By the time they reached the valley floor, the sun had shifted near the western horizon. Kell found them a small cave and Leah breathed a sigh of relief. They never ran into the other group of Taliban and little by little, relief replaced her tension. The cave was hidden, like so many were, by tall, thick vegetation in front of it. Kell dismounted and handed her the reins to his horse as he went to clear the cave with his M-4.
Leah felt more relief as he came back, took the reins of his horse and led her through the brush and into the opening. Every cave was different. This one was barely eight feet high and she had to dismount to lead her horse into it. Once inside, Kell joined her.
“We got lucky. There’s water down off to that tunnel on the right. Follow me.”
Water. Leah’s spirits rose swiftly. She could tell the horses could smell it because they started walking faster down the tunnel, wanting to reach it. Kell turned on his penlight as the darkness grew. Always worried about the horses and the inability to find them water often enough, Leah stepped aside as the tunnel opened up into a much larger cavern. She saw the water dripping off the walls, a trough of liquid below it. The horses swiftly covered the distance, thrusting their muzzles deep beneath the water’s surface, gulping in great draughts.
Kell kept the penlight on. He saw Leah looking tired. The heat of the day bled everyone of their energy. The horses sucked noisily, their muzzles dripping with water as they finally raised their heads, sated for now.
“Let’s go back where there’s some light,” he told Leah, pulling on the reins and leading his horse out toward the tunnel.
Leah followed. The gray light got brighter as they approached the cave.
Suddenly, she saw Kell crouch at the entrance, swiftly bring up his M-4 and begin firing.
The tunnel shattered with the roaring sounds of bullets. The horses reared, panicked. The reins were ripped out of Leah’s hands. Kell started firing again. Screams drifted down the tunnel. She jerked the .45 out of its holster, running toward him as the horses ran back into the other cave. Bullets were ricocheting off the walls. Leah threw herself down on the floor, next to Kell. Her eyes widened. Six Taliban had just come into the cave!
She didn’t think, just aimed and fired. The soldiers were just as surprised as they were. Kell fired, taking down all of them with head shots or body mass shots. Leah gasped as he moved like a shadow toward the bodies. He passed by them, moving to the cave opening and then disappeared outside of it. Scrambling to her feet, Leah followed, her .45 held high, ready to fire.
Just as she ran by the last Taliban soldier, his hand shot out, grabbing her by the pant leg. With a grunt, Leah fell, the .45 bouncing out of her hand. She fought, kicking with her other boot at the man’s strong, sun-darkened hand. He lifted his head, blood running down his temple, his eyes filled with rage and hatred. Adrenaline surged through Leah. She was being dragged closer! With a cry, she slammed her boot into the man’s head. He snarled, trying to get up on his knees. Twisting, Leah jerked hard, trying to get free. Panic struck her and she saw him get to his knees, jerking her closer to him.
Leah suddenly saw a flash; so fast that at first she thought she was imagining it. Kell moved like a striking snake, the heel of his palm smashing upward into the Taliban soldier’s face. She heard the sickening crunch of bones snapping and breaking. The soldier screamed and collapsed, falling backward, unmoving.
Kell turned, his eyes on hers. She was sobbing for breath, frightened and trying to get up. He grabbed her beneath the arm, hoisting her to her feet.
“Oh, God,” she rasped, quickly moving to her pistol and picking it up.
“You all right?” Kell asked as he surveyed the unmoving group.
“Y-yes. I’ve never been so glad to see you,” she choked, breathing hard, her hand against her chest. “I—I thought they were all dead.”
Grimly, Kell shouldered the M-4 and turned, moving through the bodies, searching for anything of value. “They are now,” he growled. “Their horses are all tied outside,” he told her, leaning down, pulling cloaks and vests aside, searching in all their pockets. “Stand watch. I’ll be done in a minute.”
Kell was so calm. Heart hammering, Leah did as he ordered. She picked up her pistol. There were six horses tied to brush nearby. Who had heard the shots fired? In a cave, the sounds had been amplified many times over. Gaze darting around, Leah felt suddenly shaky, her knees feeling weak. She’d almost died—again. Unable to shake the image of the soldier’s rage and hatred of her, she wiped the sweat off her temple, her .45 in her hand ready to fire. She had no idea if she’d killed any of them or not.
