Running Fire (20 page)

Leah followed. The gray light got brighter as they approached the cave.

Suddenly, she saw Kell crouch at the entrance, swiftly bring up his M-4 and begin firing.

The tunnel shattered with the roaring sounds of bullets. The horses reared, panicked. The reins were ripped out of Leah's hands. Kell started firing again. Screams drifted down the tunnel. She jerked the .45 out of its holster, running toward him as the horses ran back into the other cave. Bullets were ricocheting off the walls. Leah threw herself down on the floor, next to Kell. Her eyes widened. Six Taliban had just come into the cave!

She didn't think, just aimed and fired. The soldiers were just as surprised as they were. Kell fired, taking down all of them with head shots or body mass shots. Leah gasped as he moved like a shadow toward the bodies. He passed by them, moving to the cave opening and then disappeared outside of it. Scrambling to her feet, Leah followed, her .45 held high, ready to fire.

Just as she ran by the last Taliban soldier, his hand shot out, grabbing her by the pant leg. With a grunt, Leah fell, the .45 bouncing out of her hand. She fought, kicking with her other boot at the man's strong, sun-darkened hand. He lifted his head, blood running down his temple, his eyes filled with rage and hatred. Adrenaline surged through Leah. She was being dragged closer! With a cry, she slammed her boot into the man's head. He snarled, trying to get up on his knees. Twisting, Leah jerked hard, trying to get free. Panic struck her and she saw him get to his knees, jerking her closer to him.

Leah suddenly saw a flash; so fast that at first she thought she was imagining it. Kell moved like a striking snake, the heel of his palm smashing upward into the Taliban soldier's face. She heard the sickening crunch of bones snapping and breaking. The soldier screamed and collapsed, falling backward, unmoving.

Kell turned, his eyes on hers. She was sobbing for breath, frightened and trying to get up. He grabbed her beneath the arm, hoisting her to her feet.

“Oh, God,” she rasped, quickly moving to her pistol and picking it up.

“You all right?” Kell asked as he surveyed the unmoving group.

“Y-yes. I've never been so glad to see you,” she choked, breathing hard, her hand against her chest. “I—I thought they were all dead.”

Grimly, Kell shouldered the M-4 and turned, moving through the bodies, searching for anything of value. “They are now,” he growled. “Their horses are all tied outside,” he told her, leaning down, pulling cloaks and vests aside, searching in all their pockets. “Stand watch. I'll be done in a minute.”

Kell was so calm. Heart hammering, Leah did as he ordered. She picked up her pistol. There were six horses tied to brush nearby. Who had heard the shots fired? In a cave, the sounds had been amplified many times over. Gaze darting around, Leah felt suddenly shaky, her knees feeling weak. She'd almost died—again. Unable to shake the image of the soldier's rage and hatred of her, she wiped the sweat off her temple, her .45 in her hand ready to fire. She had no idea if she'd killed any of them or not.

Kell joined her. He was stuffing items down into the lower pockets of his trousers.

“Anything?”

“Yeah, some good maps,” he muttered, frowning. He looked over at her. Leah was pale, her eyes dark with fear. Reaching out, he touched her cheek. “It's over. You did fine.”

Just his grazing touch, that soothing drawl of his, smothered her fear, slowed her heart rate down. “That scared the shit out of me,” she managed.

Grimly, Kell nodded. “They got the drop on us. We were in the other cave, and we didn't hear them come in. They didn't know we were here, either. I heard a noise out in this cave and knew we'd been compromised.”

“Really glad you're a good shot,” she whispered.

“You were, too. You took one of them down.”

“At least I'm able to help.”

Kell nodded. “You did what you were trained to do, Leah. I'm glad you're with me. Come on, let's get our horses and get the hell out of here. Those shots are going to alert every Taliban within a two-mile radius that a firefight just went down here.”

