Stronger (The Unit Book 2)

by Greyson, Sarah

  “Wake up!” She felt a nudging at her knee. She opened her eyes and saw Ortiz and the doctor standing over her. She flinched into herself, afraid of Ortiz. She sank as far into the mattress as possible.

  “You’re no longer a virgin. You just cost me two hundred grand you little bitch. I hope it was worth it,” Ortiz spat as he grabbed ahold of her hair and forced her to sit up. He turned to the doctor, “Do the test.”

  The doctor reached into his bag and pulled out a cup. He thrust it to Lola and said, “Go pee in this.”

  Ortiz pulled her to a standing position by her hair. She clutched the cup to her bosom with both hands. What kind of test could they possibly be running? She was led to the bucket and told to pee again. She pulled her shorts and panties down to her knees and squatted over the bucket placing the cup where she expected her urine stream to be. She tried but couldn’t pee with them watching her.

  Mustering all of her courage, she said, “If you want me to pee in this cup, you’re going to have to leave. I can’t do it with you here.”

  “We aren’t leaving so you better figure out a way.”

  “Will you at least turn around?” she asked quietly.

  The men turned their backs to her, and she did her best to block them out. After a few minutes of willing her body to pee, she finally did. She filled the cup half full and set it on the ground. She pulled up her panties and shorts. “All done,” she said as she picked the cup up from the floor.

  The doctor walked to her with his arm outstretched. She handed him the cup. He walked back to his bag and pulled out a stick which he then unwrapped and dipped in the urine. Both men focused intently on the stick.

  She felt the air in the room change. Something bad was going to happen as Ortiz’s eyes met hers. He stalked to her, raised his hand, and without warning backhanded her, knocking her to the ground. She sat on the ground supported by her hand with her other hand held firmly against her cheek to push against the pain. She looked up at him. “What’s wrong?” she asked knowing whatever it was wasn’t good for her.

  “You’re pregnant, you bitch.” He reached down and grabbed a handful of her hair and drug her to a kneeling position facing the back of the hut. “Guard,” Ortiz bellowed into the night. The nice man came running into the hut.

  “Yes senor.”

  “Kill her.” Ortiz moved to the side of the hut to watch this bitch, who cost him over three hundred grand, die. The doctor stepped to the other side of the cabin, a sick grin upon his face. She prayed like she never prayed in her life. She was pregnant with Rob’s baby. She was never going to get the life she always wanted. Rob’s baby. For the briefest of moments, she allowed herself the happiness of the knowledge that she carried Rob’s baby. Rob’s baby. If only she could find a way out of this, she could finally have the life she always dreamed of. Being a mother and a wife. But she was going to die. Worse, her baby was going to die. She moved her hands in a protective gesture to cover her belly. She clenched her eyes shut as tears streamed down her face. “Please,” she begged but she wasn’t sure if she was begging God or Ortiz who were one in the same at that moment.

  She braced herself as she felt the handgun pressed against the back of her head. She squeezed her eyes closed tighter. At least it would be quick. She heard the click of the trigger as the sound of a single gunshot erupted into the room.

  Chapter 26

  Rob, Tony, Steve, Aaron, and Tyrrell stood on the perimeter of the Ortiz compound. Ortiz’s compound was surrounded by tropical forest which provided the perfect cover for The Unit.

  “Steve and Aaron, you guys get sniper eyes on the guards in the compound. Take up positions there and there,” Rob said pointing the highest locations in the forest. From the chosen locations, Steve and Aaron would not be able to cover the entire compound, just the main courtyard. It would have to do. Their thermal optics always came in handy for nighttime missions.

