SEAL's Spitfire (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Black Eagle Book 1)

by Lynne St. James

  “I agree. Considering she was their best chance at negotiation I don’t understand why they had the “b team” in charge,” Rafe added.

  “Actually, he wasn’t the “b team,” Hibatullah was the brother of Azfaar, the local commander,” Jake said as he pulled his map out of his pack.

  “He’s not going to be a happy camper when he finds out his brother is dead.” Ryan smiled. He was the most bloodthirsty of the group when it came to the Taliban, but he had good reason for his hatred.

  “So, what’s the plan, boss?”

  “If Miranda is okay to travel, we’re going to rescue the other hostages.”

  “Where are they?” Rafe asked, and Jake put the map on the cave floor and pointed out their current location. “Hibatullah said they were in these mountains, about twenty klicks northwest.”

  “Do you think he was telling the truth?”

  “I do. By then he was pleading for us to just take the girl and let him go. If we’d have been able to make EXFIL we’d have taken him with us. But I couldn’t chance leaving him alive to alert his brother.”

  Rafe didn’t want to think about his kills. There had been many over the last ten years for each of them, but they did what was necessary to carry out their mission. They would have gladly given their lives it if meant protecting their country. It made him think of Meghan. He wasn’t even sure if she was back in DC at work or still in Atlanta. Either way, at least she was safe and hopefully soon her brother would be too.

  “Did he say anything about additional men? Or supplies?”

  “No. He went from screaming obscenities to pissing himself. But it wouldn’t surprise me if there were more men coming.”

  “Did he have a standard check-in time?”

  “He said no, but I took his phone, so we’ll know as soon as his brother figures out we’ve got Miranda.”

  “Hopefully not until we’re breathing down his neck. I’m still concerned he’ll take out the rest of the hostages,” Rafe said. He sure as hell didn’t want to have that conversation with Meghan.

  “He’d be pissed but he still reports to someone higher up the food chain. If he takes out their payday, he’ll have to answer for it.”

  “True. Do we know who he reports to?”

  “Hibatullah said he didn’t know.”

  “Copy that.”

  “We’re good, boss,” Murph announced as he approached them followed closely by Cam, Halo, and Miranda. She was holding her side as she limped along. Her face looked like hell.

  “Good. How is she?”

  “She’s got a couple of broken ribs, a bruised knee, and we need to follow concussion protocol, they did a number on her head and face.”

  “Can she walk?”

  “I can. I won’t hold you up. I just want to get out of here. Please don’t leave me.”

  “Darlin, we’d never leave you,” Cam said before Jake had a chance to respond. Rafe and Murph exchanged looks and Murph shrugged his shoulders. There was a story there and he’d get it out of Murph later.

  “We don’t leave anyone behind, Miranda. You’ll be safe with us. But you need to let us know if you’re hurting. We have medical supplies and we can give you something for the pain.”

  “Thank you. But I want to have my wits about me. There were others and I know they’re coming back. I don’t want to be here.”

  “You won’t. We’ll be leaving shortly. Ryan, check her out, see if you can do anything to make her more comfortable.”

  “Sure thing.” As Ryan led her over to one of the chairs used by the guards, Jake turned to the others.

  “I’m checking in with TOC to give them the update on Miranda. Hopefully, they have more intel, but if not, we’ve got a twenty click hike to the location of the other hostages based on what Hibatullah told me. If she can’t walk, we’ll take turns carrying her.”

  “Copy that.”

  “TOC may not like it, but we’re stuck waiting to be extracted until nightfall. Might as well make use of our time.”

  It was the same decision he’d have made if he was in charge and Rafe was relieved. Even if he didn’t have a connection to one of the hostages, they were Americans and they couldn’t leave them behind. It would have gone against everything he believed in.

  Jake moved away to contact command while the rest of the team watched Ryan perform a triage assessment on Miranda. Rafe winced when Ryan lifted her pant leg and exposed the black and purple lump that had been her knee and shin.

