Courage (Blackstone Book 4)

by J. L. Drake

  “Back Mirror, Black Mirror.”

  The man beside me froze, fiddled with something, then turned and shouted to his men to move, and just like that, they all headed out.

  I took a moment to settle my heartbeat and eased up to my feet. I stayed glued to the tree and listened for any sound. I pulled up the radio and clicked it to let Mike know I was ready to move out.

  The cold steel cut into my flesh right below my hairline. Blood ran down my brow and dripped from my lashes.

  “I smelled you, gringo. Your stink gave you away.”

  A blow to my knees had me face down on the ground. His hand grabbed a fistful of my hair and hauled me back up to my knees, and the blade found its way into the groove of the cut. Another two men appeared. One looked totally strung out, and one stepped up to me.

  “You thought you could outsmart us, but we outsmarted you. He was right to go for the young blood.”

  Who?

  The junkie scratched his neck wildly as his eyes shifted around, no doubt waiting for the rest of my team to emerge.

  “Scalp him already,” he hissed, and I noticed most of his teeth were missing. I tried to think of a way to escape, but I couldn’t see a good outcome.

  The one in command smiled at the junkie before he pulled out a GoPro camera and aimed it at himself. Then he rolled up his shirt and showed off his spiderweb tat with the seven in the middle of it to the camera. He then made a strange motion with his hands like a variation on how a Catholic would cross himself, then he turned the camera on me.

  “This is for you, Denton.”

  The shock of The American’s name blinded me momentarily as…zip, zip! A warm spray shot over my face, and the machete lost its pressure and tumbled to the ground along with its owner. I jumped to my feet and kicked the guy with the camera in the gut just as another bullet lodged into his skull. The junkie cowered on the ground, and I drilled my fist into his face and sent him backward and into the hot coals of a fire. I frantically felt my head to make sure I still had hair and breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I wish Trigger was here to see that.” Mike emerged quietly from the bushes. “You good?”

  I nodded, wiped some blood from my eyes, and shook off the last few moments. I wished I had time to process it all, but I knew we needed to get the hell out of there fast. Using the butt of my gun, I removed the camera and tucked the piece of old technology in my side pocket. I scooped up my gun and headed out with Mike on my heels.

  Thirty minutes into the jog, my mind still spun in about a billion and one different directions. It wasn’t until Mike’s fist hit my shoulder to get my attention that I jumped back into the present.

  “Clear that shit out of your head before we get there, Black. Whatever it takes, just do it.”

  I stopped and closed my eyes for a second and felt the gash that stung like a bitch whenever I moved my face.

  Mike took a seat on the ground with his weapon raised, ready to fire. He was giving me my moment.

  With an unsteady breath, I did the forbidden and pulled out the satellite phone and called home.

  “Logan,” Daniel’s voice rasped over the phone. No doubt he hadn’t left his son’s office since we’d left.

  “It’s Black.” I tried to keep my voice even, but it was a task.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m breaking protocol to clear my head.” I went with the truth. He knew I would never do that without good reason.

  “Okay,” he cleared his throat, “what do you need, son?”

  I wiped the blood from my eyes and let out another uneven breath.

  “I’ll go get her.” He read my thoughts.

  I glanced at Mike, who kept his gaze fixed on our surroundings.

  “John?” Sloane’s voice nearly brought me to my knees, and I wanted to grab her and use her body to anchor me. “John, are you there?” I heard her whispered concern to Daniel, and he told her to give me a second. “Okay, I’m here.” She was close to tears, and I fought to know what to say.

  “Marry me, Sloane,” I blurted. “I need you to say yes.” I choked back the rush of emotion that I never even knew I had inside of me. “Marry me,” I whispered again.

  “John,” she started to cry, “what is going on? You’re scaring me.”

  “Say it, Sloane. Please.” I just needed those three little letters to string together.

  She sniffed and gave me a happy laugh. “Under one condition?”

  “Which is?”

  “You come home in one piece, no dents, holes, or scary scratches.”

  I stared down at my bloodstained hands and let the pain of the day drain from me.

  “Deal.” It was that very moment that proved to me that Sloane was my other half in this life. I would take whatever punishment came along with making that call. I knew I needed it.

  “Then yes, Mr. Black, I would love to marry you.”

  “Good.” I sighed with relief and glanced my watch. “I have to go.”

  “Wait. John?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Just try your best to keep your promise to me.”

  “You have my word. I love you.” I hung up and headed back toward Mike with a clear head and a promise to keep.

  “Better?” I helped him to his feet.

  “Yeah.” I nodded, and we continued our hike toward our brothers.

  As a soldier, we were trained to be aware of every single thing that moved, made a sound, or even what didn’t. Our instincts were always on high alert, so when we grew closer to our checkpoint, we both tuned in to something dark, a feeling that warned us we were once again walking into the lion’s den. Mike’s tense body language told me he definitely felt it too. They were close.

  “Behind you!” Mike hissed, and I swiveled to block his swing, then wrapped my arms around the fucker’s neck and twisted him with such force his neck snapped in two places.

  “Never mind.” Mike chuckled and flung the extra gun over his shoulder.

