Navy SEAL Captive (15 page)

Duff eased the boat into the shards of fiberglass. The SEALs grabbed the man out of the water and hauled him onto the boat.

The next second, all hell broke loose, and the men were shouting. Steel glinted in the flashlight's beam.

“He's got a knife!” Montana yelled too late to stop the man they'd hauled aboard from sinking it into Sawyer.

Jenna screamed and was halfway over the rail when Carly dragged her back onto the deck.

Montana, Quentin and Duff tackled the man and dragged him away from Sawyer.

Sawyer clutched the knife protruding from his belly. “Okay, this might not be a flesh wound,” he said. When he moved to pull the knife from his gut, three SEALs shouted at once, “Don't move it!”

Jenna couldn't breathe, her heart lodged in her throat and tears rolled down her cheeks. She stood frozen to the deck, staring down at the man who'd touched her like no other. And he might at that moment be dying.

Duff left the attacker to Montana and Quentin and knelt at Sawyer's side.

Lance dropped down from the helm. “Let's get the sling over the side and haul him onto the deck.” Natalie and Becca sprang into action, swinging a miniature boom around to the side of the yacht and dropping the cable equipped with a sling to the boat below.

“I'll get the first-aid kit.” Carly ran into the lounge and returned a few seconds later with the kit they'd used to patch Duff's injury not so long ago.

Duff helped Sawyer into the sling and gave a thumbs-up.

Lance flipped a switch and the cable tightened, slowly raising Sawyer into the air. When he was high enough, they swung the arm of the boom over the deck and eased Sawyer down onto the surface.

Jenna dropped to her knees beside him and stared in horror at the knife buried in his belly. For a moment, panic threatened to overwhelm her. “When I said I didn't want to live a boring life, I didn't mean for you to go to all the trouble of making it exciting, just for me.” She forced a laugh that sounded more like a sob.

Carly moved in, shoving Jenna aside. “We need to stabilize the knife until we can get him to a hospital.”

Natalie brought towels and the first-aid kit.

Jenna gave Carly room to work, but stayed at Sawyer's side.

Sawyer reached up with a bloody hand and brushed his knuckle across her cheek. “This ain't nothing, sweetheart.”

She snorted. “Yeah, I bet all the SEALs say that.” She'd seen the movies. They didn't end well.

“I'll be okay.” He tipped his head to the side. “I'm more worried about getting blood on the deck from the wound in my shoulder.”

Pushing aside the panic, Jenna held out her hand. “Got a pair of scissors in that kit, Carly?”

Carly opened the first-aid kit and handed Jenna a pair of scissors. “We need to focus on stopping the bleeding.”

Jenna cut away the fabric of his T-shirt and pushed it aside to stare down at the ripped corner of Sawyer's shoulder. The coppery scent of blood filled the air. Forcing back her gag reflex, she went to work, focusing on stopping the flow of blood from Sawyer's shoulder by applying a pressure bandage to the front and one to the back where a bullet had entered. She was careful not to interfere with what Carly was doing to stabilize the protruding knife.

As Jenna worked over Sawyer, the rest of Sawyer's team climbed aboard the yacht, dragging with them the man who'd stabbed Sawyer.

Chapter Fifteen

Jenna placed her body between Sawyer and the man who'd tried to kill him, even though the attacker didn't look as if he had anything left in him for a repeat performance. He bled from several wounds, his face pale and his lips a deepening shade of bluish-purple. Montana and Quentin laid him on the deck, far enough away from Sawyer that the man couldn't do him any harm.

“Who are you?” Duff asked the man.

“What's it matter?” the man responded, his voice raspy. He coughed weakly. “I'll be dead soon.”

“Why were you trying to kill us?”

“Doesn't matter.”

Becca joined the SEALs huddled around the man on the deck. “His name is Trey Danner. Former FBI. Since being fired from that job, he's gone rogue and has been hiring out to the highest bidder.”

“Doing what?” Jenna asked. “Killing people?”

Becca nodded. “He's a mercenary.”

Danner shrugged, the movement making him wince and then cough. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. “It pays better than flipping burgers.”

Duff stepped forward, his fists clenched. “Bastard.”

Lance nodded. “He's the guy we saw in the video of the lobby. The one who came to the concierge desk after Jenna took the case.”

“I ran into him in the resort lobby,” Jenna shivered. “So he was supposed to receive the case with the sniper rifle.”

Danner closed his eyes. “Don't know what you're talking about.” He coughed and lay still.

“Who hired you?” Duff dropped to a knee beside the injured man.

“Dead men don't tell secrets...” Danner whispered, his words barely understandable.

Duff reached for the man's shoulders and shook him. “Who the hell hired you to kill Sawyer?”

Montana laid a hand on Duff's shoulder. “Let's get him fixed up, and then we can interrogate him.”

Duff released his hold and stood.

Quentin pressed two fingers to the base of Danner's throat. “I don't think there will be any fixin'. This guy's dead.”

Lance hurried up the steps into the helm. Before long he had turned the vessel toward Cancún, radioing ahead for an ambulance to meet them at the dock.

