Honor Among SEALs

by Dixie Lee Brown

  Before he regained control and turned back, the remaining armed men had surrounded Kellie, pulled her roughly to her feet and bound her hands behind her back. A tall, heavily muscled man held a gun to her forehead while the others opened fire on the returning helicopter. One carried a rocket launcher, knelt down and prepared to fire.

  Her chest heaving, her emotions taking a roller coaster ride, she prayed Blake would see the futility of coming any closer and pull up. Get Pop and MacGyver out of here! It was too late to save her. He needed to think about himself and the men with him.

  As though Blake had heard her silent pleas, he pulled up at the same instant the Bazooka belched, and a rocket grenade zipped toward the chopper, barely skimming its belly as the craft roared over their heads and kept on going.

  Chapter Seventeen

  A groan rumbled from MacGyver’s throat. His hand went automatically to his head, where a ten-pound hammer currently pounded out a heavy metal rhythm—from the inside. Someone caught his hand, halfway to the target, and shoved it down again. He grunted with the effort it took to crack his eyes open.

  Jeremy knelt over him with a bloody piece of gauze. Whose blood? And where the hell am I? It took MacGyver a few whacks of the hammer to make the connection between the movement of the gauze in Jeremy’s hand and the burning sensation on the side of his head. Pain ricocheted along his nerve endings, and he gritted his teeth as he strained to sit up. Jeremy tried to hold him down with a hand on his sternum, but MacGyver pushed him away and propped himself up on his elbows.

  He squeezed his eyes closed against the bright blue, dotted with white clouds, just over Jeremy’s shoulder. The exertion of his movements made his stomach roll treacherously.

  Gradually, the vibration from the floor and the steady whop, whop of the rotor blades separated from the clanging inside his skull. The chopper. His memory flooded back.

  MacGyver ignored the pain and dizziness moving his head caused as he concentrated on the interior of the cargo bay. Blake was at the controls, earphones in place, and MacGyver couldn’t see his face. Charlie leaned against the front bulkhead, one hand tangled in Chip’s scruff, staring out of the bay opening. Unease grew slowly and mushroomed in MacGyver’s gut when he couldn’t find the one person he needed to see the most.

  “Where’s Kellie?” His throat raw, it hurt to talk. It took far too long to refocus on Jeremy, but when he did, the marshal’s downcast eyes and solemn expression weren’t encouraging. MacGyver looked around again—as though there was someplace Kellie could hide—before jerking back to Jeremy. The pounding of blood through his veins kept time with the aching discord in his head. “And Travis? Where are Kellie and Travis?” Though his voice was stronger now, he couldn’t hide a distinct note of panic.

  Not waiting for an answer, he hoisted his uncooperative body off the floor, staggered and likely would have hit the deck again if Jeremy hadn’t flexed a hand around his bicep to steady him.

  “Easy, MacGyver. We had some trouble. Palazzi’s men brought out a rocket launcher. The first blast spun us around, and the second nearly took out the tail rotor. Blake had to gain altitude to level out.” Jeremy paused and raked a hand through his blond hair. “They had her before we could get back to her. There was nothing we could do that wouldn’t endanger Kellie in the process.”

  MacGyver couldn’t believe what he was hearing and shook his head to clear the fog. Mistake. Pain ripped through his head again, and he fisted his hands, digging his fingernails into his palms. “You left her there?”

  Jeremy took a step back, apparently not without common sense that clued him in to MacGyver’s desperate need to break something. “Calm down. We had no choice. Besides, we know exactly where she is.”

  “How?”

  “Travis went after them—alone. Said he didn’t want anybody slowing him down.” Jeremy’s scowl clearly meant he hadn’t necessarily been in favor of staying behind and letting Travis go without backup.

  Shit! So typically Travis, taking off like a one-man demolition crew. Confident and bold, but never reckless. If there was a right man for the job, it was Travis. MacGyver reached for his cell phone and dialed number two in his favorites list. Hopefully, his friend remembered to put his phone on silent.

  “You okay, Bro?” When Travis answered, it sounded as though he was shouting over a backdrop of other noises.

