“Bull’s eye!”
She’d recognize that voice anywhere. “Charlie!”
Anna and Jacob both cheered and cried at the same time.
“Good shot, man.” Tavon’s voice. “Couldn’t have done better myself with my right hand.”
“Jenna.” Mack’s voice warmed her all the way to her toes as he untied her blindfold. “Jenna.” He said again as if making sure he wasn’t dreaming. “My God, Jenna.”
She blinked in the light. Tavon and Charlie were cutting the ropes that bound the kids together.
“Hold still, guys. We’ll have you out in a second,” Tavon said.
Mack lovingly cupped her jaw. There were tears in his eyes. “I thought I’d lost you, babe.”
“How can you? I’m yours.” She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled his lips to hers. Their tears ran together.
Willy peeked his head through the door. “Um, you guys ready to bug out? Ty’s out here with the helo.”
Mack eased back and wrapped his arm around Jenna. “You guys get the kids out of here first. Go!”
The kids were all too happy to run out of the cabin.
“Let’s get you dressed.” Mack grabbed her pants and helped her into them. She was suddenly very weak. She was more than grateful Mack was taking charge. “Okay, babe. Let’s go.”
Holding her hand they ran out of the shack. Most of the guerillas were scrambling away from the helo like frightened animals. A few still shot at the team as they went and Mack fired back.
Jenna and Mack made it to the helicopter. A rope ladder swung in the wind.
“Climb, babe. I’ll be right behind you.”
She looked at him. He had to be kidding. There was no way that she could climb that thing. “I can’t.”
He kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear. “Hang on and just put one foot in front of the other. It’s a lot like love.” His lips quirked. “And do it before I get my ass blown off.”
Okay. She sucked in a breath, held on and climbed.
At the top of the ladder, Willy and Tavon hauled her inside. Mack jumped in a split second later. He really was right behind her.
“Jenna!” Jacob cheered.
“Yay, she made it!” Anna sounded cheerful as well, especially now that she was holding her mother’s hand.
“Thank God, you’re okay,” Marcella said.
The Harmonds were huddled together in four seats inside the helicopter with Andrew in the middle. Andrew’s head was on Marcella’s shoulder. They all looked like they’d been dragged through hell and spit out the other side.
“I’m fine. How are you, Andrew?” Jenna asked.
“I’ve had better days,” he offered a weak smile. His usually tanned face was shockingly pale. His leg and arm were bandaged and he was obviously hurting. “But I’ll be fine now that my family is all together again.”
Jenna let out a big exhale. They’d done it. The Harmonds were safe.
“Get us out of here, Ty, before more CRAF guerillas show up!” Mack yelled.
“Can’t, Mack,” Ty said. “B-2s are circling, missiles locked on us. They want to know the secret code or they will fire.”
“What!” Mack scrambled up to the cockpit. “Why in the hell are they going to fire on us? Tell them who we are!”
“That’s unacceptable. Tell them Andrew Harmond and his family are on board!” Andrew said.
“Tried that. They don’t necessarily believe me about any of it,” Ty said.
Everyone started yelling inside the helo at once.
“They can’t do that!”
“Do something!”
“What’s the code?”
“Damned Air Force!”
“Please. Stop them!” Marcella’s cries rose above the others. “My family has been through enough already.”
Jenna couldn’t believe it. They’d all been through enough already. When was this nightmare going to end? They’d come this far and were about to be eliminated by the U.S. Air Force? Hadn’t Senator Tonell talked to them? And what about her dad?
It was so loud in that helicopter it was hard to hear herself think. Jenna put her fingers between her lips and whistled. The sound piercing everyone’s ears. “I may have something! Tell them that we’re the SEAL team Senator Tonell spoke to them about. And um, maybe so did Admiral Collins.”
Ty did.
A few seconds later the B-2 pilot said, “And…?”
“What do you mean, ‘and’?” Ty asked.
“You could be partially right. But there’s more. We need the code. I’ll give you thirty seconds to give it to me,” the bomber pilot said.
They looked at each other. Thirty seconds to figure out…what?
“They know we’re not Air Force, right? How would we know what their secret codes are?” Willy complained.
