Hard Landing

by Becky McGraw

  Maddie gagged and swallowed hard. This man was determined to rape her, and she was more determined he wasn’t. Her eyes slid to the rifle against the wall. Jorge was a high-ranking lieutenant in the cartel. If she killed him, they would kill her and Sarah would—no.

  “El Jefe said—” Maddie started, but he cut her off.

  “Put her down, or I’ll snap her neck and yours after I have you,” he said roughly as he exposed himself and fisted his dick.

  Fear ripped through her and she hugged the baby closer as fierce protectiveness surged through her. “Don’t threaten my baby,” she growled.

  “Don’t deny me what I want,” he shot back, his lips curling to show his ragged yellow teeth. “Pull that skirt up, puta, and get on your knees.”

  “No—you’re an animal,” she growled, turning away to shield the baby.

  Sarah’s lips released the suction on her nipple and she let out a cry. Terror filled Maddie and she cooed to her, tried to get her to suckle again, but her wails only rose in volume.

  Oh, God—please hush, baby. Please.

  Jorge reached down and snatched Sarah from Maddie’s arms before she could stop him. Sarah squalled louder as he took a step toward the door and Maddie flew to her feet. Her leg locked up and the pain made her lightheaded as she fell on the dirty floor. Panic paralyzed her as she pushed up to her knees and crawled after him. He stopped at the door to fling it open.

  “Maria! Take this brat now!” he shouted out into the compound.

  Maddie grabbed his pant leg, but he kicked her hard and she flew back to land on her back. She sat up, her eyes landed on the rifle again and before she knew what she was doing, it was in her hands.

  Maria appeared and took Sarah from him, then Jorge closed the door and turned to her wearing an evil, determined smile. It faded fast when he stared at the business end of the rifle Maddie had pointed at the center of his chest.

  “I told you I would kill you first, and I will. Is this your day to die?” she asked, gritting her chattering teeth.

  Several loud pops sounded out in the compound yard. At first, they sounded like fireworks, which didn’t make a bit of sense to Maddie. When these men got drunk at night, they were loud and obnoxious, so it could be. But it wasn’t night. And when the pops became a steady stream, she realized it was gunfire.

  “Fuck,” Jorge snarled as he opened the door to look outside.

  He ran out of the shack buckling his pants, surprisingly leaving Maddie with his rifle. The gunfire got louder and more weapons joined in. It took a painful minute, but she managed to get to her feet. She walked out onto the porch and saw men in the compound on their bellies, firing toward the jungle. Some darted in and out of the cover of the buildings to make their way to the gate.

  They were under attack, maybe by a rival cartel intent on stealing the drug shipment. If they were anything like this group, it meant her baby would be subject to the same fate these monsters threatened if they won. Whoever was attacking her captors had just become her enemy, because Maddie was not letting them take, or hurt, her baby.

  Chapter 6

  In the midst of a barrage of automatic weapon fire, Hawk ducked and ran toward the end of the razor-wire topped, mismatched board fence as rounds flew around him, chipping away at that fence. How in the hell had they gotten caught in a cartel war?

  From the looks of the platoon of rag-tag, dark-skinned, heavily armed thugs, who snuck up behind them to unload from two trucks, and the fact they now surrounded the compound, that had to be what was happening. The immediate spray of bullets they began dumping into the compound said they weren’t there for a social call.

  Hawk was more worried about the return fire coming from inside the compound, which put their surveillance positions in the crossfire. He hoped the others were moving too. Thank God, they’d spread out to surveil the compound and wait for darkness before they moved in closer. Otherwise, the attacking horde would have probably cornered them and shot them like ducks in a row.

  When they got here a couple of hours ago, Hawk got a little too excited when he saw the Little Bird parked at the center of the compound and wanted to get in closer. Max quickly nixed that idea and took command. Hawk gladly relinquished it, because ground combat was not his specialty. Put him in a helo and tell him to provide air support and he would take out everything that moved. This was better left to Max.

