Broken SEAL

by Geri Foster

“We fight. Grey and Harrington are on their way back to us. They’ll help us get away.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’re okay. I can get us out of this.”

  Her hand came up and covered his. “I’ve never seen you work. I hope you’re as good as I think you are.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t want to sound conceited, but I’m probably better.”

  She looked up at him then jammed her hands on her hips. “I see your arrogance is still front and center.”

  His grin widened. She looked so beautiful he wanted to gobble her up like a Christmas turkey. “Only when it comes to my job.”

  Garrett knew his business and that made him confident he’d figure out a way to get Haley to safety. That’s what he’d been trained to do, and he’d done it enough to know his own ability. He’d already checked out the back entrance and hadn’t seen anyone.

  He didn’t want to leave the safety of the store before Harrington and Grey arrived unless the situation changed. More than anything, he wanted it confirmed that El Hashem’s men were the ones in the parking lot. If that were the case, he wanted to somehow capture the terrorists so he could bring them in for questioning.

  Experience told him they no doubt were busy strategizing their next move since they failed at the Baltimore terminal. Perhaps they had something more diabolical than the airport on their minds. If that was the case, he intended to stop it before anyone got hurt.

  Tensions lessened when a familiar silver car pulled up and parked next to his rental. He took Haley and walked to the front of the store. Harrington and Grey met them right inside the door.

  “What’s going on,” Grey’s eyes carefully surveyed the perimeter. “Frank said you suspected El Hashem’s men were in the parking lot.”

  Garrett pointed to the white van, far off in the corner, near the dumpster. “What do you think?”

  Harrington rubbed his chin. “Looks like the one we followed from the medical supplier. How the hell did they find you?” He looked at Haley. “Did they wire you in anyway or put a tracker on you?”

  She adamantly shook her head. Harrington’s question caused a look of surprise to flash across her face. “They barely touched me. Mehaza tied me up, but other than that, they didn’t do anything.”

  Garrett pulled up the sleeves of the blue tee shirt she wore beneath her scrubs, checked her back, and ran his hands down the sides of her legs. “What about when they grabbed you at the hospital?” he asked. “Did you feel anything then?”

  Paranoid, Haley immediately started patting down her body. “No, nothing that I remember.” She paused and looked at Garrett. “Wouldn’t I feel something?”

  “Maybe, maybe not.” He led her over to a display, turned her around, and placed her hands on a stack of cola. “Hold on.” He picked up one foot and inspected the bottom of her sneaker. He released it then picked up the other. There on the bottom, near the heel, he found a sensor.

  He dug it out with his fingernails then held it in his palm to show the other agents and Haley. “This is how they did it.” He glanced outside, now certain that the men waiting in the van belonged to El Hashem. “We need to find a way out.”

  “Let’s leave the tracker here and just walk out,” Haley said. “They won’t suspect it’s us since the sensor won’t be moving.”

  “But they’re watching.” Garrett gestured at the door. “They’ll spot us the minute we step out the door.” He glanced at the back. “Harrington, you get my car and come around. Let’s see if they follow you.”

  “What’s your plan?” she edged closer to him. “I’d like to know what’s going to happen.”

  “If he brings the car to the back and the van stays put, then we can leave and they’ll think we’re still in the store.”

  “Won’t they drive around to see if we sneak out the back?”

  “First, they probably don’t suspect that we’ve found the tracker. Second, Harrington is going to drive around a bit. If they follow him then he’ll leave, and we’ll stay put for a while before taking the other car. If they don’t, he’ll pull around to the back door and we’ll go out that way. Once we’re gone, he and Grey will go back to their car and leave. If worse comes to worst and there are more of them out there, we’ll make a run for it.”

  Garrett looked down at her and saw her confusion as she tried to put it all together. She was frightened. Her body and mind had gone into survival mode and he could see she was beginning to panic. Surgeons didn’t deal with terrorists on a regular basis.

