“My thoughts, exactly.”
Adam continued to stand and stare at the spot where Ginny’s car had been parked. Her parting words resonated inside Adam. He understood more than most that when a woman’s sense of safety had been shattered, it could take years to restore it, if it would be restored at all.
He’d despaired, in the past, wondering if Ginny could ever learn to trust again. Here, at this moment, on this night, he began to believe that maybe she would, and sooner than he’d ever dared believe possible.
* * * *
“Shh. We have to be very quiet. Can you walk, baby doll? Nod if the answer is yes.”
Julia nearly collapsed in relief as those softly whispered words, Dev’s words, caressed the shell of her ear.
She managed a bit of a nod then closed her eyes as that movement caused a wave of pain to wash through her.
Just then, the skid of brakes was quickly followed by car doors being slammed. A pounding, and then the sound of wood splintering jolted her. Whoever had arrived by car had just broken down the front door of the dilapidated cabin.
She’d gotten out just in time.
In the next instant Julia found herself hefted and practically tossed over Dev’s shoulder. She didn’t need a play-by-play narrative to tell her that all hell had just broken loose inside that shack. Her men were running, seriously running, away from the scene.
Urgency pulsed off the two of them in waves. Upside down and dangling, Julia gritted her teeth to stop from crying out as the rough treatment hurt her already abused body.
Gunshots exploded into the night air, and Julia felt certain that her kidnapper, whoever he was, had just been killed. Then the sound of Dev’s curse and the near whistle of a bullet whizzing past told her the kidnapper wasn’t the only one in trouble.
“Go!”
Drew’s command, low and insistent, followed by Dev’s grunt, frightened her. Where was Drew going? What was happening? The gunfire increased, some of it sounding very close-by. Julia realized Drew fired back. That sound changed, moving away, and she understood he’d taken a different path, attempting to draw the gunfire of their enemy away from her and Dev.
Dev pivoted and changed direction, but ran steadily on. The pace jarred, and Julia prayed she wouldn’t cry out or worse, that she wouldn’t throw up. The world morphed into fast-moving brush viewed upside down. She closed her eyes, only to open them again almost instantly, because closing them had only made the dizziness behind her eyes seem worse. It felt as if Dev was running in a zigzagging kind of pattern, and she marveled at his stamina. She was no featherweight, but he wasn’t even breathing hard. The gunfire grew steadily quieter and more distant.
Oh, God, let Drew be all right.
It felt as if they were going downhill now, and Julia used her hands to hold on to Dev’s belt, doing her best to brace herself and cushion the ride. She didn’t know if her touch helped or hindered the man, but since he didn’t complain, she just held on. Finally after what felt like forever, but what was probably no more than ten minutes, Dev slowed down, then stopped and gently lowered her to the ground. She realized he’d set her against a rock wall in some sort of a shadowed area.
Julia groaned, unable to hold the sound back a moment longer.
“I’m sorry, Julia.” Dev’s tone held remorse. She waved her hand even as she tried to breathe deeply to avert emptying her stomach.
“Here’s some water, sweetheart. Have a couple of sips, just little ones.” He pressed a canteen against her lips.
The cold water tasted good against her tongue and felt good sliding down her throat. She had to fight the urge to gulp down great draughts of the cool liquid. If she gave in she’d be sick for sure.
“We scouted out this spot out about an hour ago,” Dev said as he capped the canteen. He set it down beside her.
Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, so she was able to watch as he pulled something out of the knapsack he’d been carrying. That something turned out to be a thin blanket which he wrapped around her. Thin it may have been, but she felt instantly warmer.
“It’s a small overhang, with a couple of bushes partially blocking it from view. And you can relax. No critters live here.”
Julia chuckled at that. “Very reassuring. I don’t want to evict anyone from their home.”
“Do you know how to shoot a gun?”
“I’m Texan. Of course I know how to shoot a gun.”