Kell joined her. He was stuffing items down into the lower pockets of his trousers.
“Anything?”
“Yeah, some good maps,” he muttered, frowning. He looked over at her. Leah was pale, her eyes dark with fear. Reaching out, he touched her cheek. “It’s over. You did fine.”
Just his grazing touch, that soothing drawl of his, smothered her fear, slowed her heart rate down. “That scared the shit out of me,” she managed.
Grimly, Kell nodded. “They got the drop on us. We were in the other cave, and we didn’t hear them come in. They didn’t know we were here, either. I heard a noise out in this cave and knew we’d been compromised.”
“Really glad you’re a good shot,” she whispered.
“You were, too. You took one of them down.”
“At least I’m able to help.”
Kell nodded. “You did what you were trained to do, Leah. I’m glad you’re with me. Come on, let’s get our horses and get the hell out of here. Those shots are going to alert every Taliban within a two-mile radius that a firefight just went down here.”
Leah had never been so glad to leave a cave as right then. By the time they were riding away, following that same nearly invisible goat path, the sun had set. There were some long clouds hanging around the peaks to the west, and shortly they turned from orange to pink. She was too worried about their situation to appreciate their color and beauty. Kell moved his horse at a trot now and she bumped along on the saddle, always off balance, having to grip the horse’s mane to stay upright and not fall off.
She saw Kell talking on the sat phone as they trotted down the switchbacks. Leah was scared and kept looking around. The dusk was deep, the shadows dark, and she tried to watch for Taliban. Her heart wouldn’t settle down and her pulse bounded erratically. The bliss of a few days of safety in Kell’s arms, learning about a whole new world that had made her vulnerable and happy, came to a slamming, abrupt halt.
Kell seemed to be able to move between those worlds with ease. At no time did he look scared or worried. He’d been confident, a silent ghost, lethal and deadly accurate with his rifle. If there was any chance of getting out of this alive, Leah knew Kell could do it.
Night fell. Kell had his NVGs on and Leah was content to let her horse’s nose follow the rump of the packhorse. She allowed the reins to relax in her hands, feeling safer because of the pitch blackness that had hidden them from the eyes of their enemies. She heard the wind blowing off the mountains, and was now glad for the thick wool cloak over her cammies.
Kell kept up the brutal pace. Her butt was so sore it never stopped aching now. Not really knowing how to ride, Leah just kept bouncing around. She didn’t complain. Kell had a plan even though he’d given her strict orders not to talk on the mic. Voices carried. Whispers were even easier to pick up on with sharp-eared tangos nearby.
Kell finally halted somewhere near midnight. Leah was so grateful the horses had finally stopped. Her horse’s flanks heaved with exertion. She lifted her butt out of the saddle, rubbing it and wanting to groan. Hearing Kell approach, she could see nothing. When his leg touched hers, he halted his horse.
“How are you doing?”
“Okay,” she lied.
“Butt sore?”
“That’s a major understatement. Where are we?”
“In the valley. Have you been drinking water?
Staying hydrated?”
“Yes.” She heard an edge in his low voice. “What’s going on?”
“We’re going to keep moving,” he told her. “I’ve been on the sat phone with Ax. An Apache coming back for fuel had its thermal imaging on over this area. They spotted four Taliban groups settled down for the night. I’ve got their GPS positions and we’re going to thread through all of them. You up for this?”
Leah grimaced, thinking of her butt. “Yes. Are we trotting?”
“No, too risky. We’ll walk. Whatever you do, don’t sneeze, don’t cough, and breathe through your mouth. Our biggest worry is if one of our horses decides to whinny because there are other horses nearby. If that happens, we’re in deep shit because the Taliban will know someone is moving nearby. And when they set up for the night, they don’t travel. Only black ops do, and they’ll know we’re the enemy.”
“What will they do?”
“They could fire indiscriminately in our direction, hoping to hit us, because they don’t have night-vision goggles. Or they could mount up and try to find us, but again, they can’t see in the dark. Probably just throw a lead curtain our way.”