  He squeezed her hand, silently waiting to see what happened. He sighed inwardly when she finally gathered herself together. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and squared her shoulders. He handed Harrington his keys and they waited. While she stood with Grey, Garrett informed the store clerk they’d be exiting out the back for security reasons. The young teenager didn’t argue once he inserted the word terrorist into the conversation.

  After ten minutes, Garrett’s phone indicated an incoming text. Harrington waited while Garrett walked her outside to the idling vehicle. They passed the agent as he returned to the inside of the store.

  “There’s another car on the corner behind us. They’re watching everything. Be ready for a high-speed chase.”

  Garrett nodded and put her in the passenger seat. “Buckle up. We may be in for a rough ride.”

  Preston McCoy sat in his office worried his whole world was about to crumble. Zareeb and his men had done exactly as they were told at the airport, but Preston hadn’t planned on him being laid up somewhere gut shot. That was the worst scenario he imagined. How bad did the situation have to get before they needed to abort the entire mission?

  He’d financed and planned the operation. The airport was a distraction, just to get Washington’s attention, so he could carry out the attack on his real target. He had big plans for the White House and the president. The time had come for them to learn they weren’t as powerful as they thought.

  President Davis must die. The country didn’t need him. He did very little good for the people. Currently, he had Congress in the process of clamping down on the tax loopholes all the Wall Street big wigs enjoyed. Preston just happened to be one of them and had no intention of letting that happen. He’d dumped a lot of money into Davis’s opponent’s campaign with devastating results.

  Davis had managed to pull out a victory, despite Preston’s and several others’ best efforts. He had proved to be a danger to those with money. Especially big money and Preston had more than he could count. A few proposed federal laws would hurt his bottom line and he refused to let his fortune be determined by a damned politician.

  If he didn’t make his move before the Senate convened, he wouldn’t get another chance. The American people were getting smarter and the political scene was getting too much exposure. It wouldn’t be long until all the crap being tossed out in the news would lead directly back to him. Preston had no choice but to destroy the heart of D.C. before that could happen.

  But if the damn attack he’d financed had turned out so poorly that Zareeb, the leader, had been almost killed, how big of a threat could the same group be to the White House? He needed to find Zareeb and learn exactly what happened. How badly had he been injured, and could he complete their mission?

  He and Zareeb came to an agreement and planned the attacks. El Hashem wanted to bring America to its knees as badly as Preston, but so much depended on them moving quickly. How fast could they travel with a wounded man?

  Preston’s thoughts turned to Mehaza Nagi. Now, there was a man whose black eyes burned bright with hatred. He didn’t want to hurt this country, he wanted to destroy every last person who claimed citizenship.

  Yes, he had proved to be an ambitious man and Preston could make good use of his hatred, but he needed a man with a brain. Nagi swore no loyalty to any God. Not Allah or any other entity. Zareeb’s devotion to prayer meant little to Nagi...and Preston liked that.

  Anxious, he checked the burner phone he’d purchased to com
municate with Zareeb, so nothing could be traced back to him. He hadn’t heard from the man in hours. He only knew what the TV channels were rehashing over and over again, which made his blood run cold.

  They had pictures of several men with Zareeb among them. At first, Preston hadn’t paid much attention to the others. Not even the photos of Nagi. But now he did, and the man was in far more frames than he liked. Nagi had been as careless as the others. They had no clue what they were doing. Just a bunch of damned fools.

  Preston would give it another hour then he’d call Zareeb and find out what had happened. On every channel, reporters implied someone had been shot. Could Zareeb be dead?

  His chest constricted and pain coursed through his body and the thought of such a great man dying.

  Fear gripped Haley so tightly her teeth chattered. Her kidnappers were on their tail and the thought of going back to that dumpy house turned her stomach. They knew where she and Garrett were, so how hard would it be for them to grab her again?

