by Susan Stoker
“You know Emily,” Casey started, nodding at the pregnant woman next to her.
“Hi again,” Wendy said.
“Hi,” Emily returned. “Annie is spending the night at a friend’s house tonight, otherwise she’d be here too.”
Wendy nodded, and Casey went on. “So, from left to right. That’s Rayne. She belongs to Ghost. They’ve been together the longest and she’s kind of our matriarch.”
There were subdued chuckles all around before Casey went on. “Harley is the tall drink of water in front of you. She’s the oldest and smartest of us all. She designs video games and if you give her a computer, she’ll be lost for hours.”
“Blade told me about you,” Wendy said softly. “Jackson would love to pick your brain.”
And just like that, the tears were back. Simply saying her brother’s name was enough to make her remember what was happening and why the women were there in the first place.
“Easy,” Emily said in a soft tone.
Wendy tried to control herself and nodded.
“Kassie is the other prego chick. She’s with Hollywood, and once you meet him, you’ll understand his name. He’s gorgeous and could definitely give ol’ what’s-his-name a run for his money for People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive.”
“How he took a second glance at me, I’ll never know,” Kassie said with a smile. “But now that he’s mine, I’ll cut a bitch if she even tries to take him from me.”
Wendy wouldn’t have believed she could smile, but that did it.
“And last, but certainly not least, is Mary. She’s the short chick.”
“Hey, I’m not that short,” Mary protested.
Wendy had to disagree. She was pretty petite, at least compared to everyone around her. She had short hair with a streak of pink in it, and even though she wasn’t as tall as her friends, there was something about Mary’s countenance that made her the most intimidating of the bunch.
“Hi,” Wendy told her and the others. “Thank you for coming over, although I’m not sure why you’re all here.”
“We’re here to support you,” Rayne said. “To hold your hand when you cry, to wait with you until we have more information. It’s what we Army wives and girlfriends do.”
Wendy was overwhelmed. “But you don’t know me.”
“But we know Blade,” Kassie said.
“And in case you had any doubt, you are definitely a part of our group now,” Casey said. “I’ve never seen my brother so enamored with a woman. He’s dated, but he’s never been serious about anyone before.”
“Fletch said he was a major pain in the ass when you guys weren’t talking.”
“Oh, yeah, Coach wanted to wring his neck,” Harley added.
“Truck told him to get his ass to your place and apologize before they had to knock some sense into him,” Mary added.
Wendy smiled weakly at everyone—but all of a sudden, they weren’t looking at her anymore. Everyone was staring at Mary.
“What?” the woman asked defensively.
“You’ve been hanging out with Truck?” Rayne asked, her brows arching in surprise.
Mary shrugged. “It’s not like that. I just happened to see him the other day in passing.”
Wendy realized that it wasn’t just Rayne who seemed surprised to hear Mary had spent some time with Truck. She didn’t know the dynamics of the group well enough to figure out why though.
“Can you tell us what happened?” Kassie asked Wendy, breaking the tension in the room.
Wendy nodded. Then took a deep breath and told the other women the whole story about Lars and his bullying.
* * *
The seven Delta Force operatives were traveling in two vehicles toward the small red dot on the map. Blade knew without the app, they never would’ve found Jackson and the others in a timely manner. They were well into the restricted training grounds on the post. Lars and his friends had chosen well. It was pitch dark and no one would accidentally stumble upon them as they did whatever they had planned for poor Jenny.
Blade pushed down a little harder on the accelerator. The dot had stopped moving a couple minutes ago, and every minute that went by was another minute closer to Jenny being hurt—and possibly Jackson again.
“Everyone knows the plan, right?” Ghost asked, his voice low and deadly in the silence of the Jeep.
Ghost, Truck, and Beatle were in the Jeep with Blade, while Fletch, Hollywood, and Coach were following in Fletch’s Highlander. They were all wearing their night-vision goggles so they could more effectively sneak up on Lars and the others. They were careening down the dirt road with their headlights off at a highly dangerous rate of speed.