“Great,” Leah grunted.
“We’re fifteen miles from Bravo. This valley is pretty flat, but still has some ups and downs, some draws and deep washes.”
“Fifteen?”
He heard hope in her husky voice. “Yeah. Providing we can get through these small camps in the area, we should reach Bravo by dawn.” Kell reached out, sliding his hand over her jaw. He could see her face, her wide eyes. “Hang in there, okay, Sugar? We’re almost home.”
Did that ever sound good to Leah. She reached out, sliding her hand against his. Kell was so strong and self-assured. Right now, she was terrified but didn’t want him to know it. “Home sounds good,” she choked, sudden emotions rising in her.
“I’ll get you there,” Kell promised, wrapping her hand in his, kissing the back of it and then releasing it. “Let’s go…”
*
LEAH FELT AS though her body were going to break from riding so long. Her butt had gone numb. The insides of her knees were raw and bleeding. Dawn was edging on the peaks of the Hindu Kush. She could barely see the land around her, glad to have the coming light. Her horse stumbled every once in a while, weary. She could see Kell in front of her. He guided them into a huge wash, tall enough to hide them, and he dismounted.
Leah wasn’t sure she could get off the horse and was grateful when Kell walked back to get her. He placed his hands around her waist and lifted her out of the saddle. She bit her lip, trying not to groan as he placed her feet on the ground. Wobbling, she reached out, gripping his arms.
“Damn,” she muttered, “I feel like I’m going to fall apart.”
Kell laughed softly and began removing her hajji gear. “Just think of a hot shower back at Bravo. That will ease our aches and numbness.”
“What are you doing?”
“We’re getting out of this stuff. I’m going to get our rucks and weapons off the packhorse. We’re going to ride in cammies with our gear. I’ll take the harness off the packhorse and let it go. It will survive out here on its own just fine. When we make a run for Bravo, I don’t want to be slowed down by it.”
Nodding, she quickly divested herself of the Afghan garb. “Sounds good.”
“Come on,” Kell urged, his hand around her upper arm. Leah walked bowlegged and he smiled a little. He knew she’d never ridden a horse before, and she’d been a trooper, never complaining.
Opening the tarp, he helped Leah into her ruck and quickly got it situated across her shoulders. He took his ruck, laid it on the ground and then pulled the Win-Mag sheath off the packhorse and strapped it barrel down on his ruck. Standing, he hauled the gear over his shoulders and strapped up.
Leah stood back as he got rid of the harness and removed the halter from the wet, weary animal. He slapped it on the rump and the horse moved away, but remained with the others because he was a herd animal.
Kell looked over at Leah. He put his M-4 in a harness over his left shoulder and approached her. She glanced up and smiled at him. Groaning inwardly, he slid his hands around her face, leaning down, kissing her, feeling her return it, her hands against his chest. Her lips were soft, giving, taking, and he felt himself missing her so damn much already. Easing from her mouth, Kell smiled into her glistening eyes. “I’m going to miss what we had back in those caves,” he told her.
Her legs felt shaky and it wasn’t because she’d been riding. “I’m afraid, Kell. I’m afraid when we get back to Bravo we’ll never see one another again.”
He gave her a very confident smile. “That’s not going to happen.” He grazed her cheek with his thumb. “The first couple of days after getting back are going to be hectic. I’m going to have to devote a lot of time to sit reps, writing up a report on this whole journey of ours. But I’ll be around. And I’m going to hunt you down, so don’t worry.”
She frowned, feeling uneasy. “You can’t come over to the squadron office, Kell. They’ll suspect something between us…”
He chuckled and dropped a kiss on her lips. “I’m black ops. Remember? I’ll find you before you even know I’m there.”
She felt her heart expand with love for him. Leah almost spoke the word, but was afraid. Their lives were huge holes of unknown everything. Combat guaranteed nothing but chaos, no normality, nothing either of them could count on. “Okay,” she whispered, her voice unsteady. Digging into his amused gaze, she said, “Kell, I like you. I don’t care if I’m an officer and you’re not.”