  “Tony and Tyrrell, you are on my six. We will take out as many as we can as quietly as possible. No noise. No one knows we’re here. Let’s keep it that way.” Steve and Aaron disappeared deeper into the forest. Night provided the perfect cover. They all wore their night vision goggles. The armed guards would never know what hit them. Because it was night, they needn’t worry about shadows to give away their positions. They could easily sneak up on the subject and take him out. Rob, Tony and Tyrrell moved in the shadows of the forest until it was time to climb the barbed wire fence. There was no way to avoid it as it surrounded the compound. They scaled the fence with efficiency and placed the piece of carpet they were carrying over the barbed wire, leaving the carpet behind. Once on the ground, they were hidden by the huts. They were at the back of the first of several huts which lined the west side of the property. Clearing the fence was their first hurdle, it was now time to split up. The plan was to take out the four roving guards before taking out the warehouse guards. Next they would take out the guards on the mansion, and lastly, they would take out the guards guarding the hut.

  Tony was the first to come across an armed roving guard. He quietly moved behind the man until he was standing directly behind him. With speed and accuracy, Tony gripped the man’s head with his left hand and quickly wrapped the piano wire around the man’s neck under his chin. Tony used the dowels to pull taut on the wire, effectively strangling him. The man struggled and kicked, but Tony was prepared. He had him in a death lock. The piano wire was doing its job. Two minutes later, Tony placed the man softly to the ground and moved to find his next victim.

  Rob found a roving guard under a tree smoking a cigarette. Little did he know it would be his last? Rob crept up behind him and in one swift move, snapped the man’s neck. Silence. No shots fired yet.

  They continued in this fashion taking out the four roving guards. The men guarding the warehouse and the mansion would be harder. They would need their Walther P22’s for this. Rob walked in the darkness until he stood 100 yards in front of the guards at the warehouse. He moved behind a tree for cover, and knelt on the ground to aim his gun at subject one’s head. Silently, the man fell to his death. He fired another shot quickly before the second man had a chance to react. The sound of metal scraping metal was the only sound heard as he fired the second shot. He hit the man right between the eyes. The armed guard fell silently. He hoped Tony and Tyrrell were having the same luck.

  Tyrrell let Tony take aim at one of the guards from the mansion. Tony hit the man in the chest and he fell to the ground, but he wasn’t dead. Tony could see the man moving. The second guard on the mansion was on alert but before he had a chance to radio, Steve took him out with his sniper rifle. Tyrrell and Tony ran to the steps of the mansion in the cover of darkness. They needed to be quick. There was a light shining on the wounded man from the mansion. Tyrrell pulled his knife and stabbed the man in the chest piercing his lung. He pulled the knife from the man and with extreme quickness plunged the knife back into the man’s heart. Blood covered his hand, but the man was now dead. Now they only had the armed guards on the rear doors of the mansion and on the huts to worry about.

  Tyrrell and Tony moved stealthily along the side wall of the mansion. Tony peeked his head around the corner and spotted the guards on the patio. Tony held his hand up for Tyrrell and he followed Tony around the side of the mansion crouched low to the ground. The guards were standing and talking. They was no way to take a shot. They had to create a distraction to get the guards to come down the steps. Tony looked down and saw a landscaping rock. He picked it up and threw it over his shoulder into the yard. It landed but didn’t hit the tree that he aimed for. He picked up another rock and aimed at the tree. He released the rock and it sailed through the air knocking against the tree. The guards fell silent and readied their weapons. One of the guards called into his radio about possible movement on the grounds. This is exactly what The Unit didn’t need. With lightning speed, the guards moved down the steps and split up. They were going to flank the area the noise had come from. As soon as they moved
into the backyard, Tony and Tyrrell moved into position behind them. Tony pulled his Walther P22 and aimed it at the man’s head. All that could be heard was the action slide as Tony fired his shot. The man dropped to the ground. The other guard heard the man drop and rushed to his body. Tyrrell carefully approached as the man raised his walkie-talkie to his mouth. Before the guard could alert the others, Tyrrell placed his right arm around the man’ s neck and locked the choke hold into position by gripping his left arm with his right hand. He brought his left hand up and used it to press down against the man’s head. Once the man was in the chokehold, Tyrrell squeezed his muscles as tight as he could effectually strangling the man. The man must have been trained, because he brought both of his hands up and bear clawed at Tyrrell’s arm that was under his chin. The guard tucked his hands in between his neck and Tyrrell’s arm. The guard widened his stance and squatted. He tucked his chin into the space his hands afforded him. Using his left hand, the guard threw off Tyrrell’s left arm breaking the chokehold. The guard pulled down on Tyrrell’s right arm and extended it. Squatting, the guard flipped Tyrrell over his shoulder. Tyrell landed with a thud on the soft grass. Quickly, Tyrrell got immediately to his feet and pulled his weapon. They were in a standoff. Each man pointing his gun at the other. The guard squeezed the trigger before Tyrrell did but the shot went high and to the right. The guard fell to the ground – dead. Tony had managed to get a shot off. Tyrrell had a new found respect for the man that just saved his life.

