The ramp light turned from red to green. It was go time.
I signaled to my men for the last time before we jumped. We were twelve thousand feet above ground and even though I’d jumped out of planes a hundred times before, I prayed to God that this jump wouldn’t be my last.
Vic and Cuervo jumped first. I made sure all my men left the aircraft. Pinching my thumb and index finger together, I brought them to my mouth and pressed them against my lips and gave one final prayer then free fell into the air before the aircraft left with the other two Teams to their assigned destinations.
After a minute, I opened my parachute and glided under the canopy. A beautiful moment, flying through the sky. We were so in synch our parachutes were aligned as if we were creating a stairway to heaven. I turned on my night optical device as I descended to the ground, my men landing before me.
Perfect. Pat and Mitch grabbed their weapons and secured the area while the rest of us hid our chutes. Vic released Cuervo, who quickly ran in front of us.
The sky provided another gift for us. The light rain. The perfect weather to camouflage our movements. We split our Team into two groups, ensuring we took different routes to our targets. If one group failed, the other would complete the mission. We were motherfucking SEALs. We’d die trying before giving up. Vic, Pat, and Grant came with me. We traipsed slowly through the dirt, the mud sticking to our boots.
Cuervo ran back to Vic, signaling he’d heard something ahead. I heard it too. Diesel. A truck. Sara’s captors were coming toward us.
I signaled and we stood in position, our weapons pointed ahead.
The headlights shone through my goggles as I prepared to shoot out the tires. But we had to be careful on gunfire, we didn’t want them to kill the women.
I aimed, shooting twice above the driver’s side front tire. Being shot from the front was enough to deter the vehicle’s movement. Funny how being faced with the barrel of a gun at close range made you cooperate, even when you didn’t want to. We approached the vehicle, and in my scope I could see a girl alone, no terrorists.
What the fuck? A few more steps and her face came into focus. It was Maya.
She screamed hysterically when she heard the weapon being shot, the shine from the vehicle blocking her sight of us.
And there was no sign of Sara.
No.
I ran to her as the others fanned out. “Maya, you’re safe. Breathe. It’s Kyle. Where’s Sara?”
She flung herself at me, wrapping her hands around my neck. “She, she, they cut off her hair and ripped her clothes. They were going to rape us, but she told me to escape. She ran away from them so they would follow her and I ran to the truck. She saved my life. They already killed our director and dumped the body.” That was why the drone pictures showed groups with what looked like bigger groups. I knew there was a reason Maya and Sara were alone. The anguish in her voice broke my heart. She feared her friend was dead as well. I wasn’t going to give up that easily.
I needed her to start talking. “How many of them? How long ago was this? Did you drive straight here and not change direction?”
She sobbed and I radioed the other four guys from the Team. “T-two of them. About fifteen min-minutes. And yes, I stayed straight. She risked her life for me. Please. You have to find her. She saved me so I could find help.”
And she had. I would find Sara. I’d been right all along. Sara was more than a pretty face. She was a fighter. A survivor. A savior. Just like me.
Mitch, Joaquín, Shane, and Erik arrived, our Team complete. Shane examined Maya who was surprisingly unharmed. Her chest heaved up and down as she sobbed but no bruises that I could see. We radioed for air support and one by one, those men stayed with her until they all could be extracted. Having her continue on would only slow us down and put her in further danger.
Their mission was over. Maya had been saved. But my girl was out there. Somewhere. Alone in the night.
I signaled to Pat, Vic, and Grant. Fifteen minutes, at least ten miles, though I doubted Maya had been driving sixty miles an hour.
I briefed my men. “Sara is still out there. At least ten miles due north, following the tracks of the vehicle. Start moving. We’re not going to stop until we find her. Gentlemen, it’s going to be a long night.”
18
Sara
The stomp of their boots in pursuit of me shook the earth, ringing in my ears like a repetitive bad dream. My shins burned but I pushed through the pain, running for my life. I had a bit of a lead on them since they weren’t in the best shape, but that lead was shrinking by the second. They were going to hunt me down like an animal and shred me to pieces. Breathing hurt. Hell, everything hurt. I wanted the dirt to open up, create a hiding place for me, swallow my body until they passed. Still, I kept going. The stars illuminated a mountain in the distance. If only I could make it to that mountain, I would have a chance. I could shield myself until they gave up finding me. But even if I succeeded, would I succumb to the elements? Would I be able to be rescued? It was a chance I had to take. I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t try. I would not die freely.
My strides grew bigger. All those months training to be a cheerleader had been worth it. I flashed back to my daily runs on the track at SDSU, complaining about the heat messing up my hair, or the harsh sun on my skin. Every run I had made prepared me for this dash of my life. My pace was steady and fast. These men surely couldn’t be in as good shape as I was. They were medium built; some would say thin. But they lacked muscle and endurance. Their only advantage was their lungs were used to the high altitudes and mine were most surely not. I was spoiled by the San Diego sunshine and the crisp sea-level air. I forced myself to breathe through my fear and kept running. I was used to the long distance. It was what I excelled at in track.