  Hawk just wished they had com equipment, because he was working on gut instinct now. The plan was to meet up half a klick to the north of the compound at dusk, so he hoped that’s where everyone was headed now, even though it wasn’t yet dusk.

  The heavy body armor he wore made his legs feel like noodles by the time he reached the end of the fence. Stopping there a minute to catch his breath, he scanned down the back side of the fence and saw a six-foot section had been torn down. He had no idea if the invaders had taken it down to get into the compound, or if it had been like that before. What he did know, was that this was his chance, bullets or not, to get a good, unobstructed look inside.

  Heart pounding in his ears, Hawk put his back to the fence as he crept toward the opening so he could watch the jungle for tangos. When he reached the downed fence he stopped, then crouched and swung into the opening for a quick look-see. Several shanty shacks sat in a sad row to the left, a huge building to the right with what looked to be a bunkhouse beside it, and an armory tent next to that covered in cargo netting. Three snipers were positioned at the corners on the top of the larger building, firing machine guns down into the jungle. Combatants ran from hide to hide across the center of the compound, shooting toward the gate where the attackers filed in like roaches.

  Hawk started to stand to head for the meeting spot, but a flash of red caught his eye and his heart stopped when a woman with ragged, short-cropped auburn hair stepped out of one of the shacks with a rifle on her shoulder.

  There was no way he was leaving that spot until he saw her face—he couldn’t, because his feet wouldn’t let him. A fair-skinned, red-haired woman was completely out of place in this compound, so it had to be her. But she was so thin and frail, her hair botched like a ten-year-old hacked it with dull scissors, he couldn’t be sure.

  She took a step, her knees buckled and he thought she’d fall, but she found her balance and limped with determination toward the frenzied action. She was going to get herself killed, Hawk thought, grinding his teeth to keep from running to get her as he watched her limp toward a truck where a man was hiding. The camo-clad guy turned toward her, looked surprised then angry and she fired off two rounds. He clutched his chest, looked at his bloody hands then lunged for her, but she stepped aside and he fell at her feet.

  Ignoring his unmoving body, she took position at the nose of the truck, aimed and fired sporadically. He thought the recoil would knock her on her ass because she was so frail, but she leaned against the truck and held her own.

  Maybe she could take care of herself. But if that was Maddie, why in the hell was she fighting alongside her captors? She also had to be the woman he’d seen flying the helo this morning—for this cartel—probably on a drug run.

  It just didn’t make sense to him why she’d do that.

  Maybe it wasn’t her.

  Hawk watched while she and the cartel members managed to take down most of the invaders in a matter of minutes. She finally pushed away from the truck and bowed her head as she lowered the weapon to her side. After a second, he tensed in anticipation and smiled when she turned toward him. A lightning bolt of shock slammed through him and he staggered back. His heart shot up to choke him and was the only thing that kept him from vomiting.

  Her face was a grotesque parody of the face in his dreams. A network of raised purplish scars and wide, gaping wounds that criss-crossed over her forehead, cheeks, nose and jaw. Her mouth and left eye sagged at one corner. Those scars were a testament to the horrific injuries she must’ve suffered in the crash and Hawk just wanted to hug her and cry. The patchy, shaggy, dull hair t
hat framed her face in uneven spikes only made it worse. The only thing that was the same about her were those haunting green eyes.

  Those eyes met his and narrowed, as she flung the rifle back up to her shoulder to take aim. Hawk woke up from his nightmare and dove to the other side of the fence just as she opened fire and sprayed it with bullets.

  He scrambled to his feet, stumbled into the jungle and ran. He didn’t know where he was running, but the female commando followed him to spray bullets at his back. Whoever that woman was, he was sure now, she wasn’t the woman he loved. Maddie Carter would never try to kill him and she had seen him well enough.