Ghost had his phone on speaker and was communicating with Hollywood. They’d been discussing the best way to sneak up on, and take out, Lars and his gang.
“Affirmative,” the soldiers in the other car said practically in tandem.
“The main unknown in this scenario is Jackson. He said there were five men and two vehicles. Blade, we’ve got the five covered, you’re responsible for Jackson. Understand?”
Blade pressed his lips together and nodded. He wanted Lars, but Ghost was smart enough to know better than to let him get anywhere near the punk. He’d kill the bastard and feel no remorse for it. His job was to get to Jackson and make sure he was safe and out of the way so the team could take down the kidnappers.
Truck’s job was Jenny. He was the biggest and strongest of the group, and if he needed to manhandle someone in order to secure the girl, he would. He’d do whatever was necessary to get her out of the line of fire to safety.
“We’re coming up to the coordinates. About half a mile dead ahead,” Blade said as he took his foot off the accelerator. They needed to get as close as they could to the location without giving themselves away.
When they were within a quarter mile, he stopped his Jeep in the middle of the road. He noticed Fletch angled his car behind him, also blocking the road. Nodding, knowing if Lars or one of his friends tried to run, they’d have to slow down to go around their cars, giving them a shot to catch up, he climbed out.
Adrenaline was coursing through his veins and all Blade wanted to do was get to Jackson. To make sure he was safe. Wendy couldn’t handle it if anything happened to her brother. He was going to make sure Jackson got back to her safe and sound. She was relying on him, and he wouldn’t let her down.
Without a word, the team headed toward their targets. They moved swiftly through the scrub brush that this part of Texas was notorious for. They made no sound as they moved in on the five assholes who would dare kidnap and assault two teenagers minding their own business.
Blade again had the thought that this probably wasn’t the first time this group of men had done this sort of thing. One didn’t start a life of crime by kidnapping and gang-raping a girl.
No, they’d most certainly done this before. Perhaps taking their last helpless victim to this same exact spot.
Making a mental note to have their commander get in touch with the local cops about missing teenagers or women, Blade adjusted his night-vision goggles and moved faster to where the app said Jackson waited.
It was go time.
* * *
“What’s taking so long?” Wendy grumbled. She’d gotten past the weepy stage; now she was anxious and angry that she hadn’t heard anything. She hated not knowing what was going on. Hated not knowing if Jackson or Jenny was all right. Hated not knowing if Blade was hurt or not.
It was silly, all her concern should be for her brother, but she couldn’t help worrying about Blade as well.
Yes, he was a badass Delta Force soldier, but bullets didn’t care about that. He could still be shot, or beat up, or cut with a knife. She couldn’t stop thinking about everything that could happen to him, and she couldn’t stop those scenarios from playing over and over again in her mind.
“Stop worrying,” Rayne ordered. Harley had pulled a laptop out of her bag and was at the dining roo
m table clicking away at the keys. Kassie and Emily were sitting on one side of the couch, talking about babies and weird pregnancy cravings. Casey was baking something in the kitchen.
That left Mary and Rayne with her. Wendy paced, Mary was standing near the wall, and Rayne was sitting at the other end of the couch.
“I can’t help it,” Wendy said. “I keep imagining all the horrible things that could be happening.”
“Yeah, I was like that the first few times Ghost and the others went on a mission. I knew better than most what actually happens on some of their missions.”
“What do you mean?” Wendy asked.
Rayne went on to explain how she’d been caught in the middle of an Egyptian coup, and Ghost and the rest of the team had appeared as if out of nowhere to rescue her. “There I was, in Truck’s arms, bleeding as we ran out of that government building, knowing someone was probably going to shoot us at any second. It was awful.”
Wendy had stopped pacing and stared at Rayne with wide eyes. “Seriously?”
