Jenna leaned over Charlie’s shoulder. She watched several bright blobs on the screen converging toward one. Mack?
“Oh four hundred! Three!” Charlie instructed. Boom, boom, boom. “That’s it, Mack!”
Suddenly, there were three less blobs on the screen. Mack had put their lights out.
“Charlie! Look!” Seven men were fanning out, coming in closer, and surrounding Mack. Four in the front three behind.
Jenna wanted to grab that LST and scream at Mack, “Run, sweetheart, run!”
But Mack didn’t run. Not from anything. Especially if Tavon was down and needed protecting. With her heart in her throat, all she could do was watch and pray for a miracle.
“Careful, Mack, you’re surrounded,” Charlie warned.
The gunfire that followed was loud and terrifying. World War III erupted down there. Covering her ears, she silently screamed. She had to do something! The iPad. Grabbing the rifle next to Charlie, she powered up the iPad, hit the button for Target Guided Shooting and did as the robot’s voice commanded.
Paint the target with the laser. Which one? Through the scope, she picked out the guy who was closest to her and mentally crossed her fingers. Oh, God. Deep breath in, partially out, hold it, pull the trigger.
Boom. The rifle jerked back in her hands. The figure fell face forward into the ground. He never got back up.
Charlie swiveled around to face her. “Dang! That was you?”
She nodded as horror washed over her. Did she kill a person?
“You got one! All right, Jenna. Get back up here and try again.”
She swallowed hard. Could she do it again? Her hands shook, and her thoughts spun down a dark ugly hole. She’d killed a man. Did he have kids at home? A little girl who would miss her daddy?
“Behind you, Mack! Watch your six.” Charlie yelled into the headset. “Oh three hundred, three guys.”
Jenna didn’t wait to hear more. She painted another target, took a deep quivering breath, let it halfway out, and—
Boom!
She didn’t pull the trigger. An explosion went off in CRAF camp that resembled the end of the world. The earth shook. She was knocked backward halfway down the hill. The flash was so bright that Jenna could still see it through her closed eyelids. She scrambled to find purchase and scoot herself back up to Charlie.
“What happened?” She asked Charlie, but he didn’t hear her. Gunshots stole her words. Jabbing Charlie in the arm, she lifted her hands in the universal “What in the hell was that?” hand signal.
Charlie grinned. When he spoke she read his lips. “Willy’s Special.”
She leaned over and looked at his LST. There were only four hot bodies out there now. Did they have their arms around each other?
Turning her face toward Charlie, she mouthed, “My boys?”
Nodding, he pointed to the four fiery blobs lighting up the screen. They were on their way back. “All clear. Enemy obliterated.”
She didn’t bother wiping at the tears streaming down her face. Her green make-up was bound to be smeared all over the place. Her boys were okay. Thank God. Jenna crawled over the peak of the hill and slid on her butt to the bottom. She surprised the guys and they all stopped walking.
She ran for Willy first.
“Jenna! What are you—?” he started to say.
She didn’t give him a chance to finish. Grabbing his green-painted face, she kissed him with a resounding smack.
“Whoa,” he muttered.
Tavon held his arm at the elbow. Gently, she placed her lips on his cheek. “I promised Mack I wouldn’t kiss him.”
“Shit. Did not expect that.” Tavon laughed. “Hey, my arm feels better.”
“I didn’t promise that I wouldn’t kiss you guys.” Tugging on Ty’s braid, she brought his face toward her and planted a sweet kiss on his lips.
“Well, now, isn’t that a nice welcome—?” Ty started to say.
He was cut off when Mack growled, “Jenna! What in the hell—?”
“Sorry, Mack. I’m breaking my promise.” She leapt into his arms. Wrapped around him like an amorous spider monkey she sealed her lips to his. She hadn’t given Willy her tongue as he’d asked for. Nope, she’d saved that treat for Mack. She plunged in. All her fears, relief, and love poured into him. After a long, delicious, minute she pulled away. He was breathless. She didn’t care if she ever breathed again.
“Holy shit,” he whispered.