While Carly kept pressure on the belly wound around the knife, Jenna held Sawyer's hand in hers, praying he'd stay alive long enough to get to medical help.

Sawyer looked up at her, his eyes glazed, his face pale. “I swear I'll be okay.” His voice faded and his eyelids drooped closed.

Jenna glanced up to see Natalie, Montana, Duff and Quentin surrounding Becca.

Duff tilted his head toward Natalie, his eyes narrow. “You'd better question her. I'm not in the mood to be nice.”

Natalie's lips curved briefly as she faced Becca. Her expression sobered and she stared at the woman, all trace of humor gone. “Why are you here and why did you know so much about Danner?”

Becca straightened, throwing back her shoulders. “I've been following Danner.”

“Why?” Quentin shot at her.

“He killed someone I cared about,” Becca said, her voice strong, her chin tilting.

“Who?”

She took a deep breath, her eyes glazing. “My father.”

“And what makes you qualified to chase mercenaries?” Natalie asked.

Becca's lips quirked. “Same thing that makes you qualified to go after him.”

Lance called down from above. “Natalie, Royce said not to shoot Becca. She's one of us.”

Becca smiled. “You've been away for two years.” She stuck out her hand to Natalie. “Welcome back to SOS.”

Natalie took the hand, her brows furrowed. “You must have come on board after I left.”

“That's right,” Becca said. “I've heard a lot about you.”

Sawyer's eyes blinked open, and he stared up at Jenna. “Did I hear that right? She's an agent?”

Jenna touched his face. “You heard right. Apparently she works with the same agency as Lance and Natalie.”

Becca's smile faded. “The difference is, I have a stake in the outcome of this case.”

“Revenge?” Duff slipped an arm around Natalie's waist.

“No.” Becca crossed her arms. “Justice. I refuse to let the man who killed my father get away with murder.”

“Well, you got what you came for,” Quentin said.

Becca shook her head. “Almost. But not quite. You heard Danner. Someone hired him to kill Sawyer and Devita. I'll bet whoever hired him to kill those two was also responsible for killing my father.”

“The question is, what is the connection between your father, Devita and Sawyer?” Duff asked.

Jenna gripped Sawyer's hand. “The note said to bring Sawyer Houston to a certain location, dead or alive.”

“Which leads me to think they were going to use him to lure his father to Cancún.”

“And since they didn't care if he was dead or alive, they probably weren't after Sawyer for a ransom.”

“I'm still here,” Sawyer said. “Not dead.”

Jenna chuckled. “Stay with us. We'll figure this out.”

Sawyer squeezed Jenna's hand and turned his head toward Natalie, Becca and the others. “My father's on his way to Cancún, despite my request that he not come.”

Becca drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Whoever hired Trey could have more than one mercenary working for him. When Senator Houston arrives, he could be the next target.”

Sawyer tried to sit up but fell back, wincing. “Got to get to him first.”

Jenna laid a hand on his shoulder. “You'll be in the hospital. You're not going anywhere.”

“But we can meet him,” Duff said. “And equip him with some body armor before he heads to the hospital to visit his son.”

Becca shook her head. “The man's a moving target. The man who killed my father and Devita is ruthless. He probably wants the senator to suffer and will kill his son first. Then he'll stop at nothing to kill the senator.”

Jenna's mind raced ahead, her thoughts processing all the pieces. “Then we have to kill Sawyer and let the man who wants the senator dead have the senator killed.”

Sawyer frowned up at her. “I thought you liked me.”

Jenna smiled down at him. “Don't you see? Whoever wants the senator to suffer won't kill him until he watches his son die.”

“My father doesn't give a damn about whether I live or die,” Sawyer said softly. “But I kind of like living, if you don't mind.”

“So we fake your death, which brings your father to the hospital. When he leaves the hospital, we assassinate him.”

“I can go along with a fake death—ideally it'll only be fake.” Sawyer's frown deepened. “But though I don't get along with my father, I don't want him to die.”

“Yeah, neither do we.” Becca tapped her chin. “But until we find out who is behind all these killings, your father needs to fake his death and go into some kind of witness protection program. Otherwise, he'll continue to be a target of this madman.”

“Royce can set up the witness protection program,” Natalie said.

Becca nodded. “He's done it before. And it might be better if he does. I have a feeling the man behind these assassination attempts is or was someone in a government agency.”

“Why?” Jenna asked.

“My father was a member of the CIA working with the DEA on a drug-trafficking case involving Devita.”

“How does Sawyer's father fit into this?” Duff asked.

Becca's brows drew together. “I'm not sure, but my father mentioned having meetings with Senator Houston on several occasions.”

Sawyer's fingers tightened around Jenna's. “My father was on the Subcommittee for Terrorism, Drug Trafficking and International Operations.” He spoke with his eyes closed, his grip weakening. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll sleep.”

His hand went limp in Jenna's. She leaned forward, touched her fingers to the base of his neck and held her breath. The weak but steady thump of his pulse gave her only a brief feeling of relief. If they didn't get him to a hospital soon, he'd bleed out.

The lights of Puerto Cancún made the sky glow as the yacht turned into the port's channel.