  She was one of them now, and obviously wanted to stay there. Hawk had to find her brother and tell him they’d probably made a grave mistake coming here to find her, because she just told him she didn’t want to be found.

  By the time Hawk got some of his senses back, enough to stop wandering through the jungle and figure out he was five miles beyond their meeting point, it was well past dark. He might have figured that out sooner, but he’d stopped three times to vomit and became disoriented.

  The image of her brutalized face would be with him forever, and so would the snapshots his mind conjured to pair with them of what she must’ve gone through to get them. The fear she would have felt when she lost control, the pain she’d suffered through to recover. Anyone might snap after going through that.

  Once the shock wore off during his five-mile walkabout, his brain finally started working again and he’d come to some conclusions. If Maddie had seen herself in a mirror, that could explain why she didn’t want to be found. If it was horrifying for him, it had to be doubly so for her to think of living like that back home.

  He couldn’t, and wouldn’t, leave here without her, even if she or her thug friends shot him. If they could rescue her and get her back to civilization, she could get the medical treatment and counseling she needed and be healed. He would help her find the best doctors and surgeons.

  If she couldn’t be completely reconstructed, he would still be by her side to try to help her recover, whether she wanted his help or not. He’d left the military to do it for his mother so she didn’t have to suffer through breast cancer alone, and he would do it for Maddie, too.

  Hawk didn’t love her for her fucking face. He didn’t love her for her body. He loved the woman inside that shell—her sweet, giving heart, her bawdy sense of humor, even her stubborn and determined spirit—which made her choose the military over him.

  Regardless of what happened with her physically, he still wanted that woman. If she didn’t want him after she recovered, he’d just have to deal with it and let her go.

  With a sigh, he cupped his hands around his mouth and cooed loudly—his sign to the guys that he was there, so they didn’t shoot him.

  Chapter 7

  Maddie eased her tired and sore body down on her pallet and let the tears come. In the dark, she could do that. Releasing the hopeless fear and frustration now, would help her survive another day tomorrow. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about Jorge bothering her or Sarah again, and she didn’t have to worry about repercussions from killing him.

  She just wondered who would be guarding her tomorrow while she flew, and prayed it wouldn’t be someone worse. There were worse men in this group, for sure.

  Considering she counted six dead bodies in the courtyard, maybe she wouldn’t be flying tomorrow. Maybe she’d have a break and could spend the whole day with Sarah while they regrouped. The helo may not even be functional enough to fly, with all the bullet holes in the hull. In a fantasy world, she’d have a whole week to spend with her daughter.

  But they wouldn’t allow that. They limited her time with her daughter to keep Maddie cooperative. She had to earn that precious time, and the only way she could do that was flying for them. But maybe since she’d fought beside them today to take out their enemies, she’d get bonus points toward gaining their trust.

  With a shuddering sigh, she closed her eyes and smiled through her tears when Sarah’s sweet face appeared. Today, she made two weeks old. They had both survived two more weeks, and Maddie was getting stronger every day so she could keep her safe.

  They were going to be okay.

  Turning, Maddie adjusted her body to try to get more comfortable on the hard floor. When she moved her leg, a sharp pain pierced through her foot then crawled up to her calf and throbbed there, making her realize her skin was so tight, it felt like it would burst.

  She sat up to massage it, which had helped before and gasped when her flesh burned her palm. That was definitely not good, she thought, moaning as she rubbed harder. She would have to talk to the witch doctor tomorrow, whether she wanted to or not.

  The sickening pain she was learning to deal with, as well as the nausea-inducing feeling of the bones in her ankle grinding together when she pushed the pedals to fly. Mind over matter was a powerful thing, but if she had an infection, she could die. The thought of what would happen to Sarah sent fear slicing through her as she frantically squeezed and released the muscle in her calf.

  God, please don’t let it be that.

  The metal bolt on the door slowly slid back and Maddie tensed. When the door creaked open, she whimpered and wished like hell they hadn’t taken Jorge’s rifle from her when a huge, dark shadow appeared in the doorway.