Leah had never been so glad to leave a cave as right then. By the time they were riding away, following that same nearly invisible goat path, the sun had set. There were some long clouds hanging around the peaks to the west, and shortly they turned from orange to pink. She was too worried about their situation to appreciate their color and beauty. Kell moved his horse at a trot now and she bumped along on the saddle, always off balance, having to grip the horse's mane to stay upright and not fall off.

She saw Kell talking on the sat phone as they trotted down the switchbacks. Leah was scared and kept looking around. The dusk was deep, the shadows dark, and she tried to watch for Taliban. Her heart wouldn't settle down and her pulse bounded erratically. The bliss of a few days of safety in Kell's arms, learning about a whole new world that had made her vulnerable and happy, came to a slamming, abrupt halt.

Kell seemed to be able to move between those worlds with ease. At no time did he look scared or worried. He'd been confident, a silent ghost, lethal and deadly accurate with his rifle. If there was any chance of getting out of this alive, Leah knew Kell could do it.

Night fell. Kell had his NVGs on and Leah was content to let her horse's nose follow the rump of the packhorse. She allowed the reins to relax in her hands, feeling safer because of the pitch blackness that had hidden them from the eyes of their enemies. She heard the wind blowing off the mountains, and was now glad for the thick wool cloak over her cammies.

Kell kept up the brutal pace. Her butt was so sore it never stopped aching now. Not really knowing how to ride, Leah just kept bouncing around. She didn't complain. Kell had a plan even though he'd given her strict orders not to talk on the mic. Voices carried. Whispers were even easier to pick up on with sharp-eared tangos nearby.

Kell finally halted somewhere near midnight. Leah was so grateful the horses had finally stopped. Her horse's flanks heaved with exertion. She lifted her butt out of the saddle, rubbing it and wanting to groan. Hearing Kell approach, she could see nothing. When his leg touched hers, he halted his horse.

“How are you doing?”

“Okay,” she lied.

“Butt sore?”

“That's a major understatement. Where are we?”

“In the valley. Have you been drinking water? Staying hydrated?”

“Yes.” She heard an edge in his low voice. “What's going on?”

“We're going to keep moving,” he told her. “I've been on the sat phone with Ax. An Apache coming back for fuel had its thermal imaging on over this area. They spotted four Taliban groups settled down for the night. I've got their GPS positions and we're going to thread through all of them. You up for this?”

Leah grimaced, thinking of her butt. “Yes. Are we trotting?”

“No, too risky. We'll walk. Whatever you do, don't sneeze, don't cough, and breathe through your mouth. Our biggest worry is if one of our horses decides to whinny because there are other horses nearby. If that happens, we're in deep shit because the Taliban will know someone is moving nearby. And when they set up for the night, they don't travel. Only black ops do, and they'll know we're the enemy.”

“What will they do?”

“They could fire indiscriminately in our direction, hoping to hit us, because they don't have night-vision goggles. Or they could mount up and try to find us, but again, they can't see in the dark. Probably just throw a lead curtain our way.”

“Great,” Leah grunted.

“We're fifteen miles from Bravo. This valley is pretty flat, but still has some ups and downs, some draws and deep washes.”

“Fifteen?”

He heard hope in her husky voice. “Yeah. Providing we can get through these small camps in the area, we should reach Bravo by dawn.” Kell reached out, sliding his hand over her jaw. He could see her face, her wide eyes. “Hang in there, okay, Sugar? We're almost home.”

Did that ever sound good to Leah. She reached out, sliding her hand against his. Kell was so strong and self-assured. Right now, she was terrified but didn't want him to know it. “Home sounds good,” she choked, sudden emotions rising in her.

“I'll get you there,” Kell promised, wrapping her hand in his, kissing the back of it and then releasing it. “Let's go...”

* * *

L
EAH
FELT
AS
though her body were going to break from riding so long. Her butt had gone numb. The insides of her knees were raw and bleeding. Dawn was edging on the peaks of the Hindu Kush. She could barely see the land around her, glad to have the coming light. Her horse stumbled every once in a while, weary. She could see Kell in front of her. He guided them into a huge wash, tall enough to hide them, and he dismounted.

