Ethan gripped his weapon, his heavy rucksack on his back. The bright lights of Bagram Airfield lit up the area, but once they were flying, night-vision goggles would allow them to see in the darkness.
“Roger,” Ethan said.
The other men replied affirmatively.
“Then we’re a go,” Blake said. He signaled to the Army Ranger platoon leader, who then jumped into the waiting helicopter behind his men.
Logan climbed aboard their chopper first, followed by Troy and Jackson. Grayson and Ethan exchanged a glance. Adrenaline pumped through Ethan’s veins, and he knew his friend and teammate felt the same importance of this mission. Every person they’d rescued mattered, but this was personal.
“I trust you’ll keep yourself in check?” Blake asked, eyeing Grayson. They knew Grayson was livid that Hailey had been hurt in the explosion, most likely caused by the very men who’d taken Kimberly.
“I’m good,” Grayson barked out. “Let’s get those motherfuckers and bring Kimberly home.”
“Hoorah,” Ethan said, nodding at the two men before climbing aboard.
Troy was double-checking the medical equipment as Ethan grabbed a seat. The men would rescue Kimberly, hike back down the mountain, and call for extraction. Hopefully she wouldn’t need urgent medical attention, but they had supplies just in case. She’d be examined at the hospital at Bagram Airfield and then possibly airlifted to Landstuhl. If she was stable enough, however, she potentially could fly back with the SEAL team.
Blake and Grayson climbed aboard, Blake speaking into his mouthpiece. The pilot replied, and then the helo was lifting up into the night sky. The whirring of the rotors soothed Ethan. He hadn’t even realized how much his heart had been pounding. They were heading on their mission. After months of waiting on solid intel, the op was a go.
Like his teammates, Ethan was a man of action. They were trained to charge into situations, take out the enemy, and accomplish their mission. Sitting around waiting for word had been rough. He’d seen how upset Grayson’s girlfriend had been. He’d witnessed the destruction at Bagram himself. This felt personal in every sense of the word. They might not know Kimberly, but she was a U.S. soldier. One of their own.
“The general seemed happy we were back,” Logan commented, and Ethan’s gaze shifted to him.
Blake chuffed out a harsh laugh. “No doubt. It didn’t look good a soldier was taken under his command. Two American citizens, although the other woman was a contractor.”
Ethan’s fingers tightened on his weapon. “Base security has been stepped up since last time we were here.”
“No shit,” Troy muttered. “Probably a good thing since the suicide bomber practically walked right in.”
“Heads rolled after that one,” Blake said. “Just about everything went south. And we were there to see it happen.”
“Ten minutes,” the pilot said.
Ethan tensed. Although they’d been an hour away by land, the flight was short. Too short. Kimberly had been so close yet a million miles away. Figuratively speaking. It killed him to know the women had been held there for months. His own team had been in the country twice, and she’d been kidnapped and held by monsters.
Would Kim be scared when they charged in? No doubt she’d recognize they were Americans, but in the chaos, she could be frightened.
Worry churned through his gut.
He remembered how frightened Hailey had been after the explosion. It was possible Kimberly had been scared and hurt as well. Yet unlike how Hailey had been rescued by his buddy, Kimberly had been kidnapped. Probably harmed. That shit ate him up. It might not have been his fault, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty. His team had been there the night she’d been kidnapped. They’d been at the fucking building, and she’d been taken.
He adjusted his night-vision goggles, looking out the window. The mountains were coming into view in the distance. He’d always thought of Afghanistan as a beautiful place in some regards—the mountains were stunning. The sunsets could be breathtaking. Yet the country was violent and unstable.
Clenching his jaw, he looked back at his buddies.
“We’ll get her,” Jackson said, sensing how uneasy Ethan was. “The only way we’re leaving this damn mountain is with Kimberly.” Ethan nodded at his friend but didn’t say anything. Of course they’d rescue her. The alternative was unthinkable.