  “What the fuck did they do to her?” Cam muttered low enough so she wouldn’t hear him.

  “They wanted to make sure she couldn’t make a run for it if she managed to get away. It’s SOP in situations like this,” Murph answered. “She must have given them a hard time, or I doubt they would have roughed her up since they were using her for a trade.”

  “There’s no way she’s walking on that leg.” Rafe wasn’t sure how she’d managed to walk out of the cave on it.

  “Agreed,” Jake said. “We’ll take turns carrying her. I figure we have a couple of hours before Azfaar will call his brother. When I checked his phone, Hibatullah had a call just before we breached. We may have gotten lucky.”

  “What did TOC say?”

  “Nothing we don’t already know. They are sending the drone to the location Hibatullah gave us to see if they can get confirmation that the hostages are there.”

  “The captain isn’t thrilled. I don’t think he believes we couldn’t make the EXFIL.”

  “I guess we should have sent pictures of her wired up to the chair,” Murph groused. “It was a bitch to disarm. Whoever rigged that sucker didn’t intend for her to get out of it.”

  “They were going to get confirmation of the hostage release and then just leave her there?” Cam asked.

  “Most likely. It’s not like we haven’t seen it before. That’s why we don’t do deals. You’re still new, wait a few more years.”

  “There is one other thing,” Jake said as he met Rafe’s eyes. “There has been an escalation of Taliban activity near Bamyan. They shot an employee of the British Embassy, but he was found alive—barely—by a patrol. He told them that he was traveling with a woman. An American journalist. They took her.”

  If his heart could have stopped at that moment, it would have. He didn’t need Jake to confirm it, he knew with his whole being that the journalist was Meghan.

  “Do we know where they’ve taken her?”

  “No, but if I had to guess we’ll find her with the other hostages. Tex got a message to TOC that she was heading there to interview Azfaar and hopefully secure their release. He also had a message for you, said to tell you he was sorry. Your woman has a set of balls on her. I’ll give her that.”

  A deep bone-chilling cold spread through Rafe’s chest. Cast iron balls or not, after he rescued her, he was going to kill her for putting herself in danger.

  “Who are we talking about?” Murph asked.

  “Rafe’s woman. The one he met in the airport,” Ryan responded.

  “What was she thinking?”

  “She wasn’t, not clearly at least. She wanted to rescue her brother,” Rafe replied. “He’s one of the other hostages.”

  “Do you mean Charlie’s sister, Meghan, came here?” Miranda asked.

  “Yes. Meghan Henley.”

  “I met her once before we left. She’s amazing.”

  “Yes, she is,” Rafe said through gritted teeth.

  “Tex also said that her tracking device is still active.”

  “What tracking device?”

  “The one he put in the phone he sent to Meghan to bring on her trip. He said the signal was moving toward the location we got for the other hostages.”

  “I may have to fly up there and kiss that man when we get back. Then I’m going to kick his ass for putting my woman in danger.”

  Jake actually laughed. “From what he said, and what you’ve told me, I don’t think either of you stood a chance against her.”

&nb
sp; This time Rafe smiled though he was sure it looked more like a grimace.

  “Are we going now? I’m ready,” Miranda said, and they all turned to look at her. She was quite a woman. After all, she’d been through, she was ready to go help rescue her friends. Most of the women he’d met would have been crying and begging to go home.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Jake answered as he scooped her into his arms. “But you get to ride.”

  “I can walk.”

  “Sure, you can, but we can move a lot faster this way. We have a lot of terrain to cover.”

  “Won’t I slow you down having to carry me? It’s not like I’m a sack of potatoes.”

  “You won’t. We train for this all the time. Just hold on and let me know if you’re in pain.”

  Miranda nodded but didn’t say anything.

  “Cam, you and Halo take point.”

  “Copy that.”