  Between the sounds erupting from his phone and the din the chopper created, MacGyver’s head might just explode. “I’ll live. Where are you? What’s all that racket?”

  Travis laughed. “I’m following your woman, and let me just say I wouldn’t want to be those poor bastards if she ever gets her hands free.” He laughed again, followed by more clattering sounds and then he swore. “North of the golf course, a van picked up Kellie and three of those gorillas. The others looked like they were waiting around for something. Instructions, maybe. Palazzi probably still wants to get his hands on Charlie, because, without some leverage, he’s gonna have a hell of a time getting Kellie to give up anything.”

  MacGyver glanced at Charlie. He seemed more alert, paying attention to MacGyver’s end of the conversation. Anxiety and concern lined his face.

  “I…uh…borrowed a sweet little Dodge Charger from one of the golfers at the course, but this road we’re on definitely wasn’t made for horse power and performance tires. Hey, do you suppose our insurance covers this?”

  MacGyver sighed. Obviously, Travis was on an adrenaline high. “Are you headed toward Coeur d’Alene? Send me the coordinates from your GPS. If we can figure out where they’re going, Blake can get ahead of them and drop me off. With a little luck, we might be able to squeeze them between us.” They had a chance, though a slim one, of getting Kellie back before Palazzi got ahold of her.

  A ping told him he’d received Travis’s text containing his GPS coordinates. MacGyver strode toward Blake, only half listening as Travis talked in his ear.

  “It makes sense that Palazzi is still in the area. He wouldn’t leave when his target’s here. By now, he knows his men have her, so he’s waiting, probably somewhere isolated.”

  MacGyver winced, all too aware why the prick would need a secluded spot. A muscle flexed in his jaw as he fought to compartmentalize the emotions bombarding him. “Don’t forget—he wants Charlie. That’s no doubt what the rest of his men are waiting for. Palazzi might try to broker a trade, knowing damn good and well he isn’t about to give us Kellie.”

  “Damn straight. Talk to Charlie. Make sure he understands the futility of that scenario in case Palazzi contacts him. Hell, Kellie will kill both of us if we lose Charlie too.”

  MacGyver tapped Blake on the arm and pointed to his ears. Blake slipped the headphones off. “Damn, MacGyver. I thought you were down for the count. Glad to see you’ve rejoined us.”

  “Hang on, Travis.” MacGyver called up the text and stuck it in front of Blake. “Can you get us here without tipping off the dirtballs in the van Travis is following?”

  Blake’s countenance brightened. “Hell yeah. Now we’re talking.” He banked left and increased airspeed.

  MacGyver gave Blake a thumbs-up before he turned toward Charlie.

  “Damned if this road doesn’t look like it’s heading uphill, away from the lake. You don’t suppose—” Travis’s voice rose. “Would he take Kellie back to Charlie’s cabin? It’s secluded enough.”

  “He might. Especially if he wanted to make it easy for Charlie to find them. It’s worth a try. Stay on them, Travis. I’ll have Blake get close enough to surveil the cabin—see if there’s anyone around. Get in touch if anything changes.”

  “Ten-four. Good to have you back, buddy.” Travis ended the call.

  MacGyver returned to Blake and explained what he wanted to do. Then he approached Charlie, motioning for Jeremy to join them.

  As soon as MacGyver sat beside Charlie, Chip crawled in his lap and lick
ed his face. MacGyver scratched the dog’s ears. Yeah, I’m worried about her too, boy.

  “He likes you, Son.” Charlie’s sad smile battered away at MacGyver’s guilt. “You must be all right. He doesn’t save just anyone’s life.”

  MacGyver frowned. What was Charlie talking about?

  “Chip jumped out of the cargo bay and wrestled a knife from the guy who sacked you.” Charlie’s voice broke, and he turned away, obviously unwilling to fall apart in front of MacGyver and the marshal.

  MacGyver could relate.

  “Yeah, that was after Kellie put three slugs in the dirtbag. When the dog got him far enough away from you, her fourth shot shut him down permanently. She never hesitated. It was a sight to see, and I’m fairly sure the rest of them saw who killed him.” Jeremy shook his head, and his unspoken meaning was obvious.

