Revenge River
Men of Mercy
Lindsay Cross
Cypress Bend Publishing, LLC
Contents
Revenge River: Men of Mercy
Your Free Book is Waiting…
DOSSIER
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Before you go…
Also by Lindsay Cross
Introduction
Acknowledgments
Revenge River: Men of Mercy
Merc:
His name is Merc.
He has no past.
No future.
Only a thirst for revenge against the traitor who betrayed his team and his country – Agent Jack Mankel.
When he’s handed a mission to rescue a sitting US senator’s daughter from the traitor’s clutches, Merc jumps at his chance for vengeance, never dreaming the girl he rescued could be his downfall…
Nightshade:
She walks in the night.
She is a shadow.
An operative so elite even the president doesn’t know of her existence.
Her whole life, she’s lived to serve, raised in the black-ops team her father, Jack Mankel, created. Then her whole world is turned upside down when she learns the sister she once thought dead is really alive; and to save her, Nightshade will have to take on the hardest mission of her life…
Merc knows he doesn’t deserve her. Nightshade knows she can’t have him. But a connection so powerful neither of them can resist draws them closer, even as a betrayal so deep threatens to destroy their very existence.
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They say love conquers all…but marriage, kids and working undercover is proving that statement false.
Lori watched helplessly as her husband’s undercover work drew him further and further away. When she discovers all those nights David worked away from home may have been spent with another woman, her calm collected world falls apart.
David dedicated his life to taking down criminals-by any means necessary. After months of long days and nights, he finally closes the case on the most bloodthirsty drug cartel this side of the Mississippi. Now he can turn his steely determination to gaining back his wife’s love and respect.
Faced with David’s relentless advances, Lori is helpless to resist. But their rekindled love is threatened when the cartel discovers David’s identity. Now David and Lori must fight for their lives with the same passion as they fought for their love.
Copyright © 2015 by Lindsay Cross
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
DOSSIER
TASK FORCE SCORPION (TF-S)
A branch of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)
Ft. Grenada, MS
MACK GREY: Detachment Commander, Captain
♣Recruited from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, GA
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, interrogations specialist, psychological warfare
♣First in Command. Responsible for ensuring and maintaining operational readiness.
♣Height: 6’
♣Weight: 195lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Gothic Serpent, Somalia. Operation Desert Storm, OIF, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Rhino, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Mountain Viper, Operation Eagle Fury, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles
HUNTER JAMES: Warrant Officer, Detachment Commander
♣Recruited from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, GA
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, psychological warfare
♣Responsible for overseeing all Team ops. Commands in absence of detachment commander.
♣Height: 6’3”
♣Weight: 230lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Mountain Viper
RANGER JAMES: Team Daddy/Team Sergeant, Master Sgt.
♣Recruited from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, GA
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon
♣Plans, coordinates & directs Team intelligence, analysis and dissemination.
♣Height: 6’4”
♣Weight: 225lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Mountain Viper, Operation Eagle Fury
JARED CROWE: Weapons Sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class
♣Recruited from Delta Force, Ft. Bragg, NC
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, Sniper
♣Weapons expert. Capable of firing and employing all small arm and crew served weapons
♣Height: 6’0”
♣Weight: 220lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles
HOYT CROWE: Asst. Weapons Sergeant, Staff Sgt.
♣Recruited from Delta Force, Ft. Bragg, NC
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, Sniper
♣Weapons expert. Capable of firing and employing all small arm and crew served weapons
♣Height: 6’0”
♣Weight: 210lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles
AARON SPEIRS: Medical Sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class
♣Recruited from Delta Force, Ft. Bragg, NC
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, medic
♣The life-saver. Employs the latest field medical technology and limited surgical procedures
♣Height: 6’1”
♣Weight: 195lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles
RISER MALLON: Asst. Medical Sergeant, Staff Sgt.
