The airplane engine roared to life. Ethan took the steps two at a time. Light haloed around the suspect as he tried to yank the door shut. Ethan lifted his gun and fired, the bullet pinged harmlessly into the side of the plane. Ethan sprinted to the top of the stairs, his pistol raised and ready. Another shot whizzed past his right shoulder. He dove for the floor of the airplane in a controlled roll and came up firing. One bullet, straight to the man's head. He dropped like a brick to the ground.
Aaron jumped over Ethan and ran into the cockpit. “Clear!”
Ethan got to his feet and took off down the luxurious plane, his heart stopping the same moment his feet did. Kate was laid out on a leather couch, eyes closed, her mouth slack, with her hair hanging over the edge in glistening black waves. He went to his knees beside her. “Kate, can you hear me?”
She moaned and moved her head, and then slipped back into unconsciousness.
“Dammit, Kate, wake up!” Ethan roared, fueled by fear and fury.
Kate opened one eye and lifted a shaky hand to her head, a small gold locket fell from her grip.
Ethan's spine went stiff as realization dawned. They'd tracked Caroline's GPS, but Kate was the one with the necklace. “Aaron, check the rest of the plane.”
Aaron ran past him, slammed through the back door, and then cursed. “They're not here!”
“Kate, please wake up, honey. Did you see where they took Caroline and Celine?”
Kate mumbled, her words mostly incoherent, “Limo driver. Mr. J. Couldn't stop them.”
Every single cell in Ethan's blood iced over at Mr. J's name. The Task Force Scorpions ex-CIA Liaison turned traitor had not only betrayed his country, but tried to murder Ethan's entire Team. And now he had kidnapped the daughter of the senator in charge of the US Joint Special Operations Command.
Chapter 20
“I can't believe they're really gone.” Kate lay in the guest bedroom at Noni's house, snuggled with her cheek to Ethan's chest, his hand completely covering hers.
“They're not gone, just missing, and we'll get them back, I swear to you.” Ethan's chest vibrated as he spoke.
“I should've realized something was up. That limo driver—”
“We should have all realized it. Liam worked for Cotter for over a year. Grey vetted him. He fooled us all.”
The strong steady rhythm of Ethan's heartbeat beneath her cheek helped calm her frayed nerves. “I feel like a complete failure,” she whispered.
“Don't you dare say that. If Liam hadn't drugged you, you would've totally kicked his ass.”
“You're probably right,” Kate reluctantly admitted. Still, Ethan's confidence was only a Band-Aid to her constant worry the past two days as they scrambled to search for clues over her missing friends.
Ethan chuckled and traced his fingers down her spine. “That's better.”
Outwardly they all tried to put on a strong front, but every single one of them felt the loss straight down to their marrow. They'd been too confident, too at ease that this was a simple babysitting mission, and they’d been totally unprepared for the surprise attack from within.
Kate tensed and Ethan pulled her tighter against him. “Hey, I told you, we will find them.”
“I'm going with you.”
Ethan snorted. “Over my dead body.”
Kate rose up over him, her eyes narrowed down at the man who held her heart. “That might be something I can arrange.”
“Come on, Kate, be reasonable. You were recently drugged and nearly kidnapped. You need time to recover.”
Kate dug a finger in his chest. “And you, Ethan Slade, need to realize a little poison isn't enough to keep me down. I'm going after my friends, whether you like it or not.”
Ethan groaned and fell back onto the mattress. “Is this what it's always going to be like between us? You not listening to me?”
Kate brushed a shaggy lock of dark hair out of Ethan's face and leaned down to press a soft kiss to his lips. “You can bet on it.”
THE END
Want to see what happens to Aaron and Celine??? Click here to get the book: Ravished River: Men o f Mercy
As a Special Forces operative, Aaron Speirs treated relationships like Tangos. He’d seen the wreckage of his Task Force brothers' attempts and had no desire to put any woman through the hardship. He had one purpose – serve his country and protect his teammates. Then Celine Latimer walked into his life and turned his world upside down.
Celine Latimer thought she’d hit the jackpot when hunky SF operative Aaron Speirs asked her to accompany him to the high-profile wedding of Senator Cotter’s daughter. They’d get to spend two weeks together while Aaron pulled guard duty for Caroline Cotter and Celine intended to use every spare minute, seducing the man she’d had a crush on for over a year.
The time and place proved to be more of a barrier than either of them realized. With his commander watching his every move, Aaron couldn’t afford to show any weakness. That meant ignoring Celine.
