by Lea Hart
BEWITCHED
BOOK SIX
LEA HART
Copyright © 2016 by Lea Hart
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 permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Lea Hart
Visit my website at www.leahartauthor.com
DEDICATION
For My Daughters, My Heartbeat
For My Mom, My Champion
CHAPTER ONE
Friday, December 1
Blake sat in the Chinook, checked his watch and noticed they had another hour before landing at King Faisal air base in Jordan. It hadn’t been his first choice for their insertion, but he’d been overruled. Three American military trainers had been shot at the gates last month, and the Jordanians were insisting it was a horrible misunderstanding and not the work of extremists. Blake didn’t buy it, but as a commander in the US Navy, he kept his opinions to himself and followed orders. The most important order meant he completed the mission and brought his men home in one piece.
As he lifted off his headset, his ears were instantly filled with the excruciatingly loud, whining gear noise. Rubbing his head, he quickly slipped them back on and studied the fire team he’d put together for this quick holiday adventure. They were a rock-solid group of operators. Frisco, Bryce, and Will represented the full spectrum in terms of experience. Will was going to retire after this rotation, and Bryce was about to complete his first one. He and Frisco landed somewhere in the middle and God willing still had a couple of years left in them. Thirty-three was considered old in SEAL years, and they had both just celebrated that birthday, unfortunately. Blake often wondered how many more years he had left. So far things were holding up, but one more bullet in his shoulder would probably change that.
Leaning back, Blake stretched out his legs and thought about the downtime he was going to have in a couple of weeks. His platoon was at the end of its rotation, and they were heading home to Coronado. They’d been out for almost eight months and had been conducting direct action missions almost weekly. No man could operate effectively at the level they were expected to without a break. And their break was closer than ever.
Maybe this year he’d make it home for the holidays. Truth be told, he was long overdue for some time on the ranch, and the idea of mending fences and moving cattle with his two younger brothers was more appealing than he cared to admit.
Thoughts of home were for another day, though. Today they going to rescue a couple of diplomats who got snatched in the northern part of Jordan. The intel brief indicated the abduction occurred up in Sakib, where two female foreign service officers had been visiting a USAID Hydroponic Green Farming Initiative center.
Apparently, an extremist faction from Daraa was responsible for the kidnapping. Demands had included the release of prisoners in exchange for the women’s lives. The last report said the diplomats were being held in the valley at an abandoned castle. Fortunately, the women had been located quickly because they both had trackers implanted. It wasn’t required of state department employees but highly encouraged in this part of the world. Right now, the team had twenty-three hours before the first set of demands had to be met. After that, it was anyone’s game.
The Jordanian government had done everything it could to appease the kidnappers and keep the story off the news. The last thing anyone needed to see was more beheadings, which the terrorists had promised if their demands were not met. It was up to Blake and his team to get in and get out without making a lot of noise, which, fortunately, was their specialty.
Glancing up, he saw Will walk down the middle of the helo. “Ready, brother?” Blake asked.
“Absofuckinglutely. Let’s save those girls and get the hell out of dodge,” Will said as he sat down.
Laughing, Blake punched his buddy in the arm. “Sounds good to me.” The tablet in his lap vibrated, indicating an incoming message. “Looks like we received confirmation the targets are alive.” Holding it up, he cursed. “Those assholes tossed them around before they took the picture.”
“Let me see,” Will said as he held out his hand. Taking the tablet from Blake, he studied it. “Motherfucker,” he huffed out. “These women look so young. I hate these sick fucks that take pleasure in harming women.” He handed it back and shook his head.
“Agreed,” Blake mumbled as he scrolled through the intel and read the women’s Foreign Service bios. He discovered the blonde woman was named Amy Anderson and hailed from Portland, Oregon. She was twenty-seven years old and had been in the diplomatic service for three years. He studied her picture and thought she looked like the girl next door with her big green eyes and happy smile. The other woman was named Paige Bennett and was a looker. Not that he was noticing how pretty she was, but shit, he noticed. She had long, dark hair, startling navy eyes and was a fellow Texan. She was twenty-seven and had been abroad for five years. It looked like she had spent time in Jakarta, Tajikistan, and Burundi before coming to Jordan. Nothing like spending the last five years in the world’s hellholes. Running his finger over the screen, he wondered why she had taken so many consecutive hardship assignments. They were career makers, for sure, but also career enders if you wound up dead. Seems that under that pretty façade lay a well of guts and determination. His favorite combination.
“What are the orders?” Will asked.
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he looked over and grinned. “Our orders don’t include bringing the terrorists out alive. It was strongly encouraged but not required.”
“So, they have no intelligence value?”