  Cole’s voice came over the radio; he was using our old codes. We listened as we hunkered down just off the beaten path. His plan was to lure them to an area where we had the advantage. It seemed to work, as I could see movement and hear their progress. Now it was time to take out as many of these assholes as possible.

  “Three over there.” Mike pointed and further justified our haunted feeling. “Looks like seven there.”

  “Eight.” I pointed at one of the cartel, who about fifteen feet back, trying to sneak up on Keith’s blind spot.

  “Ready?” Mike’s gun rose as I followed suit. For once, we had the element of surprise.

  “Let’s light ’em up.”

  We used our ammo wisely, only firing when we knew we had the shot. Chamness screamed over the radio, shouting orders from his location. We consistently decoded what was being said to us and what was being said to the cartel. If this was the sixties, you would have thought it was something out of Vietnam. Bodies and blood everywhere, coating the forest and draping the leaves in their sins.

  I caught Cole’s eye, and he signaled for me to make the call. For the second time tonight, I made a satellite call that would seriously impact our lives.

  “The Eagle is fifteen minutes out,” I shouted, not wanting to risk the radios.

  “Copy that,” Keith shouted and sprayed bullets into a group of cartel who appeared suddenly.

  “I’m out!” Chamness called from behind me. I tossed him a clip and went back to providing him cover.

  “No matter what,” he coughed through the gunpowder that hung heavy in the air, “I want the leader.”

  “Ten-four, Chamness. You better make your move before the Eagle hits.”

  “I have a twenty,” Mike called. “He’s to your eleven.”

  “Go.” I raced through the trees and took cover behind a fallen trunk. I watched as Chamness dropped his weapon and went in for hand-to-hand combat with the man who had killed off more than half his team.

  We held the cartel off
, killing any of them we could see, until we heard the beloved sound of the chopper.

  “Move out!” Cole ordered, and we started to retreat, but I noticed Chamness wasn’t about to leave, and I wasn’t about to go back to the United States down another North Rock. I raced back toward him just as the first bomb hit and fire blasted through the trees. I grabbed Chamness around the vest and yanked him backward, my gun on the now bloody cartel leader.

  “Time to move!”

  “No!” he shouted and turned back to fight.

  Bomb! Another bomb hit, and this time it shook the earth below us, knocking us all to the ground.

  “Then finish him!” I shoved his weapon into his hands and watched as the cartel leader reached his arms out wide and laughed hysterically. Chamness planted a bullet directly into his mouth, and all laughter ceased. I grabbed his vest again and hauled him toward cover before the next drop.

  Screams filled the forest as we sat in cover a few yards back. I felt no pity; they deserved all they got and more. It was our turn. We were battered, bloody, and beyond exhausted, but we came to do a job, and that was just what we did.

  Though we had caught this group, we knew many more would take their place. They were vast and had endless money. We only hoped it would send a message that we would keep coming for them, and we would not be stopped. Not by anyone.

  ***

  I breathed a deep sigh of relief when we finally touched back on US soil. When I stepped out of the chopper on top of our mountain, I fell back and let the others go on without me. My phone alerted me that a message had come through, and I took a quick glance at the screen.

  Agent Collins: The situation has been handled. Your girl is now safe.

  Jesus, thank God. As much as I was relieved, there still was an unsettled feeling in my gut. Maybe it was nothing. I was just coming off the high of the mission. Either way, I decided I would conduct any further business through the Devil’s Reach from now on.

  John: As in, I’ll be hearing about it on the news?

  Agent Collins: Some things are better left unsaid.

  I pictured a hole dug in the middle of the desert and a pile of bodies left for the vultures. It wasn’t the most ethical move, but when it came to Sloane, I didn’t care.

  I quickly voiced my thanks and stepped away to intercept Cole.

  “Cole,” I stopped him, “we should talk.”

  “All right.” He dropped his duffle bag and folded his arms.

  “I know why we are being targeted. Well, rather who is targeting us.”

  “Who?” His eyebrow raised as he waited for my answer.

  “Denton Barlow, The American.”

  Cole’s whole body turned to stone, and I knew I had about five more seconds before he’d lose his shit—well, internally.

  “Just before this happened,” I pointed to my forehead, “the guy pulled out his camera, did some stupid pledge, and said, ‘This is for you, Denton.’”

  Cole shook his head slowly a few times as he digested the information then snatched up his bag and headed down the hill.

  “Black,” he stopped and looked back at me, “not a word to anyone.”

  “You have my word.”

  I took a long breath and tried not to show my concern to Cole. If Savannah ever got wind that The American was involved, I wasn’t sure what old wounds would surface and where they would take her.

  I followed Cole down the path to home.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sloane

  While everyone rushed to meet their loved ones outside, I held back a bit, unsure how I felt. True, they hadn’t called in that anyone was hurt, but I was still mentally scarred after what happened the last time they returned from a mission.

  I stood by the window and pulled back the curtain and watched as Savannah jumped into Cole’s arms. He buried his face into her neck then reached out to Livi, whose high-pitched squeals of “Daddy! Daddy!” as she ran from the porch blew her ladylike image right out the window.