  In the passenger seat with one foot on the ground, Haley’s grip on the seatbelt tightened as Garrett nudged her so he could shut the door. Just as he jumped into the driver’s seat, a police cruiser pulled up behind them, blocking the other vehicle. She looked over her shoulder when the cops opened their doors, and the white van slammed into reverse and raced backwards. It quickly swerved and peeled down the street. The cruiser, lights on and sirens blaring, sped after them.

  Garrett took the opposite direction. “Looks like the cavalry showed up in the nick of time.”

  “You called them?”

  Garrett shook his head. “Grey did. I knew we’d need backup. We didn’t have enough manpower to take them on and us get out alive.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “I can’t take you home. Not until the FBI manages to arrest those men. It’s too dangerous.”

  “What about the hospital?”

  “Can’t go there, either.” He looked over at her, his brown eyes dark and intense with worry. “Is your family still in Dallas?”

  “Yes, mom and dad just came back from Europe.”

  “I’ll have Frank put an agent on them, just in case El Hashem decides to grab your family and use them as leverage to make you go back.”

  “I don’t think he’s going to be doing much of anything. Even under the best conditions, he’s not going to make it. The blood loss alone will kill him. I didn’t get to examine him closely, so I don’t know how much damage the bullet has done. From what I saw, it didn’t look good.”

  “If he dies, his men might very well try to sneak out of the country.”

  She nibbled her index fingernail. “Maybe.” She glanced outside the window at the passing scenery. “If El Hashem dies, I think Mehaza will take over, and something tells me he’s far more dangerous.”

  “Are you talking about Mehaza Nagi?”

  She furrowed her brows, baffled. “I don’t know his last name.”

  “Is he short, with a beard and medium length black hair? Are his brown eyes darker than his hair?” Garrett stole a quick glance at her. “Did he have a scar above his right eye?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t think I ever got close enough to him to notice a scar.”

  “We’ve suspected all along it was him at the airport. If it is, we’ll be wishing El Hashem lived. He’s the meanest bastard in the Middle East. He kidnapped a hundred young Muslim girls from a school in Basra. He and his men raped and killed them all.”

  She swallowed, then placed her hands on her throat. Had she been that close to a monster capable of that? The sarcastic barbs she’d thrown at the man reverberated in her ears and she swallowed repeatedly. “He did threaten to kill me if El Hashem died.”

  “If it’s who I’m thinking, he’d cut your throat and enjoy watching you bleed out.”

  “I won’t lie to you, Garrett. I was scared out of my mind. Had I known how brutal the man could be, I would have been more frightened.”

  “I’m hoping we’re both wrong. Nagi isn’t a man who gives up easily. He has serious contacts here in the States and he’ll use them if necessary.”

  “But Garrett, if El Hashem dies, he won’t have any use for me. Right?”

  “That’s not how he works. You escaped. He’ll take you again and kill you, just to make a point.”

  She grabbed his arm. “If anyone knows me, it’s you, Garrett. I am not brave, and I refuse to act like I’m not scared. You won’t let him get me, will you?”

  “Only if he kills me first.”

  “He might do that.”

  Garrett chuckled softly. “I’m not that easy to get rid of.” He sighed, growing serious. “I guess that’s not true. All it took for you to lose me was a few words.”

  Her gut twisted and she averted her gaze, unable to face him. He spoke the truth. She’d told him to leave immediately after she’d decided to end the relationship. Looking at the pain in his eyes, Haley realized how wrong she’d been and how much she loved him.

  She wondered if she told Garrett she loved him, would he believe her or would he think she was just trying to save her own ass? Would it be possible to get back together and be happy? More importantly, could she overlook what he did for a living? She didn’t think so before, but had she really tried?

  She lowered her head. “I said some pretty mean things and I’m sorry.” She finally got the nerve to look up at him. “It was so hard every time you left on a mission. I never knew if you were coming back and I didn’t think I could handle it if you died.”