“Apparently not. The theater commander said they were low-level grunts. The valuable assets are up in Daraa, and after we’re done grabbing the hostages, it’ll be our next stop. They’re requesting a million dollars along with the release of prisoners. I guess it costs a lot of Syrian pounds to be an effective terrorist these days.”
“It’s not like the old days when money was flowing in and out of those organizations. These fuckers must be the new and improved capitalist terrorists,” Will added.
“It’s nice to see they’ve taken on our Western ways and are learning to make a buck.” Rubbing his neck, Blake grinned. “What are you going to do next month when you retire? How in the hell are you going to live a civilian life?”
“I have no idea. I know it’s time, but that doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to it. I’ll either join Max at SAI or become an instructor at the base with Mark. All this experience has to be good for something.”
“Amen,” Blake replied.
Frisco and Bryce joined them, and Blake gave them a download of the latest intel. “Stay frosty when we get off the helo,” he said. “I don’t know what the hell is going on at the air base, and I don’t want to get caught in a firefight before we clear the gates.”
“Roger that,” Frisco replied. “Let’s make this tea party a fast one. I’ve got plans in San Diego next week that I don’t want to reschedule.”
“What’s her name?” Bryce asked. “No offense, sir.”
Frisco ruffled the young lieutenant’s hair and snorted. “Can’t tell you, young grasshopper. I’m an officer and a gentleman and I keep my private business private.”
“Bullshit,” Will and Blake said at the same time.
Frisco
flipped them off and grinned. “I haven’t been in Jordan in over a year. The last time I was here, we exfiled through Irbid and then humped our way into the Syrian desert. The team met some nice fellows who’d gotten hold of chemical weapons. We relieved them of their cache and then got a ride out of the desert in a Blackhawk. I had a couple of relaxing days in Amman and then returned to base. All in all, not a bad way to spend a week.”
Will nodded in agreement. “I can’t remember the last time I was on an op inside the country. It’s always a stopping point, never a destination.” Thumping his fist on the seat, he chuckled. “We have some lovely Americans to save, so let’s have some fun and be quick.”
“Let me see the intel,” Frisco said as he reached for the tablet. When Blake handed it over, he whistled. “Damn, these two are pretty. Going to have to kill the fuckers that laid a hand on them, though. Beating a woman is inexcusable.”
Blake took the tablet back and studied the two women’s faces. Frisco was right. They were beautiful young women who had no business in the hands of terrorists. It was his opinion that people shouldn’t come to this part of the world unless they were trained and armed. But like most of his opinions, he kept them to himself.
***
Blake and his fire team checked their kits inside a hangar on the base and kept eyes on anyone entering the area. The last thing they needed was to get shot before they got started.
Checking his tablet, Blake saw the confirmation for their extraction. A Blackhawk was due in eight hours on the mountain that sat next to Aysra village, which should give them plenty of time.
They had about an hour’s drive to Sakib, and that would put them in the area right around seven. The tac plan gave them an hour for recon, another hour to get the women out, and an extra three in case they wanted to catch any sights on the way up the mountain. Piece of cake.
Will, Frisco, and Bryce stood at the gun table, checking their firearms and keeping things loose. A lot of insults were being thrown back and forth, which told Blake that the men were all in the right frame of mind. He’d been on hundreds of missions over the years with Frisco and Will, and they operated as one. The new kid, Bryce, was showing a lot of promise and was the perfect fourth man for their op today. Blake had always believed that missions were like parties. You needed the right mix for them to work.
A black unmarked SUV stood ready, and Blake decided to look at the engine before they left. He had no reason to believe anyone would sabotage them, but being the paranoid SOB that he was, a check seemed like a smart choice.
Giving it a thorough once-over, he satisfied himself that the vehicle would make the short trip along the highway. By SEAL standards, this was as easy as an op got. They never drove to their infil point. A midnight HALO jump from thirty thousand feet in the air was their usual commute. Today was civilized, and Blake hoped it was a sign of how easy the extraction would be. Terrorists and American women were not a good combination, and shit tended to get nasty fast the longer the two were in each other’s company.
Blake motioned to Will that they were ready to pack the vehicle. The three men loaded their gear and then checked their coms. Once satisfied they were operational, Blake looked at the men and nodded. “Let’s make this clean and fast.”
Frisco got in the driver’s seat, and the rest of the men piled in. “Rock and roll,” he said as he started the engine. “Let’s see if we can make it off the base without incident. Look alert.”
The team kept their hands on the weapons in their laps and saluted the guards as they drove through the gates. “So far, so good,” Will said from the back. “A good omen.”
“Better be,” Blake replied. “No reason to believe otherwise.”
***
An hour and a half later, they drove slowly along a dirt road that ran parallel to the mountain where the abandoned castle sat. The valley was lush with trees and farms. If you didn’t know any better, you might think you were in California. The rolling landscape wasn’t that much different than the central California coast.
