Protecting the Future (SEAL of Protection Book 8) (11 page)

She felt a hand on her forearm and looked up. It was Dude.

“Tex will find them. He’ll get them home to their families. He’ll find them, and the cavalry will find
us
.”

Penelope nodded, knowing if she opened her mouth she’d embarrass herself by bursting into tears. There was only so much a girl could take, and she’d about reached the end of her rope.

Cookie, Dude, Wolf, Mozart, and Penelope gathered as much as they could easily carry, being sure to take as much ammo and as many firearms as possible. Penelope didn’t say a word as Dude handed her a KA-BAR knife and a loaded pistol. She nodded at him in thanks, remembering their conversation from back in the tent, and they got ready to leave. She wasn’t in any better shape than she was when she’d been rescued from the tent city, but the game had changed. She was a vital part of the team now, and as one of the least wounded amongst them, she had to carry her weight.

Wolf led the way, with Dude and Cookie supporting Abe on either side, following him. Benny was next, then Mozart, and finally Penelope. She was aware of the significance of being last in the line. It was her responsibility to have their sixes, their asses. It wasn’t something she took lightly. She’d pull her weight with these men or die trying. Her brother hadn’t browbeat and nagged her into passing the firefighter certification test for nothing. She was a Turner, she wouldn’t let them down.

As they headed up into the mountains, Penelope took one more look back before they went over a rise. She could see the black smoke rising up from the wreckage of the chopper, a beacon for any and all insurgents in the area. She couldn’t see the pilot and the other men, but knew they were there in the shadows, waiting to fight, and possibly die.

The thought was too much. She allowed the tears to fall as she walked, knowing the SEALs in front of her were too preoccupied to notice.

I
n world news today
, a source at the White House has confirmed the crash of an MH-60 helicopter in the Hakkari Daglari mountain range, between Turkey and Iraq. There’s no word of injuries or how many were onboard, but speculation is that the occupants were either on their way to attempt to rescue kidnapped American soldier, Penelope Turner, or were returning after an attempt. No word on if the rescue was attempted or if it was successful, and there is no information on casualties from the crash. Stay tuned for an update on the ten o’clock news.

M
elody looked
down at the vibrating phone in her hand. Thank freaking God. “Hello?”

“Cheyenne is having the baby?”

Melody wasn’t surprised Tex knew they were all at the hospital and the only reason—well, the only good reason—was because Cheyenne was in labor. “Yeah, she was bleeding when her water broke and we convinced her to call 911. She finally did and we’re all here waiting now.”

“I got your message. I’m sorry I didn’t answer when you called. I promise I’m trying to get better at making sure I keep my phone with me and on,” Tex apologized.

“I know you are. Is…everything okay?” Melody had seen the news, there wasn’t any way to avoid it.

“Is Akilah there? I don’t have a lot of time.”

Well shit. If he wasn’t answering her, everything wasn’t all right. She didn’t protest, or ask any more questions. “Yeah, she’s here, hang on…okay?”

“Of course. Mel?”

Melody paused mid-turn toward her daughter. “Yeah, Tex?”

“I love you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone or anything in my life. You know that, right?”

Man oh man oh man. Something was terribly wrong. Thinking back to the newscast about the crashed helicopter, Melody’s mouth got dry and she felt as if she was going to throw up. She wasn’t going to ask though. There was no way she’d be able to keep something like that from her friends, so she didn’t want to know. Besides, Cheyenne was about to have a baby. This was no time to bring any heartache or worries into the mix.

“I love you too, Tex. To Vegas and back.” It was their saying. Ever since they’d driven across the country twice, the second time to get married, it had become their thing.

“Get Akilah for me. Stay safe. Love you.”

“I will. Love you too. Hang on.” Melody turned and gestured to Akilah, who’d had her eyes on her probably the entire time she’d been speaking to Tex. She held out the phone to the twelve-year-old. “It’s Tex,” she said in a soft voice. “Tell him what you saw on the TV.”

Akilah took the phone and nodded and walked out to the main reception room and outside the hospital doors. “Hello?”

“Hi, sweetie. Mel says you heard something?”

“Read words on television in Arabic.”

Tex had gotten used to reading between the lines when it came to Akilah’s broken English. She’d gotten much better over the last few months, but especially over the phone, he had to help her find the right words. “You were watching the news and someone was speaking Arabic and you could tell what they said by reading their lips?”