  What fresh hell was this? Someone else who wanted to rape her?

  Well, she might not have a weapon, but he would have a fight if that were the case. Maddie squinted to try to make out who it was, but he was backlit by the harsh, mega-watt security light in the courtyard.

  “What do you want?” she demanded, forcing strength she didn’t have into her tone. “If you’re here to rape me, El Jefe will have your balls.” El Jeffe would probably give him a medal and a pat on the back, especially if he got her pregnant again, so they had more leverage with her.

  “Maddie? It’s Hawk, sweetheart. I’m here to take you home,” a deep, unaccented voice whispered as the door closed and she was trapped inside the dark shack with the owner.

  Maddie scooted back into the corner and hugged her knees. Had the cartel brought in new men to replace the others already? Was this man’s soft tone, so he could gain her trust to have his way with her? Or was this a trick of some kind to see if they could trust her?

  “This is my home and you are not supposed to be here,” she growled back, as she reached down to rub her calf. “Just go away and leave me alone.”

  “I’m not here to hurt you,” he said and she heard boot steps as he came closer, felt his masculine energy when he stopped to hover above her. “I don’t care what you look like, honey. I just want you to come with me.”

  He didn’t care what she looked like? Of course he didn’t. None of these monsters did. All they cared about was what was between her legs.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you,” she hissed, as every muscle in her body went rigid with fear and she molded her back into the corner.

  “Oh, yes you are,” he growled, kneeling down in front of her.

  If this man was new, maybe she could threaten him into leaving. “Touch me and I will scream. You’ll be dead in five seconds.”

  A hand reached out to gently stroke her cheek and Maddie flinched as she swatted it away, but a strange, comforting tingle remained there. She rubbed her cheek and the ridges there abraded her palm.

  “I said, don’t touch me!” she shouted, and his hand suddenly covered her mouth.

  Maddie fought as she clawed at his arm. She slid down the wall to kick at him with her right foot. He put his shoulder into her right knee to pin her leg against the wall and his hand clamped down on her left ankle.

  Maddie screamed into his palm as pain ripped her apart, bright, blinding stars appearing before her eyes. It seized her brain and electrified her body. She shook violently as she slid down further and bile rushed up her throat.

  Prickles of light followed the stars, and Maddie knew she was going to p
ass out. She fought it as her body went limp, but then welcomed the blackness when he moved his hand away. Like she had been when she was impregnated with Sarah, at least she would be unconscious when he violated her body.

  God, please don’t let me get pregnant this time, was her last thought.

  Maddie groaned when she woke up to the rhythmic, involuntary movement of her body. She squeezed her eyes tight again, waited for the next pounding thrust into her body—but she suddenly realized the movement came from being carried over a broad shoulder, which was pressed into her midsection.

  Disoriented, she panicked as she looked around and saw the dark shapes of tree trunks and heard the sounds of frogs, crickets and other wildlife. She wasn’t being assaulted, she was being carried through the jungle.

  Away from compound. Away from her baby!

  She took a deep lungful of the damp night air and felt like she was drowning, but she managed to work up a scream. It came out as a rusty roar as she tensed and tried to wiggle out of the strong arms clamped around her thighs. Those arms tightened and the bumping stopped.

  “You need to be quiet or you’re going to get us killed,” the man snarled. “We’re almost there, so just be still.”

  “There? Almost where?” she wailed as tears burned her eyes, and his fingers dug into her flesh. “Take what you want from me, but I have to go back to the compound—now!”

  “You are not going back there,” the man replied, his voice gravelly.

  He started walking again, panic seized Maddie and she screamed again. She gritted her teeth and fought him, beat his back with her fists and squirmed in his hold. Getting away from him meant getting back to her baby, and she would fight him to the death, she thought, swinging her elbow up to plant it in the back of his neck.