Rescuing Gracelynn (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Bravo Series Book 1)

by Anna Blakely

After finally paying for the chopped wood—something that would have taken him less than five minutes to find and cut himself, had the resort allowed it—Nate double-timed it back to the cabin. The entire way there, he imagined Gracie, naked and waiting for him.

  Though, he’d only been gone about thirty minutes, he hoped the alone time had done her good.

  Back at the cabin, he parked the car and got out. Opening the driver’s rear door, Nate grabbed the thick plastic tie holding the split logs together and headed inside.

  The minute he stepped onto the porch, he knew something was wrong.

  The door she’d promised to keep locked was slightly ajar and the wood near the lock was splintered. Heart pounding, Nate bent down and silently set the bundle onto the porch’s wooden slats.

  His training instantly took over as he pulled his concealed pistol from his back waistband.

  With his weapon gripped tightly in his right hand, Nate drew in a steadying breath and slowly pushed the door open with his left. He then entered the cabin like the operative he was.

  Gun drawn, he checked the space behind the door, then expertly swept the rest of the open area. Nothing.

  There were no obvious signs of a struggle. His computer set-up was as he’d left it and Gracie’s purse was still hanging off one of the kitchen chairs, which told him they hadn’t been robbed.

  Fear for Gracie ratcheted through his system, but Nate pushed it back and continued further inside. He wanted so badly to call out for her, but he didn’t dare make his presence known, in case the intruder was still in the cabin.

  Doing his best to control his breathing, he headed toward the hallway. Nate had just made it past the living room area when the back bedroom door squeaked open and his nightmare unfolded.

  Adrian Walker moved slowly toward him. With an arm wrapped around Gracie’s waist, he held her tightly against his chest, his other hand pressing a gun to her head.

  Nate’s hatred toward the man skyrocketed when he noticed the skin on the side of her face was red, as if she’d been struck.

  Fucking bastard.

  He didn’t dare look into Gracie’s eyes for fear he’d lose his shit and get her killed. Speaking in a calm and collected voice right then was one of the hardest things Nate had ever had to do.

  “Let her go.”

  Walker smiled. “Ah, good. The big, bad protector has finally arrived.”

  Seething, Nate held his gun steady as he spoke again, this time through clenched teeth. “I said, let her go!”

  The other man ran the barrel of his gun along the side of Gracie’s cheek. Stopping just below her chin, he leaned forward and brushed his bearded jaw against her temple, almost as a lover would.

  Gracie whimpered, Nate’s veins flooding with pure, murderous rage at the sound.

  “Hurt her, and I swear to God it’ll be the last thing you do.”

  The warning had no effect on the soulless bastard. Speaking softly in Gracie’s ear, Walker said, “Such strong words from the man who left you all alone.” Then, to Nate he taunted, “Too bad you didn’t take longer. You interrupted our…playtime.”

  He’s working you. Nate knew this. Had been trained for it. Hell, Gracie was still fully dressed.

  Still, in that moment, Nate realized all the training in the world couldn’t prepare him for the anguish those words caused.

  The very idea that this man, this traitor, had touched his woman like that…Christ, he couldn’t even think about it.

  Blinking, he finally looked at Gracie. A tear had escaped the corner of her eye, ripping him open as it fell.

  Nate held the weight of his gun with ease, but the fear and guilt reflected in her eyes nearly had the power to bring him to his knees. She was blaming herself for what was happening and terrified he’d get hurt because of it.

  “You’re okay, Gracie,” he vowed, praying his words would bring her some comfort. “I promise, everything’s going to be okay.”

  Making a clicking sound with his tongue, Walker brought the gun back up to the side of her head. “Shouldn’t make promises you can’t keep, Carter.”

  Schooling his expression, Nate nodded. “So, you do know who I am.

  “I know everything about you, Nathan.”

  “Good. That means you know what I do and who I work for.”

  Walker looked bored. “This interests me, how?”

  “Think about it. If she had what Yavuz has been looking for, don’t you think we would have used it to take him down by now?”

  “And I’m just supposed to believe you know what it is he wants?”