  He squinted his eyes and the muscle in his jaw flexed. “Didn’t you realize that the thought that I might not come back to you crossed my mind a time or two?”

  “Then why do it, Garrett? Why live so close to the edge?”

  He looked away, sadness tightening his features. “Someone has to do it. Besides, this is what I’m good at.”

  Chapter Seven

  Garrett refused to rehash their split in the middle of all this mess. It wasn’t the time or place. She couldn’t tolerate his job and he’d never stop what he loved. From day one, she knew exactly what he did and why. She should never have agreed to live together if she couldn’t handle it.

  Right now, they had bigger problems. They were on the run and he had to find a safe place for her so Nagi never got his hands on her again.

  He pulled out his phone and dialed his boss. Frank needed to let Greg Lambert know right away that he had Haley safely tucked away.

  “Hamilton.”

  “Garrett here. I have Haley.”

  Frank sighed, relieved. “Thank God. Who had her?”

  “It was El Hashem. She claims he’s close to death, no matter what happens.”

  “Did you call it in?”

  “Harrington and Grey are handling that.”

  “Are El Hashem’s men after you?”

  “They were.” Garrett looked at her. “You need to know that Haley says there was another man there. I think it’s Nagi, and if that’s the case we have a serious problem.”

  “You’re right. They’ve been flashing his picture all over the television for the airport bombing. If he’s working with El Hashem, we can assume whatever they’re planning is going to be big. Nagi hasn’t had two nickels to rub together since we cut off his cash flow last year. So, El Hashem is fronting the money unless he has someone here financing the operation.”

  “You think he and El Hashem hooked up to hit the airport?”

  “That might have been El Hashem’s idea, but I can guarantee Nagi has ideas of his own. Something much bigger. Another 9/11 would be more to his liking.”

  “I figured this was off from the beginning. Why blow up the Baltimore airport?”

  “It’s a soft target,” Frank mused. “Not that busy with easy access.”

  Garrett thought for a moment “And they didn’t even hit at the busiest time of day. That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Could Baltimore have been a distraction? Did Haley see anything
that might indicate they had other plans?”

  Garrett put the phone down and turned into a strip mall. Putting the car in park, he turned to her. “While you were being held, did you see anything that looked like they might have another target?”

  Her light-colored brows drew together. Her pretty blue eyes sparkled, distracting him. He’d forgotten how beautiful she was.

  He forgot the healthy glow of her complexion, how her mouth looked so kissable. He ached with desire and hoped he didn’t end up making a fool of himself by begging her to take him back.

  “I don’t know what I’d be looking for,” she shrugged. “The place they took me was some kind of empty garage, with a small apartment in the rear. It was dirty and cluttered with trash. There were seven men there and all were heavily armed. Nagi had a gun as well. I didn’t notice anything in the room where they had El Hashem resting.”

  “No maps, no books, papers, nothing on one of the walls?”

  She shook her head slowly, as if trying to remember. “I don’t think so.”

  “Did you hear them say anything?”

  “They all talked, but in their own language. I didn’t understand a word being said.”

  “How about the way the men treated Nagi?”

  “They appeared more loyal to El Hashem. I could see their concern when I tried to tend to him.”

  Garrett glanced at her and asked, “So, Nagi wasn’t in control?”

  “Well,” she tilted her head. “Not in the beginning. When I first got there, Nagi acted like El Hashem’s loyal follower. Yet when I explained that he probably wasn’t going to make it, his whole attitude changed. After what you told me, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one who shot El Hashem. I’ll bet he took me, knowing full well there was nothing I could do. I was a sacrificial lamb, there to operate on a mortally wounded man, and all so Nagi could legitimately take control.”

  “And you noticed nothing...unusual?”

  She shrugged. “You mean, other than being kidnapped?”

  Garrett picked the phone up and pressed it to his ear. “She didn’t notice anything unusual.”