Rejected and hurt, Celine packed to leave only to be caught in a kidnapping plot against the Senator. Here she sat, in a hut in the Middle East, waiting on a rescue that may never come.
He'd sworn to protect and he'd failed. Now Aaron lived for one purpose- to rescue the woman he lost before she’s sold into slavery and spend the rest of his life making her see how much he loves her.
Click here to get the book: Ravished River: Men o f Mercy
DOSSIER
TASK FORCE SCORPION (TF-S)
A branch of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)
Ft. Grenada, MS
MACK GREY: Detachment Commander, Captain
♣Recruited from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, GA
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, interrogations specialist, psychological warfare
♣First in Command. Responsible for ensuring and maintaining operational readiness.
♣Height: 6’
♣Weight: 195lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Gothic Serpent, Somalia. Operation Desert Storm, OIF, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Rhino, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Mountain Viper, Operation Eagle Fury, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles
HUNTER JAMES: Warrant Officer, Detachment Commander
♣Recruited from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, GA
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, psychological warfare
♣Responsible for overseeing all Team ops. Commands in absence of detachment commander.
♣Height: 6’3”
♣Weight: 230lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Mountain Viper
RANGER JAMES: Team Daddy/Team Sergeant, Master Sgt.
♣Recruited from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, GA
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon
♣Plans, coordinates & directs Team intelligence, analysis and dissemination.
♣Height: 6’4”
♣Weight: 225lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Mountain Viper, Operation Eagle Fury
JARED CROWE: Weapons Sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class
♣Recruited from Delta Force, Ft. Bragg, NC
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, Sniper
♣Weapons expert. Capable of firing and employing all small arm and crew served weapons
♣Height: 6’0”
♣Weight: 220lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles
HOYT CROWE: Asst. Weapons Sergeant, Staff Sg
t.
♣Recruited from Delta Force, Ft. Bragg, NC
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, Sniper
♣Weapons expert. Capable of firing and employing all small arm and crew served weapons
♣Height: 6’0”
♣Weight: 210lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles
AARON SPEIRS: Medical Sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class
♣Recruited from Delta Force, Ft. Bragg, NC
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, medic
♣The life-saver. Employs the latest field medical technology and limited surgical procedures
♣Height: 6’1”
♣Weight: 195lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles
RISER MALLON: Asst. Medical Sergeant, Staff Sgt.
♣Recruited from Delta Force, Ft. Bragg, NC
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, medic
♣The life-saver. Employs the latest field medical technology and limited surgical procedures
♣Height: 6’2”
♣Weight: 215lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles,Operation Mountain Viper, Operation Eagle Fury
MERC: Engineer Sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class
♣Recruited from Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, Demolitions, psychological operations
♣Demolition expert. Trained in psychological warfare, conducts field interrogations.
♣Height: 6’5”
♣Weight: 250lbs
♣Combat Experience: Classified
ETHAN SLADE: Communications
Sergeant/Commo Guy, Sgt. 1st Class
♣Recruited from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, GA
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, communications
♣Communications expert. Employ latest FM, multi-channel, and satellite communication devices.
♣Height: 6’0”
♣Weight: 200lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles
CORD CARTER: Weapons Sergeant, Staff Sgt.
♣Recruited from the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC), Camp Lejeune, NC
♣Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnoissance, weapons expert/sniper
♣Weapons expert. Capable of firing and employing all small arm and crew served weapons
♣Height: 6’1”
♣Weight: 210lbs
♣Combat Experience: Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles
Chapter 1
Camp Eagle Claw, classified location Afghanistan…
The Afghanistan desert would have made the devil himself sweat, not that the devil was brave enough to set up headquarters in this godforsaken land. Only the United States Special Forces would be sick enough to pick the meanest valley in the Middle East as its home away from home.
Even the insects were AWOL. The only creatures crawling across the sand were the death dealers – scorpions, snakes and Special Forces.
Operative Aaron Speirs, assistant medical sergeant and weapons expert, bent over and gripped the metal bar in front of him, working on his fourth set of dead lifts in the spotted shade provided by the camo net over Task Force Scorpions, TF-S, camp.
Up, down. Three hundred ninety-five pounds, nearly twice his bodyweight an extreme amount guaranteed to give him arthritis by retirement but he wasn't worried about that since most men in the Teams didn't live to see their fiftieth birthday. Sweat ran in rivulets down his shirtless chest, dropped to the scorched earth with a sizzle and evaporated instantly.
