by Dale Mayer
Sobbing, she struggled down the first rung. “I’m so scared,” she whispered.
“No time for fear,” Cooper said. “Keep your eyes on the rungs and go.”
She dropped down several more rungs and finally it was the man with the head wound who stepped over the top rung and started his descent.
It had only taken four minutes.
To Cooper they were all taking too damn long.
Chapter 4
Sasha stared toward the shore from the back of the boat. The vessel was small, sleek and dark. Like the night closing in around her. The wind had picked up. She tugged her shirt collar higher against her neck. It was warm out, but her nerves were stretched taut and she had no stomach left – it had gone south along with her nerves. Add in the wind and spray, and the rising panic that they wouldn’t be fast enough. That the enemy was racing behind them…closing in.
Please, God, let them get away safe.
Until she was a long way away, she wouldn’t feel safe. Or until she saw the dead bodies of the terrorists. She dealt with death every day. It was permanent – final, and she needed to know that the assholes wouldn’t be able to terrorize anyone again.
If she didn’t get that closure she was afraid her nightmare would just relive this hell over and over again. These men could still pop out like the boogie man from hell.
And that she couldn’t handle. She wasn’t sure she’d sleep again.
But even if she confirmed these men were dead, there were always more men waiting to take their place.
Feeling safe would take time. Something she was going to have plenty of now that her time here was done. Or would be in less than two days. Was she supposed to go back right now? Finish the last day? But what about the patients, Yalta and her baby? The new doctor to take her place wouldn’t be arriving for a couple of days, so if she didn’t return she’d be leaving the camp in a tough situation. Not to mention there’d been no replacements booked for the other three doctors. The second medical clinic was just as overrun as hers had been.
Her gaze caught sight of and lingered on one of two soldiers who had found her. He looked familiar.
None of them seemed real considering what she’d just been through. She wanted to reach out and touch the soldiers. Make sure they weren’t part of her imagination.
“You okay?” David asked in a low voice against her ear. Both women tucked up close to him. David was one of those big teddy bear kind of guys. Always a smile on his face. Even tempered. She’d never seen him angry. Frustrated yes…but given the shortages of medical supplies and long line of recipients for these medical supplies that was to be expected.
She nodded. “I will be.”
“Are they Americans?” Theresa asked in a low voice as she cuddled up closer to David.
Sasha blinked in surprise. She hadn’t considered the rescuers’ nationality. The ones she’d spoken with had sounded American, but she’d also heard a group speaking Turkish. Then joint task force operations were the norm.
SEALs? Nah. Soldiers yes, possibly. If the American government had been informed but surely it would take longer to get here and help. Of course the SEALs were elusive and over-the-top miracle workers. Would they have come over to help? Why? Because she was American? Because David was? Or was Ron someone big in this world? She’d never be important enough for someone to stretch his neck out and save her. She’d helped a lot of people due to her profession, but she’d not been the recipient of much in return.
Then she hadn’t gone into medicine for what she could get out of it.
She’d been all about helping others.
And she still was. But finding out your husband was cheating on you with your best friend – well that did tend to sour your outlook on life.
The three all huddled up close against the sudden bitter wind.
Sasha stared out at the darkness. The boat rocked with the heavy waves. She felt the hard glances of those soldiers, but no one said a word.
That worked for her. She just wanted to get the hell home. That meant on US soil. She needed to go home and spend time with her mother who was all alone now that her father had passed away.
So many people went home when they hit troubled patches, but she’d been raised to be independent and going back to her parents hadn’t been an option. She’d happily visit, but she had an empty house waiting for her.
Fifteen cold minutes later they’d made it back to shore. Not once did she look at the freighter. She kept her eyes on the land but couldn’t help that horrible sense of being watched. Surely all the gunmen had been caught by now.
She’d only seen the three men who’d forced her to the motorboat, but there had to be a dozen or more.
And as she stared at the blazing fire on the shore, she had to wonder how many of the others escaped? Terrorists never seemed to run out of willing men. Still she’d balance some of their lives for Ron’s. That he’d been rescued and not burned alive was a miracle. Now they needed a second one that would save his life.
He was a tough buzzard and given a chance, he’d pull through.
The boat nudged up against the dock. The heat of the fire, although a good hundred yards away, was stifling.
One of the soldiers reached a hand to help her off the boat. Gratefully she accepted it and clambered up to safety. Once on the dock, she said, “Thank you.”
She smiled up at him and recognized the man who’d kicked the door down for them. There was something about him that was familiar and the look in his eye was almost overly familiar. Did she know him? He seemed to know her. He grinned. “No problem,” he said a low voice. “Glad we found you in time.”
Tears burned the back of her eyes.
“So am I,” she choked out. Then trying to hold back the tears, she started to walk away. Her mental state roiled with relief and fear. She couldn’t help but search the shadows. What if some of the men had gotten away?
The soldier in front motioned at her to keep moving. So obviously they weren’t out of trouble yet.