  “Craig Wyatt had dirt on Yavuz. Something that would destroy the relationship he’s built with Russell, as well as the citizens of the country you once vowed to defend. Isn’t that right, Adrian?”

  The man smiled. “I see you’ve done your homework, as well.”

  “I have. I know a lot about you, too. For example, I know you’re a very smart man. Otherwise, you would’ve been caught a long time ago.”

  Shrugging, Walker said, “Doesn’t pay to get caught. And we both know I love my money.”

  “We do. Which is why we’re going to make a deal.”

  The man’s brows rose. “You are going to make a deal with me?” Chuckling, he whispered in Gracie’s ear. “This should be good.”

  “Let her go right now, and you walk away free and clear.”

  Walker laughed. “Your deal is missing one very vital thing. I leave without her, and I don’t get paid. To be honest, Nathan, I’m disappointed in you. I thought you were supposed to be the brains on Bravo Team.”

  It was Nate’s turn to shrug. Continuing on with the seemingly casual conversation, he said, “Sure, you won’t get any of Yavuz’ money. But you’ll be out there—” he tilted his head toward the cabin window— “and not stuck in a six by eight cell. Surely a man with your skills would have no problem finding another employer.”

  During a stretch of silence, Walker actually appeared to be considering Nate’s proposal. Nate prayed with everything he had the man would make the smart choice and leave.

  Please, God. Don’t let him hurt her.

  “Or,” Walker countered. “I kill you, take the girl, and get paid a shitload of money by the man with the power to destroy your country.” He looked down at Gracie. “What do you think, sweetheart? Doesn’t that sound like a better plan?”

  To her credit, Gracie kept her eyes on Nate, standing stoically, even though Nate knew she was terrified.

  That’s my girl.

  The three of them stood there, waiting in silence while Walker decided to make his next move. When he finally spoke again, his words shocked the hell out of Nate.

  “You know, Nathan. You actually make a good point. I think maybe I will take that deal, after all.”

  Nate forced himself not to react, but holy shit! He hadn’t truly believed Walker would just leave them both there and vanish.

  Thank you, God.

  Those three words of praise had barely left his thoughts when the Walker gave him a feral smile and said, “On second thought…”

  Moving faster than Nate had been prepared for, Adrian Walker pulled the gun from Gracie’s head, pointed it at him. Then, he pulled the trigger.

  The bullet felt like a Mark-50 torpedo as it slammed into Nate’s chest. He could hear Gracie screaming his name as he fell, followed by another shot, just before everything went black.

  Chapter 14

  What the ever-loving fuck? It was the first thought Nate had as he slowly began to regain consciousness.

  A dull ache was present in his left shoulder and it felt as though a drumline was performing in his head. He didn’t know what he’d done the night before, but whatever it was, he and the guys must’ve had one hell of a time.

  “Jesus Christ,” he mumbled.

  Why did his voice sound so rough? Nate swallowed, the soreness in his throat answering his internal question.

  “The fuck did you guys do to me last night?”

/>   Matt’s voice reached his ears. “‘Bout time you woke your lazy ass up. You gonna stay with us this time?”

  This time? Nate forced his heavy eyes to open against the harsh lighting. Someone must have realized his struggle because the room suddenly dimmed. Even without the bright lights, his eyes felt like he’d been rubbing them with 60-grit sandpaper.

  Blinking strongly, the room and everyone in it finally came into focus. It took a few seconds longer for Nate to realize he was in the hospital. What the hell?

  Then, in one horrible, gut-wrenching moment, it all came rushing back.

  The cabin…

  Adrian Walker…

  He looked down at his left hand and saw that the fake wedding ring was gone. Just like…

  “Gracie!”

  Nate blurted her name as he tried to sit up. Fire spread rapidly throughout his left shoulder and the throbbing in his head got exponentially worse.

  “Whoa.” Zade dropped the chair he’d been leaning back in and stood.

  To Nate’s right, Matt pushed against his uninjured shoulder. “Easy there, brother.”

  Standing on his left, Gabe held up a hand to stop him. “Calm down, Carter. You were shot. You’re going to be fine, but you need to relax.”

