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

by Anna Blakely

  “Well,” Ghost spoke as they all chose a spot to stand inside. “McQueen and I may not have been on the exact same team back in the day, but we worked enough joint ops for me to know the kind of man he is. So, when our commander called to fill me in on the situation with your office manager, I didn’t hesitate to offer my help.”

  “She’s a hell of a lot more than that.” Nate didn’t elaborate, but then again, he didn’t need to.

  Ghost nodded. “Jake filled me in on that part, as well. Don’t worry, Carter. My team and I have been where you are. We won’t stop until we have your woman back in your arms, safe and sound.”

  “No offense,” Matt spoke up, “but we were expecting a few more guys than this.”

  Fletch responded. “Not everyone could come. We’ve been over the border in Syria finishing up an op. The rest of the team stayed back to tie things up on that end while we came here.”

  Better than nothing, I guess.

  “I’m assuming you want to get on this ASAP, so we’ll fill you in on what we’ve learned and go from there.” Ghost looked to Gabe for approval.

  Gabe nodded. “Share away.”

  Looking down at Barry, Ghost prompted him, “Go on, Barry. Tell them what you told us.”

  Jaw clenched, Nate and the others stood quietly as Barry shared what he came to say.

  “Akmar brought the woman you are searching for to a farm not far from here.”

  Nate’s pulse spiked. “How close?”

  “About a forty minute drive.”

  Motherfucker. All this time, they’d been waiting for these guys to show, and Gracie was less than an hour away from them? Nate’s patience was wearing dangerously thin.

  “You know this, how?” Gabe asked Barry.

  “My cousin, Rasat, is a guard for Edric Yavuz. Has been for the past two years. He said the woman was taken there a few days ago.”

  “Is she okay?” Nate stepped forward, unable to keep from asking. “Did your cousin say whether or not Gracie had been hurt?”

  Please say no. God, please say no.

  “Rasat stands guard outside the house. He has seen the woman a few times through the window, but that is all.”

  “What did he see? Did Rasat tell you what condition she was in? What exactly did he see, Barry?”

  “Carter.” Sensing he was dangerously close to losing his shit, Gabe had said his name in a low, even tone.

  Nate whipped his head around. “I need to know if she’s okay, Gabe. We need to know whether or not she’s able to…” Nate swallowed. “If she can walk herself out of there once we get to her.”

  “My cousin says he watched through the window her first day here.”

  Barry’s tone was full of regret, sending Nate’s heart into his throat. “Tell me,” he ordered the nervous man. When Barry hesitated to answer, Nate yelled, “What the fuck did he see?”

  “Achim was beating the woman. Hitting and kicking her. Rasat did not watch long for fear he would be discovered and beaten for becoming distracted while guarding the property. I am sorry.”

  Nate sucked in a breath. The thought of Achim using his fists on Gracie was worse than any direct hit he’d ever taken.

  “Sonofabitch,” Zade hissed from behind him.

  Matt was just as upset. “Swear to Christ, I want to rip that motherfucker’s head clear off his shoulders.”

  Even Gabe, who remained calm in even the most intense situations, was clearly fuming. “Don’t worry. Achim will get what’s coming to him.”

  “I am sorry I do not know more about the woman.”

  Nate snapped. “You’re sorry?” Grabbing the front of Barry’s shirt, he shoved the other man’s back against the nearest wall. “You lying piece of shit! You said you didn’t know anything about Achim. You could’ve asked your cousin where to find him the first time we came here. If you had, Gracie wouldn’t be with him now!”

  “I-I did not know Rasat was working for Yavuz until now. I swear it!”

  “Bullshit!” Nate got into his face. “You expect us to believe this cousin of yours just happened to come to you out of the blue and tell you who he works for and what he saw? Do we look that fucking stupid to you?”

  “I tell you the truth. Rasat came to me earlier this week and told me everything.”

  “Why?” Gabe asked from beside Nate. “Why now?”

  “Rasat, h-he wants out. He does not like what Yavuz has become.”

  “What Yavuz has become, Barry,” Nate growled, “is a lying, murdering sonofabitch.”

