He headed toward the two men standing near the chopper with headsets.
“Bennett?” one man said.
Tyrese nodded and stepped up into the plane. Sweat dotted his brow, his chest tightened in protest of his decision to leave. His beast growled and whined alternatively like an out of tune band. The next moment he bent forward as a burning sensation slashed across his stomach. “What the…” He couldn’t believe it; his beast swiped him with his paw.
“We’re leaving in a few minutes, just waiting on some paperwork,” one of the men said.
Tyrese put on his headset, pulled the strap across his chest and locked himself down. “Stop that,” he whispered to his beast, glad he was alone. Curious if his brother had ever experienced anything similar he sought him through their link. “Tyrone?” Receiving no response, he pulled out his cell, punched in the number and looked outside. One of the men ran toward the copter with a portfolio. He would need to make this quick. Once Tyrone picked up, they could converse through their link.
“Hey.” Tyrone sounded breathless. Tyrese realized he had probably disturbed his playtime with his mate.
“Hey, link with me.”
“Okay.”
The next moment they were linked and the miles fell away. “The weirdest thing happened.” He gave a quick run-down of his wolf swiping him, not mentioning the mate incident. No need to tell his mom about that and telling Rone meant telling Rose, which meant telling his mom.
“No, I’ve never heard of that happening to anyone, could be a side effect from the drug, I’ll let Matt know so he can check into it and add that info to the database. You okay?”
“Yeah, just surprised as fuck, never argued with my beast like this before. He went all Terminator on me.” The copter lifted. “We’re taking off, talk to you later, man.” Throughout the flight instead of focusing on the upcoming mission his thoughts were filled with the idea of his mate. Was she full-blood or half-breed like him? Was she old school or modern? Some full-bloods followed traditions he wasn’t interested in. How would she feel about him being a half-breed? He prayed she liked men and sex. Next, he thanked God and the Goddess that his mate was female. Not that he begrudged his dad and his mate Matt their happiness, but he loved pussy and could not imagine a lifetime without it. Thoughts and various scenarios flew around and around his mind until he wanted to tear off his head for a moment of quiet.
Forty minutes later he sat on a makeshift seat in a ramshackle building on the outskirts of Fenjirie, a small town in a much larger Middle East country with nothing in particular to make it memorable. The stench of human waste and unwashed bodies hung in the air, desperate for a brisk breeze to move it along. Water being a million dollar commodity, and good drinking water was kept under lock and key, made a part of the smell understandable. Tyrese pushed down his senses a bit blocking some of the smell.
“Glad you made it, we have a volatile situation here and need your help,” Captain Browning, his immediate supervisor said without any preliminaries. He laid out a map and placed a rock on two corners. The dirt on his neck, beneath his fingernails, his chin and dark tan spoke of the lack of bare essentials in the makeshift camp. Tyrese tightened his resolve to go in, get the job done and get out. Today, if possible, no later than tomorrow.
“I have read the briefs, what exactly do you need me to do?” He bent over the map for anything he could identify. The documentation he received earlier had been thorough; he recognized a few hot spots nearby.
“Caleb is our eyes; he sends regular reports on their movements.” The captain pointed to a place on the map with a mark. “This is where the women are being held, you will need to locate and remove them. Once you clear the building Caleb and I will lead the three of you to the extraction point.”
Tyrese nodded. The plan seemed simple enough…too simple.
The Captain continued. “Three men watch them at all times. We have information they are… other.” He glanced at Tyrese and then looked back at the map. “If they rotate with anyone from the outside, we have not seen any signs.”
Tyrese remained silent, thinking over the plan and pleased the Captain was aware of the differences in the guards.
“Patrick is here.” He pointed to an area to the left of the hut. “He will pick off anyone who leaves other than you and the hostages. They sent special ammo, supposed to kill the bastards.” Tyrese remembered the young recon-sniper from Alabama who claimed he held a gun in one hand and his bottle in the other when he took his first steps. Patrick’s laser accuracy with his rifle lent credence to his story. Tyrese could see him as Bob Lee Swagger in the movie Shooter.