***
Flying closer than they’d anticipated due to lack of movement in the area, the men prepared to parachute in, landing near the base of the mountain. The second helo would remain in the air, providing cover to them as necessary.
There’d been no shots fired at them. No movement on the ground.
Where the hell were the rest of the insurgents?
Ethan moved forward to the open hatch, watching as Logan jumped out into the night sky. Troy moved next, and then Jackson. He exchanged a glance with Grayson and Blake.
“Let’s get our girl,” Ghost said before stepping out into the blackness. Ethan followed behind, sailing through the air before he tugged on his chute. His team practiced jumps frequently, but this one gave him an adrenaline rush he couldn’t believe. Practice jumps back in San Diego were one thing. Here they were jumping into enemy territory in the dead of night.
They’d land and be hiking up the mountain within minutes, going in to rescue the American hostage. If anyone had been awake to see them parachute in, they’d lose them in moments as the men disappeared behind the trees.
“This is Hurricane. I’m on the ground,” Logan said into the headsets as he landed first. “Clear.”
“Roger that,” the Army Ranger platoon leader said from the other helo. “No tangos in sight.”
“K-Bar clear.”
“T-Rex clear.”
Ethan hit the ground running, disengaging from his parachute. The discarded chutes would be left on the ground as the men moved forward. He saw his teammates running toward the base of the mountain, and his gaze swept the area. They’d expected to be met by gunfire when they arrived. There were several insurgents’ camps in the area, and most of them had the firepower to shoot at the helicopters from a distance. Had they all moved somewhere else? Or did they not have the capability to see them at night? If the camps were far enough away, they might not want to risk shooting at the unknown and catching each other in the crossfire. Certainly, anyone close by would’ve heard the helos on approach, rushed over, and fired at them.
“SITREP?” Blake asked over the headsets.
The men each reported back before the platoon leader spoke. “We’ll remain in the air until your team reaches the mountain. There’s been no movement on the ground. Over and out.”
Ethan jogged toward his teammates. The valley between the mountains made him feel like a sitting duck. Moving in under the cover of night afforded them the time they needed to safely parachute in though. Within minutes, the men were ducking into the tree line and disappearing from sight.
He heard the low whirring of the rotors as the helicopters turned and headed back toward Bagram. It would take several hours to hike to their coordinates. If the camp was asleep, they’d move in and rescue Kimberly without any major incidents.
And if not?
They’d fight, battling to bring home one of their own. It would be risky for the helicopters to extract them off the mountain. The plan was to hike back down. If Kimberly was too weak, they’d carry her or rig up a stretcher and bring her down that way.
None of their options were great, but they wouldn’t leave a man—or woman—behind. She was a U.S. servicemember. And even if she’d been a civilian hostage, they’d still do whatever was necessary to save her.
“At least there were no tangoes on the ground,” Troy said. “That bodes well for us making a silent approach.”
“Amen to that,” Grayson said. “The last thing we want is for them to know we’re coming.”
Jackson glanced back at them in the darkness, looking positively lethal. He was the biggest man
on the team and could easily fight off several armed men with his bare hands. “Any word on new videos? I don’t want Taryn to worry too much if she sees something—that’s easier said than done of course.”
“Negative,” Blake said. “There’s been no new footage released. That doesn’t mean they won’t be uploading one soon.”
“Hailey has got to be beside herself,” Grayson said. “I know we’ve got a job to do, and I’m damn proud to be a part of the mission, but I worry like hell about leaving her.”
“You and me both,” Jackson muttered.
Ethan clenched his jaw, silently moving forward. Although he understood his friends’ protectiveness, their women were safe. They were at home in locked houses in safe neighborhoods with cell phones and Internet and food and running water. Kimberly was being held in a goddamn cave by terrorists.
They pushed through some thick vegetation, moving further up the base of the mountain. Ethan swiped at the branches blocking his way, wishing they could run straight up. Eventually they’d hit a road, which would make navigation easier for the short term. They didn’t want to stay on it long in case they crossed paths with the enemy, but that wasn’t too likely in the dead of night.