  “I know,” Barry bobbed his head. “It is why my cousin wants to leave his job. But he is too afraid. No one leaves a position like that alive.”

  “Of course they don’t,” Ghost spoke up. “They know too much.”

  “Precisely,” Barry agreed.

  “I still don’t get it.” Nate shoved the other man free and stepped back. “Surely this isn’t the first time Rasat has witnessed Yavuz and his men hurting an innocent person. What changed?”

  Barry’s eyes slid from Nate’s to Ghost’s, which pissed Nate off even more. “Don’t look at him, asshole. I asked the question. What makes this time different?”

  Shame crossed over the man’s face. “The Navy SEAL. The one you asked about when you were here before.”

  “Craig Wyatt. What about him?”

  “His unit was supposed to meet with me the day they were hit with the bomb. I was supposed to give them information on a weapons dealer who has since been apprehended.”

  “Get to the point, Barry,” Gabe ordered.

  “Rasat was there. Standing guard outside when Yavuz and Achim killed him. My cousin came to me because he knows I have worked with the Americans in the past. He has agreed to testify against Yavuz and Achim in exchange for asylum.”

  “Holy shit,” Matt exclaimed excitedly. “We’ve got him. Rasat is a witness. We’ve fucking got both Yavuz and Achim.”

  “We do,” Ghost concurred. “We’ve been ordered to bring them both back to the States.”

  “Hold up,” Nate raised a hand, skepticism written all over his face. “Our government gave us extradition rights for Edric Yavuz and Achim Akmar solely based on a statement by a man who is cousins with a guy who works for Yavuz? The same guy, by the way, who sat by while an American hero was tortured to death? Seriously?”

  “Well, that, and we also have this.”

  Ripping open the Velcro flap from one of the pockets at his thigh, Ghost pulled out a phone and tapped the screen. He held it up for Nate and the others to see.

  It was small and grainy, but the picture appeared to be of two men talking in a middle-eastern alleyway. Nate leaned in closer, his murderous rage returning when he recognized one of the men.

  “Is that Yavuz?”

  Ghost nodded. “Yeah. And if you look closely enough, standing guard in the background is a guy who looks an awful lot like Achim Akmar.”

  “Who’s the other one? The man Yavuz is shaking hands with?”

  “Shamir Nazari. He’s a known arms dealer from Syria who acquires and sells specialized weaponry.”

  “Such as?”

  “Bombs. Bioweapons.” Matt jumped in, shaking his head in disbelief. “Most recently, there’s been chatter that he’s opened his sales to nuclear weapons.”

  Nate shot him a questioning glance, so Matt explained. “First heard about this bastard when I was working with FAST. We were always keeping an eye out for him or any of his known associates. Like Adrian Walker, Nazari’s a slick bastard. Always manages to make his escape.”

  Nate turned back to Ghost. “Where did you get this picture?”

  “Miss McDaniel’s phone.”

  The deep answer came from his left. Nate turned his head in that direction. The tall guy named Coach was staring right at him.

  “The hell you say,” Nate retorted back. He could tell by the look on the guy’s face he didn’t much appreciate being called a liar. Isn’t that too damn bad. “I looked at her phone myself. Ther
e were no emails, texts, or documents sent to her containing that pic.”

  A muscle in Coach’s chiseled jaw bulged, but he kept his tone even. “It was hidden within one of the selfies Craig Wyatt sent to your girl.”

  “Yeah? How the fuck did you guys get it, then?” Nate challenged.

  He knew he was being a Class-A jerk, but couldn’t seem to stop. If he did, he’d have to admit he’d missed a vital piece of information. One that could have locked Yavuz’ ass up before he ever had the chance to touch his Gracelynn.

  Coach exhaled loudly, keeping his cool as he explained. “McQueen called us on our way here. Said he’d been racking his brain trying to figure out where Walker would have managed to hide a file so Gracie would know nothing about it. He had a guy named Derek West take a second look at her busted phone. Said West was part of R.I.S.C.’s Alpha Team and is some sort of genius when it comes to computers.”

