Chapter One
Cole “Rex” Kingston wasn’t happy. Neither were any of his teammates.
They’d just gotten back from a mission, only to have to turn right around and leave for another. That wasn’t what made them unhappy though; they were used to occasional back-to-back missions. But this one was personal. More so for Rex than the others. Not only had servicemen and women from their own base been kidnapped, but the woman Rex had been crushing on was one of the missing.
Rex had been flirting with Navy Nurse Lieutenant Avery Nelson for weeks, finding reasons to go to the hospital on base where she worked to talk to her. He loved her smile and sense of humor, the way she was always willing to help her fellow nurses. He could tell she was well respected by her colleagues.
He was also very physically attracted to the woman. She kept herself in shape, but had curves that filled out her scrubs nicely. What he really loved, however, was her adorable freckles and red hair.
Rex had never really thought much about the color of a woman’s hair. He’d been with blondes, brunettes…women with black hair. But there was something about the combination of Avery’s red locks and her freckles that got to him.
And now she was missing. Taken captive by a group of insurgents who lived in the town and caves near the military base where she was stationed in Afghanistan.
He may never get to hear her infectious laugh or see those cute freckles again. He never should’ve waited to ask her out. He had no idea why he hadn’t gone after what he’d wanted. He just hoped it wasn’t too late, that the team would be able to find Avery, and he’d get a chance to let her know how fascinating he found her, and how badly he wanted to get to know her better.
The SEAL team had arrived in the country twenty-four hours ago and had interviewed as many people as they’d been able to find who were willing to help, and what they’d learned wasn’t good.
Two army privates who’d been driving two of the trucks filled with weapons bound for the military base had been taken hostage. The vehicles themselves were also missing, which was bad. Very bad. The insurgents now had a huge amount of firepower at their disposal.
For some reason, Lieutenant Avery Nelson was also missing. She was in the Navy Nurse Corps. She’d been in the country on a special assignment to assist locals in setting up clinics for Afghani women. There should’ve been no reason to take her, especially since she wasn’t involved in the weapons convoy in any way. Apparently, however, she’d been working in a small local clinic near where the convoy had been attacked and, after the building had been destroyed, was taken, along with the drivers of the trucks.
Rex’s team had lucked out big time and found a local who was willing to talk. If anyone found out the man had been helping the Americans, he’d most likely be killed on the spot. His family too. His children and wife likely tortured. The insurgents would make an example of him to everyone else.
Talk to the Americans and die.
The man had been ordered by the insurgents to take up arms so they could drive the infidel Americans out of the area. But an American had saved his wife from dying in childbirth. A soldier, who had stayed with his wife in their home for over twenty-four hours as she’d labored. Without that woman, he wouldn’t have a family. Both his child and his wife would’ve died. That was three years ago, and the man had never forgotten.
Outwardly, he obeyed, but he knew firsthand that not all Americans were bad.
So when he’d seen the American woman being held captive when he’d been sent to arm himself with a weapon stolen from the convoy, the man had been sickened. He’d recognized her as one of the nurses who were there to teach their women about childbirth. She was trying to help them, not kill them.
In the middle of the night, he’d snuck out of his small hut, leaving his wife and child to come to the military base to tell them what he’d seen.
Luckily, Rex and his team had been there. Through an interpreter, they’d found out the location of the cave, deep in the mountains, where Avery was being held hostage.
It was a huge stroke of luck. Without that information, they would’ve had to search every nook and cranny they came across, which would’ve been a suicide mission.
Now they were getting ready to head up into the mountains to retrieve Avery, and hopefully the two missing men as well, though the local man hadn’t mentioned seeing the latter.
Right before they were about to leave, a sergeant major came into the room they were using as a command post and informed them they’d just found the two missing privates.
They were deceased.
The information made Rex’s heart rate spike.
“And the lieutenant?” he asked.
“No sign of her,” the sergeant major answered.
That should’ve been bad news, but at the moment, Rex couldn’t think of anything better.
“We’re damn sorry about the loss of your men,” Rocco told him. “Where were they found?”
“Their bodies were dumped alongside the road outside of town,” the sergeant major told them.
“What was their condition?” Gumby asked.
The other man winced. “Not good. They’d been tortured for sure. The bottoms of their feet were torn up, as if they’d had to walk barefoot for quite a ways. They’d also lost quite a bit of weight, so we’re figuring they were most likely starved in the days since the attack.”
Rex ground his teeth. The thought of Avery being treated like the privates had been made him want to fucking kill anyone who dared lay a hand on her.
“Estimated time of death?” Rocco asked.
The sergeant major shook his head. “It’s hard to tell for sure. But we’re guessing within the last day or so. As you know, the heat out here is extreme, so it’s possible it was even more recent.”
“Thank you for letting us know,” Phantom said. “The last thing we need is to be searching for someone who’s already been found.”
The sergeant major nodded. “Are you sure you don’t want some of my men to go with you? I’ve got a team of Army Rangers who’re ready to go.”
“Thank you, but no,” Rocco said. “Since receiving intel from the eyewitness, our plan is to go up into the mountains, find the lieutenant, and get the hell out of there. The more people we have, the more visible we’ll be. But again, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m not happy about that convoy being attacked. It wasn’t random. We have trucks coming in and out of this base all the time. There’s no way the locals could’ve known we were bringing weapons in at that specific time and place unless they had an inside source.”
“You think you’ve got a traitor?” Bubba asked.
The sergeant major nodded. “Yeah, I do. And I’m going to find out who it was and nail his or her ass to the wall. The repercussions of those weapons getting into the hands of the insurgents goes beyond the murder of those two privates and the kidnapping of the navy lieutenant. Our mission here has taken a huge step backward in regard to peace in the region as a result. With the enemy now armed as well as we are…I don’t have to say that it puts everyone—innocent civilians and military personnel alike—in extreme danger.”
Rex nodded along with his teammates. He knew as well as they all did how dangerous the situation had gotten with the theft of the weapons. Rifles, grenades, bullets, RPGs, even a missile or two, had all disappeared in the blink of an eye. The thought that one of their own, an American soldier or sailor, had betrayed their country was a devastating slap in the face.
But at the moment, Rex was more concerned about Avery. She’d been gone almost two weeks. At the mercy of dangerous and unscrupulous men. He prayed their source was correct and she was still in the cave where she’d last been seen. He hated to think of the friendly woman he’d been too chicken to ask out being tortured and brutalized.
Taking a deep breath and turning to check his gear for the tenth time, leaving Rocco to deal with the sergeant major, Rex made sure he had everything they’d need when they found the missing lieutenant. Extra clothes, a pair of boots—since their source said she’d been stripped of her own—water, food, energy gel packs, and medical supplies. He had no idea what shape they’d find Avery in, but he prayed harder than he’d ever prayed before that she’d be alive.
He hated that he hadn’t had the guts to ask her out before she’d left California. He knew better than most how short life was. But for some reason, he’d decided to just visit her when she got back from overseas and see if she’d be interested in having coffee. Or lunch. Then dinner. But everything had changed now.
Even if they did find her alive, he had no idea what condition she’d be in. Physically or mentally. She might never want to be touched by a man again. Her sunny disposition may have been doused forever.
The thought of the beautiful woman he’d been drawn to getting beaten to within an inch of her life made him angrier than he could ever remember being.
Picking up the extremely heavy pack, he shrugged it onto his back over his desert camo uniform. They were about to head into very rough terrain, though it wasn’t as if they hadn’t done it before. But this time, it was more personal for Rex.
Hang on, Avery, he thought to himself as he turned to listen to Rocco giving them last-minute instructions. Just hang on. We’re comin’ for you.
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