Leah wasn't sure she could get off the horse and was grateful when Kell walked back to get her. He placed his hands around her waist and lifted her out of the saddle. She bit her lip, trying not to groan as he placed her feet on the ground. Wobbling, she reached out, gripping his arms.

“Damn,” she muttered, “I feel like I'm going to fall apart.”

Kell laughed softly and began removing her hajji gear. “Just think of a hot shower back at Bravo. That will ease our aches and numbness.”

“What are you doing?”

“We're getting out of this stuff. I'm going to get our rucks and weapons off the packhorse. We're going to ride in cammies with our gear. I'll take the harness off the packhorse and let it go. It will survive out here on its own just fine. When we make a run for Bravo, I don't want to be slowed down by it.”

Nodding, she quickly divested herself of the Afghan garb. “Sounds good.”

“Come on,” Kell urged, his hand around her upper arm. Leah walked bowlegged and he smiled a little. He knew she'd never ridden a horse before, and she'd been a trooper, never complaining.

Opening the tarp, he helped Leah into her ruck and quickly got it situated across her shoulders. He took his ruck, laid it on the ground and then pulled the Win-Mag sheath off the packhorse and strapped it barrel down on his ruck. Standing, he hauled the gear over his shoulders and strapped up.

Leah stood back as he got rid of the harness and removed the halter from the wet, weary animal. He slapped it on the rump and the horse moved away, but remained with the others because he was a herd animal.

Kell looked over at Leah. He put his M-4 in a harness over his left shoulder and approached her. She glanced up and smiled at him. Groaning inwardly, he slid his hands around her face, leaning down, kissing her, feeling her return it, her hands against his chest. Her lips were soft, giving, taking, and he felt himself missing her so damn much already. Easing from her mouth, Kell smiled into her glistening eyes. “I'm going to miss what we had back in those caves,” he told her.

Her legs felt shaky and it wasn't because she'd been riding. “I'm afraid, Kell. I'm afraid when we get back to Bravo we'll never see one another again.”

He gave her a very confident smile. “That's not going to happen.” He grazed her cheek with his thumb. “The first couple of days after getting back are going to be hectic. I'm going to have to devote a lot of time to sit reps, writing up a report on this whole journey of ours. But I'll be around. And I'm going to hunt you down, so don't worry.”

She frowned, feeling uneasy. “You can't come over to the squadron office, Kell. They'll suspect something between us...”

He chuckled and dropped a kiss on her lips. “I'm black ops. Remember? I'll find you before you even know I'm there.”

She felt her heart expand with love for him. Leah almost spoke the word, but was afraid. Their lives were huge holes of unknown everything. Combat guaranteed nothing but chaos, no normality, nothing either of them could count on. “Okay,” she whispered, her voice unsteady. Digging into his amused gaze, she said, “Kell, I
like
you. I don't care if I'm an officer and you're not.”

“Shh,” he said, placing his finger against her lips. “You're a part of my life, Leah. That's not going to change unless you say differently.” Kell lost his smile and wanted to reassure her because he saw her concern. “When we ride into Bravo, you stick with me, all right? We've got a small barn and corral on the other side of the SEAL HQ and we'll take the animals over there. And once that's done, I want to introduce you to my master chief and the men in my team.”

“Because?”

“Because you're my woman and I want my team to know you on sight. We take care of our own, Leah. You can ask any SEAL at Bravo for help, and he'll give it to you without question because you're mine.”

All her worries dissolved. His voice was deep with hidden emotion but she saw it in the hard glitter of his eyes. “I want to meet them,” she told him.

“Good,” Kell murmured. “Come on, I'll help you back into that torture rig we call a saddle.”

Just as Leah turned, she gasped. Kell whirled around, going for his M-4.

“Hey, Ballard, we've come out here to rescue your sorry ass.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“I
T
'
S
ALL
RIGHT
,”
Kell reassured Leah, turning and placing his hand on hers, which was going for her pistol. “It's my team. Stand down.”