  Mumbles of agreement came from some of the other Bravo guys. Coach glanced their direction then back to Nate.

  “From what I understand, you are too. But since you’ve had your hands full and the assignment West had previously been on was finished, McQueen figured it was worth a shot to let the other guy have a crack at it so you could focus on what needed to be done here.”

  Okay, so that…actually made sense. Well, shit.

  “Apparently—” Coach continued on— “West noticed something off about one of the pictures. A missing pixel or something. Hell, I don’t know. All that tech shit is Harl’s—my wife’s—territory. Not mine.” The guy waved it off. “Anyway, when West downloaded the selfies, the one with the missing pixel disappeared and this one materialized in its place.”

  About a billion thoughts hit Nate all at once. “Why did Jake send this information to you guys and not us?”

  “I asked him the same thing,” Ghost answered for Coach. “McQueen said he tried, but couldn’t get it to go through on your phones. Must’ve been sending it while you were traveling through a dead spot.”

  “Got a lot of those around here,” Fletch muttered from where he stood.

  Nate ran a frustrated hand over the scruff of his jaw. “I can’t believe I fucking missed it. Encryptions like that are like goddamn child’s play for me and I fucking missed it.”

  “Quit beating yourself up, Carter,” Gabe ordered. “No one thought about checking her picture album for a missing file. We were all focused on trying to find some sort of document or folder of some sort. This is on all of us, not just you.”

  “He’s right,” Matt gave him a solid nod. “What matters is we now have irrefutable evidence that Edric Yavuz has been in contact with a known nuclear arms dealer. Put that with Rasat’s eyewitness testimony, and the guy’s toast.”

  Coach spoke up again. “Once we’re home, both Yavuz and Akmar will be formally charged with the murder of Petty Officer Third Class Craig Michael Wyatt, as well as the kidnapping and assault of a civilian, Gracelynn McDaniels.”

  “President Russell has already been informed of the charges and the evidence collected up to this point. Though, it has not been made public, Ryker assured us that Russell and his people are already working on a statement to announce the cancellation of the treaty.”

  “Halle-fucking-luja,” Matt threw his arms up in praise.

  “That is good news,” Gabe remarked, “but that’s only half of it.”

  “Yeah,” Zade agreed. “The easy half.”

  “He’s right,” Coach chimed in. “That piece of shit treaty may have gone up in smoke, but before we can ensure Yavuz and Achim pay for their crimes, we have to get to them.”

  “Which brings us to the fun part,” Fletch quipped.

  Ghost did something on his phone as he came closer to Gabe and Nate. Matt and Zade hovered around them to get as good a view as they could.

  Tapping the screen, Ghost located and enlarged the picture.

  “This is a satellite image of the property where we believe Gracie is being held. Like Barry said, it’s a farm about forty minutes south of here. It’s isolated and secured. When Yavuz is present, there are armed guards watching the grounds twenty-four seven.”

  “No fence or wall along the perimeter,” Zade noted. “Makes our job a bit easier.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I’m surprised there isn’t some sort of barrier, given the shit going on behind closed doors there.”

  “It’s not one of Yavuz’ regular go-to spots,” Fletch explained. “The property belonged to a relative of his mother. It’s still listed under the relative’s last name, which I’m guessing is why it didn’t pop up in any of your original searches.”

  “Shit,” Nate reprimanded himself. Jesus, he’d been screwing this whole thing up from the beginning. “I should’ve looked deeper.”

  “Stop.” Gabe ordered sharply. “No way you could’ve known Yavuz had access to a farm that belonged to a relative of a relative of a relative. So, knock that shit off and stay focused. Otherwise you’re going to be of no use to us or Gracie.”

  Gabe was right. Nate had to get his head out of his ass and focus on this like any other mission. Gracie’s life depended on it.

  With a tilt of his chin, Nate obeyed his team leader’s command and moved on. “Okay, so we know where he is, and we know the security’s pretty basic around the perimeter. What about the inside?”

  “If I may?” Barry intervened. “My cousin said no one else has been allowed inside the house other than Yavuz, Achim, and one other man. An American.”