She turned back to wait for the others to catch up. The one soldier was speaking to Theresa.
Something about his voice caught her attention. She caught a glimpse of his profile, but in the dark, it was almost impossible to see his features. She had to be imagining him. Still, those electric blue eyes. She’d spent a decent amount of time in Coronado, so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility that she’d have seen him before.
And then there was her line of work…
Theresa said something in a low voice to him. Sasha couldn’t hear the words, but she understood the tremor in her friend’s voice. This had been a traumatic day for all of them.
These men had done a hell of a job. They deserved a medal for freeing her group.
The soldier said in a louder voice, “You’ll be fine now. We’ll get you home in no time.”
And she realized she knew that voice.
With the big soldier waiting for her beside the open door of a black SUV, the items in her brain clicked and she gasped. She did know him. And knew what he was – a SEAL. She spun and studied the soldier still standing with his head bent toward Theresa.
“Cooper?”
The soldier behind her froze. And damn it, the soldier in front of her did too. He turned to study her.
“Hello, Dr. Sasha,” he said, his tone droll. “Nice to see you again.”
*
Cooper stared at the tiny doctor in front of him. God he’d loved her since she’d done the surgery and given him his life back. Not only had she done the surgery, but she’d hounded him on his physical therapy too. He grinned. She wasn’t bigger than a mosquito. That’s why everyone called her, Dr. Sasha. Her real name was Sasha Childs. But given her five foot stature, her name caused her more grief than anything. So Dr. Sasha it was.
“It is,” she said with a delighted grin. “Thank you for saving us, me.”
He’d always loved that about her. So much spirit. Almost with an edge but she had a rea
dy smile for anyone.
But then she surprised him and barreled toward him arms open.
He laughed quietly and held her close. “Glad to be able to return the favor,” he said in a low voice.
“Now that’s a fair trade,” she whispered.
He knew what she meant. Swede made a harsh sound. Right. They needed to save the reunion for later. “We’ll talk later. We have to go now.”
She gave a quick nod, picked up her feet and ran back to Swede. She flashed him a big grin and dove into the back of the truck. Apparently seeing a familiar face had picked up her spirits.
Then again, seeing her had picked up his.
But what the hell was she doing over here?
And where was her husband?
Swede nudged Cooper, making him realize he was standing there like an idiot.
“You know her?”
Cooper gave him a sheepish grin. “Yeah, long story. The surgeon on call that day I was shot collapsed in surgery. She was there for some special training at the time and took over. She saved my life.”
Swede’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. He turned to glance back at Sasha then snorted. “You got all the luck. When I got shot, I ended up with that old geezer Mahoney.”
Cooper snickered. Mahoney was close to seventy and had the bedside manner of an old goat. “I lucked out,” Cooper said. “The nurses told me about what happened afterwards. She not only saved my life, she saved the doctor’s life who’d been working on me.”
“And you let her walk away,” Swede said with a note of incredulity. “Haven’t you learned anything from the guys yet?”
“Yeah well this was before Mason found Tesla,” Cooper protested. “And besides, she’s married.”
Swede frowned. “Are you sure about that? I wouldn’t want my wife over here in this troubled time while my fat ass is back home.”
“You don’t know, they might be happy with that arrangement,” Cooper said in exasperation. “Besides you won’t let Mia out of your sight for five minutes.”
“Have you seen the guys on base? Hell,” Swede said, “I’d lose her in a heartbeat if I did leave her alone.”
He had a point.
Their team had gotten a hell of a name for themselves. Not only were they SEALs, but they were hell on wheels in the love department too. Somehow his buddies had all found love – often in the most unexpected places. The base had dozens of nicknames for the team. Only one they were called to their face. The Keepers. But there were rumors of others. Love Boaters was the worst. The guys hated that one. Some were cruder but no one ever made mention of the names around the team. They wouldn’t stand for it.
And dare anyone say anything against any of the women, the guy would be knocked flat in no time.
But on the other side of that coin, there’d been dozens of requests for guys to work with The Keepers in the hopes that the luck might wear off on them. The love vibe was a hard thing to miss out on if you were looking for it.
Many SEALs were already happily married. And some were in the middle of ugly divorces. Still others hadn’t recovered from breakups and had no plans to.
The military was hell on relationships.
Chapter 5
“How do you know him?” David asked when they were settled in the back of the SUV. Theresa turned to listen when Sasha answered.
“I did surgery on him a lifetime ago – about a year ago,” she said with a smile. “He was a decent size back then but not like he is now,” she admitted.
“Looks like he recovered well.”
She laughed. “He had to do a fair bit of physical therapy as part of his recovery. He wanted to return to work and was chafing at the bit, so I pointed him toward power lifting. The man was a SEAL and in incredible shape anyway, but all that downtime while his team was on active duty pissed him off. He needed the outlet.”
“Well, I’d say it worked out,” Theresa said admiringly. “How come I never get patients who look like that?”
