SEAL at Sunrise (Silver SEALs Book 12)

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  Liam doubted that. He figured that these brothers probably helped these families out with food and medicine and anything else they might need.

  “Are there any empty shacks that you know about?”

  The two men turned to each other in a mirror move. They turned back and nodded. “I can think of one for sure.”

  “Let’s get started,” Liam said. This time Laird rode with Liam and Dec. They ended up following the men for forty-five minutes to a trailhead. When they got out of the car they grabbed everything they needed out of the trunk and headed into Trillium Forest. It was beautiful. It wasn’t until they were a half-mile away from the trails that it really became dense. But compared to the Alaskan wilderness or many of the jungles Liam had been in, this was a walk in the park.

  “Told you it was going to be easy,” Roger or Steve said.

  “Yeah, it’s Dugualla Forest that would give you more of a run for your money.”

  Liam appreciated the fact that both men kept their voices down.

  “But even though it’s not a rough hike, it has its secluded spots,” the twin in front of him said. “Another half a mile and we should be up to the cabin, and I use the term loosely. The Pritchard family hunkered down here last winter.”

  Liam looked over at Declan to see how he was handling things. He knew that his wife had grown up in similar circumstances and it hadn’t ended well for her family.

  “I’m fine,” Dec said as he read his look. “But this is one adventure Allie won’t be hearing about.”

  Made sense.

  Liam caught the lead twin’s attention. “When we get close, let us go in first.”

  “Are you armed?” he asked.

  Liam nodded. “I’m going to ask that you stay back. We need to handle this.”

  The twins nodded.

  They continued on for a few more minutes. “There. Up ahead about three hundred yards.” One of them pointed. “We’ll stay here.”

  Liam nodded at Laird and motioned to his right, and Declan automatically went to the left. They were going to go in soft and slow.

  Please God let this be different.

  The cabin came up suddenly—nobody had cleared a space for it. God forbid there had been any kind of fire during the dry summer months, the cabin would go up in flames like a roman candle.

  The moss and evergreen needles easily muffled his footsteps as he got close. He wished that the communications equipment they had brought with them hadn’t been lost in the explosion, or that Conroy had been able to come up with something. Instead, the three of them were working things old-school.

  Liam was at the back of the structure. Hell, it was too poorly built to even be called a shack. It was put together with sticks, wood that must have come from construction sites, some timber, tar paper, tarps, and stuffed in the cracks looked to be green hefty bags and supermarket grocery bags. It was pathetic. He doubted there were windows. Who in the hell could live like this?

  He didn’t see any movement on either side of the shed, but he knew that Laird and Declan had had enough time to get into place. He moved forward and crouched down. There was a spot where the plastic had come loose and he could peer in, but it was dark, he couldn’t see anything. There was the faint smell of marijuana. He had a flashlight, but he didn’t use it. He didn’t want to warn any occupants that they had company.

  He circled quietly to the East side of the hut and found Laird.

  “Anything?” he mouthed.

  Laird shook his head.

  Liam jerked his head toward the next corner and Laird nodded. Silently they rounded the next corner where they found a door that was hanging open. Declan was rounding the corner from the other side.

  Liam motioned Declan to stop. Then he made a motion for Laird to bake him up.

  Liam put his back to the wall of the doorframe with his gun drawn and his flashlight beside it, then peered around into the interior. Nothing. He nodded at Laird.

  It was go-time.

  He went in low, Laird high. Nothing moved.

  For just a moment, Liam jolted as he saw something sway from the ceiling, then he realized it was a blanket. Somebody had created a makeshift wall. He held up his fingers.

  Three.

  Two.

  One.

  He ripped down the blanket. Ready to shoot.

  There on the dirt floor was a body on a peach-colored blanket. A man. His neck was obviously broken.

  “Declan get in here,” Liam yelled.

  “I’ve got something out here,” Dec said. “It’s a trail. I see blood.”

  “We’ve got a man’s body,” Laird yelled back, as he pushed the man over to see his face. His head lolled at an awkward angle. “His body isn’t cold.”

  He was a big guy. Caroline Jakes was a small woman. Could she have done this?

  The more Liam looked at the angle of the break, the more he realized she absolutely could have done this with some of the chokehold moves that he’d seen Addison looking at on her computer. He’d seen three of her matches—they were brutal. But at no time did they get to the point where there would be grave physical injury, but there could have been. Once he saw Caroline get a woman in a chokehold using her legs. She could have easily broken her neck, but of course she backed off. It looked like she didn’t today.

  Declan came into the shack. “I definitely found a trail. Do you think she got away?”

  Laird shone the light all around the area where the dead man was found. He finally held his light steady on one place of the wall. It was a protruding nail with remnants of silver duct tape hanging from it. Liam gently pried it loose and examined it under his flashlight.

  “It’s bloody. She must have gotten herself loose from her bindings.”

  “Good for her,” Laird said fiercely. “Good for her. Fucking killed this git. Fucking love this woman!”

  Laird shone his light all over the dirt floor of the cabin. They both saw the small boot prints at the same time heading out. “It’s her,” Liam said decisively.