  “Adrian Walker.”

  “Yes!” Barry’s face lit up as if he were excited to contribute. “That is it. Rasat said a man named Walker was there. He escorted the woman into the house and since then, he has aided the other men in their security details. I do not know any more about him than that.”

  “That’s all we need to know,” Matt assured him.

  Nate took a few seconds to study his friend. Of one thing, he was certain; if Matt ever got his hands on Adrian Walker, things would end very badly for the Patriot-turned-traitor. Speaking of traitors…

  “What’s your cut in all this?” he asked Barry.

  Looking confused, he asked, “What do you mean by ‘cut’?”

  Nate rolled his eyes. “What do you get out of this? Because as sure as I’m standing here, I know you didn’t just walk up to these fine gentlemen and offer all this intel out of the goodness of your heart.”

  “Ah, cut. I see, now.” Barry bobbed his head, but it was Ghost who answered the question.

  “Our commander used a few connections he has to make arrangements for both Barry and his cousin to be transported safely to the States once the mission is complete.”

  “Then, what?” Zade asked. “Those two go into Witness Protection or something?”

  “Or something,” Coach’s deep voice rumbled.

  “Fine by me,” Matt shrugged.

  “I don’t give two fucks where this asshole and his cousin end up. I just want to go in, take care of Yavuz, Achim, and Walker, and get Gracie the hell out of here.”

  A smile spread across Ghost’s face. “That’s the plan, Carter.”

  “Alright, then.” Nate looked at the men crowded in the tiny space. “Let’s get to it.”

  Chapter 17

  An hour later, after mapping out their plan of attack, Nate and the others were riding down a long, dirt road.

  Ghost was driving the jeep he, Gabe, and Coach were in. Fletch, Matt, and Zade were in the one following them.

  Nate had to admit, it was somewhat amusing seeing someone as tall and large as Coach sitting in the vehicle’s front seat. It was an average-size Jeep, but Coach was definitely not an average-size man. The dude also had one hell of a memory.

  During the drive, Nate made the four men go back over their plan again. He had to be sure they were ready. Gracie’s life—his life—depended on it.

  When Gabe asked a question about the farm home’s layout, Coach spit out the building’s floor plan with s
o much detail, you would’ve thought the man designed the place himself.

  Afterward, they found out Coach had an eidetic memory, which explained everything. It also made Nate a little jealous of the big guy.

  Between working intelligence for the Navy and now as Bravo’s technical analysis expert, the ability to remember everything he read and saw sure would’ve come in handy.

  Soon, Ghost was pulling off the road and into a smattering of trees. Fletch followed their tracks. Once they were too far off the road to be seen by anyone driving by, they stopped and the men got out.

  After a final weapons and com check, Ghost led them through the trees to the backside of the property Yavuz was supposedly at. Nate’s heart pounded harder and harder with each step.

  He didn’t know what condition they’d find Gracie in, but no matter what, he would get her out of there. Even if it was the last thing he did.

  Walking beside Gabe, Nate began to silently pray. He’d been doing that a lot, lately. More than he had in a very long time. He just hoped, for her sake, God was listening.

  As they reached the edge of the tree line, Ghost held up a fist to signal to the men they needed to stop. Nate glanced through the limbs at the large, white house before them.

  From their position, he could see two men dressed in black pacing back and forth along the south wall. Another did the same along the east side. They assumed a fourth man was to the west, as well as two more in the front.

  So far, everything lined up with what Barry had told them.

  One of the two guys in back matched the description Barry had given them of his cousin. Their informant hadn’t wanted to stay at the tiny shack of a house alone, but there was no room for him in their vehicles. Even if there was, he just would’ve been another distraction.

  “Ready?” Ghost whispered over his shoulder.

  “Hell, yes.”

  Nate and the Delta badass shared a look before Ghost said, “Remember the plan. We go out just enough to cover Zade, retrieve Rasat, then regroup back here before heading into the house. On my count.”

  Using the same fist as before, he silently counted down from three. On one, the men raised their guns and made their way through the trees, spanning out on either side of Zade to provide cover, if needed.