“Sounds good.” He waited for the captain to tell him the location of the other team members, Tray, Braxton and Norman.
“Okay, what do you need… anything special?”
Tyrese realized they’d come to the end of the planning session. Seriously? “Where’s the rest of the team?”
Sorrow flashed across the captain’s features and disappeared just as fast when he met his gaze. “Gone, in the past three days half of my team has been wiped out on this rescue. We need those hostages out of there and returned home now so we can go home. So we can grieve.”
Tyrese had no words. He didn’t realize the lives lost daily were his former teammates. He had assumed they were civilians. Briefly he bowed his head in remembrance of the men he’d once fought alongside. “Why didn’t they send more men?”
The Captain snorted. “We’re invisible, no one knows we’re here, no one knows the girls are missing, part of the mission is to keep that allusion in place. Bringing in more equipment or men would attract attention. Even though we’re far out, the natives see everything. We believe they are working with the rebels.” He straightened, his face evened out. “Our mission is clear, extract the hostages, take them to a pick up point for their return home and leave no footprint. Any questions?”
“Do the guards use weapons? Guns? Heavy artillery?”
The Captain scoffed. “No. From what we gathered from the villagers, and it’s not much, the guards want to make sure the forest, and the land remains intact. They have rifles, but not heavy artillery. Problem is they’re so damn fast; Pat can’t get a shot off. Never seen anything like it before.” He shook his head. “They toyed with Braxton, tore his skin off bit by bit; I still hear his screams in my sleep. Then they threw him outside on the ground like yesterday’s trash, sons of bitches,” the Captain muttered looking away.
Tyrese wanted to tell the man how right he was in that description. “Is there a backdoor? Can I make one?”
The Captain removed his helmet, and wiped the sweat from his face with his shoulder. He set his helmet to the side and looked at the far end of the wall. “No back door. The hostages cannot be hurt by anything you do, other than that…by any means necessary. I didn’t tell you about Braxton to frighten you or anything, but you need to know what you’re up against. Higher ups think you can take the bastards out by yourself. I hope they’re right. We’re running out of time.”
“Understood.” And he did understand. Good men had died by the hands of these mercenaries. Tyrese intended to return the courtesy. He and his wolf agreed none of the guards would leave the area breathing.
Captain Browning stood, clapped him on his shoulder and shook his hand. “Good to see you again, wish the circumstances were different.”
“Yes, Sir.” Tyrese picked up his bag, pulled out his camo gear and changed. Once dressed, he completed a few stretching exercises, and calmed his wolf who strained to be released.
“When you’re ready, I’ll drive you as close as the jeep can reach, you’ll need to go on foot from there.”
“I’ll run, get the feel of the land. Plus, they’ll hear the jeep if you are in the vicinity.” And catch your scent, he thought.
The Captain nodded slowly and walked out. Tyrese inhaled, released and inhaled again, allowing his wolf to surface slowly. Within seconds he sifted through various scents from the capta
in’s unwashed body, the forest. He turned slowly, seeking the unusual aroma in the harmonic symphony of plants, wildlife, trees and yes… he recognized the smell of three full-bloods.
He frowned. They weren’t that far from here, less than three miles. He picked up the smell of two humans. Eager for the chase, his wolf growled at the scent of the full-bloods.
Why drive three miles? They hiked much longer than that in drills. It made no sense, maybe the Captain was bored. He strode outside, saluted the captain who sat on top of an old crate typing on a tablet and headed for the woods. The thick foliage swallowed him a few feet, making his movements slow. The drive made more sense now. Every now and then he stopped, filtered scents, zeroed in on the human females and full-bloods and continued toward his goal. The further he walked the denser the trees, roots and leaves. An hour later he identified his teammates, and saw the small building. He crouched and looked toward the building made of sticks, bundled straw and tar. An image of the three pigs and the wolf flashed across his mind, could he tear down the house?