“Hmm, maybe because you specialize in pediatrics,” David said with droll humor.
Theresa nodded slowly. “I’m sorry about the divorce, Sasha. They suck at any time.”
“They do indeed,” Sasha said in a noncommittal voice, hoping the conversation would move on.
They were stuck in the SUV, waiting for something or someone. She studied Cooper outside the vehicle. He stood beside her door with his back to her.
Could they leave already? This might be safer than before, but it sure as hell wasn’t safe yet. And she didn’t do unsafe right now. She needed it locked down – to know for sure she wasn’t going to be spirited away. She’d been okay with the edge of uncertainty while married. Not now. Now she had to know where she stood at all times.
Was there anything more devastating than betrayal – especially times two?
She sank down into the seat aware of the stilted silence around her. Then David, dear David who wouldn’t hurt anyone piped up. “The first thing I want is a hot shower.”
“Food,” said Theresa. “I’m starved.”
“Water for me,” Sasha admitted.
Cooper popped his head inside. “That’s one thing I can help with.” He opened a pack from the front and handed around several bottles of water.
Sasha smiled her thanks when he gave her one. His searching gaze made her realize he might have heard some of the earlier conversation. That was okay. If he didn’t hear it now, he’d hear it soon enough. Divorce was like that. Not that he’d care. He hadn’t seen her on anything other than a professional footing and likely didn’t know her ex anyway.
At least she hoped he didn’t.
Divorce was hard on everyone, not just the couple involved.
Then again a dead love was just that – dead. She almost laughed. Talk about being morose when it came to her marriage. Not bitter, but sad. Knowledgeable about hurt and pain in a way she’d never experienced before. And not sure she liked the way she’d changed. But once a hard lesson is learned well, you do anything you can to avoid being forced to learn it again…
And now here on the other side of the world, the size of the planet was brought home to her again.
Cooper was a good man. She’d seen him when he was down and he’d never given up. A smile broke free and made her laugh. The smiles had been coming on more and more. Good thing. Her family hadn’t known what to do with her. She’d lost her sunny disposition when she’d lost her husband.
It had taken a long time to get over him, she wasn’t proud of that, but she loved very deeply and any deep wound took time to close.
Now, she realized she’d hit a turning point.
One she’d been waiting for. It was time to go home.
Not because of the hostage taking. Not because of the volunteer work – but because she could.
She’d healed. Become whole again.
And now she could return to her old life.
*
Cooper took the driver’s side and started the engine. He glanced behind to make sure all passengers were buckled in. His gaze lingered on Dr. Sasha’s profile as she stared out the window. Fatigue lined her face, but there was a small smile playing at the corner of her mouth.
He’d heard the others. But wasn’t sure if he’d heard right. The good doctor was divorced?
Good.
If the man couldn’t make her happy then he didn’t deserve to have her.
She was a hell of a doctor. Of course that didn’t make her a hell of a woman – but he’d love to find out.
They had several hours ahead of them. He’d heard the comment about needing food, but they didn’t have anything with them. He figured they’d get a few hours under their belt and then stop. They were heading deeper into Turkey. But would have to go past to the camp the team had been snatched from. Behind him the rest of the men were in the second vehicle. Backup had arrived to help the Turkish team handle the scene. Cooper and the rest of the SEAL team had the three doctors and were taking them back to safety.<
br />
He’d hope for a military helicopter and maybe a quick exit to Germany, but that hadn’t pulled together. At least not yet. Still they were a short distance away. Good enough for him.
Swede motioned at the turnoff for the highway. “Once we’re on the road we’ll need to stop for gas.”
Cooper nodded. “Coffee and food too.” He nodded to the back of the vehicle. “With any luck they’ll sleep that far.”
Swede nodded, but he’d turned and was studying the passengers. “They aren’t out yet, but will be soon.”
His headset crackled.
“That’s Markus checking in. Says the Turkish team have searched the freighter. They’ve picked up three men only.”
“Damn.”
Swede nodded. “Should have been twice that many.”
“Not our problem.” He knew that’s what the bosses would say. But he hated to leave a job half finished. “And our orders?” he asked. “Did Mason get any update?”
“No change. Get the hostages to safety.”
Cooper glanced in the rearview mirror. Dr. Sasha’s eyes were closed, her head learning against the window. He’d have hated to find out that Dr. Sasha perished because his country hadn’t done enough to save her when she’d done so much for her countrymen. He wasn’t the only military man to end up on her table. He didn’t know what had happened to her a year ago, but he was damn sorry for it.
She was good people.
Chapter 6
Sasha’s neck ached and her butt throbbed. For a moment she was afraid she was still in the hands of the damn terrorists. But a quick glance around reassured her she was riding in the vehicle and Cooper was driving her and the others to safety.
The vehicle slowed yet again and made a turn.
The change in the engine had woken her. They’d taken a ramp off the highway and were now rounding a large corner to a gas station and restaurant up ahead.
Even SEALs needed gas.