“Jenna, if you’ve got a plan, this would be a real good time to share it,” Mack growled.
She pinched the bridge of her nose. The Air Force needed confirmation that the helicopter was loaded with Americans and not hijacked by CRAF guerillas. Or cartels. Or both. Kat and Tonell could have devised a code to prove that they were who they said they were. But what? Wait…the text! Kat had said…wait, what did the text message say?
“Jacob, what did the text message say on my cell?”
He shrugged. “I couldn’t read it all.”
“Remember the code. That’s what it said,” Anna pitched in.
Jenna pounded her pockets. “My cell phone. Where is it?”
“It was in your pants. I dropped it, remember?” Anna said.
“And then it slid across the floor,” Jacob added.
They all looked down at the camp below.
“No. We don’t have time for you to get it—” Tavon started to say, but Mack was already fast-roping out the door.
“Stall them!” Charlie said.
“We’ve got a situation here. Over.” Ty’s voice was strangely calm in the midst of this chaos. “We need more time.”
“We have a mission to carry out,” the pilot said. “CRAF and cartel insurgents are to be eliminated. Unless we have the code, we are to assume that your helo is carrying the enemy.”
“I told you. We are Navy SEALs on a covert mission to rescue the Harmonds. We have them aboard. We might know the code, but it’s on the ground. Five minutes. That’s all we need!” Ty ordered.
“I’ll give you three,” the pilot barked.
Willy cursed. His face was hardened in anger.
Jenna stared at the cabin below and willed Mack to materialize outside the door. Nothing happened. A shot rang out down there followed by a hail of gunfire coming from beneath the canopy of trees. Someone was still shooting at the man she loved.
“Mack!” she screamed. “Get out of there!”
Tavon didn’t hesitate. His injured arm didn’t slow him down. He fast-roped out of the helicopter and his boots hardly touched the ground before he was shooting and running toward the cabin.
Willy and Charlie both started shooting out the open helicopter door. It was loud and crazy inside, with the kids screaming and the rifles blazing next to her, but Jenna couldn’t pay attention to any of that.
She wouldn’t take her eyes off the scene below. Where was Mack?
Come on, sweetheart, come on! Did he have to take cover inside the cabin? Was he shot? Oh God, was he okay? Too much time had passed since he had fast-roped out of the helicopter. The B-2 bombers must have been watching the scene unfold below as well. Surely, they knew that American SEALs were aboard the helicopter now, didn’t they?
It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except getting Mack safely out of that gunfight down below and into her arms.
She blinked. Was that a helmet peeking out the door? Yes! Mack burst through the door keeping low, shooting and zigzagging as he went. Tavon followed close beside, him firing like a madman. Charlie and Willy hadn’t let up the whole time. Their guns seemed to be in a constant state of shooting bullets. H
ow much ammo did they have? Would they run out? She scrambled over to the cartons and hauled out several boxes of bullets.
“Here.” She handed them to Willy and Charlie and took up her post by the window.
The enemy hadn’t let up either. Gunfire seemed to be coming from everywhere.
An explosion rocked the helicopter. Grenades! They were launching grenades at the helicopter? Dear God!
“Get us out of here!” Andrew demanded.
“I’m not leaving without our men,” Ty said.
Andrew probably said more, demanded more, screamed more, but Jenna didn’t hear it. Explosions were going off down below. Frantically she searched the area, desperate to catch a glimpse of Mack. And then she saw him right as a grenade went off. Mack flew through the air, his arms swinging wildly.
“Mack!” She screamed.
“Oh, no, they didn’t!” Willy chucked his own grenades at the enemy.
Smoke was everywhere. Jenna couldn’t see and had no idea what was happening down below. The last image of her beloved flying through the air was burned into her brain. Was he dead? She started to sob.
Just then the loudest blast she’d ever heard exploded in the jungle. The helicopter rocked and then it was as if they were thrown in a blender. The helo started to spin wildly.
“What in the hell—?” Andrew began.
“Hang on!” Ty yelled.