“We need to prepare for boarding.” Natalie nodded to the men. “Gather anything and everything to do with weapons and ammunition and stash it in the safe room below.”

Montana, Duff and Quentin sprang into action. Carly, Natalie and Becca followed. Before they pulled into the slip at the marina, every weapon and all the ammo and casings had been policed and stored in the hidden room on the lower level. The men had scrubbed their faces clean of the camouflage paint and brought a damp cloth for Jenna to clean the paint off Sawyer's face.

Strobe lights on emergency vehicles blinked on the road beside the marina.

As the yacht pulled in, Mexican police swarmed the decks, followed by emergency medical technicians carrying a stretcher.

Careful not to jostle the knife in Sawyer's belly, they loaded him onto the stretcher, started an IV and affixed an oxygen mask to his face.

“I'm going with him,” Jenna insisted.

“Are you a relative?” one of the technicians asked in heavily accented English.

“I'm his fiancée,” she lied. She didn't want to let Sawyer out of her sight. There might be other hired mercenaries wandering around Cancún. She refused to let them have a clear shot at Sawyer.

“We'll be right behind you,” Duff reassured her. “We won't let anything happen to him.”

Before Jenna could climb into the back of the ambulance with Sawyer, Natalie touched her arm. “We'll get my boss to contact Sawyer's father before he lands in Cancún and set the plan in motion.”

Jenna nodded. “Thank you. Let me know if I can help in any way. Otherwise I'll be at Sawyer's bedside.”

Natalie stared at her for a long moment. “You already know what has to happen.”

“I do,” Jenna said.

Natalie, Becca, Carly and Lance would stay behind and answer questions about Trey's death, claiming he was the victim of a terrible boat wreck, which was the truth.

“I'll be outside the room to provide protection,” Duff said. “Sawyer's like a brother to me.”

“And me,” Montana added.

“And me,” Quentin agreed.

Jenna climbed into the back of the ambulance and smiled at the SEALs. “He's lucky to have you.”

“Damn right he is.” Duff winked and jogged to the battered Jeep in the parking lot. Quentin and Montana hurried after him.

Jenna hoped they remembered to fill the radiator with water before they started the engine on the bullet-riddled rental car.

She sat as far forward and out of the way as possible so that the medical technician had access to work on Sawyer, if needed. She was comforted whenever she caught glimpses of the Jeep following them to the hospital.

Sawyer didn't awaken.

When they reached the hospital, he was taken directly into surgery.

Duff, Montana and Quentin joined Jenna in the waiting room.

The scent of disinfectant brought back memories of being in the hospital with her mother as she lay dying of cancer. The last time she had held her mother's hand, Jenna had been twelve.

Her throat constricted and her fists clenched. Sawyer would not die. He couldn't. Though they'd only just met and spent two nights making love, their chemistry was off the charts. Jenna knew Sawyer was special, compassionate and the kind of guy who would never leave a woman standing alone at the altar. He was a man of his word, a man of integrity and grit.

Her father would approve of Sawyer and welcome him into the family, if anything came of their relationship.

She brushed a tear from her eye, shaking her head at how far ahead of herself she was getting. Sawyer had to make it through the operation first. Then, if he was interested, she hoped they could go on a real date. Maybe relax on the beautiful beaches of Cancún without being shot at or stabbed.

If he didn't want to continue seeing her, she'd understand. But damn. She hoped he would consider it.

“Are you all right?” Duff asked.

Jenna stared up at the big SEAL. His jaw was tight. “I'm okay. Just worried about Sawyer.”

Duff nodded. “He's been through worse and come out all right.”

She smiled. “I believe it.”

“Natalie just texted. Her boss was able to get through to Senator Houston. He landed fifteen minutes ago. Natalie is going to meet him at the airport and prepare him.”

Jenna drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “And so it begins.”

Neither Sawyer nor his father was out of the woods yet. Though mercenary Trey Danner was dead, they couldn't be certain others wouldn't come along and try to kill the Houstons.

Finally a man in scrubs entered the waiting room, pulling a surgical mask from his face. “Senor Houston is fine. The shoulder wound will heal nicely, no serious damage to his muscles or bones. The knife missed all major organs. However, he lost a considerable amount of blood. We wish to monitor him overnight.”

A nurse led them to a private hospital room, where Sawyer lay against the crisp white sheets, an IV attached to his arm, monitors checking his pulse and heartbeat. Though his face was pale, he appeared to be resting easy.

“He should come out of the anesthesia soon,” the nurse said.

After Sawyer's teammates had a chance to see their buddy, they left Jenna alone with him. She sat in the chair beside his bed, holding his hand. The sun had come up two hours ago, but the activities that had occurred over the past couple of days weighed heavily on Jenna's eyelids. Eventually she leaned her head against the mattress and slipped into a deep sleep.

* * *

L
IGHT
EDGED
BETWEEN
Sawyer's eyelids, forcing him awake. Though he tried to open his eyes, he struggled to perform the simple action. His limbs felt heavy and his belly hurt, as if someone had stabbed a knife in his gut.