Hunter's Pride

by McKenna, Lindsay

  They heard the terrorists nearby. Sounds of their running footsteps, of rocks being dislodged by their heavy combat boots, echoed eerily through the tunnel entrance. Dev held his breath. He tensed as the voices got much clearer and closer. Kulani didn’t seem to care one way or another. She continued fixing the dressing around his arm with more supplies from her waist belt. Drawing out a syringe of antibiotics, she unceremoniously lifted a pinch of his skin below the wound and expertly slid the needle into it. Hunter barely felt the prick, his attention fixed on the entrance of the cave.

  Capping the used syringe and needle, Kulani placed it back into the pouch on her belt. She saw Dev tensely watching the tunnel mouth.

  “They won’t find us,” she whispered so only he could hear. “Just relax. They’ll never find the opening.”

  He wanted to believe her but didn’t. Reaching for his rifle with his left hand now that his right arm was useless, Dev was glad he’d trained with the SEALs, who insisted that all team members become ambidextrous. Kulani signaled for him to put the rifle down. She sat near him, her mouth open so that she could breathe more easily and quietly. Her face was tense and her eyes narrowed and assessing.

  Voices drifted into the tunnel. They seemed farther away this time. Dev looked over at Kulani. She’d just saved his life. Reaching with his left hand, he closed his fingers over hers momentarily. Her head snapped up and her eyes widened.

  He winked at her and gave her a pain-filled smile of thanks for what she’d just done. Right now, they couldn’t talk. The chance of discovery was too real. His mind revolved back to their dilemma. How would they get out of this? Cappy had to be called, but not right now.

  Dev’s breath eased a bit as the voices floated away, indicating that the terrorists were leaving the area. Rubbing his furrowed brow, Dev shot another glance at Kulani, who hovered protectively at his side. He saw the fear in her eyes. As she turned her head and met his gaze, she managed a broken smile.

  “They’re leaving,” she whispered. “They’ll think we escaped and they’ll mount a search party for us somewhere else.” Sitting down, her legs crossed, she faced Dev. “How bad is your wound? It looks clean, with no bones involved, but you tell me?”

  He lifted his bandaged arm and slowly flexed his bloody fingers. “You’re right,” he told her in a low tone, “just a muscle injury, no broken bones.”

  Kulani began to feel shaky. She gripped his left shoulder. “They surprised us. I wonder if they knew we came down, and were waiting for us?”

  Dev shook his head. He absorbed her firm, steadying touch. “No, or they’d have picked us off that wall this morning. We’d have been easy targets,” he replied, studying her. She looked beautiful in a wild and natural way. The gray light silhouetted her head, the tendrils of hair, frizzy in the dampness of the cave, framing her face. Her cheek was smudged with mud, her lips parted. Dev saw the shock in her eyes. Smiling gamely, he said, “Hey, I’m okay. I’ll live. I’ve got the best doc in the world—you.”

  Worriedly, Kulani eased her hand down the hard muscles of his left arm. She felt his fingers tangle in hers and she released a broken sigh. “I was so scared, Dev. I wasn’t expecting them.” She placed her hand against her face and tried to take a deep, stabilizing breath. Just the squeeze of his fingers around hers made her feel better.

  “It was a damn good thing you knew about this hideout or we’d be dead right now. Tranquilizer darts aren’t any match against the firepower they had. I’m glad you used the real things, the bullets. We’ll use the darts if we get a chance, later on.”

  Kulani nodded in agreement and allowed her hand to fall away as she looked up at Dev. “The big question is what do we do now? We know someone is back here. We haven’t confirmed it’s Black Dawn yet. Those two guys could have been hunters, not terrorists.”

  Grunting, Dev said, “They were mercs. They made every shot count. They didn’t wildly spray the area like a hunter would. They were mercs hired by Black Dawn, would be my guess. But you’re right. We need to confirm it’s Black Dawn.”

  “I think we need to get you to safety,” Kulani said. “To hell with Black Dawn right now. Your life is more important.” When Kulani pulled her satcom phone from her belt, she saw to her surprise that the case was smashed.