Jenna watched in horror as Ty Whitehorse wrestled the controls. He reminded her of a bronco buster in a rodeo on a beast that was hell-bent on dumping him to the dirt. For the longest moment of her life, Ty fought to keep the helo up while it spun violently closer and closer to the ground, screeching and wailing as it went.
“We’re crashing!” Jacob yelled.
Anna and Marcella screamed and held on tight to Andrew.
Charlie and Willy gave each other a deep meaningful look. Jenna couldn’t quite read the expression. The brothers both shook their heads as if to say, so this is how it ends? After all the hell we’ve been through, this is it?
Everyone on the helicopter was going to die.
Jenna was afraid of dying, but she was terrified to the bone that the helicopter would crash on top of Mack and slice him to bits. She gritted her teeth, closed her eyes and prayed with all her might that Mack was out of the way. He had to be okay.
Finally, finally, Ty got the bird under control and brought it up again. It was the scariest ride of Jenna’s life.
“Holy cow.” Ty let out a huge exhale. “That was close.”
“What in the hell happened?” Andrew asked.
“The Air Force, sir. Looks like they didn’t want Willy to have all the fun. They dropped a bomb and took out the enemy.” Charlie grinned.
They all looked out the open door and saw Mack and Tavon waving at them. Jenna’s heart melted. He was alive! She swiped at the tears on her cheeks.
“I’m going to hover a little closer.” Ty brought the helo closer to the ground.
Anna squealed. “No! I don’t want to crash.”
Ty gave her a sweet smile. “Don’t worry, little lady. I haven’t crashed a bird yet. And I don’t intend to.”
In no time at all Mack and Tavon climbed inside the helo. Jenna grabbed Mack by his vest and hauled him into her arms. She was bound and determined to hold her man for the entire flight home.
He wrapped one arm around her and with the other put a silver object in her hand. “Your phone.”
She turned it on and read the text message.
Frowning she said, “It wasn’t from Senator Tonell. It was a message from my father.”
Mack rolled his finger through the air, prodding her on.
“Ty, please tell the bombers that Admiral Collins says, ‘I love my pumpkin pie.’” She shook her head as a tear streaked whatever was left of her green face paint.
“Copy that,” the pilot said. “You are free to go.”
“Thank God!” Marcella said.
“Amen,” Ty added.
“And may I say that was some extraordinary fighting. Some of the bravest I’ve ever seen. If you’d like to wait, we’ll escort you back to Quito,” the Air Force pilot said.
Ty turned his head to look at Jenna and Mack.
“No,” Mack said. “Thanks anyway, but we’ve got injured parties and want to go home.”
Everyone cheered. Ty relayed the message.
“Copy that,” the pilot said. “Look for us in the Pilot’s Bar in Quito. We owe you all a round of drinks.”
“Hooya!” Willy said.
“Hooya!” Jacob imitated Willy and added his own air punch.
Tavon grinned. “Looks like we’ve got a Navy SEAL in the making.”
“Okay, Ty, get us the hell out of here.” Mack settled back into Jenna’s arms.
“No, hold up. Hold up!” Willy scrambled to lean out the open door. He dropped a bag on the camp below and closed the door. “Okay, Ty, now go. And go fast. Really fast. Here comes the grand finalé!”
As they rose, bombers zipped past them, circled once and came again. Just as Willy’s grand finalé erupted, more bombs dropped.
The team flew off in a blaze of brilliant explosions.
Chapter Nineteen
‡
“I love my pumpkin pie?” Mack rubbed her arm and watched the goose bumps dance across her skin. He cradled her head against his chest, needing her close, wanting her closer. “What kind of wacked out code is that?”
“It’s father-daughter code,” she said softly. “My dad has always called me Pumpkin Pie. I guess, in the middle of all this mess, he wanted me to know he loved me.”
“Huh.” Maybe the old bastard wasn’t such a bastard after all.
She lifted her head and looked at him and even though he was exhausted, he suddenly felt energized. “God, Mack. We did it.”
“Yes, babe. We did. Let me look at the back of your head.” When she turned, he saw the dried blood. Gently, he felt around. “You’ve got a good goose egg there, but it doesn’t look too bad. The blood’s dried.” It could have been worse. A whole lot worse. “We’ll get a doctor to look at you when we land.”