  They rendezvoused at their point of entrance. All five members of The Unit converged behind the first hut. Rob whispered, “We’ll get the guards, you get the girls.” Rob motioned for Tony to follow him.

  “Something’s wrong. I only see one guard,” Rob whispered to Tony.

  “Maybe the other guy is in a hut?”

  “We have to be extra careful. We still don’t have Ortiz. Let’s get this one, then we will search the huts.”

  Rob approached the man stealthily from behind. Much like he did with his first silent kill, he grabbed the man’s head and snapped with a quick jerking motion and broke the man’s neck. He laid him upon the grass.

  Steve had moved to the mansion to find Ortiz. As he was approaching the mansion, an unaccounted for armed guard exited. The men stood frozen in that moment, too close to do anything else but throw a punch. Steve went for his gun, but the guy kicked it from his hand. Hand-to-hand combat ensued. The armed guard landed several punches to Steve’s face causing Steve to shake off the loss of consciousness he felt coming. But Steve was better than this man. He had more training. Steve bent down and went for the man’s legs. He folded his body upon itself and took the man to the ground. Steve struggled to grab his knife from his boot strap. The armed guard managed to get on top of Steve. Steve knew it was now or never. The man would beat him to a pulp and then shoot him. The man began pummeling Steve’s head with blows. Steve hung on just long enough to grab his knife. Bringing his knife up, he stabbed the man in the kidney. The man hunched over and started to scream. Before any more sound could exit his mouth, Steve had his hand over the man’s mouth muffling the scream. Steve rolled him over and sliced his throat from ear to ear. Sputtering on his own blood, the man gurgled. Tiny drops shot up and hit Steve in the face. He waited until the man took his last breath before he dragged his body to the other side of the steps to be hidden by the shadows.

  Rob, Tony, and Tyrrell searched the first hut. Four girls with wide, innocent eyes stared in horror. Tony spoke, “We’re here to rescue you. Don’t be afraid. Just wait here, and we will be back. We have to search the rest of the huts.” In the second hut they reassured five girls, and in the third hut, they reassured five more. Rob couldn’t help but wonder where the fuck Lola was being held. They had one more hut. The guard had to be in that hut. Lola had to be in that hut. Without thinking, Rob drew his gun and rushed the door to the last hut. He registered it all in slow motion. He saw the guard pull his gun and point it at the back of Lola’s head. Without hesitation, Rob fired killing the guard. Before he had a chance to see Lola, he heard the bang of a gun and fell to the ground. Then his world faded to black.

  Chapter 27

  Rob opened his eyes to the view from his back deck. He sat there in the patio chair with a cold beer in his hand. He gazed out over the railing into the yard and admired the forest that laid behind his house. He could hear the crickets rubbing their legs together and locusts humming. It was the dead of summer and the sun was beginning its accent into the trees. It was a giant ball of orange flame that started to settle into the forest, darkening the sky to a dusk hour. He heard his sliding glass door open and turned his head to see his Lizzie walking through it with a glass of white wine in her hand. His mouth dropped open. He was speechless. Could he really be here with his Lizzie? It was like the last year and a half had never happened. It was just how he remembered spending summer nights with Lizzie, after they had grilled their dinner and ate on the back deck. She sat in the chair to his left and placed her wine glass on the table which separated them. He couldn’t help but stare. Was he dreaming?

  “Lizzie,” his voice broke.