  Silently they moved across the hills keeping to the shadows and brush hoping to avoid detection. It would have been faster without Miranda, but no one complained. They switched who was carrying her every half hour. Ryan gave her an injection for the pain and thankfully, she slept through most of it. With her broken ribs and being carried and moving at the pace they were, it would have been extremely painful.

  It had been just over two hours since they’d set out for their new location when Jake gave them the signal to stop. They crouched in place and waited. Rafe could see his lips moving but he was speaking so low he couldn’t make out what he was saying. Then his voice whispered in his ear.

  “I just got an update from TOC. We have confirmation of the hostages’ location. They’re in a compound about five klicks from here.”

  “Did they say anything about Meghan?”

  “No, but we’re going on the assumption that she will be with the other hostages.”

  “Copy that.”

  “When we get within range of the compound, we’ll do some recon and come up with our plan.”

  “Okay, boss.” Rafe hated not having confirmation of Meghan’s location, but Jake was right. It made sense that they’d bring her to the same location as the other hostages. He prayed they hadn’t hurt her or worse. The Taliban were irrational fanatics and trying to anticipate their next move was like playing whack-a-mole.

  Love at first sight had been a joke to him, something they wrote about in books. How could anyone really fall for someone right away? Lust yes, but love? He’d never have believed it possible until his eyes met hers in that airport. It was like lightning struck and even then, he hadn’t believed it. Not until he held her on the plane. From that moment on he knew he’d never let her go. Since then her beautiful face and full lips have haunted his dreams. He ached to hold her, to make love to her, to wrap her up and keep her safe for the rest of their lives. God help anyone who hurt a hair on her head.

  By the time they were within range, it was just after noon and the sun was high in the sky. As they made their way through the hills toward the compound, they’d had to stop when Miranda woke. Rafe had been carrying her, when she got restless. He checked her pulse and discovered she was burning up with fever. Ryan gave her a shot of antibiotics and cleaned her wounds. They had no choice but to continue on and pray that she’d survive until they could get her medical attention at the base.

  Cam had been the only one who hadn’t taken a turn carrying her since he’d been on point with Halo. Now that they were within striking distance of the compound, he held on to her like he’d never let her go. Rafe recognized the look on Cam’s face even if the kid didn’t realize it yet. Miranda was going to have a lot to deal with when she got back home, and he hoped that Cam would be able to give her the time she needed to heal.

  Jake updated command on their current location and Miranda’s condition. Then he got the latest intel from the drone reconnaissance. At this point, they had no idea how many tangos were waiting for them or where they were holding the hostages. They’d go in blind if they had to, but Rafe was really hoping they’d have something for Jake.

  “Do you want the good news or bad news first,” Jake asked.

  “Good.”

  “We think we know where they’re holding the hostages, and from the heat signatures it looks like Meghan is with them.” Relief poured over Rafe like a waterfall, but it was only temporary.

  “And the bad news,” Murph asked.

  “They are on the second floor with only one way in or out and it’s heavily guarded. TOC said there are at least fifty tangos at the compound.”

  “Well fuck me running,” Ryan said with a sigh. “What’s the plan?”

  “For you? You’re staying with Miranda. You’ll be able to keep her stable.”

  Rafe knew Ryan was disappointed. He practically drooled at any opportunity to kill members of the Taliban. But he was also the most qualified to treat Miranda.

  “Okay, Boss.”

  “We’re going to get some help with air cover. The plan is to deliver a few presents to our friends. It should draw them away from the hostages so we can move in and grab them.”

  “It could work,” Rafe acknowledged. “Getting in is one thing. What’s our plan to get them out of there?”

  “That’s where the bad news comes in.”

  “You mean the fifty tangos wasn’t the bad news?” Cam asked.

  “No. The bad news is we don’t know the condition of any of the hostages and we have to get them here,” Jake pointed to a spot on the map. “That’s where they’ll have the chopper waiting for us.”