♣Recruited from Delta Force, Ft. Bragg, NC
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, medic
♣The life-saver. Employs the latest field medical technology and limited surgical procedures
♣Height: 6’2”<
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♣Weight: 215lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles,Operation Mountain Viper, Operation Eagle Fury
MERC: Engineer Sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class
♣Recruited from Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, Demolitions, psychological operations
♣Demolition expert. Trained in psychological warfare, conducts field interrogations.
♣Height: 6’5”
♣Weight: 250lbs
♣Combat Experience: Classified
ETHAN SLADE: Communications
Sergeant/Commo Guy, Sgt. 1st Class
♣Recruited from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, GA
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, communications
♣Communications expert. Employ latest FM, multi-channel, and satellite communication devices.
♣Height: 6’0”
♣Weight: 200lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles
CORD CARTER: Weapons Sergeant, Staff Sgt.
♣Recruited from the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC), Camp Lejeune, NC
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnoissance, weapons expert/sniper
♣Weapons expert. Capable of firing and employing all small arm and crew served weapons
♣Height: 6’1”
♣Weight: 210lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles
1
Incense. God how she hated the smell of incense. Nightshade had gotten used to a lot of things since she’d moved to this sumptuous Middle Eastern palace, but she couldn’t train her nostrils to ignore the cloying smell of smoke.
What purpose did it serve anyway? Absolutely nothing. And she hated things that didn’t serve a purpose. Take the perfectly balanced forged-steel-throwing knife strapped to her thigh - that served a purpose. A quick flick of her wrist and she could take down an enemy from fifty yards away. Or the small 9 mm sidearm tucked nice and snug against her hip; that served a purpose. A yank and bam - target neutralized.
Even the burka she wore served a purpose. It covered her from head to toe, completely masking her identity from roving satellites and from local criminals tempted by her light hair to swap her out on the human trafficking market like a used car salesman swapped out cars. Not that she’d let them get that far, but it was easier to avoid the temptation than going around killing people and having to provide an explanation.
Nightshade took a deep breath and wrapped her fingers over the back of the black swivel chair in the large security room. From here she could monitor the entire palace and its grounds, but right now, she focused only on one monitor. Her identical twin sister’s bedroom.
She wanted to go to her sister, to touch and talk to the twin that had been missing since birth.
But that wasn’t part of the plan. No matter how much Nightshade longed to talk to her twin, she wanted to save her team, Mayhem, more.
“I figured you’d be in here.” Jack Mankel, Nightshade’s father, walked silently into the room, stopping a foot away.
“Caroline should be better by now. She’s crying. Please call Dr. Hassan back to do another checkup.” Nightshade cast another longing glance at her sister, struck once more at their uncanny resemblance.
“You were there when Hassan checked her three hours ago. He said the infection will take time to clear from her system. That bastard Abdul had a rusted shackle on her the whole time he’d held her. The infection got in her blood.” Her father crossed his suit-covered arms and leaned against the wall.
“But she’s shaking all over. She wasn’t doing that when Hassan was here. It could mean something else. What if she has a heart condition we don’t know about?” Just the thought of losing her sister again, after twenty-seven years of not having her by her side, made her whole body hurt.
But watching her cry and knowing she wasn’t allowed to comfort her ripped Nightshade’s heart into pieces.
“You think I haven’t learned every detail of my other daughter’s life? I know her blood type, her last dental exam…I know everything. She isn’t suffering from a heart condition. Her body is fighting the infection. Your sister will live – I promise that. Have I ever lied to you?”
“I don’t want to lose her when we’ve just gotten her back.”
“We won’t. I’ll keep her protected. You’ll keep her protected. Unless you’re trying to find a way out of your mission just to stay with your sister.” Mankel kept his voice low, almost whispering.
“You know that’s not true.”
“If you don’t complete this mission, we’ll never locate your team. My sources inside the CIA confirmed that Senator Cotter is responsible for your team’s capture. We have to break into his computer to find Mayhem and rescue them.”