  “Otherwise, it’d sure have to be a dainty man, that’s for damn sure.” Laird agreed.

  Liam yanked out his phone.

  “Steve, I need your help. We’re at the cabin, and we have a dead body. We’re pretty sure he had Caroline held captive. Right now, we can’t be involved. Can you call this into the local authorities? We think we’ve found Caroline’s trail. We’re going to follow it.”

  “Yes. We’ll take care of it. Keep us informed. Anything else?”

  “Yeah, Declan’s going to backtrack and make sure nobody comes at us from behind.”

  “Won’t he run into the local sheriff?”

  Liam huffed out a laugh. “Nope, he’ll be a ghost. But we don’t want to be caught unawares. I’ll let you know if there’s anything else, and what we find.” He hung up. Liam looked at Declan. “Show us what you found.”

  When they got out into the dappled sunlight, it was easy enough to see the trail.

  “Okay, my time to turn into a Casper.” Declan gave a short wave, and with four steps, disappeared into the trees.

  Addison winced again as she followed Stacy. She should have tried the shoes on before she bought them this morning, but she didn’t want to take too long. She and the men had spent twenty minutes at the mall in Skagit before heading to the ferry to get over to Whidbey Island.

  The Chief Warrant Officer was putting on a good show as she toured them around the Air Station. First, she’d taken them around the training facility. They’d seen the gym, the obstacle course, and the track. Then she took them to the mess hall, the fleet readiness center, and the commissary. Addison was sure her feet had to be bleeding by the time they circled back to the field where they were now setting up for the anniversary celebration.

  “This will be the twenty-second ceremony I’ve attended,” Stacy said with pride as she looked at the banner going up.

  “So, seventy-seven years ago this base was established, huh? That’s pretty impressive. Di
d it play a big part in World War II?” Conroy asked.

  “It was more of a big player in the Korean War,” Stacy said. “That was when they expanded it. It now has over seven thousand men and women stationed here.”

  “Who’re they?” Conroy motioned to a group in the stands.

  “That’s Commander Bertrum. I don’t recognize the other two by face, but they have to be the two rear admirals. I heard they’d flown in last week for some meetings.” Once again Stacy exuded pride in her base.

  “You might not know them by face, but who are they?” Conroy asked easily.

  “There is Rear Admiral Neville and Rear Admiral Anders.” She moved to escort them off the field when her name was called. She turned back and looked up into the stands. One of the men had his hand raised.

  “That’s Commander Bertrum, we’ve got to go make nice,” she muttered.

  Addison looked at Conroy. This wasn’t what they had planned.

  “Chief Warrant Officer Johnson, I was told you have some representatives from the state legislature here today,” a confident man in a commander’s uniform said with a smile.

  Stacy gave a broad smile in return. Addison admired the fact that she didn’t look worried in the least.

  “Allow me to introduce Addison Sanders and Conroy Lake. Both of them are consulting with Congressman Reynolds. They’re here today to get a lay of the land for the Congressman before this weekend’s events.”

  “So, you only got as far as working at the state level?” one of the men asked as he looked down at Addison.

  “That’s right, Ike, you’re used to dealing with the United States congressmen, aren’t you?” the Commander said with an uncomfortable laugh.

  What a pompous ass.

  “What do you do for the congressman?” the same man directed his question to Addison again. He didn’t quite manage to hide his leer. He made her skin crawl, but she kept a professional smile on her face.

  “We do marketing and public relations for him,” Conroy answered. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

  “I’m Rear Admiral Anders,” he said dismissively. “How do you handle relations, Addison?”

  Ick!

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lake. Ms. Sanders. I’m Rear Admiral Neville,” the other man stepped in front of Anders and held out his hand. He shook Conroy’s hand first and then took Addison’s. She appreciated the extra moment he held her hand, it was comforting after the Ander’s disgusting innuendos.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Sir.”

  “You too, Ms. Sanders,” he said with a sincere smile.

  A young man came rushing up and spoke in Commander Bertrum’s ear. Bertrum looked extremely relieved when he was able to turn to the other men and said that they needed to leave.

  “Stacy, thank you for introducing us. Hopefully, we will all be seeing one another this weekend.”

  “I look forward to having you introduce me to your congressman,” Rear Admiral Anders said as he gave Addison a long look.

  What a disgusting man.

  Rear Admiral Neville once again stepped in front of him. “It was good meeting both of you. I hope you enjoy the rest of your tour.”

  They waited until they walked away, then Stacy turned to Conroy and Addison. “That’s one officer I’ll be happy to see the back of,” she said. “Well, let’s get to the rest of the tour.”

  “The apartments?” Conroy said hopefully.

  At least there wasn’t anyone around anymore, so they didn’t have to pretend they were really touring. It was time to go check out what they were really here for. Caroline’s apartment. But Addison couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe, she’d met the real reason she was meant to be here. A rear admiral who was a megalomaniac.

  Laird and Liam continued to follow the trail. About five hundred yards from the beginning of the trail they found, there was a depression—it was clear someone had fallen. Laird picked up a small sliver of bloody duct tape, and that’s when they saw even more drops of blood. Shit, how badly had she gotten hurt in her fight?

