by Rebecca Deel
His strong hands turned her to face him. “This is the only way. We have to get you to the mainland.”
Scalding tears slid down her face. “Hide me somewhere until the storm passes. You can come back and get me with a plane or another helicopter.” Wheezing, she struggled against his tight hold.
“I won’t leave you here alone. Remember what I told you? We do this together from now on.” Jon brushed her lips with his fingertips, a gentle touch that filled her with such longing. “If you stay, I stay.”
“Dana, look at me,” Doc said. He waited until her gaze focused on his grim face. “If you and Jon stay here, you both die.”
“Shut up, Doc,” Jon snapped.
“She’s got to face the truth. It’s a death wish. We don’t know how long the storm will last and you’ll be outnumbered. They won’t stop until you’re dead and Dana’s back in their hands.”
Dana drew in a shuddering breath. She didn’t want Jon to die. He mattered. She couldn’t live with his death on her conscience. “No. Take him with you. Make him go.”
Doc shook his head. “Not going to happen. You know he won’t abandon you. He’d kill any one of us who tried to force him to leave without you by his side or in his arms.”
“Dana.” Brenna squeezed her arm. “You care about Jon. I know you do. Save him.”
“How?” She dragged her gaze to Jon’s. “I can’t turn off the panic attacks. I tried when Grace brought us here.” Her hand touched her bruised cheek. “That’s when Ape man slapped me and I fell against a wooden post.”
“Knew I should have killed that clown.” Jon’s thumb brushed over her lower lip, light as the touch of a butterfly’s wings. “I’ll help you get on the boat, but you must trust me.”
“Will it hurt?”
He smiled. “Does a kiss hurt?”
“A kiss?” Dana whispered. “A kiss will help me into a raft in the middle of a storm?”
“Not just any kiss, baby.” His eyes glittered. “Mine.”
Her gaze drifted to his lips, lips she’d dreamed of for so many months. A kiss she feared would never become a reality after Ape man and Skyscraper captured her. She shivered, her scrubs clinging to her body in a cold, wet cocoon.
Jon drew her into his arms, the heat of his body penetrating her chilled skin. His hands skimmed her arms, cupped her face with gentleness. “Trust me,” he whispered as his head dipped closer to hers in slow motion. “I would never hurt you. I’d sooner slit my own throat than cause you one moment of pain.”
His lips brushed hers, soft, warm, perfect. Dana sighed at the feather-light touch of his tongue on her bottom lip, asking silent permission to deepen the kiss. She melted into his embrace. In a haze, she registered one of his hands moving to her neck. Pressure. Darkness descended.
Eli adjusted his mask, gave a thumbs up to his diving buddy and they slipped into the ocean. Within two minutes, he and Trent St. Claire rounded the point and entered a small harbor where the yacht and two smaller speed boats were anchored. Trent, the diver from Team 1, surged ahead with strong kicks.
Using hand motions to communicate, they attached the bombs on the hulls of the two speed boats first. The faster crafts represented the biggest threat to this phase of their rescue mission. The boats could overtake them in a matter of minutes. Even if something went wrong and they couldn’t take out the yacht, the chance of it running down their IBS was nil. The lumbering vessel had the grace and dexterity of a buffalo.
When the last charge was set in place on the first boat, Eli and Trent repeated the process on the second, adhering explosives to the craft’s hull in two places. Probably overkill, but he preferred that to a nasty surprise on the open ocean. Grace and her minions would have to wait for the storm to pass before receiving more transport off the island. With luck, the explosions would take out some of the enemy as well. They had rough estimates of the number of enemy combatants. On their home turf, Grace’s minions held the advantage. He’d still bet on Fortress. They were well trained, well armed, and ticked off. None of them liked thugs who preyed on women and children.
Minutes later, Team 2 hauled Eli and Trent from the water into the IBS. Eli removed his diving gear and donned his communications headset. “One, Phase 3 complete.”
“Copy. Eyes on target?”
He raised his night-vision binoculars and adjusted to bring the boats into focus. “Affirmative.” Scanning the area, Eli noticed an empty slip. An extra, he hoped, rather than an indication of a missing boat.
“Hold position. Team 1, fall back.”