Up, down. One more round of lifts and he might fall out from weariness, which was exactly what he intended. He couldn't stop thinking about Celine Latimer with her perfect platinum hair and soulful eyes. He couldn’t forget the taste of her strawberry flavored lip gloss or the fact that it was his fault she’d been kidnapped.
Up, down. Another lift. Aaron's exhausted muscles screamed in protest, but he kept moving, ignoring the pain.
Why had he turned her away?
Because he knew what would happen if he let himself care about her – he’d lose her just like he’d lost his mother.
He yanked the weight up hard. How many people had to die before he learned his lesson?
He’d buried his mom ten years ago, someone else had dug the grave but he’d put her there. The memories crashed into him. Her blank stare when he’d found her on the bathroom floor, blood flooding from her wrists. Dammit, how could he have been so blind? If only he’d been paying closer attention…
Aaron ground his teeth together and held the ungodly weight high, fighting the cold seeping into his chest. But no matter how hard he tried to resist another image flashed. Shane falling to his death in that ambush, his scream cut off when he hit the ground.
Celine.
The hurt in her eyes when he’d cold shouldered her…all because he couldn’t face the fact he’d been unable to hold his vow to never do to a woman what his father did to his mother.
Now they were all gone. Guilt bred and multiplied in him, taking over everything else.
“Dammit, Speirs, drop the weight before you crush your spine.” Ethan Slade, communications sergeant and Aaron’s best friend, strained under the weight of his bench press five feet away.
Aaron blinked the blinding brightness of the desert into focus, shoved the memories down and turned to Ethan with a blank expression.
Ethan racked his weight and shot upright. “Don’t give me that fucking look. I know exactly what you’re thinking.”
Aaron let the weight crash to the ground, ignored the sweat stinging his eyes and reached for the barbell again. “Giving up already?”
He had no intention of letting Ethan go at another one of his amateur counseling sessions.
Ethan ignored the barb and mopped the moisture from his face with a nearby towel. “You need to ease up, give yourself a break.”
“Celine’s not getting a break. Caroline’s not getting a break.” That dammed thought crept into his nightmares every single night.
“You drowning in guilt won’t save them either.” Ethan tossed the towel on the bench and stood.
He stood, pulling the bar up with him. “Who said anything about guilt? I’m out for revenge. Cold and simple. Guilt hasn’t got anything to do with it.”
Ethan strode to Aaron’s gym bag and yanked out Aaron’s BDU jacket. “Really?” He ripped open the front pocket and pulled out two photos. “Then why do you carry their pictures over your heart?”
Ethan held the pictures up right in Aaron’s line of vision. His mom’s sad smile mocked him. The one screen shot he’d taken with Celine taunted him.
“Fuck you.”
Those pictures were the ghosts that haunted him daily for his fuck up.
Ethan didn’t relent, instead he shoved their faces closer. “You couldn’t have done anything to stop it, bro. She wanted to go after your dad left.”
His dad didn’t leave. He died. He took his thousandth fucking mission, ground his mother’s heart into their gravel driveway and never came home.
A growl built in his throat. “Drop it.”
“Stop blaming yourself.” Ethan’s voice dropped and he let the photo’s fall into Aaron’s bag. “Your mother wasn’t your fault back then and Celine’s not your fault now.”
Just like he would always do.
He’d devoted his life to the Teams. His country. His brothers in arms.
A life in the special forces was not a life for a relationship. His firsthand experience with the disaster of his parents failed attempt was enough to keep him forever away from giving his heart to any woman other than the Statue of Liberty.
He was man enough to admit that he’d been week with Celine. She’d been the first woman who’d ever tempted him from his duties. He’d actually thought about more than a one night stand with her – he’d envisioned a future together. And because he’d given into that weakness, she’d been taken by the one man who could do the most damage.
Ethan would never understand, he had his woman. Kate was safe and sound, waiting on him to return home. At least until she wasn’t. “Let it go.”
“Not until you do.” Ethan faced off with him, hands balled into fists at his side.
Aaron straightened, for one second letting the pain show in his expression. “When Kate dies because of you, come talk to me about letting go.”
Ethan threw his hands up in the air and stomped over to the weight bench. “Your mom’s gone, man. Celine’s not. You’ve still got a chance.”
“Not if I don’t find her.” Not even then. He hadn’t learned before but he had now. Fate had given him one chance – she wouldn’t allow another one. He’d find Celine, deliver her safely home and walk the hell away before he did more damage than he’d already done.
Men of Mercy: The Complete Story Page 108