“Sincerely. Makes a guy want to go out there and shoot off another Willy’s Special.” Willy winked. “I’ll do it, if I get a kiss like Mack’s.”
Ty and Tavon both slugged him.
Mack carried Jenna toward a grove of trees. “We’ll be back in a few minutes. Jenna and I have some unfinished—”
Her lips stole his words. It didn’t matter. The guys all knew what he meant.
*
They barely made it to the trees. Not because Jenna was heavy but because he couldn’t wait anymore. He had to kiss her away from the guys, away from the battle. Just the two of them here and now. Pressing her back against a tree, he buried his face in her neck. She smelled sweet and felt so good. He wanted her so bad.
“Mack, I thought…Oh, God, if anything ever happened to you…” She trembled in his arms.
Pressing his forehead to her’s, he gazed into her eyes. Damn, was she crying? “I’m here.”
“I wouldn’t survive it, Mack. I swear.” The moon’s light filtered through the trees just enough that he could see the sadness and want in her face.
His hands dove into her hair. It was on his tongue to say that he’d never leave her, but promises made during war were not always kept. And he wouldn’t lie to her.
“I’m here,” he repeated. It was the best he could do.
Gently, he placed his lips to hers. His heart pounded harder than it had back at the guerilla’s camp. Soon they were both working to catch their breath. He wanted her a thousand different ways. Even though he would have given his left nut to be able to lie down on a bed of leaves and make love to Jenna all night long, he didn’t have that luxury.
“We’d better catch up with the guys,” he said.
She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and nodded.
He bent down and picked up the cap that had fallen off her head. Lifting her hair off her shoulders, he let the soft strands fall through his fingers before he pulled it back into a loose knot. Placing her cap back on her head, he looked deeply into her eyes. “You are so damned beautiful.”
She caught his hand and pressed it to her cheek. “I thought I’d lost you.”
He didn’t know if she meant out there at the CRAF’s campsite or eighteen months ago. It didn’t matter. The crack in her voice did funny things to him. Heat punched deep inside and melted his heart like an old piece of chocolate.
“You didn’t.” While adjusting his H-gear—the chest-harness that carried his magazines and other shit—the truth pounded through his mind. Call it the eternal truth. “You can’t. I’m not going anywhere.”
“You mean it? After this is over, we can start again?”
He would be a damned fool to put his heart in her hands. Jenna Collins was a flight risk, a destroyer, a Mack killer. Leaving him eighteen months ago was a real whammy, worse than any of the surprise attacks his instructors pulled in BUD/S training. He never wanted to go through that again. But when she looked at him like that with heat and need, he had to take the risk.
“What do you think we’ve been doing?” he asked.
Lieutenant Commander Mack Riley had been called many things. In the dark, thick jungles of Colombia he added damned fool to the list. But he was happy. For this two seconds, anyway. He’d deal with tomorrow if they survived the night.
He opened his hand for her to take. She placed a warm kiss on the tip of his thumb and laced her fingers with his as they walked back to the team.
*
The guys were ready to move by the time Mack helped Jenna up
the hill.
“That was fast.” Willy’s eyes twinkled with mischief.
“Careful, William. He’s going to kick your ass,” Charlie warned.
“Really, really fast,” Willy teased. “Super-speed. Like I barely blinked and you were done. Like a teenager, Mack. Maybe you and I better have a talk about how to please a woman.”
“Shut up!” Mack growled.
Jenna ignored the comments and the half-chuckles as she passed the Handly brothers. Those boys were hot, no question about it, but they couldn’t hold a candle to Mack. She still felt the flames licking her insides from her brush with his fire. She wanted more. When this was all over, she’d love Mack for all she was worth. And never stop.
She went straight to Tavon. “How’s your arm? Can someone shine a flashlight over here so I can see the injury?”
Charlie gave her his flashlight.
“Ty took care of it.” Tavon turned his massive arm toward her. It was all bandaged up and still bleeding. Obviously much more than a flesh wound.
She winced. “It looks like it hurts.” She flashed the light all over his large frame. “Your arm. Is that the only place you were shot?”
