TRITON: A Navy SEAL Romance (Heroes Ever After Book 2)

by Alana Albertson

  In the non-sound of silence, I realized the answer.

  To the middle of nowhere in the desert mountains. To the dead of night. Unmarked. Untraceable.

  Where we would never be found.

  I stepped out and clutched Maya’s hand as she exited the vehicle. Her hand was ice-cold.

  Why would they take us here? There could only be one reason.

  We were going to be assassinated. Just like Denise. Only the lewd looks in their eyes told me we’d be raped first.

  Maya turned to me, and though I could barely make out her face in the mask of night, I knew by her quaking voice she was terrified. I’d grown numb. “Sara, if we go out there, we will be killed.”

  On a daily basis, Maya took care of me. Cared for me like a big sister. It was my turn to be the stronger one. I put my arm around her and whispered in her ear, “If they kill us now, they can’t use us for leverage. We’re in for a long night. We were probably sixty miles from the military base when we were taken. I’m sure Kyle is on his way. That’s why the other girls aren’t with us now. I’m sure they’ve already been saved.”

  But I didn’t believe any of my words. Not a single one.

  Neither did Maya.

  Her voice choked with impending sobs. “I don’t want to die.”

  I made a conscious decision at that point. I refused to focus on being certain I was about to die. I would savor the time I had left. And protect Maya at all costs.

  We continued to march deeper into the night, the walls of darkness closing in on us. Soft lighting came from a small flashlight one carried. When I turned back, glancing over my shoulder, I made out Crazy Eyes and his friend speaking in hushed voices, both their rifles with extra ammunition pointed at us. There was no way out, no escape. They noticed I was staring and became silent. I whipped my head forward so fast it ached.

  “I can still see the truck. We’re not far,” I whispered to myself. I racked my brain with a plan. I wouldn’t be discarded on the side of the road. Left to decompose. I refused. We walked in unison, at first no sounds but their heavy footsteps behind us. They were in horrible shape and I heard their heavy breathes as we marched. We didn’t have weapons but maybe we could outrun them.

  Then we stopped. Still in the middle of nowhere. I analyzed the area, looking for a way out.

  That was when Crazy Eyes removed a knife from one of his pants leg pockets, its blade lightly shinning under the stars above.

  It wasn’t just any knife.

  Not a long blade that could execute us in a single swipe, more of a butcher knife. I wondered if they relished in slow torture. If they planned to saw our heads off, gradually, agonizingly, making us suffer for as long as possible.

  The other thug kicked the back of my leg, then Maya’s. Her knees buckled, and I held onto her, plastering her to my side. “Get on your knees and turn away from us.” The bastard knew more English than he had let on.

  Maya burst into tears. And it took all my strength not to give these heathens the satisfaction of my terror.

  I looked up to the moon for comfort, but even the moon had failed me. Had hidden when I needed it. But the stars lit up the sky.

  The same stars Kyle and I made love under the night before.

  And at that moment, I made a vow.

  A vow to live. To believe.

  Because I knew that somewhere out there Kyle was under those same stars, and they would lead him to me. I just needed to figure out how to keep us alive until then.

  15

  Kyle

  No word, no calls, no new intel. Where the fuck could they be? I was so desperate it had even crossed my mind to go rogue, but I wasn’t stupid. I had to trust the military intelligence. A dumbass decision like that would most likely end up with Sara dying and maybe even some of my men, not to mention me losing my career. But at the moment I only had one thing on my mind. My only goal was to find Sara, alive, and the best shot of that was to go through the appropriate channels. I had faith in my commanders, the United States Navy, and God. I knew what needed to be done.

  Finally, when the stars lit up the sky and my sense of helplessness had penetrated deep within me, my phone rang. I recognized my admiral’s voice as he spoke into the receiver.

  “Lieutenant Commander Lawson, we’ve spotted the vehicles abandoned by a side road. A drone has taken a picture of the hostages in the desert. Airstrike is out of the question with American hostages. Assemble your Team for a night op.” The tone in his voice was reassuring, hopeful. My confidence rose—I was going to find them. Out here every minute counted, and I breathed out a deep sigh of relief that hostages had been spotted. She was alive. She had to be.