“Yup. Then the very next mission he went on, Ghost was hurt and didn’t bother to tell me. I was pissed.”
Mary chuckled. “That’s an understatement, Raynie.”
The two women smiled at each other. “I missed you,” Rayne told her friend. “How come you’ve been avoiding me?”
“I haven’t.”
“Bullshit,” Rayne said. “When you were sick, we were together every day. I held you as you puked into the toilet and even got in the shower with you to make sure you didn’t keel over. And lately, I think I’ve seen you like twice in the last six months.” Her voice lowered. “It’s like I don’t even know you anymore. I don’t know how work is going, or how you’re feeling. I miss you, Mare. We live in the same damn town and I miss you.”
“I’m sorry,” Mary said, her eyes downcast. “It’s been a weird time for me.”
“Just tell me you’re done holding me at arm’s length,” Rayne insisted. “I want my best friend back.”
“I’m done holding you at arm’s length,” Mary repeated. “The last thing I ever want to do is hold you back from the wonderful life you were meant to have.”
Mary’s confession seemed to upset Rayne, for some reason. “What does that mean?” Rayne asked.
“It means that you’re practically married now,” Mary said. “You have a life outside of me. After I got sick, I told you time and time again that you shouldn’t wait for me to get married. That was something we agreed on one night when we were drunk and depressed. It’s ridiculous now. You have Ghost and all the other women here. It’s not just the two of us anymore.”
Rayne sighed. “I know what you told me, but I really thought you and Truck were going to make it work. He loves you, Mare. I wasn’t actually going to insist on us getting married together, but…after I saw you and Truck together? I really thought if I waited long enough, you guys would get together officially, and we really could have that double wedding ceremony.”
“Raynie,” Mary said softly, then pressed her lips together as if she was trying not to cry.
“I love you, Mare,” Rayne said. “We’ve been friends forever, and I guess I’m finally realizing the harder I pushed you, the more you pulled away. That was my mistake. I’m sorry.”
Wendy felt like an interloper. She didn’t know what the history was between the two women, but felt a pang of jealousy that they had a friendship as close as they did. She’d always wanted that for herself, but had never been in a position to have it. She’d moved too much and had too many secrets. Not to mention being busy raising her kid brother. None of that was conducive to making lasting, close friendships.
“I love you too,” Mary said in a low voice. “I promise I’m done keeping my distance.”
The two women smiled at each other until Kassie said, “I think we should call the commander.”
“I’m not sure,” Rayne replied. “Ghost said we were only to call him in an emergency.”
“I think this constitutes an emergency,” Kassie argued. “Our men have been gone long enough to have found and taken care of those assholes by now. And even if they haven’t, maybe he can give us an update.”
“Does he even know what’s going on?” Harley asked from the table.
“I don’t know this commander guy, but Blade said Truck was going to call him,” Wendy said.
“There. It’s decided. I’ll do it,” Kassie said, pulling out her phone. “I’m pregnant and shouldn’t have this stress.” She smirked. “Besides, I think the commander is scared of me and Emily. He doesn’t want us to go into premature labor or anything.”
Everyone chuckled.
Several minutes later, Kassie hung up her phone with a sigh. “He doesn’t know anything yet,” she announced. “He said he’d make sure he told the guys to call as soon as they could.”
Wendy sighed and plopped down on the floor, curling her arms around her drawn-up knees. “Do you guys think this place needs some color? Blade said he wouldn’t mind if I spruced it up a bit. I could use your help to figure out what to buy. It’ll keep my mind off of things.”
“Hallelujah!” Casey cried as she entered the living room, throwing her arms up in the air in triumph. “I’ve been after him ever since he bought this place to jazz it up. He refused to let me help. He’s obviously in love with you, Wendy. There’s no way he’d invite you to decorate his precious condo if he wasn’t.”