“Nah. I took three to the chest. Those bastards just knocked the wind out of me. I’d be sharing a beer with my Maker right about now if not for the body armor.”
It was strange and horrible to talk about death so easily like it was an everyday occurrence.
“Your arm’s still bleeding! Are you going to be able to use it?” Mack was getting a good look at Tavon’s wound for the first time.
Tavon tried to lift the arm but it didn’t move. “Damn, guess I’m going to have to be a lefty.”
Mack cursed. “Have you ever shot with your left hand?”
“A few times.” Tavon’s face was grim in the light.
“Did you hit what you were aiming at those times?” Willy asked.
Tavon shook his head. “Not exactly.”
The guys all cursed.
“This night is turning to shit.” Mack swiped at his forehead. “It was risky before. I’m not sure how we are going to handle this without Tavon in top shape.”
“I can help.” All eyes were on her. “Ask Charlie.”
Charlie looked up from his LST. “Yep. She took out one of the insurgents. I can hook her up with the smart weapon. She’ll be almost as good as Tavon.”
“No,” Mack said. “Absolutely, not.”
“You need me.” The memory of shooting a stranger rolled through her. Had she really killed a man? That CRAF guy must not have worn body armor, or her shot had been exceedingly lucky. She could still see him falling face forward into the ground. The hair on the back of her neck lifted.
“It’s too risky.” Mack put his hand on her neck and the hair instantly settled down.
“I want to do this,” she said softly. “We’re running out of time. Let me do it.”
Mack’s cell buzzed. “Dammit. The man is persistent. It must be a family trait.” His eyes cut toward her. “I’ll be right back. You guys research the trail.” He pulled out his cell and stepped away into the darkness.
“So? Am I in, or not?” Jenna asked the guys.
Chapter Thirteen
‡
“Where in holy hell have you been?” Admiral Collins’ voice roared through the phone.
Mack winced. “Colombia, sir. My team is in the process of tracking and rescuing hostages as you ordered.”
“Don’t chap my balls, son. I ordered you to keep my daughter safe at home. Where is she?”
Mack tapped his forehead. Think. Come up with something good.
“Lieutenant Commander! Answer the question.”
“Yes, sir. She’s with me.”
Admiral Collins sucked in a sharp breath. “In war-zone-freaking Colombia?”
“That is correct. Sir.”
Admiral Collins could rip a man’s head off better than best of them. Mack waited patiently for his punishment. Instead of a brutally long tongue-lashing, there was a split moment of silence. Dropped call? Could he be that lucky?
“I will deal with you later. For now, listen.” The voice coming through the phone was sharp and serious. “You need to get out of there. All of you. Now!”
“But sir, we’re closing in on the hostages—”
“At this point, I don’t give a rat’s bunghole about the hostages. You get in that helo and fly. Hear me?”
How could he not? The admiral was shredding holes in his eardrums.
“Jenna won’t want to leave without the Harmonds.”
“Make her! At gunpoint if you have to.”
The admiral was lucky that Mack wasn’t standing toe-to-toe with him. “I will never point a weapon at Jenna. You hear me? Give me a damned reason to convince her to leave without her clients, and I’ll consider shutting down the mission!”
Admiral Collins sucked in a breath. “All right. You don’t have the clearance, but I say you’ve got the need to know. The President is taking offensive actions to stop the Coke War. An all-out bringin’ in the rain air strike is ready to launch. By tomorrow, the guerrillas and cartels will be in hell.”
All the blood drained from Mack’s limbs. “Hold on. I’m sending you our coordinates.”
“No need, son. I know where you are. I’ve been monitoring you by way of Jenna’s cell phone. If you tell her I put a tracking device in there, I’ll bloody your damned nose.”
The SOB was devious. “Are we in the pathway of the air strike, or not?”
“Would I have told you I was tracking Jenna if you weren’t?
He squeezed his eyes tight. “How much time do we have?”
“Three hours. Max. Don’t tempt your luck. Get your asses out of there. Immediately.”
