by Gennita Low
(HER SECRET) PIRATE
CROSSFIRE (SEAL) SERIES BOOK FOUR
by
GENNITA LOW
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PUBLISHED BY:
Gennita Low
HER SECRET PIRATE
Copyright © 2012 by Gennita Low
ISBN-13:
ISBN-10:
Cover by Leiha Mann
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Her Secret Pirate Copyright © 2012 by Gennita Low. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Gennita Low e-books.
*This story was previously part of an anthology titled SEAL of my Dreams (2011). This story has some additions.
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HER SECRET PIRATE
By
Gennita Low
“The captain has determined the Ambassador is in imminent danger of being discovered and that we must act now before dawn. The President has given the go-ahead orders. The four of you are tasked to take down the pirates and secure the ship. Zone, you’ve been cleared to go.”
Zodenko “Zone” Zonovich swallowed his relief, retaining his calm demeanor as much as possible. “Thank you, sir!”
He’d downplayed his relationship with the Ambassador’s daughter although he didn’t think his commander believed him. Just a few dates, he’d assured, which was technically true. Rebecca Powers wasn’t someone he could take out on a regular date, not when she was the personal aid to the Honorable Paul Powers, the U.S. ambassador to India, as well as his daughter. No, their secret meetings couldn’t be called dates. And they’d agreed to…cool it…he guessed that would be the term because . . . damn, he didn’t know why he’d agreed to it now. It was over an argument about, of all stupid things, war. He was a SEAL. Participating in warfare was his job.
He’d better push all that out of his mind right now. The first order of the day was to follow instructions, go with his team to get the pirates before they turned on the news and found out Rebecca Powers was the Ambassador’s daughter. That was what initiated the “imminent danger” decision; the media was naming names and in this day and age, it seemed even pirates checked their Twitter accounts while terrorizing the seas.
At the same time, the Navy had to exercise caution. The whole world would be watching, whether through the lenses of camera crews flying over the ship or social media, where everyone who thought they knew everything would spout opinions and escalate the drama. Hawk had been in deep conference, coordinating with naval Intel and Special Operations Combined Joint Task Force higher-ups on the best course to effectively terminate the danger before the stakes became higher. Zone already had instinctively known they would be sending in a small squad of men and so had privately requested to be on the team. His commander had given him a hard stare and a non-committal reply.
He’d expected to be given another assignment. If Hawk knew how chummy he and Rebecca Powers really were, there was no way he’d be sent with the others to the ship. So he’d played it cool, mentioning he was her instructor and that was how they knew each other. All true. But he was glad his commander didn’t ask more personal questions because then he’d have to face the dilemma of actually telling the real truth.
Not that he would lie to his commander or team. One just didn’t do that when one was a SEAL. But the temptation had certainly crossed his mind. Where Rebecca was concerned, the woman had him by the head and heart, it seemed.
His squad of four, including him, were his closest friends—Cucumber, Mink, and Joker. Joker and he were snipers and their specialty would be needed once they’d snuck on board the taken vessel. The element of surprise had to be quick and deadly. Their target—the men guarding the captured crew. They needed to take out all four. Cucumber and Mink’s job was to take down the rest as quickly as possible while he located those who were still in hiding in the ship, Rebecca being one of them.
While they silently prepared for the mission, his commander, Hawk McMillan, finished his conversation on the satellite phone and turned to them, his expression revealing bad news ahead. Hawk and the rest of Zone’s SEAL team were heading for another target, the “mother” ship coming this way.
“Listen up,” he said. “These are well-prepared hostiles, armed with grenades, launchers, you name it, they probably have it. Their goal, presumably, had been the food aid on board. Everything was still fine at that point until the pirates found out VIPs were on board. The fucking media has broadcasted the news all over the channels. So now they’re making threats and looking for the Ambassador.
“We know he and his aid have hidden themselves in the safe rooms but they were somehow separated. The Ambassador has radioed in that he’s okay but he’s more concerned about his daughter. He said if they find his daughter, he’ll give himself up. Needless to say, your job is to make sure you find both of them when you get on board.”
“How many on board, sir?” Cucumber asked.
“We see four securing the crew and we think eight searching the ship. The firefight took out two of the hostiles. The ambassador’s men and the crew’s shots have sunk their skiff, so they’re angry and getting angrier, and they’re starting to feel anxious waiting for their main ship to pick them up. Now, whether my crew and I succeed in delaying the other ship, you four have your orders. Unless they surrender, shoot to kill.”
“Yes, sir!”
“It’s dark. They’ve purposely killed the lights because they know about the possibility of snipers and they’re using human shields. Study the map and photos, locate the safe rooms, and search them. Be aware they’re searching too so the ones in danger won’t know you aren’t the bad guys. Only the ambassador knows because he has the means to communicate. As far as we can tell, the rest in hiding know nothing so you have to exercise caution who you’re taking out.”
“Yes, sir!”
