Right. Sure, she would.
He rolled his shoulders, easing the tension. Why fight it? She’d only do her thing in spite of what he wanted. Her strength and stubbornness were some of the many things he loved about her. He paused. No tense correction there. He did love her past, present, future. Maybe one day she’d feel the same way.
“All right. I’ll let you use my NODs, but there’s no talking. No sound until we are back here at the bottom of the berm. Got it?”
The berm would block most of the sounds they made, but he couldn’t risk Jenna crying out if she saw something horrendous happening to the kids. Jenna gave him a thumbs up signal. She understood, but would she do what he said? Only if it suited her. That’s the way Jenna was built—she did things her way. Pulling the baseball cap off her head, he swapped it for his helmet with the night vision scope. It was huge on her. He pushed the helmet on as best as he could and adjusted the snaps under her chin.
As she climbed the hill, he shook his head. He could control a team of elite fighting men but this stubborn sweet thing was uncontrollable. Shit, how he loved her. He climbed up beside her. She was as flat as she could make herself. When she was ready, he pointed to where she should look.
CRAF guerillas were down there sitting around a campfire, smoking cigarettes and playing with their rifles. A couple of idiots stumbled around drunk already. Good. All the better to snatch and grab hostages from, you assholes. He hoped they would all be passed out, but knew the team wouldn’t get that lucky. A couple of guards leaned against the wall of a shack, wary and alert as if they sensed the team’s presence. Most people had a sixth sense that could “feel” eyes on them. These guards knew they were being watched.
He’d bet a thousand bucks the hostages were inside the shack.
Mack jabbed Charlie in the shoulder and made a signal toward the shack. Charlie used his infrared equipment and held up two fingers. Two people inside. Where were the others? Charlie scanned the area, slowly, checking for body heat signatures. No other shacks. No other captives.
Dammit! CRAF guerillas had split the Harmonds up. The snatch and grab had suddenly become significantly harder.
Jenna scanned the camp with his scope. He sensed her tense up, heard her short intake of breath. When he wrapped his arm around her back, she scooted closer until she was tucked under his armpit. Jenna was a warm and sweet smelling comfort in the midst of a scary night. She continued to watch the scene below them, unaware that he watched her.
*
Oh, God. The guerillas had a small army of men down there! Through the night vision goggles, Jenna saw that each one of those creeps was armed with military-style weapons. And what was that thing over there? A grenade launcher? How would her five guys fight all that? Guilt swamped her. If anyone on her team was injured…it would be her fault. Her guys could all be killed.
Why’d she call Mack? She should have let someone else handle this, the whole U.S. military, guys she didn’t know and love. But if she waited for the government to act, would there be anyone to rescue? The Harmonds might not survive.
“Mack and I will slip in and take out the two guards.” Tavon’s voice was so low she barely heard him. And what did he mean take them out? The image of Mack and Tavon slitting men’s throats and dragging them into the bushes popped into mind. Sweat rolled down her back.
“We’ll keep going until the guerrillas realize we’re not there to party. Then it’s balls all in.”
“I call the RPG launcher.” Willy’s voice had the charged up enthusiasm of a teenager calling shotgun. “And any unfortunate bastard who happens to be standing within ten feet of it. I’m going to light up Colombia like the Fourth of July. Hooya.”
“I’ve got those three.” Ty pointed. “They look like my cousin’s tribe. I hate those guys.”
Jenna listened with one ear as she scanned the camp. She was getting used to the strange green-light flatness of scene through the scope. Where were the Harmonds? No Jacob. No Anna. Only scary looking armed men. CRAF were either hiding the kids and their parents, or they were all dead. A little sound of anguish squeaked out before she could stop it.
Mack pulled her in closer, nearly covering her body with his. With her nose pressed into his vest she breathed in the smell of him. The leaves he’d stuck into the netting of his ghillie suit had a musty-jungle fragrance. She caught a hint of his sports deodorant too and remembered how much she loved that smell. Under all that was something better. It was a fragrance that had no better description than simply—Mack. The smell of his skin comforted her like a blanket of protection, wrapped in sex and love.