Eli and his team waited, watching the boats and surrounding area. Finally, Team 1 accounted for and in position, Maddox’s voice came through the headset.
“This is One. Execute Phase 4.”
“Roger that. Ten seconds.” He counted down and flipped the remote switch. The night sky lit up. A surge of satisfaction washed through him. Unless they had missed some other mode of transport, Grace and her people were stranded.
“Teams 1 and 2 to transport.”
Rain fell in blinding sheets. Gusting wind churned the ocean surface into a rough ride for the Zoo Crew. They beached the boats, deflated and loaded them into the paneled truck hidden in the tree line. Men and equipment on board, Thomas, Team 1’s sniper, drove toward the waiting plane.
Maddox slapped Eli’s shoulder. “Nice fireworks.”
“Anything from Jon?”
“The women are safely on board the plane. Dana’s still out.”
His head jerked toward his boss. “Doc had to give her the shot?”
“Nope. Jon took care of Dana himself.”
Eli leaned his head against an inside wall, resting while he could. Adrenaline had kept him moving while searching for and retrieving Brenna and her sister. The Rohypnol still lingered in his system, evidenced by the unnatural fatigue slowing him down. One more push and he could sleep on the return trip home, his girl next to him, safe. Ten minutes to the plane, then home, provided nothing delayed their departure. In this province with unfriendly Mexican officials, he took nothing for granted.
Seated next to Eli, Maddox yanked his cell phone from his holder and examined the flashing display. Eli’s gut tightened into a knot. The team’s emergency alert flashed on the screen, the code sent from the plane’s pilot. Brenna.
Maddox keyed his mike. “Thomas, emergency signal from the pilot. Kill the lights. Stop a couple minutes out. We’ll go in on foot.”
Eli and the rest of the crew geared up and, as soon as the truck stopped, exited in total silence. Maddox signaled the scouts from both teams to do reconnaissance. Within minutes, the two returned.
“Six men armed with AR-7s surrounding the plane. No visual of the inside, sir,” King reported.
“Any chance we can take the men down one at a time?”
“No, sir. There are three on each side, facing away from the plane with a well-lit tarmac. We don’t stand a chance of approaching either side without detection.”
Maddox rubbed his jaw. “We need to know how many are inside the plane.” He keyed his mike. “Joe, activate Jon’s mike. We need to hear what’s happening. If Jon’s in the loop, he can help execute a takedown of the tangos.”
If he was still alive. A moment later, Brenna’s voice filled Eli’s ear.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“What do you want, Grace?” Brenna stood and eyed the four men pointing their big guns at her, Jon and a couple men from his team along with Ortiz and his wife, pressed tight against her husband’s back. Doc knelt beside Ritter, working feverishly to stem blood flowing from the fallen man’s shoulder.
“You, dead, along with your trouble-making sister.” A look of pure hatred formed on Grace’s face. “Surrender and maybe I’ll let your rescuers live.”
Right. Knowing they would track Grace and her goon squad again? Not likely that Grace would keep her word.
Jon shifted beside her. Brenna glanced at him, noting he’d moved into a better position to protect Dana. Oh, y
eah, she was developing a serious soft spot for this handsome SEAL. Dana deserved a man that crazy about her. Now, all they had to do was survive so she could enjoy dating and maybe a lifetime with him.
All the weapons tracked his movement with the exception of the one covering Doc. “Move again and you die.” Grace scowled at Dana’s sleeping form. “What is wrong with her?”
“Why don’t you ask your thugs how much Rohypnol and other drugs they pumped into her body?” Jon countered. “Good help isn’t cheap and I’m betting you didn’t pay a dime more than you had to.”
Ross the Rat laughed. “Don’t shoot him yet, love. I think he’s sweet on Dana. Maybe he should watch while we play with her. We can sell the pair of them to our friend. Might be interesting for him to break them down and kill them.”
“It’s not smart to bait a tiger, Ross.” The guns pointed in Brenna’s direction sent trickles of sweat cascading down her back. Once Grace and Ross were in jail, Eli had another job to do—teaching her how to handle a gun. Nothing as large as those. Maybe a nice pink handgun. “Of course, no one could accuse you of being smart. After all, you hooked up with a loser.”