“Copy that.” The world had just gotten a whole lot scarier. Jenna shouldn’t be here. He jogged back to the team.
Jenna followed the shooting instructions on the iPad, trying to be the next spotter on the team. She’d never fill Tavon’s massive shoes.
“Hey.” Mack massaged her shoulders, kneading away the stress and ache.
“That feels so good.” She melted under his hands.
He longed to put his hands all over her, nip her neck, plant kisses down her spine, nibble the tickle spots above her hip bones, fill his hands with her soft breasts, and make her moan. She’d arch her back and tempt him by pressing that sweet ass of hers against his erection. He could take her here and now, and make love to her for a month straight.
But there would be no month straight.
All he had was about sixty seconds, and even those were slipping away fast. This relationship, or whatever was happening between them, didn’t stand a chance. Hell, it was doomed from the beginning. He was a SEAL who took orders and acted on them. Jenna didn’t take orders, not from him, not from her dad, and she’d never forgive him for what he was about to do.
Leaving the little boy and his family behind in the kill zone of an air strike? Yeah, Jenna would be rabid. His heart sunk. She’d likely pound her fists against his chest, call him a murderer, and tell him to go to hell. He wouldn’t blame her. But what could he do? He had to protect her. He had no choice.
She leaned into him, putting her head on his chest. “What did the old man have to say? No, let me guess. He wants me to come home immediately, right?”
He wrapped his arms around her, memorizing the feel of her in his arms for the last time.
“Mack?” She looked up at him. “What did he say?”
He let out a deep breath. “This time, we are going to listen to the old man. We’re going home. Now.”
“What?” She spun around to face him, breaking out of his arms. Anger sparked in her eyes. “Are you crazy? We’re not leaving now.”
“What’s going on?” Tavon came up behind them. His arm was in a make shift sling.
“Get the guys. We need to bug out,” Mack ordered.
She put her hand out and stopped the big man. “Don’t do it, Ta
von. We’re not leaving until we have the Harmonds. Whatever the great admiral threatened you with, forget about it. You work for me, remember?”
Mack shook his head. “Babe, how would I forget? You remind me every five minutes.”
“Good. Rescuing the family is more important than your career or whatever Daddy dearest is waving in your face.” She started to walk away. “Don’t answer his calls anymore, and let’s get moving—”
“Stop.” He grabbed her arm. “We’ve got to get back to the helo.”
The guys gathered around.
“Why? I haven’t heard any chatter. What’s happening?” Charlie wondered.
“Armegeddon,” Mack said. “The president is bringing the rain.”
“No shit,” Willy said softly. “An air strike here?”
Mack nodded, his gaze on Jenna. “Right on top of us.”
“When?” Ty asked.
“Three hours, tops.”
Willy slapped his thigh. “This is FUBAR. Can’t they wait for us to rescue the Harmonds before they drop shit on us?”
“No, and we aren’t waiting around here to become collateral damage,” Mack said.
Jenna lifted her chin. “Then we’d better hurry and find the Harmonds.”
“We don’t have enough time,” Mack growled.
“I say we try. Give it an hour and a half to look for the Harmonds before we, um, bug it. Please, Mack, we’ve got to try.”
“Bug out,” Willy corrected, bumping her shoulder. “And I like your style. I agree with the boss. I’d like to blow up a few more assholes before we get out of dodge.”
“I’m in.” Charlie grinned. “I’ll monitor the channels. We’ll know when the birds are in flight. That should give us enough time to get back to the helo before the ordnance hits the deck.”
Ty scratched his chin. “It won’t take me long to get the Knighthawk up. I say let’s give it a go.”
Tavon grimaced. “I’m not much help. But when have we ever turned tail?”
Mack’s gaze went from face to face. “You guys serious? You want to do this?”
Tavon elbowed him with his good arm. “Stop thinking with your heart, bro.”
Mack shook his head. “You guys are seriously insane. All right. Ninety minutes to find the Harmonds, and that’s it. At ninety minutes and one second, we’ll be running for the helo.”
SEALs of Summer: Military Romance Superbundle - Navy SEAL Style Page 92