Leah felt her heart galloping in her chest as four SEALs appeared silently out of the surrounding brush. She pressed her hand to her chest, feeling her fear dissolve. The men were all grinning at Kell. They were dressed in cammies and boonie hats, and carried M-4s. They all wore camouflage face paint to blend into the surrounding environment. The man who had spoken was smiling widely and walking toward Kell. He had an oval face, was at least six feet tall with longish blond hair and a beard. His eyes were hazel. He walked with purpose, his face hard and those eyes of his glinting fiercely. Leah decided this SEAL wouldn't be someone to mess with. He gave new meaning to the word
intensity
.

“We're giving you a Protective Service Detail, Ballard.” He moved his rifle aside and slapped him heartily on the back.

Kell snorted and muttered, “Bullshit, Clutch.” He slapped him on the back good-naturedly and then released his best friend. “Did Ax send you out here?”

“Yeah, you know how he is, a mother hen.” Clutch's eyes lit up and he stared over at Leah. “Is this our pilot? Chief Mackenzie?”

Kell gripped his friend by his thick shoulder. “Stand down, she's taken.”

Clutch's blond brows rose and he stared up at him. “No shit?”

“No shit.” Kell gestured for the rest of his men to come over. He pulled Leah to his side.

“Leah, you need to meet my notorious team.” He pointed to the tallest, “This is Brad Doran, but we call him Clutch because he's someone you can rely on in a hot firefight. You can call him Brad if he's being nice to you, if you want.”

Snickers abounded, Leah noticed. She felt the camaraderie between all of them, as if they were, indeed, a group of brothers.

“And this is Grayson McCoy, who we call Trace,” Kell said, pointing to the SEAL with brown hair and hazel eyes. “He can disappear, literally, without a trace, which is how he got his name.”

McCoy smiled and lifted his hand in hello to Leah.

She liked the bearded SEAL, his eyes warm with welcome.

“This is Jerry Stadler, who we sweetly refer to as Breach.”

Breach snarled, “Jesus, Kell, curse me out, but don't call me sweet.”

The team snickered again, enjoying getting under Breach's thin skin. Leah didn't know what to think, never having been around SEALs before like this. Yes, she ferried them to and from ops, but never engaged with them personally. They looked like a group of hormone-ridden teenage boys out on a risky lark, more than ready for a little adventure and wanting to leave some mayhem in their wake.

Kell ignored Breach's bad mood and said, “This last dude is Andy Domanico. We call him Dom.”

Leah lifted her hand. “Nice to meet all of you.” She saw they simply stared at her, nodded, but that was it. These were toughened, uncompromising men. Good thing they were on her side. Kell, in comparison, was easy to read, but she figured these four men had their game faces on. Plus, they were in enemy territory.

Clutch said, “Ax wanted us to escort you in. I'm going to put us out in a diamond pattern around the likes of you and your ponies. We'll be making sure the area's clear so you two can ride into Bravo safe and sound.”

Kell nodded. “Sounds good. Go for it.”

Clutch tapped the mic near his lips. “We're all on the same channel just in case something happens. There's been a ten-man Taliban mortar team harassing the camp nightly, and we know they hide somewhere out here. We didn't want you running into them and raising hell.” He gave Kell a wicked grin.

Kell sent them on their way and turned to Leah. “They're nice guys but right now we've got Taliban hiding out here,” he told her. Cupping his hands, he helped her up on the horse. He saw her grimace as she carefully sat down on the saddle. Patting her thigh, he said, “Remember that hot shower? It's not too far away, Sugar.”

Leah groaned and nodded, picking up the reins. It felt freeing to know they were surrounded by four other SEALs. Leah tried to see them, but never succeeded. They blended into the landscape and disappeared. The dawn was getting brighter. Some of her tension melted just knowing they were close to the forward operating base. It represented security to her.

* * *

K
ELL
SAW
THE
SECURITY
gate open as he rode with Leah at his side up the slight incline toward Bravo. His team had remained behind, continuing to search for that Taliban mortar team. He lifted his hand to the two Marines who guarded the gate. Leah rode at his side and he guided her off to the right toward the low, concrete one-story building that housed the SEAL contingent.