Grace backhanded her, throwing Brenna into Jon’s side. Jon set her upright, his jaw clenched. Brenna wiped blood from the side of her mouth. “Feel better now?”
Her gaze raked over Brenna. “Perhaps I won’t let Eduardo kill you, after all. A feisty American will bring more money. After he finishes with you, I’ll put you on the auction block, sell you to the highest bidder.” A smirk crossed her face. “If you survive Eduardo’s attention, that is. I’ll ask him to keep your face untouched. Your body is his to do with as he pleases.”
Brenna breathed away nausea at the idea of Eduardo touching her. “So this is about punishing me and Dana for interfering in your business? Why do you care about us? Your business doesn’t stay in one place for long anyway and you can relocate under a new identity. Walk away, Grace.”
“She’s right,” Jon said. “If you kill us, my friends will hunt you down and destroy you within the week.”
“For some kind of hotshot private eye, you really are stupid. Brenna and Dana were the bait, Smith. Sure, Dana was in the wrong place at the wrong time, nosing into things that weren’t her business. But you and Eli are the ones I’m after. You two and your pit bull friend. Once he got his teeth into that girl’s disappearance, he wouldn’t let go.”
“I don’t understand,” Brenna said. “All Eli and Jon did was look for Dana. I’m the one who begged them to find her.”
“You killed Joe Baker, didn’t you?” Jon said.
“He should have dropped the investigation. Nobody cared about a teen hooker.”
Was she kidding? How heartless could the woman be? “She was somebody’s daughter, Grace.” Brenna’s hands curled into fists. “Where is she now?”
“Somewhere in the Middle East, a place you’ll never find her.” An ugly smile settled on her lips. “Perhaps you would like to join her. Her owner enjoys sharing his toys, especially when he can watch.”
Owner? Brenna’s cheeks burned. What kind of people did Grace do business with?
Jon moved forward a half step, easing Brenna behind him. “Look, leave Brenna and Dana here in the plane. You wanted me. I’ll go with you right now.”
“And what about Eli? I want him as well.”
“If you have me, he’ll come. Ever try to break a SEAL, Grace? I bet you can’t do it.”
“Jon, no,” Brenna whispered. Was he crazy? If Grace killed him, it would break Dana’s heart. And Eli’s. He wouldn’t rest until he freed his friend or avenged his death. “Don’t do this.”
He motioned her to silence. “Do we have a deal? You’ll leave the women and take me?”
Grace tilted her head, her gaze taking in Jon’s hard, muscular body. “A SEAL. You won’t fight or try to escape. If you refuse to submit to anything, you die. Same goes for your partner. Might be fun to break the two of you. Our methods are quite effective, perfected over many years. We always succeed.” An unholy gleam flickered in her eyes. “If you fight me, I will go after Dana first. Remember that while you’re in my tender care, Smith.”
Ross straightened from the wall, his eyes narrowed. “I don’t like this. He’s up to something. Navy SEALs can’t be broken, Grace. And two of them together? This is some sort of trap.”
Brenna held her breath. The thought had already occurred to her, but Jon showed no reaction to Ross’s suspicions. His gaze remained focused on Grace. Brenna didn’t doubt he would submit to everything Grace demanded to save Dana. She prayed the rest of his team was close because if Grace disappeared with Jon, it might take days to locate him, days which he might not have based on Grace’s reaction to his offer.
“You up to the challenge of taking down a SEAL, Grace?” Jon asked, voice soft. “Or is Harrison the dominant in the Scarlett Group?”
Temper stained her cheeks. “Scarlett is mine.” She flicked a glance at two of her goons. “Take him.”
“Grace,” Ross protested. “You promised me Dana.”
“I’ll give you a new toy to play with.” Grace licked her lips as her men bound Jon’s hands. “This one is mine.”
Brenna opened her mouth to protest, to stall, anything but let Grace take Jon off the plane. A glare from Jon closed her mouth. She watched, raging inside at her helplessness, as Grace, Ross and the four goons left the plane with Jon.
After steps no longer sounded on the stairs, Doc yanked a gun from his ankle holster. “Get on the floor.” He dove for the floor himself and crawled to the open doorway. Ritter drew his own sidearm, held it steady, weapon aimed at the opening. Ortiz motioned his wife to the floor, pulled out a gun and crawled to the doorway beside Doc.
