Hope's Delta (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Delta Team Three Book 5)

by Riley Edwards

  “Is Nori here, too?”

  “Right here,” Nori snapped, sounding more pissed-off than scared.

  Oh, shit.

  This was bad, way worse than she’d imagined.

  Gwen. Ivy. Destiny. Nori. Hope.

  All of them together. All of them taken.

  Hope’s head hurt, literally hurt. It thumped to the beat of her pounding heart. But figuratively, it swam with possibilities.

  “We’re bait,” Hope mumbled.

  “Yep,” Nori once again snapped.

  “They’ll come.”

  “Yep.”

  “Shit.”

  “You can say that again,” Destiny muttered.

  Chapter 15

  Jangles pulled his shades down, blocking out the blinding rays while keeping his phone to his ear.

  “Yeah, we just landed.”

  He hitched his backpack higher on his shoulder and glanced around Adana airport, a place he decided he never wanted to see again. Jangles’ eyes landed on Woof and he knew he was having the same thoughts.

  The last time they’d been in Turkey hadn’t been pleasant for any of them, but especially Woof. The shitshow had started with a kidnapping attempt and had ended with Nori being shot.

  Now they were back.

  This time, because Onur Demir, a man who was supposed to be dead, had made a grave error in judgment. There would be no covert negotiations this time. There’d be no talks of exchanging hostages for satellite images. There’d be no bad intel and assumption of death.

  There’d be no question about whether or not Onur Demir was breathing because Jangles was going to make sure he wasn’t left alive.

  Panties.

  Jesus fuck.

  Jangles couldn’t stop thinking about Hope being exposed. The thought clawed at him—it had been over twenty-four hours and his woman was in a tee and panties with a man who wanted revenge.

  Fuck.

  “There’s a black 4Runner waiting for you,” a man called Tex told him.

  “Black 4Runner,” Jangles relayed to Duff.

  Duff’s normal quiet had turned deadly, and over the last few hours, he hadn’t said more than a handful of words. So when he jerked his chin in acknowledgment, Jangles wasn’t surprised. As a matter of fact, none of them had said more than necessary. All talk had dwindled to mission specifics.

  “See it,” Jangles returned.

  “Good. I arranged for Drake to load you up with some extra firepower. Take a look and let me know if there’s anything else you need.”

  “Not sure Uncle Sam’s gonna reimburse you for any extra line items on your expense report,” Jangles noted.

  “Right. We’ll call it a gift then. Drake’s your man, anything you need, it’s yours. I’ll be in touch.” Tex disconnected and Jangles pocketed his phone and followed Duff to the awaiting SUV.

  “Which one of you is Merlin?” the man Jangles assumed was Drake asked.

  “Me.” Merlin stepped forward and his hand shot out and nabbed a set of keys Drake tossed.

  “Drake.” The man introduced himself. “Don’t know if Tex told you or not but you got new toys in the back.” Drake jerked his head in the direction of the SUV. “Lots of fun shit that goes bang. There’s also tracking devices back there. Do us a favor and wear them, yeah? It’ll save us time having to hack into the shit the Army’s outfitted you with. I’ll be your shadow, Tex will be our eyes. Brady’s on Team Two, he’ll meet up with Trigger when they land and take them to a different border crossing.”

  At first, Jangles had been unsure about working with the unknown Tex, even after Roe had boasted about the man. It wasn’t until his mentor Ghost called him and told him not only was Tex to be trusted, but he was the best at what he did. What Tex did exactly, Ghost didn’t elaborate, he’d simply said that Tex could get them anything, anywhere, and when shit hit the fan, Tex was their best option. So far, Tex had been precisely who Ghost had said he was—efficient, to the point, and damn helpful.

  Good to know.

  “Which one of you is Eleanor Bonham’s?” Drake asked.

  “If by hers, you mean which one of us is her man, that’d be me.” Woof scowled.

  To say that none of them was in the mood for a stop-and-chat would be the understatement of the year.