She saw Dev’s grin, and immediately felt better. He gave her a handgun, and she took a moment to examine it. “It’s a Glock,” she said. “9mm?”
“Yep, with a special 17-round magazine loaded in it, and here’s a spare, just in case.”
“What about you?” Julia realized Dev intended to leave her there, hidden, while he went back for Drew. She wasn’t worried about herself. She just didn’t want him going out unarmed.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve got my backup piece.” He held it up for her inspection.
“Your backup weapon is a SIG Sauer?”
“Yeah, I have aspirations of becoming a Fed.” Then he chuckled. “Your cousin Adam outfitted us very well. He thought you’d like the Glock because, apparently, you know how to use it and have even outshot him.”
Julia shrugged. She hadn’t in truth fired a gun for more than a year, but she wasn’t going to tell Dev that. “I manage,” she said instead.
“Yeah, well you managed to damn near rescue yourself. I don’t know what the hell Drew and I were worried about. You’re one hell of a woman, Julia Benedict.” He bent down and kissed her, a fast, hard buss on the mouth. “I won’t be long, baby doll. Sit tight and if anyone you don’t know shows up, shoot first and ask questions later.”
“Don’t worry about me,” she turned his words back on him. “Just bring him back safely, please.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
Julia tried to relax into the shadows. She sat as still as possible, not only to help calm the headache that had resurged, but so that she could listen. If danger was coming her way she wanted to hear it, and be prepared for it.
She usually wasn’t very good at waiting, yet she found it a simple matter to sit on the hard ground, her back against the rough rock wall, a loaded gun in her hands, and wait.
The sound of gunfire had tapered off at some point when Dev had been hunkered down in front of her. She wished she’d paid attention.
She wished she still had her watch. And her cell phone. And a spa tub would be nice, too. She wiped furiously at a single tear tracking down her face. She didn’t know why the hell she was crying now when her ordeal was all but over.
“Adrenaline crash.”
Julia jerked at the sound of Drew’s softly spoken words. She hadn’t heard them approach, and neither had she realized she’d spoken that pouty thought aloud.
They emerged out of the darkness, her two strong Navy SEALs, both looking a little different than she’d ever seen them before tonight.
They’re wired. This must be what they look like on a mission.
“How are you doing, kitten?” Drew knelt in front of her. He lifted her chin gently with two fingers, tilting her head so he could get a better look at her injury, and winced when he did.
She knew very well what he was seeing, because she’d had a similar reaction earlier that evening when she’d seen her own reflection in the pitifully inadequate mirror in the bathroom at the shack. She’d used the water her abductor had brought her to try and clean the dried blood from off her forehead, but she knew she’d left some along the hairline. She also knew that tiny goose egg currently sported an ugly shade of blue.
Drew looked up at Dev, and Julia read the concern in their eyes.
“It looks worse than it is. Really. I’ll be okay, Drew.”
“Headache? Blurred vision?” Drew’s tone sounded all business.
“Yes to the first, no to the second. My headache only came back when I slid headfirst out the window. Although, seriously, I actually landed on my
hands and not my head. I’ll be all right. Let’s just go home.”
“Soon,” Drew said. “We thought to throw off any pursuit by coming in on foot, leaving on foot. But whoever’s tracking us right now is a pro. We’ve only got a few minutes to spare.”
Julia felt kind of stupid just then. “So? Can’t we call for help?”
“Not yet. Not until we lose our pursuer. The thing is, baby doll, we’re worried about causing you further injury,” Dev said. “But we have to move. We’ll take turns carrying you.”
“Whatever you guys decide we have to do, we do. I’ll be all right.” Julia wondered if she should have those four words tattooed on her forehead in place of the goose egg.
Dev shook his head. “Like I said, you’re one hell of a woman, Julia Benedict.”
“We’ll try piggyback for a while,” Drew said. “Upside down and over my shoulder won’t feel too good to you right now. But you’ll have to hang on to me.”
“I can run.” The last thing she wanted to do was be a burden.
