Mad Max (SEAL Team Alpha Book 12)

by Zoe Dawson

  “I read you loud and clear, Mr. Black. None of us want that either.” He sat forward. “I’ll need a schematic of that hotel.”

  After the two suits left, Pitbull sat down next to him. “This is dicey, LT. I don’t like slapping things together.”

  “I hear you, Pit, but Mr. Black’s right. The people who have to go after him in Waziristan will be SEALs. You know that, and I don’t relish having that on my conscience. But this will be tricky. Black ops in a Paraguayan hotel with no training. I hope Dodger, Professor, and Saint are having better luck.

  Renata brandished the knife. “Don’t come any closer!” She was on the edge of hysteria.

  “Renata, babe. It’s me. Max.” He held up his hands, watching her steadily.

  She choked out his name, suddenly blinded by tears, and he caught her against him as she stumbled into his arms.

  Gathering her up in a rough embrace, he caught the back of her head and held her tight. “What happened?”

  She tried to answer, but she couldn’t. There was just too much emotion welling up inside her—terror, relief, desperation.

  “You’re shaking.” He leaned back, and she felt him stiffen. “You killed him?”

  “I-I-had-d to. He w-was g-going to r-rape me.” She clenched her teeth to control the shaking.

  “Take deep breaths,” he said. “He got what he deserved. That’s fitting to die in the dirt like the pig he was. You do realize that you took out the second in command of the most dangerous up-and-coming terror group in the world?”

  “He was disgusting, and he did get what he deserved. He murdered Molina’s son right in front of me. He killed him to get to me.”

  Renata pulled back and took a deep breath, “I’ve got to talk Molina, tell him what happened, about his son.”

  “Renata, this is not a good idea.”

  “Trust me. I’ve earned his respect. I tried to save his son, volunteered myself to help. Even though I came here to save Carolina, I tried with everything I knew, every shred of knowledge to save him. I owe him this. Please, Max.”

  “I think we should just go.” Max tightened his hold, his voice gruff.

  Wiping her face, she lifted her head and looked at him. “No, Max. I can’t go. Molina’s son is dead. I have to break the news to him. Tell him who murdered his son, or they’ll never stop chasing me. I’ll never be safe. I refuse to take the blame for this when he took whatever precious moments Enrico had left.”

  He went dead still and stared at her, the pulse in his temple suddenly beating double time. “What? You can’t go out there now. You killed Al’Irada’s leader.”

  “Don’t worry,” she whispered, her eyes filling. She flattened her hand against his chest, her heart beating in frantic time just like his. “When I tell Molina about how Enrico died, I don’t think I’ll have to worry about them coming after me. Just be ready.”

  He watched her with an intensity that made her heart skip a beat. Finally, he hauled in a deep, uneven breath and grasped her face between his hands, the look in his eyes fierce with emotion. Max released a heavy sigh and smoothed his hand up her back, then turned his head and kissed her forehead.

  “Go. You’ve got ten minutes.”

  She broke from him and ran out of the barn straight to the big tent. She went inside and Molina took one look at her and stood. “What has happened?”

  She broke the news to him. Told him everything that had happened and what she had done, leaving out Max.

  He grabbed up his gun and brushed past Renata, rage and tears in his eyes. “They will pay for this.”

  As soon as he cleared the tent, she heard automatic gunfire. She hit the ground as bullets whizzed through the tent. Suddenly, Max was there. He grabbed her arm and hustled her to the back of the tent. He cut a hole and they crouched as men fired at each other, some in hand-to-hand combat. Everything had erupted into chaos.

  “Babe. We’ve got to get out of here. Let’s move.” He held onto her as they sprinted for the gate and slipped through. They ran straight out toward the horses, Max stopping only briefly to collect Jugs.

  “Where are Carolina and Jason?”

  “I sent them home. I didn’t want to take the chance that they would get captured, and the blind wasn’t really big enough for three people,” he said.