As they drew close, Leah saw at least ten SEALs waiting outside to meet them. She smiled to herself, understanding that Kell was one of their own and they were glad to have him back inside the wire, safe. Her heart felt heavy because her time with Kell was over.

The SEALs were all dressed in desert cammies. When Kell dismounted, he was instantly surrounded, his brothers clapping him heartily on the back, shaking his hand, welcoming him back among them.

She sat in the saddle, smiling, seeing the relieved and happy expressions on the men's faces. She wished her squadron had that kind of tight-knit, positive feeling, but it didn't.

Kell turned and made his way between his friends to where Leah sat on the horse. “Ready to get out of that torture trap?” he teased, grinning and holding up his hands to her.

Leah saw a number of the SEALs hanging around, curious and listening. A few of them gave her looks that made her blush. She felt as though she were among a pack of male alpha wolves. “Yes.” She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of them and dismounted under her own steam. She felt Kell's hand settle on her upper arm, steadying her as she pulled her boot out of the stirrup. And then she looked up to see all of them watching her. It was disturbing because when they looked at her, she felt as if they had X-ray vision, looking straight through her. As if they knew everything about her lurid past.

“Why are they staring at me like that?” she asked in a whisper, turning away from them.

Kell smiled. “I told them you're my woman. They're checking you out. They asked me if I dirt dived you yet and I told them I had.”

Heat crawled up into Leah's face and she rolled her eyes. “What does dirt dive mean? It sounds...rude...”

He laughed heartily. “No, it means to know someone really well, that it's not a one-night-stand kind of thing. It means I'm serious about you, that this isn't a passing fancy.” He squeezed her arm and said, “It's a compliment, not meant to embarrass you, Leah. Don't worry about it.” Kell lifted his head and walked at her side. “My brothers will take care of the horses for us. Let's go inside. I need you to meet Ax and to introduce you to everyone else.”

Leah wasn't so sure about being surrounded by all this high-octane male testosterone. She could feel the stares in her back as the group followed them into the building. The first place Kell took her was to the master chief's small, cramped office.

Ax looked up as they came in. He stood and offered his hand to Leah. “Welcome back, Chief Mackenzie.”

His hand was huge! Scarred with lots of calluses, but when Leah took it his grip was gentle, even though he must have stood a couple inches taller than Kell. “Thank you, Master Chief. It's good to be back.” She released his hand. “If it wasn't for Kell, I would be dead.” Choking up a little as the master chief stood there watching her, she explained, “I never knew what SEALs did, really. But I do now. Kell is a hero. You need to know that. He deserves to be written up for a medal.” She saw Ax give her a slight smile, his gaze pinned on Kell.

“He was just doing his job, ma'am.”

Just doing his job?
Leah stared at him and sputtered, “But he saved my life.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Ax rumbled. “That's the nature of what we're trained to do.” He tried to sound less abrasive. “Can we get you a cup of good coffee? Can I make a call over to your squadron commander and let him know you're safe here, inside the wire?”

“That would be very nice, Master Chief. Thank you.”

“Ballard, why don't you get the chief some coffee while I make that call?”

“I'll be right back.”

“Sit down,” Ax invited her. He picked up the phone and made a short, terse call to the CO.

Unsure, Leah warily sat. This man had real power. His office was a mess, with three sat phones and a number of different types of radios near his right hand. There were reports in leaning stacks that looked like piled-up pancakes all across his desk. Ax was a huge man, the chair creaking loudly in protest when he sat down.

Kell returned and Leah gave him a grateful look as he handed her the cup of coffee. She thanked him.

“Close the door,” Ax ordered Kell.

Kell did so and sat down with his own cup of coffee in the other chair.

“Ma'am, if it's not too much trouble, would you humor me by filling out a sit rep on your experience with us?”

Leah shrugged. “No problem, Master Chief. First, I need to talk with Captain Markley, my CO. I could get to it after that. Is that all right?”