“You okay?” he whispered, so softly his lips brushed her ear. A tingle curled up her neck and into her scalp.
She nodded, taking another deep inhale. Unfastening the helmet, she handed it back to him. Jenna didn’t want to look at the CRAF army with their big guns and rocket launchers anymore. Everything seemed hopeless. Without saying a word, she maneuvered herself back down the berm.
Mack was quick to follow her down. “Jenna?”
She paced. “It’s impossible, isn’t it?”
“We’ve had worse odds.”
She flung her arm toward the CRAF’s camp. “How? Didn’t you see all those men? There’s no way. Those are killers out there! Lots of them.”
He took hold of her arms and looked into her eyes. It was dark, but she could still see the intensity in his baby blues. “It’s what we do, Jenna. I told you. My guys are the best. We have a plan and it will work.”
“What about the kids? I didn’t see Jacob or Anna. Do you think—?” She swallowed hard.
“There are two individuals inside the shack. I don’t know which two. It looks like they split the Harmonds up.”
“Why would they do that?’
“To increase their chances of success.”
“That means…” It felt like the blood drained out of her face. She reached for his hand, her fingers linked with his. “There’s another army of CRAFs guarding the other two hostages somewhere else?”
“Yes.” He adjusted the baseball hat on her head. “So the plan is, we strike fast and hard. We attack this camp and rescue the hostages in the shack before the assholes have a chance to notify the other group that we are coming. Then we rinse and repeat on the second CRAF group and bug out.”
No part of his plan sounded easy. Would either one of them survive this night?
“What do you want me to do? Should I cover you with the iPad?”
He chuckled softly. “You have no idea how funny that sounds. No, babe. You need to take cover. No matter what happens down there, you stay out of harm’s way. Got it? Charlie will stay behind to monitor the radio, CRAF, and relay intel we need. You stick near him. Even if the plan doesn’t succeed, you steer clear of the firefight. I need to know that you are safe.” He leaned closer and kissed the tip of her nose.
“I’m sorry I got you involved with this, Mack.”
“Hey, I’m not. I’m glad you called me.”
She brought his hand to her chest and pressed it against her pounding heart. “I missed you so much.”
“Me too, Jenna.” The soft reply turned her to mush.
“Promise you’ll come back to me.”
His teeth shone in the dark. “Always, babe.” He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips and climbed back up the hill.
Jenna was not good at relying on other people’s plans. And this plan, the one where her man sneaks into a hostile’s camp and gets himself killed, made her sick. Literally. Mack had barely left her side before she vomited in the bushes. She had to get a hold of herself or she’d be no help to Mack, the team, or the Harmonds.
“Three, two, one, execute,” Mack ordered.
She sucked in a deep breath as the men slipped over the edge and disappeared from her sight. Only Charlie remained to monitor the computer and radios. Jenna’s limbs were so weak from fear that she wondered if she’d be able to climb the hill again.
But she had to
. There was a rifle and an iPad next to Charlie. And she knew how to use them. Sort of.
Jenna wasn’t about to hide in the trees while the others risked their lives. That wasn’t the plan. If she could shoot a bad guy or two and help Mack, then dammit, she’d do it. The idea of killing flipped her stomach upside down.
She vomited once more, cursed herself, and started climbing.
“What’s going on?” She whispered to Charlie.
He jerked in surprise. “Jenna? What are you doing here?”
“I’m helping. I’m going to use the iPad and rifle.”
“Give me a minute and I’ll set you up.” He handed them over to her.
Charlie was distracted by something on the computer or maybe it was what he heard in his radio that bothered him. Even in the dark she could see his frown. Something wasn’t right. Her heart seized. Where were the guys? It was all quiet down below. Without the scope, she couldn’t make out any movements other than those of CRAF jackasses surrounding the campfire.
“Charlie? Where are they?”