  I made notes while my commanding officer laid out the plan. God was on my side—tonight was a new moon, but he would guide the way. The sky would be black, perfect night for an operation. We would fly in on a C-130, parachute into the night, and then take foot. Once we surrounded the area, we would destroy the terrorists and save the hostages. A typical day at the office. I wasn’t even scared, I was excited. In my mind, there was no chance of failure. I’d done versions of this operation before. Enough times to know what to expect. One day these thugs would realize there was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. If they fucked with Americans, we would find them, and we would kill them. We were the best. And there was nothing that fired us up more than protecting our own. Only the lowest of the low took pleasure in hurting women.

  The pounding in my chest ebbed and a fire took its place. Calm, measured, and ready to burn anything that stood in its path. I made my way to the barracks and awoke my Team. Being fresh and ready to go was a given, yet I hadn’t slept a wink. After a quick briefing we checked out weapons, and headed to the C-130. Vic had his Team dog, Cuervo, with him. Cuervo was a badass Belgian Malinois. That dog could sense the enemy before we could, skydive, and had captured more men than I had. He truly was man’s best friend.

  Just as we finished loading up, Pat took me aside and placed his hand on my shoulder. “You have that look about you, brother. I know you can feel it just as much as me. We’ll find her. We found Annie and we didn’t even know where she was. Piece of cake. You understand?”

  Nodding, I pulled him in for a hug, and he didn’t resist. We were closer than close. Swim buddies at BUD/S. It didn’t matter back then that I was an officer and he was enlisted. Our color, our backgrounds, neither meant a thing. It didn’t matter that I was rich and he was poor. That I had a college degree and he had a high school education. How many nights had we huddled together trying to stay warm in the cold ocean water during surf torture? He was my brother.

  But Pat was a married man now, a father of one, and soon-to-be two kids. The weight of his new responsibilities weighed heavily on me. I would not make Annie a widow—she’d most certainly been through enough. I would not leave their children without a father. If this mission failed, it was on me. I had promised Annie I would keep him safe, and I never break my promises. Not to Pat, not to Annie, not to Vic, and definitely not to Sara. You weren’t shit if you couldn’t keep your word.

  I kept shaking my head, letting him know I understood as we hugged it out before Mitch, Shane, Grant, Joaquín, Erik, Vic, and Cuervo climbed into the C-130, and Pat and I quickly followed. As the aircraft took off, I focused on the stars in the sky. With the absence of the moon, they seemed brighter than normal.

  I bowed my head and prayed. I thanked God for this mission, and asked him to protect her until I could do it myself.

  16

  Sara

  Time stood still as the rocks dug into my knees. This was it, the last moments of my life. I’d never get married, I’d never have kids. I was only twenty-one and I was sure I was about to be slayed.

  The steel metal of the blade pressed against the back of my neck. Maya screamed and he pointed the knife at her.

  But he wasn’t done with me yet. I’d moved and that only made him angrier. He yanked my hair back in one meaty fist as if in a high ponytail, pullin
g the strands so tight my scalp burned. As he twisted my hair, his grip tightened, and I was certain he was preparing to behead me. He raised the knife and I let out a bloodcurdling scream when the blade sliced through the air.

  Within seconds the tension released from my head.

  But I was alive.

  I cranked my head back and saw Crazy Eyes laughing, holding my hair in his hand. His rotting teeth were yellow, the stench from his mouth repulsing me when he lowered to wave the hair in my face. Then he spat at my face.

  I wiped at the thick saliva running down my face and ran my fingers through what was left of my hair. I’d been shorn like a sheep. Maya whimpered beside me as the other assailant looked on, enjoying the show. The sadistic storm brewing in his eyes told me the sick bastard was getting off on petrifying us.

  Tears burned as they cascaded over my skin, but I forced myself to stop. They wouldn’t see me cry. Crazy Eyes’ stench filled the air as his hand wrapped around my neck. And I gulped trying to breath. Opening my eyes wide, I stared back at him.

