were the wives of men that Joe worked with and called friends.
“Wolf, Cookie, and Dude came by last night to see how you and your partner were doing. You’ve officially been adopted by them so that makes you our sister, too. Just know if you or Cortez need anything, all you have to do is call. I know you don’t know us just yet, but we’d like to fix that.” Caroline went on, “I’m having a cookout in two weeks from today. I would love for you and your team to be there. You’ll get to meet the other wives.”
“Oh…”
Before Laura could finish her sentence her door opened. In walked her mother Kathy and one of her stepsisters, Jennifer. Laura tensed up and gripped the bed covers. “Mother, Jennifer, how did you find out I was here? I know Dom didn’t tell you where I was.”
“Just because you and your brother decided that you are orphans doesn’t mean I can’t find out about you two. I do have my own resources, you know. I’m not an invalid where my children are concerned,” Kathy sneered. “Now where is my grandson? I hope you’re not expecting that squid to take care of a child that isn’t his. Lord, Laura Renee, I raised you better than that. He needs to be with his father, raised by a man who knows what he’s doing.”