He pulled his eyes away from the computer and pointed. There, there, there, and finally there. She squinted. No. She couldn’t see them. Unless…yes, a movement, slow and deliberate, a partial shadow. If Charlie hadn’t shown her where to look, she wouldn’t have seen a figure that looked like Willy. Once she blinked, she lost him again. The guys moved slowly as if they were hunters stalking animals, as in her mind, they were. They each had made veg fans from tree branches that they’d zip-tied together. Slowly, one of the team members would rise up in the middle of the fan, eyes barely peeking over, catch a peek at the enemy, and slowly melt back down again. This was going to take forever.
“Uh-oh.” Charlie pressed his earpiece down into his ear and listened intently.
Uh-oh? What did that mean?
“Charlie, what’s going on?”
He held up a finger. Quiet. Listening, he hunched over the computer so closely that he looked like he was going to kiss it.
Come on! What’s uh-oh? She wanted to shake him.
“Guys, I’ve got Spanish chatter,” Charlie said into the mic. “Computer shows three Humvees. Close and moving fast.”
More CRAF guerillas? Were they bringing the other two Harmonds to the camp?
“Doesn’t seem right, Mack. They’re coming in hard,” Charlie responded into the radio. “Not CRAF. Assume cartels.”
How she wished she still had Mack’s helmet so that she could see and hear what was going on. This was scary and maddening.
Charlie picked up something on his screen that made his eyes widened. He twisted his mic close to his mouth and shouted, “Bug out! Bug out! Cartel sonsofbitches with RPGs—!”
A high-pitched sound screamed through the night followed by an explosion. Charlie fell on top of her, smashing her face into the dirt. Another explosion rocked the ground beneath her. Her ears were still ringing, but she could have sworn she heard gunfire on the other side of the hill.
Charlie rolled off her. “Okay?”
Five years had been scared off her life. “Yeah. I’m okay.”
“Guys, where are you?” Charlie yelled into the mic. “Report!”
Another explosion hit closer this time. Jenna covered her head. Shrapnel and rocks rained down like dirty chunks of hail.
Oh, God, Mack! She closed her eyes and prayed.
“Report!” Charlie repeated.
Gunshots blasted through the campsite below like a crazy video game.
“Report, dammit!”
“Keep your panties on, Charles!” A figure hurled himself over the peak and landed next to Jenna.
“Willy!” She kissed his cheek.
He flashed his pearly whites at her. “Damn, Jenna, I’ll go back and come in again if you’ll give me one on the mouth. I’ll even do it ass first for a little tongue.”
She socked him in the shoulder. “Where’s Mack?”
“I don’t know but Ty’s right behind—” Ty Whitehorse flew over the peak of the hill and landed on Willy. “—ugh, I mean, on top of me. Get off, you crazy Indian!”
Ty rolled to the side. “Thanks for the cushy landing.”
Another round of explosions rocked the area and Jenna cried out, “Mack!”
“Did you see Mack or Tavon?” Charlie asked.
“Not me. I was focusing on taking out that launcher,” Willy said.
“The last I saw, they were stalking toward the shack,” Ty said.
They all lifted up slowly and peeked over the edge. No one came up the hill. What happened to Mack and Tavon?
“Um, guys. You should check this out.” Charlie pointed to the screen.
They eased back to look at the satellite images. Men were all over the campsite. Gunfire blazed and body after body fell. It was a war. Dear God, where was Mack?
“The shack is gone.” Charlie pointed to the satellite image. “Nothing left of it.”
Chapter Twelve
‡
Jenna couldn’t breathe. Her body was numb, and it felt like she’d been kicked in the head. Mack! She needed Mack. He had to climb up and over that hill and wrap his muscular arms around her or she was going to die. Here and now. Die. A high-pitched sound screeched through the night. Another RPG?
“Jeez, relax, Jenna.”
“Breathe,” Ty whispered.
The high-pitched squeak continued in her ears.
“You’ve got to get her to quiet down. I can’t hear the chatter,” Charlie said.
The guys were all talking to her at once. She had no idea she made the horrible whining until Ty got in her face and put his gloved hand over her mouth. “Look at me. Focus on my voice. Breathe.”
She did. His gloves smelled like metal and gunpowder.