While he developed his next move, the three wolves spread out from their previous cluster. Now, one stood at each end of the building and the other was positioned in the middle. So much for a surprise entry, he had come in human-deep to throw them off his scent and yet they knew he was here. Hopefully they thought he was human and not a genuine threat. His gaze swept around the small clearing, there was no place to hide or stage an attack. They had chosen well.
Rotating his shoulders, he stood and stepped into the clearing, his wolf alert, ready to fight. Legs spread apart, arms at his side, he remained still administering a challenge that no full-blood would resist.
Growling, snapping noises filled the air, the next second a full-blood shot out the door and would have slammed into him. The shifted wolf was the size of a gorilla and if it were not for the snout, tail and four legs he would have resembled one as well. The size and speed of the man were impressive, but Tyrese had seen and fought bigger.
Much bigger.
A millisecond before impact Tyrese jumped. His foot made contact with his opponent’s back, sending him into the hard ground. Twisting mid-air Tyrese landed inches near his opponent, raised his booted foot and slammed it toward his assailant’s face. The full-blood rolled to the side and jumped up wiping his face. Sand covered one half of his dark face, giving him a clownish appearance.
Heart racing, Tyrese scented the air for a sneak attack from one of the others; rarely did wolves fight alone when pack members were nearby. These full-bloods were different. For the moment they seemed content to allow this wolf to fight. Tyrese would have preferred to take them all out at once.
The full-blood snarled through extended canines, a common tactic to intimidate. Tyrese smiled. His opponent shook his head, looked at him for a second stroking a long wicked machete and then in a burst of speed, ran forward with a loud growl. The ground vibrated beneath them. Sharp claws sprung from his adversaries’ fingertips as he leapt.
Tyrese dropped low and plowed his fist into his opponent’s stomach, jumped up and hit him beneath the chin. The full-blood flew up and backward into a tree. The cracking sound on impact signaled something had broken. Tyrese listened as multiple bullets hit the downed wolf.
Exhaling, he turned toward the house. That one was too easy, too arrogant, too inexperienced. They must have used him as cannon fodder. He touched his M9 pistol on his side holster and felt the comforting weight of his bayonet on the opposite side. He doubted the other two would go down as easily. Still human deep, the growling sounds from the wolves inside caught his attention. They were angry. Good.
He waited.
No one else came out. He sensed the wolves near the door. Tyrese picked up the fallen wolf’s machete and ran toward the house, at the last second he veered to the right and slashed through the wall to the right and left in quick succession. Loud snaps of broken sticks and twigs followed, leaving a small opening in the wall a distance from the hostages.
Gunshots rang out.
He dropped to the ground gripping the machete. He glanced back through the opening and saw edges of yellow and red cloth. He leaned closer to the wall to get a better look. Wide-eyed blue and then green gazes met his. Based on the photos in the files, these were his hostages. Time to get them out of there. He unsnapped his pistol, weapon drawn he crept forward.
A bullet whizzed past him and hit the ground next to his foot. He flattened next to the wall bobbed on the balls of his feet, and ran into the tree line. Gunshots followed his exit. Exhilarated, his heartbeat raced, his wolf howled eager to join the fray as he hid behind a large tree.
He looked around the thick forest, roots jutted above ground and dense foliage made it harder to run. Glancing at the hut again, he looked up. Quickly, he pulled a small piece of rope from his pocket, looped it around the hilt of the machete and then looped the string through his belt to keep it from falling off. He tested it a couple of times before moving from tree to tree until he reached the tree he wanted to climb. It took longer than he wanted and at times he had to use his claws to move up. Moments later he had reached the limb that spread out near the roof.
The full-breeds had split up again; one was at the opposite end of the hut while the other stood a few feet to the left of where Tyrese balanced on the limb like a tightrope walker. He grabbed the hilt of the machete with both hands, steadied himself and waited until the full-blood moved closer.