  “Rob,” she whispered. She had missed him. He sprang to his feet and walked quickly around the table. He lowered himself at her feet. Cradling her head in his hands, he brought her mouth to his for a possessive kiss. He kissed her as a tear slipped down his face. She was crying too. The last time he had seen her, he was nestling her dead, limp body to his.

  He broke the kiss. “How can this be?” he questioned. She would surely have the answers. She was dead. How was it he was now seeing her, kissing her as if she was alive?

  “You are here with me. You can stay with me if you choose.”

  “What do you mean, if I choose?”

  “You know, I have been watching you. I know how you feel for Lola.”

  Her words shocked him. “The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you,” he confessed.

  “I haven’t moved on yet. You have to know that. I still grieve you every day,” he begged her to believe him.

  “Being here has allowed me to watch you and know your heart. I know how painful my death has been to you. I have suffered here, unable to move on, because you keep me here.”

  “Do you want to move on Lizzie?”

  “We both have to. You have to make a choice. You can come with me and we can move on together, or you can live your life. A life I have always wanted for you. A life with Lola,” Lizzie offered.

  Could it be true? Could he go with her right here, right now? But what would that do to Lola?

  “Since you found Lola, you have found a reason to live.”

  “What do you want Lizzie? What do you want me to do? Tell me and I will do it. I will give Lola up to be with you, you know I would.”

  “I know. But that is not what I want for you. I want you to stay with her. I want you to live a full life and experience everything we always dreamed of experiencing.”

  “But don’t you see. That’s the problem. They were our dreams. How can I share our dreams with another?” Rob sobbed.

  “You can raise a family with her.”

  “You know how I’m scared shitless at the thought of being responsible for someone so small. What if someone took my child in exchange for ransom like they did with you? I would die. And God forbid anyone hurt my child, I would never see him or her again because I would be in jail or dead,” Rob emphasized.

  “But you want one.”

  “You know I could never give you an answer one way or the other,” he confessed as he choked back the sob that was threatening.

  “You love Lola. I can feel it, Rob. You love me, too. But you have to let me go. You have to see what can become of you and Lola. I don’t want you to give up living just to be with me.”

  “You don’t want to be with me?” he questioned.

  “That’s not it. You know I will always love you. From now until eternity. But with love comes sacrifice. I would rather you live,”
she whispered holding his face between her palms.

  He leaned in and kissed her again. He savored the feel of her lips on his. He savored her taste. He savored her labored breathing upon his face.

  “So where are we?” he asked.

  “We are in between. We are where I have been since I died. You won’t let me go so I am forced to stay here. When you let me go, when you move on, you will set me free.”

  “Do you want me to let you go?”

  “I know you will always love me. I know because I know your heart. But what you have with Lola is special and different. Not better or worse, just different. You need to be with her. You need to let me go. You need to live,” she reassured him with a gentle kiss to his forehead.

  “But how do I do it? I have never been able to figure out how to let you go.”

  “We say goodbye. Right here and right now.”

  “I’m not ready. Can’t we at least stay and have this drink together like old times.”

  “Will you choose life?” she asked still uncertain of his answer.

  “I need to think about it. Will you stay with me while I think about it?” he begged of her.

  “There is no place I would rather be.” She smiled and it was his undoing. He bent his head forward and rested it in her lap. She gently stroked his hair while she reassured him it would be okay. She kissed the back of his head. He raised it and brought his tear stained face to her lips again. He could never get enough of his Lizzie.

  “We have until the sun sets. Then you must make your decision,” she informed him.

  He stood up and resumed his position in the patio chair opposite her. He picked up his Coors Light and tilted it towards his lips. He gulped down a swallow. Silent, thoughtful tears continued to run down his face. Could he say goodbye to Lizzie and mean it? Could he really have a life with a woman as good as Lola? He knew he didn’t deserve either woman. Still he had a choice to make. He could chose to die and spend eternity with Lizzie, or he could chose life and see what he could build with Lola. He did want to continue his work, albeit dangerous. It was the only thing he knew. He didn’t know how Lola felt about that. He would never know if he chose Lizzie. Lola saved him. He owed her everything. What would it do to her if he died?