  “Damn,” she muttered, lifting the instrument and examining it. “It’s broken.” Looking over at his, she said, “Give me yours. We need to check in with Cappy.”

  Dev nodded and fumbled on the right side of his hip where the satcom phone was. “Well…” he growled, unsnapping it from the carrying case, “look at this.” He held it up. A bullet had grazed the black plastic phone and destroyed it.

  Kulani gasped. How close Dev had come to dying! If that bullet had not struck the phone, it might have entered his hip and abdomen and he’d have surely died. A chill ran through her. “You got lucky….” she managed to say in a choked voice.

  Dev tossed the phone to the floor of the cave. “Yeah,” he muttered, “I did.” Looking up at her blanched features, he said, “That means that at some point in that firefight, we lost all contact with our people. They don’t know whether we’re dead or alive. Our walkie-talkies are useless. The rain got to them. I tried them up on the ledge last night. No go. Must have been the moisture that did it. We have no way of contacting Cappy or anyone now.” Grimly, Dev stared at the entrance to the cave. “That means Morgan will be forced to hand things over to the FBI. We don’t know what the FBI plans are. And they don’t know we’re still alive….”

  He saw the desperation in Kulani’s eyes. She was raw and hurting. Her fingers gripped his hard. Dev began to realize how much Kulani really cared for him.

  “Look,” he said, “we can’t blow our cover. I have a plan. Right now, Black Dawn is suspicious. They can’t find us so we’ll let them guess about us—are we military, or not? They’ll probably be shutting down their operation right now and looking to get out before the feds can nail them. My guess is they will be moving out of here very soon. No, we’ve got to operate on the premise our cover is blown. That means we have to assume those mercs will run back to the professor and tell him what went down. It means we need to finish this mission before the FBI comes barreling in here with guns blazing. They could blow up the anthrax and release it accidentally. We, at least, have a chance to find it, pick off the terrorists and keep that deadly stuff capped and contained.”

  Kulani nodded, seeing the wisdom in Dev’s speculation. “To escape, the professor will probably call in that black helicopter that comes and goes into the valley.”

  “Bang on,” Hunter grunted. He looked over at their weapons. “And that means we go after them before they make their escape.”

  Kulani’s heart knocked violently in her breast, an icy feeling showering through her. “You mean—now?”

  “No better time,” Dev said. He flexed the poorly working fingers of his right hand. The soft tissue had swelled, inhibiting his abilities. “We’ll give them an hour. Those mercs will be searching other areas for us, thinking we are still running. That’s our ace in the hole. We know that black helo flies in from another island. We don’t know which one. The professor will call it in to pick up him and the anthrax. We’ve got to be at their camp, waiting for that to happen. That’s when we take them out with the drug darts. It’s the only chance we’ll have, Kulani. You know that.” Dev met and held her grave gaze. He saw the protest on her lips, warring with the dawning realization of the truth in her widening eyes.

  “Kauai lies a hundred miles from the nearest island,” Kulani agreed. “And most helos can fly faster than a hundred miles an hour. It could arrive here in less than an hour.”

  “My guess is that the professor and his men aren’t going to call in the helo until they’ve gathered up everything they need to take with them. That buys us at least an hour.” Dev felt the pain floating up his arm. “Get me a pain med?” They had to move—quickly. Or all hell was going to break loose around them. Dev didn’t even wan
t to think about the possibility of Kulani being killed if that anthrax was released during an FBI raid. And that could happen all too easily. No, it was up to them to finish this mission pronto.

  Kulani dug into one of the other pockets around her waist. “Morphine derivative,” she told him as she placed one white, round tablet on his tongue. She opened the canteen and handed it to him. Watching as he slugged down several gulps of water, Kulani felt shaky all over. Dev could have died out there. And this mission wasn’t over yet. As he removed the canteen from his lips and handed it back to her, she whispered, “This is a helluva fix, Hunter. I just find a guy that turns my world upside down and now we’re in this pickle.”

  Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he grinned a little through the pain. “Yeah, well, you turned my head from the beginning.” Reaching out, he cupped her cheek. Her skin was damp from perspiration. “Hang in there, sweetheart. I’m betting on us. Besides—” he grinned a little as he stroked her cheek “—I’m too damn mean and ornery to die.”