“Taryn is safe,” Blake assured Jackson. “Clarissa’s right next door, and I told a buddy from base to check in on them. Hailey too,” he told Grayson.
“Hopefully Hailey will be updated at work,” Jackson said. “Being DOD might give her a few advantages. Normally OPSEC would prevent her superiors from disclosing anything, but….”
“This isn’t normal,” Grayson finished.
“Hell,” Ethan muttered. “This is as far from normal as you can get. I just hope we don’t scare the hell out of Kimberly when we go in and grab her.”
“She’s a trained U.S. soldier,” Blake countered. “She’ll see our uniforms and know we’re not hostiles.”
“Hopefully,” Ethan said. “But like you said, she’s trained. We don’t want her grabbing a weapon and shooting at us.”
“Fuck,” Logan muttered. “We should’ve asked Hailey for some more info on Kimberly. If we do manage to sneak in and grab her undetected, it would’ve helped to know something to tell her.”
Jackson swung his gaze Ethan’s way. “You got a bad feeling?”
Ethan lifted a shoulder. “I don’t want this to go south. We’ve waited too long to rescue her as it is.”
“We’ve gone over multiple scenarios,” Blake said. “We’ve trained for this. We’ve rescued plenty of servicemembers before. Yes, she’s friends with Grayson’s girl, but that doesn’t change things. Treat her like any other hostage until we get the hell out of there.”
Ethan muttered a curse. She wasn’t just any other hostage. And if she’d been raped or hurt, she’d be frightened of a group of armed men storming the camp. Hell, even if they managed to sneak in there, no doubt she’d fight them when they grabbed her.
Logan looked down at the coordinates. “We need to veer slightly to the west. We can pick up the road and use that if no one is around.”
“How are we on time?” Blake asked.
“Good. We’ll be there in two hours. Less if we are able to make use of the dirt road. If we follow that for a mile, we’ll shave off some time.”
“Let’s hustle,” Blake told the men. “We’re coming for you Kimberly,” he vowed.
Chapter 6
Kimberly shifted on the hard ground, both of her hands numb from using them as a pillow beneath her head. Her wrists hurt from being bound together—and tied to her captor. If she moved too much and somehow tugged on the rope, he’d awaken.
She eased her hands from beneath her head, wiggling her fingers to try to get her circulation back. The rocks on the ground cut into the skin on her cheek and side of her face, but she lay there motionless. Listening.
The camp was quiet, and she blinked in the darkness, wondering what had woken her. The fire had died, only a few glowing embers remaining. They stood out against the inky black night. The air had cooled down, and she knew it would be worse at a higher elevation. Or the longer she was held in captivity. Winter would no doubt be cold, and she didn’t have a coat. She didn’t have a hat or gloves or anything to stay warm.
They’d probably kill her long before then though.
She might wish for a blanket and pillow and her own bed, but the reality was, she probably wasn’t going home. They’d grow tired of waiting for a ransom and shoot her. Hopefully it would end quickly, and they wouldn’t brutally torture her.
How many nights had she laid awake wondering how to escape?
A slight noise in front of her had Kim freezing in place. It was so dark, she couldn’t see anything. The men had all fallen asleep hours ago, and afterwards, so had she. It seemed unlikely that anyone would awaken in the middle of the night to come rape or otherwise hurt her. She’d been here all evening after all. No one would’ve stopped one of the men from hurting her earlier. She doubted they would approach her now. Not if they’d left her alone all day. Maybe they needed her unharmed for more videos.
Had anyone seen the two that they’d taken? Would the military come looking for her soon?
She heard the slight noise again. It was too quiet to be a footstep. Her heart pounded in her chest as she lay motionless on the ground, and her palms began to sweat.
She blinked, trying to see into the still night. She had a weird feeling that she was being watched, which was silly. The camp was asleep. They were alone up in the mountains, miles from civilization. She was on the other side of the world from home. No one was here. It was just her imagination.