  “Got word while you were in the air, her phone was located. She was trying to get word to you when she was taken. Not that we need the confirmation, but it’s still good to have. Part of the message she’d gotten tapped out was telling you Demir was alive. She saw the Brit taken out and was trying to get to safety. Tex pulled the hotel’s footage. Facial rec confirmed the man who took her is a general in Demir’s KFA.”

  The Kazarus Freedom Army. What a fucking joke. Demir wasn’t as bad as some terrorists in that he didn’t bomb and kill innocent civilians, but he was still a fucking terrorist. A rebel against the current leadership in Kazarus. Jangles didn’t give the first fuck Demir was fighting for what he thought was the betterment of his country—all he cared about was getting Hope and the other women home safely and burying the asshole.

  “What else did the footage show?” Woof inquired with an enthusiasm that he’d lacked since they’d gotten word Nori had been taken.

  “Didn’t see it, but Tex said she put up one helluva fight and looked to be uninjured when they got her into the car.”

  That was good news, and as happy as Jangles was for Woof and Nori, it was time to get this show on the road.

  “You know where we're going?” Jangles asked Drake.

  The man didn’t bother to answer, he just turned on his heel and stalked away, which was the answer.

  “Let’s roll,” Merlin impatiently announced and went to the driver’s side of the SUV.

  The rest of the team piled in, and before they could buckle their seat belts, Merlin was pulling out of the airport.

  “This is my fault,” Nori announced, pulling Hope from her thoughts.

  For the last few hours, Nori had quietly paced.

  Hope conducted a lengthy search of the room, one that was useless because it was mostly empty except for five cots and a primitive bathroom in the farthest corner of their prison. There was a toilet, a sink like you’d find in a dirty gas station, and a white fabric partition for privacy. No sheets or pillows, just metal-framed, camping-style cots.

  No windows and one sturdy—Hope’s face had found that out the hard way, twice—locked metal door. Fluorescent overhead lights that illumined the space with a sickly, flickering light, and stone walls. Hope had used her time wondering if they could Shawshank their way out, alternately wondering if they were underground. Then she tried to remember how long it had taken Andy Dufresne to tunnel his way out. To the best of her recollection, it had taken Andy nineteen years. She didn’t figure they had nineteen years before Beau and the guys came looking for them. Probably not even nineteen hours.

  That both elated and scared the hell out of her. She didn’t want them getting hurt or worse—killed.

  So hearing Nori’s proclamation didn’t give Hope warm and fuzzy feelings.

  “It could be because of me instead,” Ivy said, and Hope looked at her.

  Destiny and Gwen were sitting close to Ivy on one cot and their eyes went to her, too. And there Hope was like she’d been most of her life, sitting alone, mostly removed from everyone else. Ugly jealousy she had no right feeling started to blossom. The others had always been nice to her when they’d come into the bar, and recently she’d struck up a friendship with Gwen, but still, it was no match for the bonds Gwen had with Ivy and Destiny.

  Feeling sorry for herself wasn’t going to help, and really, Hope only had herself to blame for the disconnect and she knew it.

  “Why would you say that?” Hope asked.

  “This wouldn’t be the first time I was taken because someone didn’t like my mother’s policies,” Ivy explained.

  “What? Who’s your mother?”

  “Senator Madeline Fremont.”

 
“Holy shit.”

  “No. We’re in Kazarus, at a compound a man named Onur Demir uses as a base of operations for his Freedom Army,” Nori told them.

  Destiny’s eyes got big and they flared with concern. Then she whispered, “Kazarus? The mission where you were shot?”

  “Yes,” Nori confirmed and straightened her shoulders as if she were waiting for one of them to lash out, or maybe agree with her.

  “Zip didn’t tell me the details, not even when Farid was after him. I didn’t know until after it all went down. But, Nori, none of this is your fault,” Destiny told her.

  “Wait, who’s Farid?” Hope asked, confused.

  “Farid Demir is Onur’s brother. He was sent to the U.S. to kill Zip.” Hope’s eyes widened at Destiny’s calm clarification.