  The men who’d taken Kellie knew she’d killed one of their own, and now she was at their mercy. They were free to exact any punishment they chose. No wonder Charlie was half dazed. Worry would do that to a father.

  “Kellie and I got you onboard, and I thought she was in too…but she turned back to grab the dog and throw him inside. The first rocket blast knocked her down, and things went to hell from there. By the time we got straightened out, Kellie was being used as a shield and we were looking at the rocket end of a loaded Bazooka.

  How the hell was MacGyver supposed to deal with that? She’d still be safe in the chopper if she hadn’t sacrificed everything to save his ass. His last words to her had been curt and impatient. What if—no, don’t go there. Shit! This was his fault. He should have been taking care of her—not the other way around. Black rage boiled up inside him until hate gave him purpose. If they hurt her, I’ll track them down—every last one of them.

  He struggled to put his fury back in its proper compartment before he spoke. “We’ll find her, Charlie. We think they’re taking her to the cabin, and we’re headed there right now. Blake will drop me as close as he can.” MacGyver rubbed the back of his neck, hoping to dull the pain throbbing in his temple.

  Charlie nodded. “Bring her back, Son.” His eyes held a desperate plea.

  MacGyver’s anger grew exponentially. Charlie, Anna and Kellie deserved their lives back, and MacGyver was going to make that happen or die trying. “One more thing. Palazzi has always threatened you to get Kellie to do what he wanted. There’s no reason to think he won’t try again. If he makes contact, just play along. Make him think you’ll sacrifice yourself if he’ll let her go.”

  “Of course, I would.” Charlie bristled.

  “I know. We all know, but he won’t let her go. Not when he can have both of you. You, making him think he might achieve that, will buy us some time.”

  Charlie nodded, and the spaced-out look he’d worn a few minutes ago slowly returned.

  MacGyver nudged Jeremy, and they both stood, moving away. “I think he’s in shock. I’m not sure he understands. Keep an eye on him.”

  “Anna will hand me my head if I let anything happen to him…or Kellie.” Jeremy glanced back at Charlie, then stuck his hand toward MacGyver. “I’ve got him. I’m trusting you to take care of Kellie.”

  MacGyver smiled as he took the offered hand. “We’ve come a long way, Marshal.”

  Blake motioned to MacGyver, and he moved forward to take the seat beside him, donning the extra head gear. Blake handed him a set of field glasses, pointing ahead and to the left. “There’s the van. The cabin’s just over that ridge.”

  MacGyver raised the glasses and trained them on the black van, kicking up dust in their apparent haste to reach Palazzi. Travis’s borrowed Dodge Charger had dropped back, not trying to keep up now that he knew where they were going. They could obviously hear and see the chopper shadowing them, but they didn’t seem to care. Neither did MacGyver. Surely they weren’t dumb enough to think he wouldn’t come.

  He swept the glasses across the ridge and dialed in on the cabin. Two vehicles were parked in front and a spiral thread of smoke curled from the chimney. “Looks like Charlie has company, and they don’t care who knows.”

  Blake chuckled. “Maybe a little too obvious, huh?”

  Too obvious? MacGyver made a slow sweep with the glasses through the trees and along the road near the cabin. No one moved. Following the road uphill, he focused in on the neighbor’s house where he and Kellie had spent the night. All was quiet there. No smoke. No vehicles.

  As he swung the glasses away from the house, a bright reflection caught his peripheral vision. He jerked back, searching for the flash of light, but it was gone as instantaneously as it had appeared. But it had been there. Something had moved and caught the sun just right for a fraction of a second. Whatever it was, it was no longer in the same spot. Inanimate objects didn’t switch positions under their own power. And his gut was seldom wrong. Nice try, Palazzi.

  He nudged Blake’s arm and pointed toward the house a mile from Charlie’s cabin. “There. How close can you get me?”

  Blake regarded him curiously but didn’t argue—just nodded. “The road below the house has a blind curve just a thousand yards or so downhill. I can set down there long enough.”

  “That’ll do.” MacGyver pulled his phone from his belt and tapped the button for his number two favorite.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Tony won’t leave without you.” The big, dark-haired man, sitting beside Kellie on the rear seat of the van, looked familiar.