  When they reached the horses, they mounted quickly. She kicked her mount into a gallop and the wind caught her hair. She was still trembling from what she had done, and the doctor part of her mind knew it was shock.

  There was so much to sift through and understand, but now all she could do was ride into the night, trying to keep her grip.

  15

  When they reached the farm, Max frowned. There were no lights on in the house or the barn. Where the hell were Carolina and Jason? They should have been back by now. He reached over and grabbed Renata’s reins. She was almost asleep in the saddle. She stiffened and asked groggily, “What is it?”

  He pointed to the house and she frowned. “No lights.”

  He nodded. He put his finger to his lips and dismounted, pulling his gun. He looked down at Jugs, but he wasn’t reacting to anything. Then his ears pricked, and his tail started to wag.

  “Stay here,” he whispered and crouching low, he headed for the barn. He slipped inside the door, waiting for his eyesight to adjust.

  “You wanker. We never hear from you. You don’t call or write.”

  Dodger materialized out of the gloom with a huge grin on his face. “Dodger!” Max said, striding forward and grabbing him around the neck. “Where’s the rest of the team?”

  He pulled a pouty face. “Aren’t I enough for you?” Then he grinned again. “It’s a long story, mate. But Professor, Saint and—”

  “Anna! What the fuck! Are you guys out of your minds!”

  She ran to him, threw her arms around his neck, and hugged him. He hugged her back, shocked that his sister was here. What the hell was going on?

  “It’s a long story, Max. Don’t take it out on them,” she said with the same steel in her voice. “It’s so good to see you.”

  When she released him, he met her eyes. “We’re going to talk later.”

  “Where’s Renata?” Carolina asked as her and Jason came out into the barn area. “She’s not—”

  “No. She’s outside. When there were no lights, we thought something had happened to you, and I came to investigate.”

  “Oh, thank God.”

  He ducked out of the barn and walked far enough to wave her to them.

  She came trotting in, pulling Max’s horse.

  “I’ll take care of the animals,” Jason said.

  As soon as Renata dismounted, Carolina ran to her and threw her arms around her, hugging her tightly.

  “I am so glad to see you.” Renata gave her a smile, but Carolina frowned and said, “Are you all right?”

  “It was hairy there for a while,” Max said.

  “Do you want to go to bed?” Carolina asked.

  “No, I can help you cook for this mob,” Renata said.

  She wasn’t shaking anymore, and her tone was even, but Max was worried. It was as if she was on autopilot. He knew from experience that there was an initial numbness after the type of ordeal she had been through, then there was a crash. He was going to watch her to make sure he was there when she crashed. And, she would.

  “So, who is everyone?” Renata asked. Jason took the horses’ reins and led them to the barn.

  “These knuckleheads are part of my team. This is Dodger, Professor, and Saint. He’s our medic.” He indicated Anna, who was standing next to Dodger. “This is my sister.”

  “Yeah, thought you would need us, but it looks like this lovely lady had you covered,” Dodger said.

  “It’s been an interesting week to say the least.”

  “Well, we can all catch up inside,” Carolina said, herding them toward the front door.

  “We can barbeque,” Jason suggested as he came out of the barn. “How does that
sound, mi corazón?

  “Perfect,” she said, and they kissed briefly.

  Max could tell they were devoted to each other, but there was a serious problem that had to be worked out before either of them were safe.

  He couldn’t leave her in all good conscience until it was worked out.

  Jason went to the pool area to fire up the grill and his wife headed to the kitchen. Before Renata could follow her, Max grabbed her hand, drew her to him. “How you holding up, babe?”

  “I’m all right. Stop worrying.” She might think she was, but she wasn’t. He could see it in her eyes. She cupped his face and said more forcibly, “Really. I’m okay.”

  He let her go, vowing to watch her like a hawk. Dodger slapped him on the back, and he looked over at his teammate. “Trust you to find a gorgeous bird in the jungle.”