  Lexi had Keith in quite the kiss, Mia was battling the boys to hug Mark, and Mike and Catalina had already disappeared down the path, but hearing her giggles as they went made me smile.

  Though the pain and worry were terrible when the guys left, their reunion when they got home was something spectacular.

  The bonds of love and family could be felt for miles around, and the house would be full of it tonight.

  “You all right, dear?” Sue found me by the window in the living room. She was so kind and mothering at the best of times.

  “Yes,” I wiped my wet cheeks dry, “just watching.”

  “You shouldn’t be watching. You should be out there.”

  “Yeah,” my legs were a bit shaky as I moved toward her, “I guess I should be.”

  “Sloane,” she held on to my shoulders as I got closer, “the truth is, that anxiety you feel never really goes away, so the best way to deal with it is by embracing all the times you have them in one piece in front of you. I see how happy you make my boy,” she smiled like she did whenever anyone brought up her Blackstone boys, “and I see how happy he makes you. Go, greet him, and remind him what he has waiting for him at home.” She leaned in and hugged me tightly.

  “Thank you, Sue.”

  She nodded toward the door, and I hurried to the front porch and stopped at the top of the stairs when I saw him. He looked worn out by the way his body moved coming down the hill.

  His eyes searched for me, and when they met mine, he looked directly at me, and his whole face broke into one of his famous John Black smiles. His dirty black t-shirt clung to his body, and his Army pants and boots looked incredibly sexy as he came closer. He stopped a few steps away and dropped his bag to study me then took a step closer.

  “Come here, baby.” He barely got the words out as I jumped into his arms. He held me while I let out a huge sigh of relief that he really was okay. “Yesss.”

  “Are you okay?” I kissed his neck and then his jaw but pulled back when I felt the bandage along his forehead. How had I not registered that?

  “I made the promise after it happened.” He chuckled lightly but stopped when he saw my worry. “I’m okay.”

  I shook my head, unsure of what to say. With one hand, he held me to him, and with the other he covered my hand that pressed to his face. “I’m…” His face suddenly lit up when he felt the diamond on my finger.

  He lowered me to the ground but kept our fingers entwined as he inspected the ring.

  “Livi found it. She insisted I put it on.” I tried to hide my smile. “You know she knows everything that goes on in this house.”

  “Yes, I’m very much aware.” He chuckled. “But, actually, I was in on this one.”

  “What?”

  “This was one of the worst trips I’d been on yet.” He breathed deeply, and I saw the weight he carried home with him. “I needed to know I had a plan in case something happened out there. Livi knew if it did, if something went badly, she was instructed to give it to you. I trusted her to know if the time was right. That girl always has her thumb on the pulse of the house.”

  I swallowed back the thought that something had gone badly. It wasn’t what he or I needed to think about right now.

  “So, how did she know to give it to me?”

  He nodded over my head, and I slowly turned to see Daniel grinning from the doorway.

  “Thanks, Daniel.”

  “Of course, son.” He gave me a wave before he wrapped his arm around his wife and closed the door.

  “Okay, so, I’m impressed.” My words trailed off when I heard the familiar huff of the fur ball. I stepped back just in time for Tripper to slam his body into John.

  To my shock and amusement, he fell backward and wrestled with the giant Shepherd, who growled and whined like he hadn’t seen John in a month.

  My heart swelled. I understood that need to love the people around you with all your heart and soul and to hold them tight with all your might. Once the reunion was
over and John was able to get to his feet, he grabbed his bag, wrapped an arm around me, and walked us down to the little Tin House.

  “Your turn…” He winked at me as we headed inside.

  We were tearing off each other’s clothes before we made it to the bottom of the loft stairs. John grabbed for my waist and turned me around and held my flushed face while I huffed out a hot breath of air. My wild hair covered half my face, and I flexed my legs instinctively.

  “You…” He paused like he couldn’t get his thoughts in order. “You got me out of there.”

  His eyes held the depth of the fear the mission had left lurking there. The mission was unlike most, as they were looking for their own, and there were still unanswered questions that may or may not haunt both of us for life.

  “You deserve better than…”

  “What?” My mouth dropped open at his sudden turn in conversation. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence, Black.”

  He grabbed my hand and held it up, and the white gold three-carat pear-shaped halo engagement ring glinted its promise.

  “You deserve a better engagement story to tell our kids than me calling you over the radio from the armpit of hell.”

  Kids…and there went my stomach.

  “How deep is that cut?” I joked as beads of sweat broke out across my neck.

  He bent down on the bottom step and hiked me over his shoulder. “I’ll make it up to you, but first,” he slapped my ass, “we need to practice makin’ some kids.”

  “Practice is the key word here.”

  I was swung around and tossed onto the mattress, and I waited for his body to cover mine, but it never came. When my eyes opened, the room was black, and the click of a remote brought my attention to the opposite side of the room.

  Stone Temple Pilots poured through the surround speakers. A strike of a match gave up his location as he lit a candle and set it on the dresser. As the flame moved down the wick, the light became brighter, leaving a perfect circle on the ceiling and casting shadows in all the right places on John’s lean body as he slowly removed his shirt.