“Yes, ma'am, that's fine. Whenever one of our men performs a rescue, planned or not, if the survivor is willing, we like to have him or her fill out a sit rep for our files. It's routine SOP.”

Kell grinned and sipped his coffee. He gave Leah a sideward glance. “Ax likes making paperwork for everyone.” He made a flourish toward the desk. “You can tell.”

Leah grinned.

Ax scowled. His mouth tightened. “Ma'am, there's a special reason I'm asking for this, and you need to know, we've got your six on this. Major Hayden Grant, the battalion commander, has accused you of being at the controls when that bird went down. Now—” Ax looked over at Kell “—Chief Ballard already told me his side of what he saw. But I need your sit rep because your CO is pissed up to the gum stumps, and he's gunning for you.”

“I didn't have the controls,” Leah stated coldly, defensively, stunned by the information. Damn Hayden!

Kell watched as color drained from Leah's face. She sat up, her mouth hardening. He wanted to touch her, reassure her, but he couldn't. “I was informed by Ax that Major Grant had made the accusation against you,” he quietly told Leah.

“You didn't say anything about it to me,” she said, her voice strained as she stared over at him.

“You had enough on your plate out there. You were dealing with shock from the crash. I made the decision to wait and let Ax tell you after we got you back to Bravo.” Kell gave her a look he hoped she realized was caring. He saw the sharpness in her gaze disappear, her mouth soften as she nodded.

“I understand,” she choked.

Ax sighed heavily and looked at both of them. “Ma'am, I don't know what's going on here. It's none of my business unless one of my men gets sucked into it, and then it does become my business. I asked Chief Ballard to go back to that crash site and retrieve anything and everything he could. All that evidence is going to be turned over to Major Grant. Kell found the flight recorder. I'm going to send Clutch to Bagram with it tomorrow morning and have it delivered to him in person. That should clear up this little tempest in a teapot and I can get back to running the platoon instead of dealing with a pissant major who likes to stir up shit just for the pure joy of doing it. That twerp wouldn't last two seconds in my platoon with that kind of game playing. We have far better things to do with our time than play grab-ass politics with a sister service.”

“That tape will clear me,” Leah said strongly. She tried to keep the anger out of her tone.

“Well,” Ax grumbled, “that Army officer is on a mission.”

“He's my ex-husband.”

Ax's brows shot up and then he made a grumpy sound and sat back in his chair. “It's personal, then?”

“Very,” she breathed. Leah saw the master chief's beefy face grow less hostile and irritated.

“Sorry to hear that, Chief.”

“I'm sorry this happened, Master Chief. I wouldn't be sitting here if it weren't for Kell.”

“I need to get Chief Mackenzie over to her squadron,” Kell said.

“Do it.”

Leah felt tired and deflated as she walked across Bravo with Kell at her side. “Why didn't you tell me Hayden said that?” she demanded.

“You didn't need any more stress on you than you already had, Leah.” He dug into her worried gaze. “I figured Grant was blowing hot air. He wasn't at that crash site. I was. And so were you. It's our two eyewitness accounts against his hot air.”

“He's just trying to cause me trouble,” she muttered irritably.

“Why now?”

“He's going up for early colonel recommendation. I'm sure he wants me to put in some kind words to my father for him.” Her mouth flattened. “Like hell I will.”

“So he's trying to blackmail you?”

“Exactly.”

“Look, why don't you check in with your CO and we'll meet for lunch over at the chow hall? Maybe he'll have more intel on this accusation.”

She tiredly rubbed her brow. Right now, all Leah wanted was to crawl into Kell's arms and hide. She could feel that powerful sense of protection washing over her. It was in his eyes, in the set of his mouth. “That's a great idea.” She looked at her watch. “Two hours. That will give me time to check in, grab a shower, a clean flight suit, and I'll probably feel halfway human.”

He smiled down at her, wanting to touch her, graze her mussed hair in a ponytail. “You look beautiful right now.” Hell, she looked beautiful with or without clothes on.