As I ran, a false sense of security passed over me. They would never catch me, I would be able to hide out and await rescue, these fools would never take me alive. I psyched myself up for the race of my life.
The sound of their boots faded and I was more confident in my victory. I could see the base of the mountain ahead and a few feet farther back appeared to be some type of cave. A few more steps, a few more breaths and I would make it. I was thin enough to blend in, or at least I hoped so.
My left foot pounded into the ground and without warning I heard a terrible crack. My ankle gave out under me and I collapsed onto the dirt.
A sharp pain radiated through my body. I was so close. I summoned every ounce of strength and pulled myself to my feet. Not now. Not when I was so close to safety.
Dammit—that goddam rock had now cost me precious seconds. I hobbled forward, my pace slowed, willing myself to just keep running, no matter how great the pain. The irony dawned on me that a day ago this injury would’ve gutted me for potentially ruining my dancing career, yet now my only concern was saving my life, even if there was permanent damage. How trivial my former concerns seemed to me now.
A few more paces and I could hear the rhythm of the boots getting closer.
A gun shot rang out into the night. I instinctively dodged, praying the bullet wasn’t flying toward me.
No, I can do this. I will make it. I won’t be taken.
I could feel him behind me. Closer, so close his hot breath blew on my neck. No!
Whack!
The back of a gun smacked me across the head, instantly knocking me to the ground. My head ached like crazy. But that was the least of my problems.
“You whore!” Crazy Eyes barked.
He pointed the gun to my head. I had no choice. I wanted to live. And I would do anything to survive. If I kept him talking I could buy myself more time, and maybe a bit of sympathy.
“No, please,” I begged, forcing myself to kneel in front of him. “I’m sorry. Please, don’t kill me. I promise I’ll be good. I’ll behave.”
The crushing pain in my head enveloped my body. And the pressure in my ankle shot straight up my leg. But I refused to cry.
/> “Please!” I reached out and grabbed his leg. “I’m yours. I’ll do as you say. I’ll do anything you ask.”
19
Kyle
I informed Pat, Vic, and Grant about our plan as Vic held onto Cuervo, who was ready to go. “It would take us an hour or more to get to her by foot. We’re going to take the truck until we are a mile out and then walk.”
The four of us piled into the truck after Cuervo and headed straight back to where Maya had come from. Where Sara was. Where those terrorists were holding her hostage. Where I hoped I’d find her alive. My concern in taking the truck was that these motherfuckers would hear the vehicle, maybe assassinate Sara as we approached. But Maya had said she had driven for fifteen minutes. It would take us an hour to reach that location by foot. I couldn’t, and wouldn’t risk Sara’s life. I needed to get to her now.
Pat drove the truck as the rest of us scanned the landscape with our weapons. Searching for something, anything that would lead us to Sara. I doubted these psychos had night-vision goggles, and their plans had been compromised, especially when they had been foolish enough to allow Maya to escape. But the night held its secrets tight—no flickers of lights, no movement of other vehicles, no sounds of gunfire.
The minutes passed and the sound of Sara’s voice rang in my head. I prayed for a sign, a signal, something to bring me to her.
Pop!
Pat cut the engine before I even asked him to. My prayers had been answered. The unmistakable pop of a rifle. Someone was near. Adrenaline spiked through my body. Had those motherfuckers killed Sara? For a mere second I felt the pit of stomach drop so far I thought I could deposit it out of my ass. But the determination I had driving through my veins was a hell of a lot stronger. I shook the thought out of my head.
I signaled to exit the truck and the four of us fanned out across the landscape, with Cuervo leading the pack to our front. I focused my night vision goggles but couldn’t see a damned thing yet. We were too far out. Despite the best image intensification and thermal fusion technology in the world, I couldn’t see shit. I had Pat, the best sniper, on my side. And our secret weapon, Cuervo, would smell these motherfuckers before we could spot them.
The night remained motionless and I still couldn’t detect the origin of the gunshot. But my goggles focused in on a patch of disturbed earth in the distance. I signaled my men and we approached.
There, in a small pile, was fabric from clothes. Sara’s clothes. A sliced piece of a jacket that she had been wearing the last time I’d seen her. And her blonde locks mixed in the dirt.
My hands shook. They were fucking animals. They’d chopped off her hair—what would they do next? I scoured the earth for blood, praying I would find none. Cuervo’s nose must have picked up their scent and he ran in front of Vic. That a boy.
A wave of relief washed over me. “No blood.”
The words echoed in my head. No blood. They had just cut her hair, humiliated her. Images filled my mind—Sara being raped, these vile motherfuckers violating her, grabbing her flesh, forcing their dicks in her mouth, inside her. Since I’d become a SEAL, I’d seen more brutality than I ever wished to recall in my lifetime. But the images of children and women being defiled had always been the hardest ones for me to reconcile. At night, those visuals haunted my nightmares—their screams filled my head. I had been unable to save them.
But not tonight. Tonight’s mission would be a success. I was more certain than I had been about anything in my life. She was the reason I left my career, though I hadn’t known it at the time. Meeting Sara at the bar last summer, seeing her on the USO tour, all of these events had led me to this moment. I was put on this earth to save her. And no motherfucker would stop me.