“Yes.”

“What did they say?”

“Lady was reading letter in English. Man in black standing behind. Turned and talk to other man.”

“Okay, go on.”

“Said wanted to take more Americans.”

“Take? Like the female soldier?”

“Yes. Said now was good time. Lots of soldiers in camp.”

This wasn’t huge news to Tex, he knew the government was well aware ISIS wanted to kidnap and torture as many English speaking soldiers as possible, but he was still impressed with his daughter. “Anything else?”

“No.”

“Thank you, Akilah. You are amazing.”

“I help?”

“You helped a lot.”

Akilah smiled. She enjoyed feeling useful. Tex and Melody always made sure they told her how proud they were of her and how happy they were she was with them. “Miss you.”

“Oh, sweetie, I miss you too. Tell Mel to get you guys home soon. Yeah?”

“Okay.”

“Take care of Melody for me. I love you.”

“I will. Love you too.”

Tex smiled broadly on the other side of the country. He thought that was the first time Akilah had said the words. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it though, it might embarrass her and she’d be reluctant to say them again in the future. “I’ll talk to you later. If you hear or read anything else on the news, call me right away.”

“Yes.”

“Okay, talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

“Bye, Akilah.”

Tex hung up the phone and turned back to the bank of computer screens in front of him. He’d known the helicopter had crashed the second it’d gone down. The program that tracked his friends was up and he’d watched as the red dots suddenly stopped moving well before they’d reached the Special Forces base at Yuksekova. When there were four dots which stayed put and one which started up the mountains, Tex knew they were in trouble. Splitting up wasn’t standard operating procedure. He’d immediately reached out to his contacts and given them the coordinates of where those four dots were.

He’d been informed that JSOC was putting together a Delta Force team at that very moment to head into the mountains to get his friends. Tex’s information would cut their search time dramatically, but he was glad to hear they were already aware something had gone wrong and were heading out on the rescue mission.

What they’d find when they got there was anyone’s guess. Tex had no idea who the four motionless trackers were attached to and he could only hope he wouldn’t have to be telling his wife, or the women he’d come to love as sisters, that some of their men wouldn’t be coming home alive.

P
enelope had been
good for the first hour of walking, adrenaline and nervousness propelling her on, but slowly, as they settled into the hike, her strength had waned. Lack of exercise, lack of proper nutrition, lack of enough good clean water, and some cracked ribs, it was all taking its toll.

But she felt better knowing she wasn’t the only one. Apparently Abe wasn’t light, and Cookie and Dude were having a hard time helping him get over the boulders and hills that were between them and the dubious safety of a hole in the side of a mountain. Abe was helping as much as he could, but the shrapnel in his thigh had done a number on him, and even with his help, it was slow going. Penelope had no idea how Wolf and the rest of the guys were going to decide
which
cave was the best for them, but she had no doubt that they’d find the perfect place.

One foot in front of the other was her mantra. She’d be damned if
she’d
be the reason they were held up. She felt guilty enough as it was for putting these men in this position in the first place. Oh, intellectually she knew that
she
hadn’t done it, but there was no getting around the fact that they were all here, tromping through the mountains in Turkey, injured and most likely being hunted by insurgents, because they were sent to rescue her.

Penelope wiped away the sweat from her brow, thankful she’d gotten enough liquid in her to be
able
to sweat, for what seemed the millionth time and trudged on. She finally saw Dude and Cookie ease Abe to the ground and sighed in relief. Thank freaking God. She honestly had no idea how much longer she could’ve continued.

“We’ll stop here for the night. We can’t stay here for good, but we’ve gone far enough. We all need the break. Abe, we’ll get your leg properly sewed up and stuff you full of antibiotics. Mozart, same for you. Tiger, if you need those ribs wrapped, we’ll do that as well.”

“What about you, Wolf? How’s the arm?” Penelope dared to ask, irritated when every single man grinned at her. “What? What’s so fucking funny?” She was tired, hungry, thirsty, and her ribs hurt like hell. The last thing she appreciated were six hot guys laughing at her.

Mozart cleared his throat and was the first to speak. “Nothing’s funny, Tiger. I suppose it’s just that you remind us of our women. They’re kind of like you. Spunky and motherly all at the same time.”