Instead of heading toward Tyrese, he walked in the opposite direction. Tyrese swore and waited. A few moments later the full-blood returned to his position, this time he stood almost directly beneath the limb. Tyrese bulked and jumped, his feet smashed through the roof onto the wolf. He jumped up and severed the head from the body.
The hostages screamed as the remaining wolf charged him. Upon impact they crashed through the side of the hut and landed against a tree. The full-blood tried to pick him up, but his bulk from the modified shift made him heavier than normal.
“What?” his opponent whispered, sounding confused. That was the last word he spoke as a volley of bullets ripped through his chest and head. Blood spattered all over Tyrese. He threw the wolf off him and sat up slowly. The scent of fear from the hostages stung his nostrils; blood on his face ran down his chin and onto his chest and clothes. Close to the surface, his wolf’s desire to chase prey surged through him. He repeated a few mantras his father taught him and his twin to take firm control of his body and his wolf. It took longer than usual because of the adrenaline rush.
“Here.”
He looked up and the redhead handed him a small tub of Government Issue wipes. “Thanks.” He cleaned his face quickly while the two stood silently; the redhead crossed her arms and tapped her foot. Was she rushing him? They hadn’t said much, but the way they looked him over, not as their savior, but as a juicy steak on a platter, seemed out of place.
He stood, placed the soiled wipes in his pocket and faced his captives. He sensed no fear, and assumed they felt safe now that the guards were out of the way. A trickle of excitement from the two females brushed against him. He studied them. They did not seem happy or relieved to be rescued. Their smiles brightened as they looked him over. That steak on a platter feeling returned.
“The extraction team is on their way,” he said into the silence and stepped to the side away from the body. They followed.
“Yes, yes, good. I am Miriam and this is my cousin Leona. But she is much too young for you, only sixteen,” the green-eyed beauty said surprising Tyrese.
“What? What are you talking about?” No one mentioned the hostages were batty as hell. Figures this couldn’t be a simple extraction.
She placed her arms behind her back and rocked side to side smiling. “Nothing…nothing, I just thought you were interested in us because you rescued us and now we’re at your mercy. But she is too young, that’s all.”
Tyrese stared at the female. What the hell was she talking about? Even if he wasn’t mated he would
never seek either of them out for physical release. “Did the guards do something to you? Do you require medical attention?”
Her brows furrowed. “What? No…no, they were perfect…they did not bother us in the least. Are you concerned they had?”
Okay, so they were mentally unbalanced. Or maybe it was the residual effects of what they’d recently been through. “I am a Marine, Ma’am, sent here to remove the both of you and return you home. You are not my prisoners; there is no repayment, no taking advantage. I am honor bound to fulfill this mission. My Captain has made arrangements to remove us from this area, he will be here soon.”
He stepped further into the clearing and looked at the leaning hut. It probably would not stand much longer. The hole he and the full-blood made in the wall, coupled with him coming through the roof caused too much distress on the structure. Shading his eyes, he looked around for the Captain or Pat or Caleb. He turned and caught Miriam waving one hand in the air.
“What are you doing? Is there someone out there?” he listened closely and then inhaled deeply. The Captain was nearby.
“You said someone was out there, to take us home, remember?” Miriam said. There was something in her tone, something not quite right, but he couldn’t place it.
He faced her, prepared to ask what the hell was going on. The cunning look in her eyes ruffled his wolf. Hair stood up on the back of his neck. He frowned at the self-satisfied look on her face.
“What…” A bullet slammed into his shoulder, another into his right thigh. Wide eyed, he fell to the ground. Had he missed a full-blood? No…who shot him? Even as the question slid through his mind, he realized the shots were not bullets, but darts loaded with something strong pulling him under. His lids drooped. His wolf whined. Thoughts rumbled through his mind. Who? Why? What would happen to his mate?
Chapter 5
BirthSign (La Patron, The Alpha's Alpha) Page 5