  “You don’t understand,” Nori cut in. “They were here protecting me. We’re all in this mess because—”

  “Because some asshole kidnapped us,” Hope cut Nori off. “Is Onur the one who shot you? And I remember when someone was looking for Zip, I just didn’t know his name. That wasn’t on you, either. None of this is your fault.”

  “Jangles talks to you about his missions?”

  Hope sat up straight at Destiny’s tone.

  “He doesn’t give me specifics. But he was worried about Woof after Nori was shot. I mean, he was worried about Nori, too, but he said Woof was around-the-bend crazy.” Destiny and Gwen were giving each other a knowing look that put Hope on edge. “What? Why are you looking at each other like that?”

  “They don’t talk about their work,” Gwen told her.

  “He doesn’t—” Hope started to defend herself, but Gwen spoke over her.

  “What I’m saying is, they don’t talk about it with outsiders. You mean something to Jangles or he never would’ve told you about what happened to Nori.”

  Hope thought about what Gwen said and reckoned she was right. She still sat on her cot removed from the other women but suddenly she didn’t feel so alone. She meant something to Beau and she had for a long time.

  “If you knew the whole story, you’d understand,” Nori interrupted Hope’s musings.

  “Then tell us,” Hope invited. Nori’s torso jerked and she started to shake her head. “We’re locked in a room with no way out, we literally have nothing better to do than sort your head. You’re blaming yourself for something that is not your fault. I have lots of experience with that, twelve years of it actually. And it was just last night that Beau finally convinced me that maybe I’ve been holding onto some stuff that I shouldn’t have been. Don’t wait twelve years, Nori. Spit it out and unpack it. We’ll sit and listen, because hello, we got nowhere to go. Then we’ll take some time and convince you that we’re sitting here because some asshole has a vendetta against our men and you are not to blame for anything.”

  Nori continued to stare at Hope. When a second turned into five, Hope started to worry she’d overstepped. Hope didn’t have the first clue about being friends with women. She was used to men—they were easy, you said what you had to say, and that was it. Straight out, no bullshit, simple. But the way Nori was looking at Hope, she figured Nori didn’t appreciate her straightforward approach.

  “How’s your head?” Nori asked.

  “Um…better.”

  Nori’s lips twitched before she smiled outright and moved toward Hope. “Good. Scoot over, will you?”

  Hope skooched over and Nori sat down.

  “These are the highlights. I was sent in to negotiate…”

  Over the next little while, Hope hung on to Nori’s every word. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Hope had no idea Nori’s job was so interesting, but why would she—negotiating covert agreements with a rebel leader isn’t something you talk about to the woman serving you drinks. Beau had told her that Nori worked for the State Department, but nothing more.

  Hope also had no idea Nori’s job was so dangerous it necessitated armed guards all of the time, and a Delta team some of the time.

  “During our meetings, I couldn’t get a read on Onur. I felt like he wanted to do the right thing. He loves his country, but his love for his son outweighed everything else. Family is everything to him. His son had leukemia, he was dying, there was nothing anyone could do. I think deep down, Onur knew it, but he still kept those doctors and nurses hostage because he couldn’t bear to lose him. Then everything went to shit. And now, we have the perfect storm. Onur blames Zip for killing his son, he blames the rest of the team for killing his brother, and he wants them to pay. This isn’t about his country, freedom, or money. It’s about family.”

  Nori stopped speaking and closed her eyes. She wrung her clasped hands on her lap.

  “This is the room,” Nori muttered. “The room where Onur’s son died. The room where he held the doctors and nurses hostage.”

  Hope heard someone suck in a breath but her gaze hadn’t lifted from Nori’s hands. Her short, neatly manicured nails dug into her flesh, leaving little half-moon shapes as Nori clutched her hands together.

  “I’m sorry you were shot,” Hope lamely said and reached over to grab Nori’s hand. “I’m even sorry his son died. But it wasn’t Zip’s fault the boy had leukemia. It’s not their fault he kidnapped people. It’s not their fault that Onur’s brother died. And none of that is your fault. All of it is Onur’s. Except for the leukemia, that part’s not anyone’s fault.”

  “I agree,” Gwen said.

  “Me, too,” Ivy put in.