  Sighing, Kulani pressed her hand against his. She lay her cheek against the palm of his hand and simply absorbed Dev. “You’re not mean or ornery. You never have been.” Shutting her eyes, she felt tears crowding against them. “Just promise me one thing, Dev. One thing.”

  “I’ll promise you everything,” he rasped. He saw the anguish in her face. The tenderness between them was palpable.

  “Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid out there. We’re a team.” Kulani took his hand and pressed a kiss against the back of it.

  Her kiss tingled up his arm. Looking at her intently, Dev rasped, “We’re a team. You saved my hide.”

  Sniffing, Kulani opened her eyes and self-consciously brushed away the tears. “I was so scared. I’m scared now, Dev.” Her lower lip trembled against a wall of emotion that threatened to avalanche her. Kulani knew men didn’t like to see women cry. Especially in a situation like this. Dev had to rely on her even more than before. She would carry the brunt of this mission, now. Even though he could shoot with either hand, he would not be as good left-handed as he was right-handed, she knew.

  Sliding his arm around her tense shoulders, Dev drew Kulani against the left side of his body. She did not resist his overture and sank gratefully against him, resting her head against his shoulder. He felt her arm slide around his torso. “Mmm, now this is living,” Dev sighed as he held her tightly. “This is all I’ll ever want. My life is here in my arms, did you know that?” Dev knew he was saying a lot. Right now, the truth was the only thing he wanted on the table with Kulani. “I know I don’t deserve somebody like you. Hell, I’ve run scared from women since my divorce from Susan. I felt like a loser. I couldn’t be a father. I couldn’t even be a good husband to her. I was gone when she had the baby…when the little tyke died—oh, hell…But I want to be there for you when you need me.” Pressing a kiss to Kulani’s hair, he offered in a roughened tone, “Somehow it’s easier with you. You let me into your heart. You aren’t afraid to be vulnerable with me and somehow I’m not afraid to open up to you. It’s like a miracle….” And it was, despite the danger around them.

  Kulani tightened her grip around his torso as she heard the undisguised hurt in his deep voice. Tears stung her eyes. She pressed a kiss against the solid cords of his neck. “It wasn’t your fault you lost the baby, Dev. It wasn’t. And that’s malarkey that you couldn’t be a good father. I’ve never met a man as gentle and tender as you are. You know when to drop those hard, male walls you live behind. You know when to be vulnerable….” Wiping her eyes, Kulani whispered fiercely, “So don’t you dare think you’re less of a man! I happen to think you’re wonderful, and I’m falling for you….”

  Dev heard the hitch in her voice and he held her as tightly as he dared. The words I love you were almost ripped from his mouth. He savagely forced them back. Now was not the time to admit anything. He wanted to talk to Kulani about all of this in a place of safety, not in the midst of death. “Hey, sweetheart, you hold my heart in your hands. Remember that, okay? You have from the start….”

  Kulani nodded and pressed her lips together to stop a sob from rasping out of her. She heard Dev’s powerful heartbeat, felt his chest expanding and contracting as she lay against it. There was so much life, so much heart in this fearless warrior. Death was stalking them in earnest now and she didn’t want Dev to die. Would her ancient ancestors decree they both should die today? She pressed her face upward, sought and found Dev’s mouth. With a fierceness she’d never felt before, Kulani kissed him. As her mouth opened beneath his, she felt the returning strength of his lips upon hers. He groaned and the sound reverberated through her like the thunderstorms of yesterday. It was a healing sound. A sound of visceral pleasure—of one primal animal sharing with another.

  That was how he made her feel—primal, a part of all things, and especially a part of himself. As she slid her lips against his, drank of his strength and the molten heat he held for her, Kulani knew that she loved Dev Hunter. She’d never thought she would love again, but now life had given her a treasure in this man—a treasure she hadn’t believed existed, until now.

  Tearing his mouth from hers, his eyes slitted with fire and need, Dev looked down into her innocent, upturned features. How beautiful and wild Kulani looked in that moment, despite the greasepaint. Her lips were parted and so vulnerable to him. Yes, she had given her heart to him in that surprising, heated kiss she’d just initiated. It was as if she were feeding him her strength so he could complete this mission. Easing his hand from her shoulder, he gently touched the crown of her hair.