Nightshade’s stomach knotted. Some of her first memories were of her teammates. They’d lived together since they were children, having been selected and trained for highly covert operations and assassinations based on their inherent skills. Skills her father, Jack Mankel, honed to a precision unmatched by any other team. Until three months ago, when Team Mayhem was ambushed and taken captive. She’d searched and hunted tirelessly, the only hint of their whereabouts was a grainy image pulled off a secret Russian satellite of a small US military force in the area at the time. Task Force Scorpion.
Senator Tom Cotter’s unit.
While he didn’t have direct control, his handprints were all over Team Scorpion.
The burning need for revenge revved through her veins. Cotter had taken her sister at birth and now he had the only family Nightshade had ever known besides her father in his clutches. “I will complete my mission. I always do.”
“Nightshade, our lives are in your hands. If you don’t think you can go through with it…”
She sliced her hand between them. “I will find them and make sure Cotter will never have the chance to hurt our family again.” She not only intended to hack into Cotter’s private server to locate where Mayhem was being held captive, she intended to see to it that Cotter paid for his offenses against her family with his life.
Nightshade turned back to the screen, yearning for one more glance at her sister. She’d dreamed of their reunion, how they’d run to each other and embrace. They’d spend all of their free time together, catching up and talking. Now she might never get the chance to know Caroline. Nightshade was headed into the heart of the enemy, completely alone and cut off from support. As soon as she hacked into Cotter’s private server, she was as good as dead. “I want to say goodbye.”
“It’s too risky.”
“We both know this may be the only chance I ever have to talk to her.”
Her father flinched and his fingers loosened on her arm. “Nightshade, you’re my best warrior. I know you’ll make it back to me. To your sister.”
Mankel’s phone chirped and he answered it immediately. “Yes?” A few seconds later and her father disconnected the call. “They’ve spotted one of Scorpion’s men moving in.” He clicked some keys on the nearest keyboard, the monitors casting a pale green glow over his hard visage. “See there?”
He pointed to a screen and Nightshade had to stare a few seconds before she spotted the irregularity in the sand. A man covered in tan camo inched forward on his stomach, moving so slow that he almost completely blended in with the dips and hollows of the sand dune beneath him. Her stomach tensed. She’d never seen anyone move with such lethal skill.
Not even her own teammates.
“Merc,” her father breathed out. “I should have known they’d send him in first.”
“Why? His military profile doesn’t look much different than the rest of his team.” Other than the fact he was at least two inches taller and fifty pounds heavier in solid muscle than their team leader, which put him at a solid six-feet-five inches tall. She’d memorized every detail about each of TF-S operators.
“I trained him myself when I still worked for the CIA. He’s deadly and dangerous. He will lie, steal and kill to win. I’ve never seen a man more ruthless. You can’t trust him for one second, do you understand?”
“Yes, of course, father.” She’d never heard him so worried. Even when they discovered Mayhem’s ambush, he’d been calm and collected. He was always thinking ahead to the next step, ever the strategic mastermind.
“Yes, what?” He snapped, grabbing her arms in a tight grip.
“Yes, Mr. J.”
“You can’t let that slip, not once. If they find out you’re not Caroline, they’ll torture you until you break. I’ve told you how much Cotter likes to torture his victims, haven’t I?”
Nightshade swallowed down the hard knot forming in her throat. “Do you think he hurt my sister like that?”
Silence. That was his answer.
She knew her father wouldn’t lie to her, just like she knew how much getting Caroline back meant to him. If it was too painful for him to talk about… “I’m going to burn that bastard alive.”
Mankel eased his grip and patted her on the shoulder in a rare show of affection. “Stick to the plan. Don’t deviate. You can’t allow your emotions to cloud your judgment.”
“Have I ever?”
“I remember a time.”
The memory slammed into her in a flash. She’d been twelve and training on the underground range with her team. When she’d missed her target by nearly two inches, her father had ordered Storm, the youngest on their team, to hold the target. If Nightshade missed her next shot, she could easily kill Storm. She’d balked. Her teammates were like her sisters.
Revenge River: Men of Mercy, Book 9 Page 1