  “She found me,” he said as they moved toward the house and the patio, accepting a cold bottle of beer from Jason. He settled into one of the chairs as the others found seats. He told them most of the story he could remember, cataloging how she had pulled him on the litter for three days, through the heat, the fatigue, and blisters on her hands. Then she and Carolina had operated on him in her barn, then nursed him through an infection and fever.

  “You doing all right now?” Saint asked. “I don’t want to insult your doctor friend, but could I just take a look?”

  Max laughed and pulled up his shirt. “That bandage could be changed,” Saint said.

  Max nodded. “Go ahead before you bust a gasket.”

  “He can’t help it. He’s our mummy away from home,” Dodger said, and Professor laughed.

  He looked up to find Anna standing there with a tray of corn chips and salsa.

  “Carolina asked me to this bring out.” Her voice broke. She set down the tray and took a deep breath.

  SEALs always joked about the hard stuff because it was the hard stuff. But she wouldn’t react like his teammates. Her eyes were glued to the wound on his side. She bit her lip, then blinked rapidly. He let his shirt drop, and he went to her.

  “Oh, Max,” she whispered, her face contorting, her anguish almost palpable. “I was so scared.” Tears welled, then spilled over, and she sobbed softly. Gently, Max drew her into his arms and rocked her. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair. He comforted her, his hands running up and down her back.

  “It’s okay, Anna Banana.” She huffed out a watery laugh at the nickname. “I’m okay.”

  She looked up at him, her beautiful eyes wet and puffy. She pounded a fist on his chest. “You better stay that way.”

  “Or what?”

  “You’ll break my heart.”

  Expecting a sassy comeback, her sincere response cut him to the quick. “Geez, Anna.” He blinked rapidly, squeezing his sister hard, then letting her go.

  “Max?” Saint said impatiently.

  He watched her go back toward the kitchen, then caught Renata staring at him. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. He started toward her, ignoring his insensitive teammate, but she shook her head and wiped her face. “Later,” she mouthed.

  He sat back down in the chair, and Saint scoffed, “Women.”

  “Little softies,” Professor said. “We wouldn’t want them any other way.”

  “Can I talk to the three of you outside?” Max said.

  “Max, come on, really?” Saint fitted a bandage over the two stitched wounds.

  He rose and strode toward the back of the house. Jugs got up, but Max said, “Stay.” He settled back down.

  Dodger sighed.

  “What the hell did she go through out there, and why the fuck is she here in the first place?” Max asked, very quietly, very calmly, very certain he wasn’t going to like the answer to either of those questions.

  Saint shifted and folded his arms. “Max, don’t get your britches in a tangle. We didn’t have a choice in bringing her.”

  “How’s that?”

  “It was above my pay grade,” Saint said, unperturbed. “We protected her when she got captured.”

  “Saint!” Dodger said.

  “She what?” He couldn’t believe this.

  “Yeah,” Professor said, “She was amazing and made the Corta Cartel believe that we were all National Geographic members.”

  Max was having a hard time breathing. “She saw action?” he asked, working hard not to choke on the words.

  “An ambush. The Cartel threw a grenade at us and captured all of us except Dodger. She didn’t lose her cool. The girl kicked ass, Max. She can hold her own. And when those five guys came after us, she saved Dodger.”

  Dodger pinched the bridge of his nose. “Saint. Will you shut your pie hole?” he said through clenched teeth.

  “What?” Saint asked. “She’s good in a fight. I think those Cartel guys who hit on her would have let us go if she’d asked.”

  “Hit on her? Fuck! What else happened to her?”

  “Well, she got skinned. I patched her up,” he said hurriedly. “Just a few stitches.”

  Skinned. His heart stalled, then staggered into a rough beat.

  He felt betrayed. He’d trusted these guys. They were his brothers and his sister had gotten skinned in the jungle after being blasted with a grenade and captured by Cartel bastards. She’d been pursued and gotten into a fucking firefight. He couldn’t afford to say something he was bound to regret, not where his brothers were concerned, and his nerves were just a bit on edge after all he’d gone through with Carolina, Jason, and Renata. In the past, he would have coldcocked Saint, his anger getting out of his control, but Renata had taught him that he wasn’t using his limitless thinking to the greatest advantage. Reining in his temper, did do that. Listening, did do that.