“I know.” Drew reached down and pulled her up. “But this will be faster.”
“Okay.” Julia climbed onto his back and locked her arms around his neck and bracketed his hips with her legs. He hiked her up a bit higher, his grip firm.
“Hang on to me,” he said.
“Don’t worry.” She rested her chin on his shoulder. From the corner of her eye she could see Dev scoop both backpacks.
And then Drew started to move at a loping pace that jarred her body, inciting all her aches back to full, unrelenting throb.
She trusted her lovers with her life, and determined she’d do everything in her power to help.
Unfortunately the only thing she could think of to do right now was to keep them from knowing exactly how much pain she really was in.
Chapter 15
Dev called it his warrior sense, and it was never wrong.
Right now that internal warning system told him that despite their steady pace and all of their considerable skill, they were still being followed. Their pursuer seemed to be keeping a consistent distance behind them, and that Dev did not like.
“How are you doing back there, baby doll?” He and Drew had been taking turns carrying her. Despite her protestations, he didn’t consider her to be a burden at all.
Julia sighed in his ear, and he understood she was getting tired. He wished he could afford her the luxury of sleep, or at least a long rest.
“I’m okay, but I’m tired. Can we take a break? You must be worn out, too, carrying me so far.”
“You’re just a little thing, sweetheart. But yeah, we’ll stop in just a few minutes.”
Julia sighed again and then rested her face against his shoulder. He’d thought a couple of times in the last little while that she’d fallen asleep on him, but each time she proved to be not only awake but completely aware.
In the last hour a wind had come up that carried the scent of rain. The weather forecast they’d checked before leaving Lusty had warned of a storm approaching from over the Rockies, but the consensus had been it wouldn’t hit their part of Texas for at least twelve hours.
Of course weather forecasts could be, and often were, wrong.
Dev didn’t want to risk calling for the chopper until he was certain their pursuer had given up. He didn’t want Henry to have to dodge gunfire. He had a bad feeling the reason their tail was keeping back, was that he was awaiting the arrival of reinforcements.
The wind increased slightly, and he had the feeling if he didn’t call Henry soon, they’d have to hole up somewhere and sit out the storm.
So far, losing their hunter didn’t appear to be something that was happening. Time to do something about that.
“He’s stalking us,” Drew said quietly.
“Yeah, that’s the conclusion I’ve come to, as well.”
“Makes me think the man’s either a former Ranger or a SEAL.”
“It was Ramos who ordered my kidnapping,” Julia said. “The man who took me told me that much.” Julia sat up just a bit, and Dev adjusted his hold on her.
“He thought I was Peter’s woman—though I have no clue where he got that idea. Anyway, the guy—”
“Juan,” Drew said.
“Pardon?”
“Adam found out the man who took you is named Juan Pecos,” Dev said. “He’s from Dallas, with a long list of ‘crimes suspected of,’ but no charges. Believe it or not, he actually put in a couple of résumés at some of the businesses in Lusty, likely covering his ass in case he was spotted and questioned as to why he was there. Anyway, it didn’t take Adam long to trace who he was, or to uncover the fact that he’s tied to the Ramos Cartel.”
“Huh. Even when he got chatty he didn’t give me his name. Anyway, Juan thought he’d be better off ransoming me to my family than turning me over to Ramos. He seemed to believe Ramos’s organization was falling apart on him.”
“That would explain why Ramos didn’t trust him,” Dev said. “He probably had some sort of homing beacon put on his car. When it became clear he wasn’t heading for the border, Ramos sent his goons after him.”
“But my point is, if it’s Ramos who’s behind this, how does he rate getting former Rangers or SEALs on his side?”
“There are a number of former soldiers who’ll sell their talents to whoever has the money to pay the tab, kitten.”
“Oh, of course. Mercenaries. I should have thought of that. Sorry, I think my brain is a bit fogged.”