  “Yeah, man,” Zade tilted his chin toward the dark blue sling supporting Nate’s left arm. “You took one to the shoulder and you have one hell of a concussion.”

  Well, that explains the fire and drums. Through the medicinal fog, Nate remembered moving to the right just as Walker pulled the trigger.

  He’d wanted like hell to shoot back, but he couldn’t without risking Gracie. So, he’d tried to jump out of the way.

  Apparently, he didn’t move fast enough.

  “Where’s Gracie? Is she okay?”

  Matt and Zade both looked to Gabe, their faces full of trepidation. True to his character, their team leader didn’t bother to sugarcoat it.

  “We’re still trying to find her.”

  Oh, God. “How long?”

  Regret flashed across Gabe’s eyes. “You’ve been in and out of consciousness for the last day and a half.”

  Sonofabitch. “I have to get out of here.” Nate used his good arm to throw the sheet and blanket off his legs.

  “You need to keep your ass exactly where it is.” Matt spouted back.

  Without turning to look at his teammate, Nate growled, “I have to find her.”

  “And we will,” Gabe assured him.

  Nate looked up to see his team leader’s cool eyes zeroed in on his. As usual, he appeared calm and rational. Fuck that.

  “Adrian Walker has her, Dawson. That murdering sonofabitch has her.”

  “We know.”

  That took Nate by surprise. “How?”

  “Larry Hays.”

  It took him a minute to place the name. “The man staying in the cabin next to ours?”

  Gabe nodded. “The retired sheriff, yeah. He and his wife were inside watching T.V. when they heard the shots. Hays ran back to their bedroom and grabbed his rifle. Got outside just in time to see Walker put Gracie into a black SUV and speed off.”

  Nate’s pulse spiked from the image Gabe’s words created. He felt like he was going to puke.

  Matt spoke up. “Hays said he didn’t want to shoot for fear he’d hit Gracie, so he focused on helping you. Found you bleeding and unconscious and called it in. His wife kept pressure on your shoulder until EMS got there.”

  “You were taken to the local hospital first,” Zade explained. “They stabilized you, and then Ryker’s airlift team arrived a few minutes later to fly you here. Hays may very well have saved your life.”

  The ‘here’ Zade referred to was a private medical facility owned and operated by Homeland. Kept secret from the general public, the place was staffed by some of the best doctors and nurses in the country.

  “How did Ryker know to send a chopper?”

  Gabe gave him a look. “You’re shittin’ me, right? The guy heads up a covert unit for Homeland, Carter. He has eyes and ears everywhere. A member of R.I.S.C. gets shot, you’d better believe Jason Ryker’s gonna know about it.”

  “There’s something else.” Zade looked as though he felt sorry for him. “They broke into your apartment the other night. Your neighbor was out of town when you left, but came back the day you were shot. She reported it to the landlord, who then called the police. Derek’s brother got wind of it and gave Jake a heads up.”

  “We got your place secured,” Matt assured him. “Jake got a guy to come fix the door and we installed a new system. Yours had been hacked and destroyed.”

  Shit. Walker and Akmar were better than Nate had given them credit for. “Thanks.”

  He appreciated what his team had done for him, but the only thing that mattered to him now was finding his woman.

  Getting them all back on track, Nate spun around until his legs were dangling over the side of the mattress. “I need to be out there. We have to find Gracie. Christ, Gabe,” he looked up at his friend and teammate. “You know what they’ll do to her.”

  “We’re going to find her before that happens, Nate,” the other man vowed. “But you’ll be no good to her if you’re lying in a goddamn coma because you refused to follow doctor’s orders.”

  “Fuck the doctors!” Nate yelled.

  Didn’t they get it? His soul was being ripped to shreds and they were worried about a damn bump on his head.

  Sliding off the bed, the bottoms of his bare feet slapped against the cold-as-ice tiled floor. A wave of dizziness hit and his hand flew down to the mattress for support. Fuck me.

  He stood there a moment, trying to steady himself.

  “See, you stubborn ass?” Zade stepped a little closer to the bed. “That’s exactly what we’re talking about.”