They did last minute checks of their equipment going into their waterproof packs and pouches. Cumber came over and slapped him on the back.
“Knew you wanted in,” he said.
“Yeah.”
“Damn reporters just don’t think who they’re endangering, broadcasting who’s on board and telling everyone she’s the Ambassador’s daughter.”
Zone shrugged. Too late for that now. “Maybe you can tweet them the third finger salute,” he suggested wryly.
Cumber snorted. “I don’t tweet, I shoot. Look, man, I know you have things on your mind. I got your back, you know?”
“Thanks, man. My head’s screwed on right. I’ll get the job done.”
“Good.” Cumber nodded, threw him a thumbs-up before heading back to his gear.
Zone looked down at the map, studying all the areas outlined in red. Swimming to the ship and slipping on board were the easy part, even though their usual eight-man team had been divided in half. Taking out four hostiles? Hell, he could do that with one arm tied around his back. His finger touched Rebecca’s photo taped to the inside flap of his pouch, tracing the outline of her face. But making sure his woman wasn’t harmed? That part made his chest area ached like never before.
Where the hell was Rebecca hiding?
***
Rebecca had never been so afraid in her life. This morning, she’d been so excited about taking part in the international food aid treaty, knowing she was doing something about which she was passionate instead of just working the red tape. She was finally about to see, with her own eyes, the food and aid, which had taken months to finalize, finally reached the people who needed them most instead of being “lost” or confiscated once they reached port. Their entourage had boarded from the Seychelles Islands and started their goodwill voyage after signing the treaty, partly political publicity stunt and partly a sincere wish to see a good start to the food program. They were going to meet up with a navy ship, flying off from there, and then later in the month, fly to India to meet the ship as it arrived at port. Everything had been planned to the last detail, from meeting the VIPs to publicity shots to map routes to handing out the food to the villagers.
But that was this morning. All the planning hadn’t covered this. Never in her life had she imagined that by dark, she would be hiding in the bowels of the ship being chased by pirates.
They had shot at them. She shuddered at the memory of the blood from an injured sailor. Was he all right? She didn’t know because everyone started running in different directions. The ship’s crew had returned fire but the pirates managed to get near enough to board. She heard someone shouting he’d put a hole in the pirate’s boat as the fighting intensified. Their security detail had protected them as they hurried down the stairs. So much shouting. And now, total silence.
She was afraid. For herself. And for her father, who had been separated from her when the lights went off. Someone had roughly grabbed her and she’d kicked out at him, just the way Zone had taught her when he was instructing her class, and she’d escaped.
Zone. Rebecca closed her eyes. She’d called him a pirate once. They’d snuck away on his motorcycle and once they were out in the country, they’d ridden around without their helmets. With the carelessly tied bandanna over his dark curly hair and his equally dark gypsy eyes, all he needed was an earring and longer braided hair. Pirate, she’d teased him. And he’d laughed and hauled her over his shoulder, threatening her with all sorts of delicious things pirates were supposed to do to their captives.
Rebecca opened her eyes. Dammit. This wasn’t the time to think of Zone and her playing pirate. This was the real thing. With big evil men shooting up there and looking for her and Dad. She’d been in enough political maneuverings to understand now that they were without their getaway boat, the pirates were going to need hostages and they were looking for the most obvious. Her father, the ambassador, would be the prime candidate. Of course, with them all separated, she had no idea whether they’d captured him. She prayed for him to be safe.
Down here alone, minutes crawled by painfully. She’d lost her purse in the melee so she didn’t have a cell phone to get help or to even use for light. In the semi-darkness, shadows loomed like monsters, and making her way around in unfamiliar surroundings was even scarier than being up on deck with bullets raining down. At least she could see up there. Here, she had no idea what was in front of her as she threaded as quietly as she could. Sounds were magnified. She jumped at every scrape and clatter as she tried to figure out what to do next. A bug crawled up her leg and she almost squealed in panic. The only thing helping her keep calm was the thought of the man who had taught her class to stay clear-headed in times of danger.
Zone. She mouthed his name as she peered out into the darkness.
They had an argument. It’d escalated from a simple discussion into their work; she was all about peace and he was all about war, or some such stupidly childish accusation. She’d been horrible, saying he was a killer. She was wrong. She knew it then but wouldn’t take back her words. Now the universe was punishing her by showing her how wrong she was, because at this very moment, real killers were looking for her. She almost screamed when somewhere above, a volley of gunfire interrupted the suffocating silence, almost in unison, like gunshots at a soldier’s funeral. What was happening on the deck?
She drew back at a sound from around the corner, becoming louder. Flashlight zigzagged its way down the passageway towards her. Hurried footsteps. A loud thud. A curse in some language she didn’t know.
Behind a stack of boxes, Rebecca flattened herself against the wall, trying not to breathe, trying to listen above her thudding heart. Her hand curled around the dinner knife she’d picked up. Training. She must remember all the moves she’d learned from Zone’s self-defense class.