“If I move my hand will you stop screaming?” Ty spoke softly as if she were a scared pony about to bolt.
She nodded.
“Good, girl.”
“I’ve got them!” Charlie’s voice rang triumphantly. Mack!
Jenna scrambled over to Charlie. “Where? Why doesn’t he come in? Get him to come in right now!”
“They’ve got the hostages. Hang on. What do you need, Mack?” Charlie listened for a long hard beat. “Yeah, okay. Ty, come here.”
Ty scrambled over to Charlie’s radio.
“I’ve got Mack on the line. They pulled the hostages out of the shack in time. A minute later and he and Tavon would have been flattened. He needs you to talk to the hostages.”
Jenna frowned. “Why Ty?”
Charlie handed the headset over to Ty and answered her question. “Because we rescued the wrong hostages.”
“Mack doesn’t have the Harmonds?”
“No. He’s got two cartel big-wigs. CRAF kidnapped them for some sort of leverage in the Coke War. Apparently, the cartel wants them back.”
Jenna’s jaw dropped. The guys could have been killed and the Harmonds weren’t even down there? Where the Harmonds still alive? “Where’s my family?”
“That’s what Mack is trying to find out. He and Tavon have the two men sequestered behind a thick grove of trees in the jungle.”
Ty spoke Spanish into the mic, speaking quietly. He calmed the hostages down, just as he had calmed her. Ty had a gentle way with people.
Jenna was fluent and wished she could hear what the men were saying on the other end, but more than that, she desperately wanted to hear Mack’s voice through the radio. “Can you turn it up a little, Charlie?”
He did.
Mack said, “Ask them if they saw the Harmonds.”
Ty did and the hostages responded that they had earlier that morning. There were two men, a woman, a young girl and a boy.
Two men? Was one of them Andrew?
“Ask them which way they went,” Mack said.
Ty did and there was some discussion between the two men. “North” was the final answer.
“Ask them if anyone was injured—.” Gunfire cut off Mack’s words.
“Oh cra
p, CRAF spotted them.” Charlie was behind her. “Mack, get out of there!”
A barrage of gunfire exploded out of the earpiece. Ty yanked it away from his head.
“Tavon! Holy Shit!” Mack yelled. “Tavon’s down. Hostages down. I returned fire. Got six of them.”
“Mack!” Jenna yelled.
Charlie grabbed the radio from Ty’s fingers. “Mack. Take cover. That was just the beginning. Butt-load of firepower coming your way.”
“Where are they?” Willy stared at the satellite image. “I’m going in!”
“Right behind you!” Ty said and the two of them dove over the peak.
Jenna stared at Charlie. He looked as stunned as she felt. An expression that her dad used frequently exploded out her lips. “Whisky Tango Foxtrot!”
Too many things were going through her mind. Was Mack okay? Would he be able to protect himself? Would the guys get him out of there before CRAF caught up to him? She swore right then and there that she’d kiss Willy hard if he rescued Mack. And she’d kiss Ty too. But Mack, Lord, she’d show him how glad she was to see him when she got the chance.
What about Tavon? He’d been shot. Was he going to make it? He was her least favorite of the group, but Mack cared for him and that was enough for her. She prayed that Big T. was going to live to glare at her another day.
And…the Harmonds. She prayed for them too. They were still out there somewhere, lost in the jungle. Wow, how naïve she had been to think that she and a group of SEALs could walk right in and take them out. It was an impossible task to rescue hostages in the midst of the Coke War. CRAF and the cartels were blood-thirsty savages hell-bent on slaughtering each other. Fine and dandy. After they shot at her guys and scared her to death? She wanted the U.S. to wipe them off the face of the earth. But not until Mack, the Harmonds, and her boys were all strapped in their helicopter seats and heading for Quito.
“What’s happening?”
A fierce round of gunfire over the radio stole the words from her as fiery bullets ripped the jungle to pieces.
Charlie studied the LST. “Oh two hundred. Two hostiles. Yes! Got ’em.”
SEALs of Summer: Military Romance Superbundle - Navy SEAL Style Page 91