  My head jerked when he unzipped my jacket, the fabric ripping too easily, and I shook my head to say no. Please...no. He went for my arm next and I thought he would slice through it as well. He didn’t. I flinched. He was instilling fear in me by slowly dragging the sharp blade and slicing through the material of the sleeve and stuffing the ripped material in my mouth. The tip of the blade then sliced my tank top, exposing my bra, and I gasped, dropping the material from my mouth. He instantly looked displeased.

  My mouth clapped shut, and I bit my trembling lip, my mouth filled with a bitter metal taste. He paused and stared at my breasts then closed the small distance between us, nuzzling his head on my neck and then taking a single long lick between my cleavage before roughly squeezing one. A gag built in my throat, my body shaking as he released my breast. “Stand up!”

  Hauling me to my feet, he placed the knife’s handle in his mouth and grinned. His hands jerked as he pulled down my sweat pants over my hips, revealing my panties, leaving the sweat pants to bunch at my ankles above my sneakers. I considered struggling, fighting, kicking him in the groin, but his blade kept me at bay. He held it close enough to pierce my skin if need be. That and I heard the deep breaths his partner made. If I moved, one of them would tackle me to the ground and make me pay. I shivered when the cool air assaulted my exposed skin.

  He ran a single finger down the center of my panties then cupped my crotch, and my body convulsed. Not only would I be killed, but I’d be raped first. Rapid breaths of clipped air traveled from my lungs and out of my mouth, making me dizzy.

  But then he dropped me back on the dirt and stood up straight, eyeing me like a farm animal at a state fair. Crazy Eyes adjusted his pants and he and his friend cackled. They took a few steps back from me and closer to Maya and I knew Maya was next. They were preparing to rape us. Maya looked like she wanted to run but Crazy Eyes kicked her and she fell to the ground.

  She lay beside me, tears streaming down her dirt-covered face. I wanted to hug her. Tell her I loved her and how sorry I was I hadn’t saved her. She was shaking in the cold, knowing we might only have seconds left before we were sexually tortured and then killed. Then I got the break I was desperately looking for. “You.” Crazy Eyes’ partner pointed his weapon at me. “Undress her.” He stupidly turned after giving the command.

  I grasped Maya’s face in my hands. “Listen to me, we need to escape.” I stared at the two men’ backs then back at her and uttered softly, “I’m going to run, and they will both follow me. I can outrun them—I ran track in school. The dumbass left his keys in the ignition. Once they run after me, you are to run to the truck and drive. Do you understand me? Just drive into the night toward that town we passed. The SEALs will find you. They’ll help you and then come for me.”

  “No. No way, Sara. I’m not leaving you. Besides, I’m not all that great in a crisis. Where would I drive? I’ll be stuck in the middle of nowhere and get taken again. It’s over, Sara. We’re going to die here. I’m just glad we’re not going to die alone.”

  I shook her, my eyes darting back to the men, who seemed to be plotting their next move. But it was so dark I couldn’t figure out what it was.

  “No. It’s not over. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I ran long distance. I’ll keep running or hide in some cave until Kyle finds me. I saw plenty of them on the drive here.” I forced my voice to remain calm, so she wouldn’t hear the fear in my words. I didn’t believe the words I was saying to her. I was positive they would capture me, torture me, rape me, and behead me. But I wanted her to escape. A few years back Maya’s oldest brother, Emilio, had been killed in a random gang-related drive-by shooting in Downtown LA. As expected, it had taken a toll on her parents, especially her father. Maya helped put her family back together and convinced them to move to San Diego. The love in her father’s eyes for his children was something I used to long for with my own father. Until I grew up, sucked it up, and knew better. That same affection and warmth was how Maya took me under her wing when I moved to SD and tried out for the Wildfires. She became my family when I didn’t have one near. And there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for family. Maybe I’d get lucky and come out unscathed. If I didn’t, I’d made peace with it in my dying breath. Accepting and protecting my family meant a lot more than being a coward who disregarded their responsibilities, who turned their back and forgot what being a family meant. I wasn’t anything like my father. Never was. Never would be. “We can do this. I’m going to run and they will follow me. I need you to run like the wind. Don’t stop until you get to the truck. And don’t stop driving until you get to that town a few miles away. Please, Maya. Trust me. The SEALs will find you.”