  “I’ll tell you what I think,” Destiny started. “I’m tired of men with the last name Demir fucking with my life. First, I finally reconnected with Trent after twelve years of avoiding him, only to have Onur send Farid to the U.S. to kill him. Then he had to go into hiding after we only had one date. Just one. And it was the best first date ever, but we hadn’t gotten to the good stuff before he was called back to Killeen. Then, Trent decided not to tell me there was someone after him. Then he got shot by a Demir. Then we broke up. It was bad, really bad, so bad I cried into my cookie dough ice cream, and Libby, my roommate, was getting ready to stage an intervention. So when I say I’m tired, I really mean I am done.” By the time Destiny was done with her rant, all eyes were on her and she looked positively pissed.

  “I’ve got a few years on you,” Nori said. “I lost fifteen with Heath.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Gwen gasped.

  “I did,” Destiny chirped. “They went to high school together like Trent and me.”

  “Well, I didn’t know either of those things,” Hope put in, and Nori squeezed her hand.

  “I was kidnapped on my first date with Duff,” Ivy chimed in.

  “It was more like your second date,” Gwen corrected. “Though your first date wasn’t all that great.”

  “Actually, some parts of that night were great,” Ivy rallied.

  “Blind date, right?” Hope recalled serving drinks to Ivy and Duff at the Ugly Mug on their first date.

  “Yeah. Gwen set us up.”

  “That was the first time I’d ever seen Duff smile,” Hope told her.

  Ivy looked like she was struggling with something before she said, “He didn’t have a lot to smile about. He was holding on to a lot of guilt about his wife dying.”

  “Duff was married?” Nori gasped.

  “Yeah. He married his high school sweetheart. She died on their honeymoon. Duff couldn’t save her and he let it tear him up for eight years.”

  “Oh my God. That’s horrible,” Destiny whispered.

  Hope fully understood holding onto guilt and pain. She knew what it was like to let the past tear you apart. Then she thought about Duff and how since he’d met Ivy she’d seen him smile more, and suddenly Hope felt lighter. If a man like Duff could let go of some of the pain to find happiness, maybe she could, too.

  Chapter 16

  Jangles took a breath in through his nose and exhaled. He couldn’t say his patience was waning because he had none left. He wanted to get to his woman
and get her safe. And while sitting his ass in the SUV for the last five-plus hours had gotten him closer to that goal, it wasn’t close enough and wouldn’t be until he had his hands on Hope.

  “Call it in,” Merlin barked, and Jangles knew he wasn’t the only impatient one.

  With each minute that ticked by, all of them were feeling the air thin. Every extra minute the women were with Demir, their chances of survival diminished. None of them were wet-behind-the-ears rookies. They knew the game, were intimately familiar with it, this wasn’t their first hostage extraction, it wasn’t even their first high-value rescue. But it was the first time the outcome would make or break them.

  One wrong move, one second too late, and one or all of their lives would forever be changed.

  Jangles sucked in another breath and exhaled, and much like the first, it did nothing to calm his nerves. They were close to the border-crossing, but not close enough.

  He grabbed his phone and made the call Merlin requested.

  “I see you,” Tex said by way of greeting. “The sheepherder’s clean—you’re good to go. But I’ve got concerns about that tunnel.”

  “What kind of concerns?”

  “Mainly, I don’t like that you’re coming out of it wide open. You got patrols on the other side. Before you exit, you need to check-in. The other issue I have is communication. Once you’re down there, we got dead air.”

  “Not the first time we’ve used this tunnel. Not even the second,” Jangles returned.

  “Right, which means the crossing isn’t a secret. You boys go underground, one of those patrols feels like getting nosy and enters from the other side, I’ve got no way to communicate that to you. Be smart and watch your asses down there. You’re clear to enter and call when you get to the other side. But do not come out without calling in first and let’s hope you get service.” Tex disconnected and Jangles quickly briefed the team.

  “Once we surface on the other side, comms will work,” Merlin assured the group. “And if they don’t…” His right shoulder shrugged and he continued, “I’m not waiting around for some satellite to pass by which means Gwen’s waiting even longer.”