“You think?” Dev heard the laughter in his voice. Drew reached over and ran his hand down her back. Then he met Dev’s gaze.
Dev had no trouble reading the look of concern on his best friend’s face. He looked around. “Let’s take that rest here, why don’t we?” Dev said.
Drew lifted Julia off him and set her on the ground. Trees dotted the area, blowing in the increasing breeze. They’d gone past the area they had scouted, past the first pick-up zone. Ahead, he knew, the land leveled out and the vegetation became less plentiful.
There’d be fewer places to hide from their pursuer. They’d be out in the open, virtual sitting ducks, unless Dev could do something about it.
Enough was enough. Dev was tired of this guy playing games with them. He was pretty sure, but not positive, that a single man followed them.
He’d never get better odds. The time had come to end it, one way or another.
“You’re the better tracker,” Drew said, his voice quiet. Dev understood he was trying to avoid alarming Julia. Unfortunately their woman seemed to have very good hearing—not to mention a very smart brain.
“What’s going on?” Though Julia’s tone was far from panicky, Dev could hear the edge of tension in her voice.
“We need to get you out of here—or at the very least let you get some rest,” Drew said. “Dev’s going to backtrack and take care of our tail.”
“You mean kill him?”
Neither he nor Drew answered her. Instead, Dev said, “I won’t be gone long. It shouldn’t take me more than an hour.”
“Storm’s coming faster than the forecasters predicted,” Drew said. “I’ll call in and let Adam know we have her. But I don’t think we’ll be flying out of here anytime soon.”
Julia proved just how all right she was just then. She sat forward, touched Drew’s hand, and said, “Have them check the old settlement maps. There might be a line shack, or something, not too far away where we can wait out a storm.”
“Good thinking,” Drew said. “I’ll keep the call short, though, just in case our friend back there has more than his gun and a flashlight with him.”
Dev squatted in front of Julia. “I’ll be back soon, baby doll.”
“You’d better be, buster, or you’ll answer to me.”
Dev grinned. God, I love this woman. He said, “Yes, ma’am.” Unable to resist, he leaned forward and placed his mouth on hers. The kiss was hot, deep, and over way too soon. He looked up, met Drew’s gaze. When his brother no
dded, Dev got to his feet and headed out.
It didn’t matter how prepared he was, or how badly he wanted to win this upcoming confrontation. He knew, as he always knew, there remained a chance that he’d fail, that he’d make the ultimate sacrifice.
Each mission undertaken had been executed with the full knowledge that failure was always a possibility. So, too, was death. He’d left letters behind each time, “to be opened in the event.”
Dev pushed aside the morbid thoughts and focused all his mental energies on the task at hand. Crouched low, his step light, he made his way back in the direction from which they’d traveled, his senses on high alert.
Their tracker had been keeping about a half mile back, matching his pace to theirs. Dev didn’t think the man would be expecting one of them to backtrack. Still, he varied his course, going wide and to the left, so that he could go around him and then come up behind the bastard.
After twenty minutes, Dev changed direction, completing the arc that should put him behind his quarry. Sure enough, within just a couple of minutes, he had proof he was on their stalker’s trail. There on the ground just ahead of him, he could make out a footprint that didn’t belong to either him or Drew. The man had been careful, he’d give him that, for he mostly left no tracks at all. He was good.
Dev was better.
Dev’s mind quieted as all thought ceased, and he became hunter, a warrior, reacting to sight and sound and instinct, scenting his prey, closing in. Careful, quiet, he eliminated the distance between him and the man who’d stalked them.
Closer now, he could make out a shape. Then something in the way the man moved, in the way he crouched and looked at the ground called to a memory not very old.
Son of a bitch.
Dev took just two more steps, and knew by the sudden stiffening of the man ahead of him, that he’d heard the sound.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you, Talbot.”
Connor Talbot froze, and lifted his hands so Dev could see them. “May I turn around?”
“Slowly.”
Covington, Cara - Love Under Two Navy SEALs [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 15