The flashlight came closer. She hoped her pursuer wouldn’t see her till he actually came close enough to inspect. Then maybe she had a chance of surprising him. The light became brighter as the man came closer and she could hear the first of the boxes being shoved aside. She’d moved a few of them aside to get to her hiding spot and knew they weren’t that heavy.
She braced one foot against the box in front of her, the cardboard cool and dry against her skin. She’d taken off her heels after running away from her pursuers; they were making too much noise. She could feel the beads of perspiration slowly traveling down her forehead as she waited. Two more. One. Then, with as much strength as she could muster, she kicked out, toppling the stack.
But her timing wasn’t quite right. Too late Rebecca realized her mistake. The stack of boxes didn’t fall over immediately, swaying for one precious second, giving the intruder time to leap out of the way. She saw the light swinging a wide arc to her left and made the quick decision to run for it from the right side.
Easier said than done. The cartons scattered about slowed her down and the sharp edge of a nearby shelf snagged her dress, pulling her back. Something tripped her and she let out a small shriek as she fell on her knees. That something was a hand encircling her bare foot.
Blindly kicking out with her free foot, she tried to stand up anyway, knowing she was done for if she let herself fall flat. Her attacker let go. She turned to run. He was quick, somehow managing to grab hold of her skirt. Suddenly remembering the knife in her hand, she turned and swung out. It wasn’t the sharp kind but it still went through flesh and the man yelled out in pain. Sickened, she swiveled around again to escape but he still held on to her tightly. A big hand grabbed her neck. This time, she screamed in panic as she tried to wrench free.
The sudden flare of the emergency lights startled them both, freezing their struggle as their eyes tried to adjust. A figure, clad in black, appeared in the tight passageway. His weapon was aimed at them.
“Let her go. It’s over.”
If it weren’t connected to her skull, Rebecca’s jaw would have fallen on the floor. She would recognize that husky voice with the slight accent anywhere, even coming from a stranger with black and green camouflage streaks painted on his face. Zone He was the answer she’d been unconsciously praying for—powerful, dangerous, one hundred percent warrior. He glanced at her once, very briefly, his gaze cool, taking in the situation. Then his gaze returned to some point above her head.
“Come nearer and she dies,” her captor warned, his accent thick. The hand around her neck pulled back threateningly, choking off her air. “She’s coming with me and you’re going to let me take the lifeboat to wait for my ship to pick me up. You’ll do as I say or I kill her.”
“You hurt one hair on her and you get a bullet right in the middle of your forehead. I don’t miss. Let her go. Surrender and live.”
Zone’s toneless voice sent shivers down her spine. He’d never sounded so scary, even when he played the bad guy during class.
“My men are—”
“—not going to be able to help you. They’re busy with my men. Now throw that on the floor and let her go.”
“No. You tell the captain I want to negotiate for a lifeboat. She’s coming with me. You go tell whoever is in charge. Or I’ll start using this knife on her.”
How did he get hold of her knife? Zone continued advancing as her captor, pulling her along, backed away. She kept her gaze trained on Zone, trying to
read his thoughts.
In class, Zone had emphasized three things in the act of self-defense. Scream a lot. The element of surprise. And if all failed, attack when the enemy least expected it. The thought of going with the pirate onto a lifeboat made her sick with fear. The knowledge that she might actually end up being a hostage away from the ship scared her into another split-second decision.
“Stay back! I say I’ll cut—”
The women in her self-defense class had practiced the move over and over because many attacks came from behind. Rebecca pivoted sharply to her right, at the same time throwing her right hand high in the air. Her elbow angled perfectly to break the pirate’s hold. Then, using all her strength, she swept her other elbow up and backwards, powering all her momentum into his solar plexus. Her captor let out a gasp and toppled backwards.
The next part of her lesson was easy. Run.
Rebecca turned to hurry off in Zone’s direction but he was already there, pulling her behind him as he trained his weapon on the fallen pirate. He kicked the dropped knife out of the way. She grabbed on to his broad back for a long moment. He felt so solid and safe. And familiar. She wanted to lean in and hang on. She wanted him to turn around and hold her tight. A hundred questions flooded her brain—why he was here, how, her father—but she understood it wasn’t over. Taking a deep breath, she took a few steps back to let Zone do his job.
She watched as he pulled a cord from a side pouch and went down on one knee. He worked unbelievably fast, gagging and tying up the downed man as if he were cattle. Then he turned, his gaze darting left and right, checking the surroundings.
His camouflaged face had a fierce expression as he reached for her. He cupped her face and gave her a hard kiss.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. She opened her mouth to ask him all the questions swirling in her mind but he bent his head and kissed her again, this time more lingeringly. The taste of him, male and something indefinable, always made her go a little crazy. This time was no different. With adrenalin added to the mix, she responded with a passion that surprised him into allowing her to push him against the passage wall. She ran her hands all over his hair and his hard muscled body as her tongue tangled with his wildly, insistently. She’d missed him so much. Did he miss her?