Kimberly heard what sounded like a shuffle, and she jerked, panic rising within her as she tried to quickly sit up with her bound wrists. Was there some kind of wild animal here? Someone from another group of insurgents that had found them?
Looking to her left, she sensed the man she was tied to was still asleep. He didn’t tug on the rope at all, even though she knew it was still around his waist. It lay slack on the ground between them, only ten feet separating them from one another. He didn’t stir as she looked over at him in the darkness. She couldn’t see him but knew he was there. She didn’t hear him move.
She looked to the right, where the campfire lay dying thirty or so feet away, but she didn’t see any movement near there either.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching only a few feet away, and as she parted her lips to scream, a gloved hand covered her mouth. A man crouched down in front of her, seemingly decked out in combat gear and holding a weapon. She couldn’t see him in the darkness, merely felt his vest, gun, and other equipment as he hovered over her. She tried to kick at him and wrestle away, tugging at the ropes binding her wrists as she did. Her back dug into the rocks she’d been leaning against, and she pulled harder, fighting both the restraints and the man silencing her.
Her captor felt the pull of the rope at his waist and mumbled in his sleep a few feet away before jumping up, yelling.
“I’ve got the package,” the man in front of her said in clipped tone. He pulled a knife from somewhere on his person and she fought harder, biting at his hand and then screaming as he pulled it away. She froze as he sliced through the rope binding her, while another man sprang out of nowhere and knocked her captor to the ground with a loud umph.
Voices were suddenly shouting from every direction, and she looked frantically around as the mystery man yanked her to her feet. Without thinking, she kneed him in the groin. He cursed as he bent down, and she heard him yelling something in English as she turned and ran the opposite way.
Her wrists were still bound together and tears streamed down her cheeks, but at least she was free. The guy had cut the rope tethering her to the insurgent.
Someone reached out, trying to stop her, but she leapt away and kept running through the darkness.
The men around the campfire were yelling and firing their weapons into the air now. She dove to the ground, crawling across the pebbles and rocks as be
st she could, staying low to avoid getting hit by a stray bullet. Her wrists hurt, but she didn’t stop. She didn’t look back.
She was panicked and scared, and she didn’t even know who it was that had covered her mouth, preventing her from yelling.
“Kimberly Turner!” a deep voice shouted.
In her fear, she didn’t even think to wonder how any of the men would know her name. She heard yelling behind her but jumped up and ran again, stumbling down the mountain and away from both groups of men. Away from the man wearing gloves and holding a knife. Away from the terrorists who’d kidnapped her.
Gunfire sounded again behind her, and she heard men fighting and yelling.
She tripped and fell in the darkness, wincing as she landed on her side. Luckily, it wasn’t too hard of a fall, and she struggled a moment before standing. She pulled at her wrists, trying to wrench them free, but the knot on the rope was too tight. After she got further away, she could work at it, trying to untie her bindings.
She needed to escape. To get away from all of them.
The sound of gunfire grew quieter the further she got. She tripped over some weeds, stumbling again, but kept moving. It was a long way down to the base of the mountain, but if she could get far enough away, she could hide. After she freed her wrists, she’d keep moving until morning. She wouldn’t stop until she was safe.
Kim heard rustling behind her and knew she was being followed. Would they shoot her rather than let her get away? How’d they even know which way she’d gone in the pitch darkness?
She heard yelling in Farsi, and her head swiveled to the right. A third group of men seemed to be rushing toward the area they’d been camped in. She heard footsteps thumping on the ground and wondered where they’d all come from. The camp had been small and relatively quiet today. Now it seemed like a large group was headed up the mountain.
“Kimberly!” a man’s voice called out. “Kimberly Turner!”
Stunned, she finally began to slow. It wasn’t just the fact that the man knew her name—it was the accent. The voice wasn’t speaking in broken English. It wasn’t shouting in Farsi. It was American.
SEAL's Revenge (Alpha SEALs Coronado Book 4) Page 4