  Where had she seen him before? Apparently, he thought he was being funny. She gritted her teeth to keep from saying anything that would give him reason to hit her again.

  Her ears still rang from the punch he’d delivered when she’d smiled and silently thanked God as the helicopter disappeared. The man shouldering the rocket launcher had been knocked on his ass by the downdraft of the rotor blades. By the time he picked himself off the ground and turned around, the chopper was only a dot in the distance. One of her molars was loose, and she tasted blood from her split and bleeding lip, but Pop, MacGyver and the rest of her friends had gotten away, and that was all that mattered.

  “You don’t remember me, do you? Name’s Martin. You and I had a few drinks together earlier this week. Wally’s Tavern? Ring any bells?”

  Oh God. She only vaguely remembered the rough-looking biker who’d towered over her and forced her to down tequila shooters until she could barely walk.

  “My friends and I were disappointed when you cut out before the party really got started. We might still have a chance to get to know each other better. You know…if you’re nice to me…” His large hand landed on her knee and inched upward. “I can make things easier for you.”

  “No thanks.”

  MacGyver and Travis had filled her in on what Martin and his two companions had expected from her, and instant revulsion turned her stomach.

  Kellie jerked away, but Martin caught a hand in her hair and yanked her to within an inch of his sweaty face. “Spirited. I like that.” He laughed. His yellow teeth and vile breath nearly made her gag.

  She stopped breathing out of self-defense, staring into the man’s gloating, sadistic eyes.

  His phone rang, and he pushed her head into the side of the van as he released her. “Martin…yeah, Mr. Palazzi, we’ll be at the cabin in about three minutes…the chopper followed us, and we let ’em, just like you said…where?…sure, Boss, I’d be happy to take a little walk in the woods with Miss Greyson.” Blatant lust filled his eyes as his gaze raked over her, and he ended the call, dropping his cell phone in his shirt pocket.

  The chopper is following us?

  Martin’s lascivious attention made Kellie’s skin crawl, and dread landed heavily on her shoulders. She glared back, refusing to look away or show fear. His pitiless laugh echoed in her brain as he leaned between the two men in the front seat and whispered something that made them all snic
ker.

  Concern for Pop, MacGyver and the others consumed her. Were they crazy, following her? Oh hell, who am I kidding? Of course they followed. SEALs prided themselves on leaving no one behind. So did the Marines. She not only understood it, she’d lived the creed. It was part of the reason she’d jumped from the chopper to help MacGyver. That and the fact she’d gone a little crazy, fearing they wouldn’t reach him in time.

  Hope flickered somewhere deep within her. Maybe she had a chance. Of surviving. Of putting an end to Tony’s grip on her family. MacGyver? She might have had a chance with him if she hadn’t shot Blake’s brother. MacGyver had chosen family ties over any extenuating circumstances she might have had. That was his right, just as it was hers to protect the life of an innocent Iraqi girl.

  Forget MacGyver. It would be enough if her family could be made whole again. A faint smile pulled at her lips, which she quickly banished. A lot of things had to go right before any of those results would be forthcoming. Nothing had exactly gone right in her life for a long time. Why would it be any different now?

  The answer flashed before her eyes in living color. MacGyver. Aww…hell! A girl could dream, couldn’t she?

  The driver stopped the van, and Martin slid the side door open, grabbed her elbow, wrenching her to her feet, and dragged her out. Damn it. This wasn’t good. Clearly, he hadn’t been kidding when he said they were taking a walk. She’d almost rather face Palazzi than be alone in no-man’s land with this creep.

  He chose two handguns—one of them hers—and a rifle from the stockpile in the rear of the vehicle. Twisting a length of rope through one of his belt loops, he let it hang against his thigh. After he closed the door, he gave her a shove toward the thick trees and away from the road.

  Kellie stumbled through the brush and rocks. Apparently, her equilibrium had also taken a hit when Martin punched her. With hands tied behind her back, it was impossible to keep herself balanced. After the fourth time she fell and Martin had to help her up, she smiled her thanks to the man whose face she’d rather spit on. “How far are we going, Martin?”