  Her breaths were rapid and she was shaking in my arms. “I won’t. I won’t go without you. We can run together. I need you, Sara. I love you. You are my best friend. You’re my sister. I can’t do this without you. I’m so scared.” Fresh tears appeared on her face.

  “Yes you can, and you will. You are stronger than you know. I love you, Maya.” I choked back sobs and softly shoved her. “It’s okay. Go, Maya. Go. Before they come back. If I don’t come home—”

  “Don’t say that. We’re going to make it. I won’t leave you if you don’t believe you’ll make it back, too. We’re going to dance together again. This will all be a bad dream.” Her hopeful eyes told me if I had any chance of saving her, I’d have to lie to my best friend.

  “I didn’t mean that. I’m positive I’ll make it out. I wouldn’t be proposing it if I didn’t.” Footsteps approached and I knew it was time. I only had moments to save my friend’s life. I glanced back to make sure the men were both watching me. And they were. Their look of agitation that I hadn’t undressed Maya was palpable as they grew near.

  I hugged Maya one last time. “You run and you don’t stop, okay?” She sniffed and nodded her head.

  One, two, three. I took a deep breath and pulled my pants up then gripped my jacket closed in one clinched fist. In a matter of seconds, I said a final prayer and rose to a crouching position. Before I could lose my nerve, I sprinted into the night.

  The night air blew cold on my skin and stifled my breaths, my feet pounding the dirt as I ran. The more I pushed the more my body hurt, but I wouldn’t stop. I white-knuckled the jacket to my chest, my exposed arm hitting the wind. I could hear one of the men yelling in broken English and the thumps of their boots told me they were in pursuit. A sinking feeling told me they would catch me, and they’d definitely kill me.

  But I ran as fast as my feet would go. Wind blew against my ears, and a sound resembling the inside of a seashell appeared. My long strides dug into the dirt, and the voice of my high school track coach rang in my head. “Run, Sara, run. Move it, kid!” But his voice was soon replaced by Kyle’s soothing voice. “I’ll take care of you while you’re here and make sure you’re safe.” It was almost if he was running beside me.

  A gunshot rang out, and I cut a sharp
left. In the distance, the unmistakable sound of a diesel truck rumbled to life, the sound fading by the second.

  Maya had made it. She would be safe. And if I died saving her, it would be worth it.

  17

  Kyle

  Inside the C-130, I checked everyone’s parachute and equipment on my Team. The aircraft contained three Teams, which would split up and jump at different locations just like the assailants had done according to the drone pictures we received before taking off. Greedily I’d chosen the small group containing two members, one fair-haired and the other a brunette. Maya and Sara stuck together like glue. That was where I’d find my blond bombshell. I was certain of it.

  For most ops we would carry a satellite radio, but since this was a night-op we carried a radio, which had an encrypting technology to ensure the transmission was more secure.

  “Thirty minutes!” I yelled. My men lined up and used the piss tube mounted on the wall. Last chance, fellas. Before we knew it, we were almost at our destination.

  “Ten minutes.”

  Everyone scrambled around the ramp. Time flew by in a blur, which was just how I wanted it.

  “Five minutes.”

  Vic strapped Cuervo to him. The dog’s attention to detail and dedication never ceased to amaze me. Like I said, that dog was a badass.

  The ramp lowered and I couldn’t hear shit. I used my hand signals to my brothers. I studied the ground through my night vision goggles to make sure we were on course based on the aerial map I’d studied. Every minute that passed that I didn’t know if she was safe brought on a fresh wave of feelings I’d worked hard to keep hidden. I’d fallen for Sara and now I wouldn’t stop till I found her. I should have been honest with her. I should have manned up and told her how I felt about her. Staying silent like a pussy was not the last image I wanted her to have of me. So I’d studied that map like if my life depended on it. Our pilots were the fucking best but I needed to find my girl so I didn’t want to walk any farther than I had to. My girl. Fuck. That had a nice ring to it. I flashed my hand, making sure to spread my fingers and jerked my thumb to the right. The loadmaster relayed my directions to the pilot who adjusted the nose of the C-130 five degrees starboard.