Stay strong just a little bit longer, baby. We’re breathing the same air.
20
Sara
My tactic had worked. Crazy Eyes and his friend, who had joined him a few minutes after I’d been hit over the head with the rifle, seemed to be even more turned on by my defiance and sudden pleading.
And I’d been right about one thing—I had seen a cave in the distance. But I had thought that the cave would be my refuge. Instead, it was about to be my prison.
The barrel of the gun, now held by the friend, was placed at the back of my neck as Crazy Eyes led me to the cave. I didn’t resist, my ankle was throbbing and the wound on my head made me dizzier than before. At this point, the only way out I could see was going along with whatever these two terrorists wanted, and praying that I was rescued soon. I’d made it farther than I’d anticipated. And Maya had made it out. Maybe I would, too. I looked around for any sign of another vehicle, a backup, but saw none. Or maybe at some point if they both passed out, I could kill them, but that was wishful thinking.
We arrived at the cave, and his friend took out a lighter and lit a lantern, which gave the cave a soft glow. It looked like the inside of a really fucked-up haunted house. Crazy Eyes licked his lips and motioned for me to sit and I complied. He pressed me back against the dirt and I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to see his face as he raped me. If it saved me, I’d deal with the aftershock later the best I could. The physical pain would be enough of a reminder for the rest of my life, but maybe, if I could block out the image of being penetrated by this monster, I could someday recover.
A harsh sting flushed across my jaw and the sound and impact of a slap forced my eyes open. Crazy Eyes was now holding his erect pencil thin dick, pointing at it, as if I was supposed to be turned on. A wave of nausea rippled along my throat and threatened to get out.
He motioned for me to lower my pants and I did. His friend stood outside the cave, but instead of pointing his gun toward the land, he kept his eyes locked on me. Sick motherfucker wanted to watch. The way he stared at me like I would be used then discarded of filled me with terror.
I inhaled. I’d been wrong. I wasn’t going to get saved. I was going to be raped and then slaughtered. Kyle hadn’t come for me. None of the SEALs had. I would spend the last minutes of my life in pure agony.
Crazy Eyes leaned into me, closer and closer until our bodies touched. His chapped lips met mine and as much as I wanted to bite his lips and tongue off, I reminded myself that his friend had a gun, and I was already in enough pain. His hand made its way down my body and his finger pressed into my panties. My face contorted. His other hand reached and grabbed my breast, and I held my breath. Just when I thought I was seconds away from being raped he collapsed on me, blood splattering everywhere.
What the fuck?!
I screamed and noticed his friend was slumped over in the entrance of the cave, his head deformed, brains splattered.
I continued to scream, my lungs burning, my voice making sounds I didn’t know I was capable of making. My head spun from side to side, completely unable to comprehend what was happening.
A few seconds later, a dog strapped with military gear bounded up to me. And that’s when I realized what had just happened.
I blinked back through my tears and focused in the distance. Four figures were approaching me.
And before I could blink again, Kyle had me wrapped in his arms, and I exhaled deeply.
“I got you, baby. I’m here. You’re safe now.”
21
Kyle
I held her so tightly in my arms, kissed her forehead despite myself. “Are you okay, baby? Did they hurt you?”
Baby. That word hung heavy on my lips. I shouldn’t have called her that—I had no right to call her baby. She was only a mission, one of many hostages I had saved. She wasn’t my woman. I’d told her I wasn’t looking for anything serious. But holding her in my arms made me forget about all the reasons why I’d convinced myself I didn’t want a relationship. Separation, loneliness, stress. Those factors hadn’t changed. But maybe having Sara to come home to would make the struggle of loving someone while I worked a world away worth it.
She buried her face into my chest. “I’m fine now that you’re here. I hurt my ank
le running and I’m bruised but they didn’t hurt me to where I couldn’t handle it. Maya?” Her voice was breathy and hopeful. “Did you find her? Is she okay?”
She looked up at me and I brushed back her newly shorter hair, unable to release her. Always so beautiful. “Yes, babe. She’s fine. Thanks to you. You saved her life. You saved both of your lives.”
She shook her head. “No, I didn’t. You did. You found us.”
On closer observation, I saw her face inflamed, and what appeared to be a damn handprint on her cheek. If I could have killed the bastards again I would have. I kissed her lips, knowing I shouldn’t, knowing I didn’t deserve this kiss. But I would earn the right to kiss her again. And then I’d kiss her any time I wanted. She exhaled when I released her lips. “We only found her because you sacrificed your life. You could’ve died. She told us about Denise.” I spoke of her deceased director so she understood the magnitude of what she’d been through. Then I gave her another kiss, this time on her head, then pulled myself away from her to get back to work.
“Pat, call for air rescue.” Pat grabbed his radio and stepped forward a few feet. I had no idea how long it would be until we were airlifted out of here. If the rest of the Teams were still searching for the other women, our command would not jeopardize their mission to get us. We could be here all night guarding Sara, but it didn’t matter. She would be safe as long as she was with us.
TRITON: A Navy SEAL Romance (Heroes Ever After Book 2) Page 38