Wendy blushed. He’d said that he loved her, but a part of her hadn’t really believed it. Having his sister’s confirmation went a long way toward chipping at the insecure part of her that taunted she wasn’t good enough for Blade.
“So, you’ll help?”
“Of course. Harley, we need to use your computer!” Casey told the other woman.
Harley rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Let me finish up this one line of code where the soldiers kick the asses of the scumbag terrorists who kidnapped a helpless teenager, then you can use it.”
“She’s a little bloodthirsty,” Emily mock-whispered to Wendy.
Wendy couldn’t help but smile. God, she wouldn’t have made it through the waiting if these women hadn’t come over. She liked them—all of them. Liked the dynamic between them all and how close they seemed. She only hoped she’d have the chance to continue to get to know them better and be a part of this close-knit group.
* * *
Blade crouched behind one of the pickups in the clearing and scowled. There were four men gathered around an injured and bleeding Jackson. The fifth man held Jenny in his arms, one hand over her mouth. She was struggling and crying, but she was no match for the man’s strength.
Lars and his cronies were taunting and kicking Jackson, telling him how much they were going to enjoy Jenny and there was nothing he could do about it.
“We’re going to take turns with her right in front of you, pretty boy. You’ll be helpless to do a damn thing. Now…aren’t you glad you stowed away in my truck? It’s really too bad, we were looking forward to telling you all about what we did to her later…you ruined our fun. But then again, now you get to watch it firsthand.”
“You won’t…get away…with this,” Jackson said, his words broken and painful to hear. He was holding his side and blood dripped from cuts on his face.
Lars laughed. “We already are.”
And with that, he began to kick the weak and helpless Jackson.
Blade saw Jackson attempt to use some of the self-defense moves he and the others had taught him, but nothing he did was very effective against the four men ganging up on him.
Blade was moving before he thought about making sure the others were ready. He couldn’t sit back and watch Jackson get beaten to death. Not when he could do something about it. His mission was Wendy’s brother, and that meant making sure he was safe from the others. He could certainly get some licks in as he made his way to his target.
Blade arrived at the circle of men around Jackson before the rest of his team. He took out one man w
ith a powerful kick to the back of his knee. He fell to the ground with a thud. He was on another before they even realized he was there. He punched the man in the back, right in his kidney, then grabbed him by the shoulders and kneed him in the face hard as he fell.
Before he could move on to another, his team was there. They swarmed around the rest of the men like avenging angels.
“Blade—Jack,” Ghost ordered, even as Blade turned to take down another one of the bullies surrounding Wendy’s brother. He wanted to kick all the men’s asses, but he was too well trained to disobey Ghost. He headed for Jackson and threw himself on his knees in front of the battered teenager. He put a hand under his chin and pulled his face up so he had no choice but to look at him.
“We’re here, Jackson. You did it. We’re here.”
“Jenny,” Jackson said, his eyes darting to the right, trying to find the girl.
Blade looked up to see a standoff—Lars had a gun pointed at Jenny, the guy who was holding her, and Truck and Ghost.
“Put down the gun,” Ghost ordered. “It’s over, Lars.”
“I’ll fucking shoot her,” Lars bit out. “Back off and let me go to my truck.”
“Dude, you can’t shoot her. I’m standing right here!” the man holding Jenny said.
“Fuck off, you pussy,” Lars told his so-called friend. “You were the one who wanted a first go at her, Chuck. You were the one who begged to hold her so you could feel up her tits while we dealt with her boyfriend.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t know you had a gun or were gonna go all crazy and shit!”
“Listen to your friend,” Ghost interrupted. “Put the gun down and let’s talk about this.”
“I’m not stupid,” Lars said. “The second I do, you’re gonna be all over my ass and my face’ll be in the dirt.”
“True, but you won’t be dead,” Ghost countered calmly. “You aren’t getting out of this.”
“Fuck this,” Chuck said, and he let go of Jenny, holding his hands up and backing away from her.