  “Look, mate,” Dodger said. “We were forced to take her. I argued with her, but it did no good. She called them her friends, but it was the bloody CIA. We had no choice in the matter. They were calling the shots, and to get to you we had to compromise. And, make no mistake, brother, we were getting to you.”

  “Max,” Anna’s voice sounded behind them.

  He turned and stared at her. “I’m speechless.”

  “You guys, please.” She thrust her head toward the house, indicating she wanted privacy with her brother.

  “You’re lucky he didn’t bloody throttle you, Saint,” Dodger said.

  “He could try. He can kiss our asses. We came after him to save him. If it wasn’t for Anna, we would be back home, and his ass would be hung out to dry.”

  They disappeared back around the house.

  She moved closer. “Max, you are not in charge of me. No one is going to tell me what to do. But when they called me out of the blue and asked me to be the cover for your teammates, do you think I would have turned them down?”

  “I don’t want my baby sister in harm’s way. I thought I could trust them in that. They should have known better.”

  “Oh, please. Dodger all but tackled me. I had to put his ass down when he tried to physically stop me from participating. But that was the deal I made with the CIA. I would be their cover. Don’t you understand? After losing Angar Said, there was no other choice.”

  “Angar Said? What the fuck happened?”

  “The Paraguayan government was incensed that you carried out a black ops mission on their soil. They confiscated Angar Said and made a deal behind our backs to let him go. They paid lip service to rescuing you but had no intention of doing so. They were going to sacrifice you to Al’Irada.” She gripped his shirt and tugged. “They ejected your team and NCIS from the country. The CIA had a plan to trick them into thinking they had gone home, and they split up your team. Fast Lane and the rest of them went after Angar Said. Dodger, Professor, and Saint came after you. The CIA and I didn’t give them a choice. I was not going to let you fall into enemy hands.”

  He took a breath. He got it now. His buddies didn’t have a choice, and he was glad he hadn’t said or done anything to fracture the fragile bonds they had built. H
e would not be the one to destroy what they had worked so hard to overcome.

  “I don’t like that you were in danger. Can I say that without you going all independent and badass on me?”

  She smiled then and tucked her hands into her pockets, nodding. “I think I’m okay with that. We’re even. I don’t like it that you’re always in danger…” She covered his mouth with her fingers when he opened it, and before he could say anything, she continued, “…either. But I understand that you love what you do, and it would cripple you to leave the SEALs and service. So, I accept it as who you are, and when I’m not terrified and worried, I’m so damn proud of you.”

  “I’m proud of you, too,” he said. The feeling of betrayal dissipated, and in its place was the sense of belonging to a group of men who would go to such lengths to save his bacon.

  He slung his arm around her shoulders, and they walked back to the pool area. Saint was sullen, and Professor neutral. Dodger looked aggravated, but it seemed to be directed at Anna instead of him. Max was glad about that. He could only handle one thing with his baby sister at a time. He was still strongly against Dodger getting involved with her.

  “I’m sorry, guys. I was out of line. Thank you for coming all this way to save me. I knew I could count on you.”

  Saint and Dodger exchanged glances. “Where is Mad Max and what have you done with him?” Saint asked.

  Max chuckled. “Maybe I need a new call name.”

  They all scoffed at that and Max sat down. He had been so locked down, not in control like he’d thought. It had taken one gorgeous doctor to make him see the right path he needed to follow.

  Max looked over at Jason grilling the meat. “We need to talk about him and Carolina. Also, about Renata. I don’t feel comfortable leaving them in this hornet’s nest I stirred up.”

  “Copy that,” Dodger said. “We can’t let Shea down. But not lying. He’s a deserter and the Marines aren’t going to slap him on the wrist, Max.” Dodger looked grim. “They’re going to court-martial him, and we all know it.”