  “I’m fine,” he mumbled back, blinking rapidly. Okay, maybe fine was a stretch, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to stay around here while Gracie was going through only God knows what.

  Walking slower than he cared to, Nate shuffled his feet until he’d reached the plastic bag sitting on the floor, next to an empty chair. Careful not to move too quickly for fear his teammates would start nagging him again, he bent over to pick it up.

  “Jesus, man.” Matt exclaimed from behind him. “Cover that shit up, will ya? No one wants to see your ass and balls hanging out like that.”

  Not giving a flying fuck about the opening in his paper-thin gown, Nate stood up and sat the bag down into the chair. With his back still to his friends, he used his good hand to clumsily open its drawstring.

  “Where are my clothes?” he grumbled.

  “We had to cut them off.”

  The soft, feminine voice left him startled. Turning around, Nate saw that Olivia McQueen had entered the room.

  Shit.

  His boss’s wife was dressed in a set of form-fitting, black scrubs and her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. With a tablet and stylus in her hands, she began tapping the screen.

  Being the consummate professional she was, Olivia made no comment about seeing his bare ass—and everything else—on display. Instead, she gave him a sweet smile of relief.

  “Hi, Nate.”

  Nate cleared his dry throat. “Hey, Olivia.”

  Matt coughed to keep from laughing and Zade was trying hard not smile, looking everywhere but Liv’s direction.

  Nate wanted to punch the shit-eatin’ grins off both assholes’ faces.

  Olivia smiled bigger, deepening her dimples. “It’s good to see you awake and alert.”

  Normally, he would have been embarrassed as hell by the situation, but there were much more important things to worry about right now.

  “Uh, yeah. I’m feeling much better now, so if you could just bring me some scrubs or something, I’ll get dressed and be out of your hair.”

  She took a step forward. “I know you’re in a hurry to get out of here, Nate. I also know why. But, you really need to lie back down. Bullet wound asid
e, you hit your head really hard and you were in and out of consciousness for quite some time.”

  Clutching the bag containing his belongings—minus his clothes—Nate forced himself to use a softer tone.

  “I appreciate the concern, Olivia. I do, but I’m fine. Really.”

  Concern filled her pretty, hazel eyes. “The tests were negative for any bleeds, but you still have a moderate concussion. If it’s not treated properly, it could turn into something more life-threatening.”

  “All due respect, Olivia, it’s not my life I’m worried about right now. So, if you could get me the discharge papers or whatever it is I need to get the hell out of here, I’d really appreciate it.”

  “Nate, I really think that—”

  “I don’t give a damn what you think!” The harsh words were out before he could stop them.

  The adorable brunette blinked, clearly not expecting the undeserved outburst. Feeling like a total asshat, Nate rushed to make things right.

  “Shit, Liv. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  “Glad to see you upright again, Mr. Carter.”

  All heads turned toward the doorway as Jake stepped into the room. His eyes landed on Nate's, and from the way he was clenching his jaw, Nate knew his boss had heard everything.

  Fucking hell.

  Clearing his throat again, Nate said, “I’m good to go, Boss.”

  Nate’s eyes slid to Olivia’s and he prayed she could see his apology there. Without missing a beat, she went right back into nurse-mode.

  “Okay, boys. I need to examine my patient and it’s getting kind of crowded in here.”

  More than ready to be freed from the awkward situation, Matt and Zade made a quick escape. Olivia looked at Gabe and her husband expectantly, but Jake just shrugged.

  “Need to talk to them, sweetheart. Promise I won’t get in your way.”

  Though, Olivia looked like she wanted to say more, she simply sighed and turned back to Nate. “I need to take your vitals. It’ll be easier if you’re sitting on the bed.”

  Appeasing her, he went back to the bed and sat on the edge. He’d jump through whatever hoops he had to if it meant getting out of here sooner.

  After undoing the tie behind his neck, Olivia carefully pulled the material down far enough to access the area above his heart. Beside the thick bandage covering his wound, she pressed the stethoscope’s metal disc against his skin. Nate hissed in a breath from the frigid sensation.