Brenna rolled Dana from the seat to the floor and covered her sister’s body with her own. Dana moaned and struggled to get free, her movements feeble. Her eyes sprang open. “Where’s Jon?” she asked.
“Shh,” Brenna whispered. “Jon’s okay. He left for a minute. He’ll be back soon.” And prayed she had spoken the truth.
Flush on the wet tarmac, Eli sighted the M4 on his target. The cretin to Jon’s right prodded him with the barrel of his rifle. Jon made a show of stumbling, drawing the attention of all the goons.
“Wait for my signal,” Maddox murmured over the comm system. “We want those yahoos away from the plane. Wouldn’t do for a bullet to rip through the cabin.”
Eli’s finger stroked the trigger. A few more feet.
Over the whipping wind, Grace’s voice carried to Zoo Crew. “Let’s go. I have what I want for now. The other one will be mine soon as well. And then I will make them pay.”
Oh, yeah. One of the snipers had a bullet with her name on it. The tangos surrounding the Crew’s plane hurried to join Grace and company at the SUVs.
Maddox’s voice filtered through Eli’s ear piece. “Go.”
In seconds, shots barked into the night from M4s. Tangos dropped to the tarmac, some moaning in pain, others silent. At Maddox’s order, Eli and his teammates raced to secure the enemy’s weapons. Eli checked pulses, didn’t shed any tears when he found none on Grace or Harrison. Unsheathing his Ka-Bar, he sliced through the plastic ties which bound Jon’s hands.
A hard hand came down on his shoulder. Maddox squeezed. “We’ve got it covered out here. You and Jon check on the women.”
“Yes, sir.” Eli ran up the plane steps and into the cabin.
“Eli.” Brenna leaped to her feet and threw herself into his embrace.
“You okay, sugar?” He rocked her, savoring the freedom to hold her in his arms. “Show me your beautiful face, sweetheart.” Behind Brenna, Jon sank to the floor beside a weeping Dana and gathered her in his arms. He said nothing, simply rocked her with gentle motion.
Brenna pulled back enough for Eli to get a good look at her swollen mouth. “Doc will check it once we get this bird off the ground. We’ll have company from the law before long.”
“Hey, what about
me?” Ritter complained. “I was shot.”
Eli spared him a glance. “Aw, it’s just a scratch. Jarheads are wimps.”
“Scratch?” Outrage sharpened Ritter’s tone. “Bullet went all the way through my shoulder, you stupid frogman.”
“Want me to patch you up? I rock at field stitching.”
Another scowl from Ritter. “Stay away from me, you butcher. I’ve got a scar from the last job you did on me.”
Brenna grinned. “Sounds like you have a tendency for injuries. Maybe you should think about a safer line of work.”
“No can do, babe. I’m an adrenaline junkie. Sitting behind a desk all day would kill me quicker than Eli the Butcher.”
Eli slanted a pointed look in Ritter’s direction. “Watch it, jarhead. This one is mine.”
“Put a lid on it, boys.” Maddox strode into the cabin, followed by the rest of the men. “You and your wife okay, Ortiz? Good. Everybody strap in. We need to get off the ground right now. The diversion we arranged for the local law has run its course.”
Eli grabbed Brenna’s hand. “This way, sugar. You’re not going to be more than a couple feet from me for the next 50 years or so.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Don’t, baby.” Jon brushed the tears from Dana’s cheeks. “You’re killing me with the tears. I can’t take it, sweetheart.”
The panic in his eyes set off a spark of humor. She wouldn’t have believed a battle-tough Navy SEAL could panic at a woman’s tears if she hadn’t witnessed it. “You let her take you. She could have killed you.”
“She didn’t. It’s done.”
“Why, Jon? Why didn’t you fight? Were there too many?”
He snorted. “If they had been special forces, maybe. Doubt it, though. I couldn’t chance you, Brenna, or Ortiz’s wife being shot.”
“So you handed yourself over to be tortured.”
“Seemed the best way to get Grace off the plane.”
“And if your friends hadn’t been close, you would have let her . . .” She shuddered.