  Rafe studied the map, it had to be at least two klicks from the compound. If more than a few of them were injured it was going to be a clusterfuck.

  “They can’t get in any closer?”

  “Too dangerous.”

  “What if we blow up the whole compound once we’re clear. Then they could land here,” Rafe said as he pointed to a spot about eight hundred feet from the compound’s walls.

  “That could work. Let me talk to the captain. In the meantime, you and Murph find the best entry point.”

  “Okay.” Anything was better than sitting and waiting. Knowing Meghan was just out of reach and possibly hurt was a distraction, one he couldn’t afford with so many lives on the line.

  The brush was sparse, making it difficult to stay out of sight as they scoped out their options. There were only two entry points, the main gate with four guards or the rear gate. The rear entrance would be the better option, but it was further from the main building where the hostages were located. The Taliban soldiers might run when the bombing started, or they might stand their ground which would make it impossible for them to get in without being seen. They’d need a plan B and probably plan C if things went as usual.

  “What are you thinking,” Murph asked.

  “I’m thinking we need to set some remote detonations in the compound in case they don’t run when the bombing starts.”

  “Near the rear guard shack and the outbuilding on the left?”

  “Exactly.”

  Before Rafe could hit his com, Jake’s voice whispered in their ears. It was as if Jake read their minds, but then he knew them as well as they knew themselves.

  “Eagle 2, sitrep.”

  “Rear entry is the best option. But we’ll need a distraction if the bombing doesn’t draw out the tangos. We want to set some remote devices.”

  “Copy that. Get back here and we’ll discuss.”

  “We can do it while we’re here.”

  “It’s too soon. We’re not ready if you get spotted.”

  “Copy that, Eagle 2 out.”

  Rafe took one more look through his field glasses to see if he could locate any of the hostages but there was no sign of them.

  Chapter 16

  Thirsty, hot, and nauseated from the smell of blood and sweat from the hood they’d put over her head, Meghan wished she could take back every mean thought she’d had while traveling with Waltham.

  The men in the back of the truck laughed and poked
her occasionally as they chatted back and forth like they were on some kind of a joy ride. No one had said a word to her after they’d shoved her into the back of the armored truck. Did she wish she’d listened to Rafe? Hell yeah. But she knew that if she’d waited for the state department to do anything, they’d probably never see Charlie alive. Did it stop her from being terrified that they were going to shoot her or worse? Nope.

  There should be some kind of kidnapping one-oh-one class. Her self-defense classes taught her how to handle herself in case she was grabbed on the street, but nothing prepared her for this. Somehow, she doubted that trying to make them see her as human would help since they had such a low opinion of women.

  They hit a large bump in the road, and she got knocked into the side of the truck. It reminded her how badly she had to pee. While she argued back and forth with herself about trying to talk to the men, the vehicle slowed and then stopped. The clank and squeal of the metal door opening sent a shiver of fear down her spine. Huddling against the cold metal side of the truck, she curled into herself as much as possible hoping they’d forget about her. The dark made everything more intense and her heart beat so fast it sounded like drums pounding in her ears. She needed to calm down. To listen and figure out her surroundings if she wanted to get out of there alive. Forcing herself to focus, she took slow, deep breaths.

  “Come.” Meghan wondered once again if they knew any other words in English. One of the men grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the truck and let her fall to the ground. Trying to stand with her wrists and ankles still zip tied was difficult. It must have been taking her too long because he yanked her arm and pulled her to her feet. It took everything she had not to burst into tears. There was more shouting, and the hood was pulled from her head. She took huge gulps of fresh air and her nausea subsided. Then the ties on her wrists and ankles were cut off sending shooting pains up her arms and legs as the blood flow returned.

  “Open your eyes,” a heavily accented voice commanded. Meghan slowly lifted her eyelids, but it was too bright after the hours under the dark hood. It took a few times before she was able to keep them open in the light.