“It’s not necessary.”
“Yes it is, babe. I know about concussions. We get you checked out, and someone will need to be with you for the next twenty-four hours. Around the clock.”
She grinned. “Someone?”
He lifted her chin. “I’m not leaving your side. Get used to it.”
She opened her mouth to say something and closed it again. A flash of indecision passed over her face. What in the hell was going on in that beautiful brain? It scared him. Was she having second thoughts about them already?
He got up. “I’m going to break out the MREs. Want one?”
“Let me help you.”
He knelt and dug through the food supply cartons, trying not to worry about what would come next. After they landed and went back to their homes, Jenna wouldn’t need him anymore. And he’d be back to work. DEVGRU was his life. Wasn’t it?
“Everyone needs to eat. And drink. What can I get you, Mrs. Harmond?” he asked.
“You mean there’s food in those little bags?” Anna asked.
“Cool!” Jacob said. “I’ve never had food out of a bag before.”
Jenna came up behind him, putting a warm hand on his back. “The pasta is sort of like Chef Boyardee’s spaghetti and meatballs.”
Jacob and Anna blinked at her. “Huh?”
“Don’t tell me you’ve never had Chef B food.” Jenna opened an MRE and handed it to Jacob.
He shrugged. “I don’t think so.”
“Okay. Completely deprived childhood. How about Hamburger Helper? Sloppy Joe?”
“Why would we eat anything by some sloppy guy named Joe?” Anna asked.
Jenna’s mouth dropped. “Wow. This was the kind of food I lived on growing up. By the time I was eight, I did all the cooking in my house. None of us would have survived if not for Raviolios and Sloppy Joe.”
“We have a private chef who cooks all of our meals. I want the kids to eat organic foods. Nothing processed,” Marcella said.
Mack snorted. “Well, you’re out of luck here. It’s all processed, and I doubt seriously if anything is organic. If you want to eat, you’ll have to pick an entrée out of the carton and heat it up with the heater.”
“Oh, of course. We’ll eat anything you have, Lieutenant Commander. Thank you.” To prove the point, Marcella dipped her hand into the carton without looking and pulled out an MRE for herself and one for Andrew. “Go on, kids. You’re hungry. Eat!”
Jacob held his pouch to his chest and grinned. “I’m gonna eat like a Navy SEAL.”
Mack ruffled Jacob’s hair. “Yep. Who knows, kid? You might just get hooked on MREs and have to become a Navy SEAL.”
“Could I?” Jacob’s eyes gleamed.
“Get good grades in school, learn how to swim, run and do proper pushups, and then I don’t see why not.”
“We’ll talk about this later, Jacob,” his dad mumbled.
Sure they would. Andrew probably had an office window in the bank already picked out for his son. But Mack knew all too well that some people were not cut out for behind-the-desk work. Some people were the hero types. He let his gaze touch each and every buddy inside the helo and was grateful he knew men with gigantic balls who would risk their lives for country, justice and each other. His gaze fell on Jenna. Her head was cocked, trying to determine what he was thinking. She had an uncanny knack for reading him.
He grinned. Some women were the hero types too. Thank God he’d found one of the best.
“Oh! I forgot to call Kat. She must be worried sick.” Jenna dialed her cell. “Kat! Yes, it’s me. We’re okay. All of us are okay. We’re coming home.”
Mack could hear the cheering coming through the phone.
“I know you were. CRAF guerillas took my phone. I couldn’t call you back. I was…detained for a bit. I’m okay, a little banged up, but… Kat! Are you crying? I thought only your crazy stressed out boss was allowed to do that.” Jenna swiped at her own eyes. “Thank you, that means a lot to me. But none of us would have survived without you and Senator Tonell. Please give him the great news and my deepest gratitude. And tell Duncan Fitz we need to have a memorial for…” her voice choked. “… for our teammates who didn’t make it. When I arrive in Quito, I’ll call Roberto’s family and…all the others.”
SEALs of Summer: Military Romance Superbundle - Navy SEAL Style Page 97