“Shh,” he said, placing his finger against her lips. “You’re a part of my life, Leah. That’s not going to change unless you say differently.” Kell lost his smile and wanted to reassure her because he saw her concern. “When we ride into Bravo, you stick with me, all right? We’ve got a small barn and corral on the other side of the SEAL HQ and we’ll take the animals over there. And once that’s done, I want to introduce you to my master chief and the men in my team.”
“Because?”
“Because you’re my woman and I want my team to know you on sight. We take care of our own, Leah. You can ask any SEAL at Bravo for help, and he’ll give it to you without question because you’re mine.”
All her worries dissolved. His voice was deep with hidden emotion but she saw it in the hard glitter of his eyes. “I want to meet them,” she told him.
“Good,” Kell murmured. “Come on, I’ll help you back into that torture rig we call a saddle.”
Just as Leah turned, she gasped. Kell whirled around, going for his M-4.
“Hey, Ballard, we’ve come out here to rescue your sorry ass.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“IT’S ALL RIGHT,” Kell reassured Leah, turning and placing his hand on hers, which was going for her pistol. “It’s my team. Stand down.”
Leah felt her heart galloping in her chest as four SEALs appeared silently out of the surrounding brush. She pressed her hand to her chest, feeling her fear dissolve. The men were all grinning at Kell. They were dressed in cammies and boonie hats, and carried M-4s. They all wore camouflage face paint to blend into the surrounding environment. The man who had spoken was smiling widely and walking toward Kell. He had an oval face, was at least six feet tall with longish blond hair and a beard. His eyes were hazel. He walked with purpose, his face hard and those eyes of his glinting fiercely. Leah decided this SEAL wouldn’t be someone to mess with. He gave new meaning to the word intensity.
“We’re giving you a Protective Service Detail, Ballard.” He moved his rifle aside and slapped him heartily on the back.
Kell snorted and muttered, “Bullshit, Clutch.” He slapped him on the back good-naturedly and then released his best friend. “Did Ax send you out here?”
“Yeah, you know how he is, a mother hen.” Clutch’s eyes lit up and he stared over at Leah. “Is this our pilot? Chief Mackenzie?”
Kell gripped his friend by his thick sho
ulder. “Stand down, she’s taken.”
Clutch’s blond brows rose and he stared up at him. “No shit?”
“No shit.” Kell gestured for the rest of his men to come over. He pulled Leah to his side.
“Leah, you need to meet my notorious team.” He pointed to the tallest, “This is Brad Doran, but we call him Clutch because he’s someone you can rely on in a hot firefight. You can call him Brad if he’s being nice to you, if you want.”
Snickers abounded, Leah noticed. She felt the camaraderie between all of them, as if they were, indeed, a group of brothers.
“And this is Grayson McCoy, who we call Trace,” Kell said, pointing to the SEAL with brown hair and hazel eyes. “He can disappear, literally, without a trace, which is how he got his name.”
McCoy smiled and lifted his hand in hello to Leah.
She liked the bearded SEAL, his eyes warm with welcome.
“This is Jerry Stadler, who we sweetly refer to as Breach.”
Breach snarled, “Jesus, Kell, curse me out, but don’t call me sweet.”
The team snickered again, enjoying getting under Breach’s thin skin. Leah didn’t know what to think, never having been around SEALs before like this. Yes, she ferried them to and from ops, but never engaged with them personally. They looked like a group of hormone-ridden teenage boys out on a risky lark, more than ready for a little adventure and wanting to leave some mayhem in their wake.
Kell ignored Breach’s bad mood and said, “This last dude is Andy Domanico. We call him Dom.”
Leah lifted her hand. “Nice to meet all of you.” She saw they simply stared at her, nodded, but that was it. These were toughened, uncompromising men. Good thing they were on her side. Kell, in comparison, was easy to read, but she figured these four men had their game faces on. Plus, they were in enemy territory.
Clutch said, “Ax wanted us to escort you in. I’m going to put us out in a diamond pattern around the likes of you and your ponies. We’ll be making sure the area’s clear so you two can ride into Bravo safe and sound.”
Kell nodded. “Sounds good. Go for it.”
Running Fire Page 22