  “You’re mine,” he growled. “And we’ve got a lot to talk about after we get through with this mission.”

  The sweetness of his promise cut through the massive fear Kulani felt. With a nod, she choked back the rest of her tears. “Yes,” she whispered brokenly. “Yes…”

  Grimly, Dev released her and picked up his rifle. “Let’s saddle up. Time isn’t on our side, sweetheart. And we’ve got a mission to finish.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Kulani wondered if the tangos could hear her heart slamming violently against her rib cage. She and Dev had located the lab and now they squatted among the ferns, completely hidden. The lab had been easy to find; they simply followed the path of broken fern fronds the mercs had left when they’d returned to headquarters after their unsuccessful search.

  It was just past noon and the sun was burning overhead. Humidity was high and sweat crawled down her temples and ribs. Kulani glanced quickly to her left. Dev’s profile was sharp and hard, his mouth thinned. She was seeing his warrior side, the ex-Navy SEAL. There was a different energy around him now, that of a lethal predator. Slowly lifting her hand, she wiped away some of the sweat that threatened to drip into her eyes and make them sting.

  Moving her attention back to the anthrax operation, Kulani was amazed at how small it really was. The lab was simply a dark-green-and-brown camouflage tent set up against the black lava wall, half-hidden by a profusion of guava trees. The area was shaded with green-and-brown netting, making it look like there was a spider web over the whole camp.

  Dev motioned swiftly with his good hand. She jerked her attention to the left of the tent. Two mercs emerged out of the jungle—the same two who had nearly killed them. One was red-haired, tall and angry looking, the other blond, shorter and stockier. His voice rang across the area.

  “Professor Valdemar?”

  Kulani held her breath as they approached the tent. A third merc, a sandy-haired, thinner man who sat stationed nearby, rose to his feet. “He’s busy.”

  The blond-haired man snarled, “Tough. Professor, we got trouble. We need to talk. Now.”

  Professor Jevon Valdemar emerged from the tent. He was a short, emaciated-looking man with a steel-gray goatee, dressed in camouflage fatigues that were obviously too big for his small, wiry frame. He gave the two mercs an imperious look of expectation. “Well? We heard gunfire. What was it?”
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br />   The red-haired one said, “Johnson, here, spotted two tangos. We know they’re military operatives by the way they were dressed.”

  Johnson added, “Yeah, and Campbell here put a bullet into one of ’em. Winged him. They got away, boss. They disappeared on us,” he said, snapping his fingers to underscore the point.

  Valdemar snorted violently. “You fools! You let them get away? I’m paying you Americans good money to do your job.” His voice rose to a screech of disbelief. “We must leave at once!” He turned to the third merc. “Stuart, put a call in for the helicopter. Pronto.” Glaring at the other two mercs, he snarled, “You two get everything packed up in one hell of a hurry.”

  “Boss,” Johnson said, holding up his hand, “we wounded one of them. If anything, they’re long gone.”

  “That’s precisely the problem. I’m sure they have satcom links.” Valdemar peered through his gold-rimmed glasses toward the blue sky, which was now clouding over with an approaching rain shower. “They’ll be coming in with guns blazing. We don’t have much time.” He swung his attention to Stuart, who was on the radio. “Come, I need to get the anthrax into that special carrying case!” He jerked back the tent flap and disappeared inside.

  Kulani let out a long, slow breath. Her heart was still pounding. She knew what had to be done. Looking over at Dev, she saw him slowly turn his head in her direction. His dark green eyes were slits. The intent was there.

  Kulani’s stomach knotted. This was the side of Dev that she’d always known had existed. The warrior side. Now the stakes were high. Deadly. It was two against four. She was glad for the protection of the flak jacket covering the vital parts of her body.

  Dev made a signal for her to pull back from their position. She nodded and followed him silently and slowly. Waving fern fronds would give away their presence. It began to rain, fat drops hitting the trees above them and drips splattering on the ferns. Water began to soak into her nylon suit as they moved farther away.