  They moved faster. A lot faster.

  The trail didn’t show signs of anyone but Caroline. No other person was following her. A huckleberry bush was crushed up ahead—clearly, someone had fallen on it.

  They broke into a run.

  Laird ran past her as Liam skidded onto his knees where she had fallen against the base of an evergreen tree. She had hunkered under some ferns and had pulled bundles of moss over her body. It was her booted foot that was sticking out that gave away her position.

  “Caroline.”

  No response. Her eyes were closed. He felt for a pulse. It was strong. He pulled away the moss covering.

  “You’re safe, I’m Lieutenant Commander—”

  Her foot shot out and caught him on the side of his head. She twisted and then a deadly fist shot out towards his face. He caught it in his palm and did his best to stop her next kick without causing her injury in return.

  She angled her body to the side and partially slid out from underneath him, then her head glanced a blow against the side of his chin as he held her in his arms. Liam was trying his best to stop her struggles without causing her any more injury than she might have sustained at the hands of her captors.

  “Sailor! I’m here to help.”

  Her elbow jabbed backward.

  She was a dynamo.

  “Got your hands full, don’t you?”

  Goddammit! Laird was laughing!

  It was time to shut this down. Liam, as gently as he could, pressed her body flat to the ground, stopping all movement. Brown eyes glared up at him, but he saw the fear too, and it about killed him.

  “He’s attempting to rescue you, Lass, but it looks like you’ve done that yourself. So, we’re just here trying to take you home without you killing us.”

  She looked over Liam’s shoulder, and her expression changed.

  “Get off me,” she commanded.

  “Are you going to try to maim me again?” Liam asked carefully.

  “They’ve been saving me for someone. I couldn’t know if you were him. But I don’t think Red is the type.”

  Liam helped her up off the forest floor. She only came up to his shoulder. Her mocha-colored skin was mottled with bruises. Apparently, her captor or captors had gotten in some punches of their own. If the one wasn’t dead, Liam would have to go back and kill him.

  “What do you mean, saving you for someone?” Laird asked.

  “Let’s get her the hell out of here, she needs medical attention.” Liam glowered at the Scotsman.

  “Eyes on the prize, McAllister.”

  Caroline eyed Laird. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Ignore him. Caroline, do you need to be carried?” Liam asked.

  “No, sir, I’m good to walk. I might not be able to march or run, but I can certainly walk out of here on my own two feet.”

  “Of course you can,” Laird said admiringly. “But let me give you the lay of the land. You’re not the first female sailor who has been taken. But you’re the first one we’ve found alive. We need to get all the details we can from you.”

  “I don’t get it. Why are you questioning me? Why am I not giving my statement to the police? How many victims?” She took a couple of tentative steps.

  Liam wound her arm around his waist, forcing her to lean on him. He got out his phone.

  Declan answered on the first ring. “We found her and she’s alive.” His voice was filled with fierce elation.

  “Thank God. How is she? Do we need to get EMT’s out there?”

  “She’s good. She wants to walk out.”

  There was a pause. “I like her.”

  Liam looked down at her bruised face filled with confusion. “That’s the consensus. Has the sheriff arrived?”

  “He should be here any minute. How far away from the cabin are you?”

  “A quarter of a mile at most. We’ll be slow getting there.”
r />   “They’ll be there by the time you arrive. Send her in alone.”

  “Will do. We’ll meet you at the trailhead. Have you moved our vehicles?” Liam asked.

  “Yep. Take care of her.”

  “Will do,” he assured his nephew and hung up the phone. He turned to Caroline. “Let me explain what’s going on.”

  “I’d appreciate it.” There was an edge of sarcasm in her voice.

  “I’m working with DHS. Right now, this investigation is not something we’re advertising at a local level. Myself and a team of men and women were intent on finding you, and now we need to question you outside of the normal chain of command,” Liam answered. “Do you understand?”

  She looked up at him. “So, you think that someone in the Navy might be involved?” Her voice wobbled ever so slightly. She coughed. Then stood up straighter. “One of our own?” she asked steadily.

  No matter how hard she tried, she didn’t sound quite as fierce as she first had. She sounded young and a little lost. “I’m afraid so.”

  “I’ll tell you whatever I know. It’s not a lot.”

  “How were you captured?” Laird asked from the other side of her.

  “I was checking out places to work out. I had just gotten out of my car to check out this dojo in Coupeville. It was dark. I was Tasered. It was that motherfucker that I left for dead who grabbed me. He threw me into the trunk of my own car. Then he pressed the Taser against me again. I don’t know anything until I woke up in the pitch black on that dirty blanket.”

  Liam helped her over a crumbling log. Her breathing became labored.

  “It’s time for a break,” he said.

  “I’m fine.”

  “Laird isn’t. Look at the sweat pouring off his pasty face.”

  She slowly turned her head so she could look at the red-headed giant. “He does look kind of pale and sweaty,” she smiled. Laird held up his middle finger. Her laughter did Liam a world of good.