Penelope looked at them in horror. “I’m not motherly.”

Everyone but Benny was able to hold back their laughter. Benny snorted in disbelief and he mocked her in a remarkably good imitation. “How’s the arm, Wolf?”

“Shut up. Just because I’m a decent human being doesn’t mean I’m motherly. Admit it, you all wanted to know as well.”

“Well, yeah, but you were the one who said it,” Abe joked through his pain.

Penelope rolled her eyes. “Fine. I hope his arm falls off, and your head, and your leg,” she groused, looking at Wolf, Benny, and Abe respectively.

“Come on, we need to work to get this area ready for us to spend the night. It’s not ideal, but it’ll have to do,” Wolf said, interrupting the light joking.

Cookie and Dude got to work putting together a makeshift bunk for each of them while at the same time concealing them as much as possible.

Penelope sat next to Abe and did her best to clean, sew, and bandage his leg. The wound was jagged and deep, and her stitches wouldn’t win any awards by the Cosmetology Center of America, but she didn’t think Abe cared. More important than her sewing skills, she hoped the antibiotic cream and the antibiotics he’d swallowed would stave off any infection.

Since everyone was exhausted, they settled down fairly quickly after coming up with a rotation for who would stay up first on watch. They decided to schedule the watch in pairs, to make sure no one fell asleep. The last thing they needed was an insurgent sneaking up on the camp because someone was too tired and injured to stay awake. Penelope insisted on taking a turn as well, and she was relieved when Wolf didn’t fight her on it and let her join one of the pairs on their shift.

The MRE she’d had for dinner was one of the best things Penelope remembered eating in all of her life. Oh, it wasn’t gourmet food by any stretch of the imagination, but having been deprived of real calories and a somewhat balanced meal for so long, it was heaven. She could only eat about half of everything because her stomach had shrunk so much during her captivity, but she swore she could feel her body literally absorbing the nutrients as she ate. She’d been given a canteen of her own, filled with the most beautiful, tasting water she’d ever had the privilege of drinking. Yeah, it had a metallic taste from the purification tablets that had been used to make sure it was safe, but Penelope wasn’t going to complain.

Finally, after they’d been quiet for a while, Wolf asked what she’d been expecting him to bring up for most of the day.

“So, Tiger…can you tell us what the hell happened? How did those bastards get their hands on you and the others?”

Penelope sighed. She didn’t hesitate to tell the SEALs what happened. She’d waited a long time to tell someone, anyone, that she honestly didn’t think it was their fault they were captured, that they weren’t idiots who were running around the most dangerous section of the refugee camp as if they were at Disneyworld. “We were ordered to patrol the west side of the camp and look for trouble.”

“By yourself? What idiot ordered that?” Dude asked immediately. After spending time in the camp looking for her, they obviously knew about the west side.

“Yeah. By ourselves. I protested the assignment as much as I could, but the major was new. New to the unit and new to combat. Granted, this wasn’t really combat, but he had no idea how dangerous that side of the camp had gotten. The rest of us who had been there a while knew, and had been simply avoiding patrols over there. There really was no use. The thugs and terrorists had that side well and truly controlled, but the major decided that
he
knew best and our disagreeing was simply a matter of us being difficult. So we went.”

Penelope shrugged and continued, “Thomas was the first to sense danger. We all knew we were closely watched while we patrolled, but he noticed that the same men watching us that day, had been following us the day before. While we’d been walking, they’d surrounded us, boxing us in. They had about twenty men to our four. We were sitting ducks. They beat the shit out of us and took our weapons. They dragged me off separately from the guys.” Penelope tried to keep her voice emotionless and asked the question she already knew the answer to. “They’re dead, aren’t they?”

“Yeah,” Dude confirmed.

Penelope didn’t want to know any details, dead was dead, and continued on. “So they beat me up for a few days, then decided to throw me in front of the camera reading that asinine shit they called a manifesto or some such fucking thing. I did whatever they wanted and didn’t put up a fight.”

“Did they rape you?”

Cookie’s words were pissed off and urgent…and to the point. Penelope figured there was some story there, but didn’t ask and wasn’t offended by the question. Hell, she was pretty surprised she hadn’t been violated herself. “No. And before you ask, I’m not lying. They asked if I was a virgin, and I said no, which is the truth, by the way. I didn’t want them trying to use me as a prize for some warped ideology they had. Of course, the suicide bomber is supposed to get the seventy-two virgins when they’re
dead
, but I didn’t want to risk someone trying to claim their virgin before they died.”