Sakib hadn’t had a recent history of violence in any of the three villages that made up the area, so Blake figured the group from Daraa was a one-off or…a sign of things to come.
Frisco drove off the road into a grove of trees and parked their vehicle behind an outcropping of large boulders. Everyone piled out, quietly loaded their gear, and put on their helmets, which were equipped with night-vision goggles.
“Ten minutes and I’ll tell you what’s going on over at the castle,” Bryce said as he set his drone up. “I’ll survey the exterior and then see what’s happening inside.”
“Roger that,” Blake responded. He checked his tablet and read the latest update. No further demands had been made, so their time frame would remain. HQ had requested a second visual confirmation that the women were alive and hadn’t received anything yet. Cursing silently, he shook his head. Not what he wanted to hear.
“Five heat signatures inside the building. No guards on the exterior and one car parked a click away from the structure,” Bryce reported. “Looks like a couple of dogs are roaming around, probably strays.”
“Good work,” Blake said. “Ready, men? Let’s take a little hike and see what we’re dealing with.”
“Affirmative,” the three men responded quietly.
Bryce landed his drone a half mile away from where they were headed and slipped his monitor in his vest. “Locked and loaded,” he said.
“Feet ready, heart steady, eyes open,” Blake said as the team began their trek across the valley. Will took point, Frisco followed with Bryce, and Blake took up the rear.
The four men moved silently through the brush toward their destination, and as they moved along the terrain, Paige’s face filled Blake’s mind. Something about her had struck a chord in him, and he had no idea why. Probably would never find out, either. This was a standard snatch and grab, not a social gathering. It wasn’t like they were going to get to know one another.
Looking up into the clear night sky, he hoped like hell the women were still alive. The heat signatures were a good sign, but until they were inside, they wouldn’t know for sure. As far as he was concerned, it couldn’t happen fast enough.
CHAPTER TWO
Paige sat with her back against the ancient concrete wall with her hands and feet bound and wondered how their trip had gone so wrong. One minute they were meeting with farmers and seeing how well the USAID’s programs were working, and the next they were being torn out of their car while their driver was shot.
She wasn’t naïve. Working in the Foreign Service meant you were going to face danger at some point. It just hadn’t seemed like yesterday was that day. Perhaps avoiding it for as long as she had made her complacent. Thinking back over the last two days, she tried to determine what she could’ve done differently. The only thing that came to mind was not making the trip. Or, as her mama liked to remind her weekly, Stay home in Dallas.
Since neither of those things had been an option, she took a long deep breath. The only thing she could control in this situation was her fear. If she could stomp that down, then she might be able to recognize an opportunity when and if it came along.
The three men who had taken her and Amy seemed like they came from the low end of the terrorist totem pole. It was obvious they were unaware of the fact that all American captives were not created equal. Had they done their homework, they would’ve discovered that snatching her and Amy was not going to get them much. They were low-value targets, and the chance of the State Department doing much was slim.
Glancing over, she saw Amy resting her head on her knees. They had been beaten when they arrived and had guns shoved in their faces about every hour. The ordeal started thirty-six hours ago, and neither of them was in very good shape. They hadn’t been given any water, and the dizziness was almost constant now, along with some interesting heart palpitations. But they were still alive, so she held on to hope that somehow they would make it out of this nightmare.<
br />
The door slammed open, and the two men who had beaten them strode in and spoke with the man guarding them. Paige tried to understand what they were saying but could translate only a word or two. Even after taking classes for a year, her grasp of the language was minimal.
Amy leaned over and spoke quietly. “They said our time is coming and we should pray for mercy.”
Paige closed her eyes. “I hope to God they don’t force us to make a speech, then behead us while filming the whole thing. Our families don’t need to have that as their last memory of us.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. I figured they’d just shoot us and that would be it.”
“If we’re lucky,” Paige responded. The last thirty-six hours had changed her view on a lot of things, and she’d decided that being shot and killed was about the best thing that could happen. The men had threatened rape at least a dozen times while they ran their AK-47s along their faces, so anything short of that was a preferable outcome. “Unfortunately, instant death is looking really good right now.”
Amy nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. No one is sending in the SEALs to rescue us. We don’t have enough value.”
“If we’re lucky they won’t film anything, and our names will be the only thing reported on CNN. Just another cautionary tale about the Middle East,” Paige said as she dropped her head to her knees. Her birthday was next week, and it seemed as though blowing out birthday candles wasn’t likely.
***
Blake and his team stood in a grove of trees across from the building where the women were being held and waited for Bryce to launch his drone.
“I’ll have thermal images with exact location in ten,” he stated.