“You know that’s a myth right? Muslims don’t really believe that,” Cookie told her matter-of-factly.

“I know, but I had no idea what
these
guys thought. We all know the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but if someone is brainwashed enough they can swear in front of a judge that it’s the opposite.”

The men nodded in understanding.

“Were you held at the camp the entire time?” It was Mozart who asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. It was hard to tell because in the beginning, I was pretty out of it from the beatings, but after they stopped that shit, I don’t think they moved me much.”

“The pink material was genius, by the way,” Wolf told her.

Penelope half laughed. “Well, I don’t know about genius, but I figured it couldn’t hurt. I never thought my fancy underwear would be strewn across a refugee camp when I put it on all those months ago. When they mummified me up every time I went outside the tent, I knew no one would be able to tell it was me, and that any clue I could drop would help someone find me if they were looking.”

“How’d you know we’d be looking?”

“Well, I didn’t, not for sure. But I know my brother. Cade wouldn’t let me disappear without a trace.”

“You’ll be glad to know you’re correct. He’s been all over the news back home. Making petitions, organizing rallies, sending letters to the President, basically being a pest of the highest order,” Benny told her.

“Great, I bet he even dragged out my stupid college graduation picture, didn’t he?”

Wolf smiled. “Yeah, if it’s the picture of you and him standing next to each other with his elbow resting on your head and you laughing hysterically.”

Penelope laughed. “That’s the one. I hate that picture, but he loves it. And the rest of it certainly sounds like him, and while I was being held captive, I counted on it. He’s worked his ass off to get where he is today. He’s one of the best firefighters San Antonio has ever seen.”

“But you’re not biased or anything,” Benny joked.

“I’m not biased,” Penelope said in a dead-even voice. “Yes, I’m related to him, but I’ve seen him in action,” Penelope insisted and tried to explain. “Once, we arrived at a building fully engulfed in flames on the top three floors, but someone said there might be a child trapped inside. I know it’s his job, but none of the other firefighters there would go in. Cade didn’t even hesitate, but plunged right into the house and found her and brought her out alive.”

“Sounds impulsive and risky to me,” Dude commented dryly.

“From the outside looking in, it probably does, but he doesn’t do anything impulsively. Not even close. Cade knows fire. He knows how it behaves, and how it works. He’s studied it and he has this weird sense for it. He told me afterwards that he could tell by the way it looked he knew he had time to get in, find the girl and get out. He’s the least-impulsive man I’ve ever known in my life.” Penelope knew her words were passionate, but she’d defend her brother to anyone, anytime. He was
that
good at what he did.

“Got anyone waiting for you back home?” Abe asked.

“Besides my family and fellow firefighters at Station 7 where I work? Nope. Between firefighting and the Army Reserves, I don’t have a lot of extra time to date. Although after this, I think I’ll be retiring from the Reserves. I’ll be happy never to step foot outside Texas again.”

Everyone chuckled lightly.

“What about you guys? I think you’re all married, right? That’s unusual for a SEAL team, isn’t it?”

Wolf answered for the group. “Maybe. Being married to a SEAL isn’t exactly a walk in the park. Our wives can’t know where we’re going or how long we’ll be gone. Most can’t handle the stress.”

“But your wives can?” Penelope asked, genuinely curious.

“Yeah. Our wives can,” Dude said firmly.

“That’s great, really. Kids?”

“Yup. Abe’s got two adopted daughters. They plucked them right out from under their worthless mother’s nose and never looked back. Mozart has a six-month-old girl; Benny has two, a two-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son; and my wife is pregnant.” Dude paused and laughed, but in a way Penelope could tell he wasn’t amused. “Well, she was when I left. I was hoping to get home in time to see my daughter being born, but doesn’t look like that’s gonna happen now.”

Penelope didn’t know what to say. Sorry didn’t seem to cut it, and besides, she wasn’t the one who’d shot down their helicopter. Finally she said, somewhat lamely to her own ears, “They sound great.”

“Yeah. They are great,” Mozart agreed quietly.

The conversation seemed to dry up after that. Each lost in their own thoughts. Thinking about their loved ones and wondering when they’d get to see them again.