Page 30 of Hazard

Before any of them could carry out Iceman’s orders, there was a male howl, and Anna came running out of the tent with a pistol. She shot two of the tangos before they could reach for their weapons. Skull saw one of them dive to the ground and pull his sidearm. He gave a command and Bones rushed in, clamping his sharp teeth onto the man’s arm and shaking him like a rag doll. Skull put two into him and he stopped moving. He called Bones to him.

Precision shots came out of the jungle surrounding the camp and the rest of the cartel lackeys fell even as they were scrambling.

Anna stood there, her chest heaving, but the weapon stayed steady.

“You wouldn’t want to shoot your rescuers, would you, Anna?” Iceman said.

With a soft cry, Anna lowered the weapon, her legs folded, and she staggered. Ice caught her against him, holding her tight. “Took your sweet time,” she murmured sarcastically, nothing but affection in her tone.

Skull smiled. It was so good to find her alive. He glanced around as Hazard tore the camp apart, searching every nook and cranny.

“Where is she?” he asked Anna, his voice strained, his face ashen and carved by strain, his eyes shadowed by so many emotions Skull could only guess what was more prevalent.

“She’s not here? She was when they took me into the tent and used that cattle prod on me.”

“They must have taken her somewhere else,” Iceman said as Hazard bent his head and dragged his hand across his eyes, then inhaled raggedly.

Iceman looked at Kodiak. “You stay with?—”

“No, I’m not going to be the cause of you losing a gun. Give me some water and clear out this blood so I can see. I’m coming with you.”

“Anna—”

“Ice.”

“We’re going to be moving fast,” he growled, shaking his head. Possibly a risky move, but his boss was a risk-taking guy.

She raised her chin and met that direct chilling stare. “I don’t care. I’m not going to slow you down. We’re all getting Leigh back, and then we’re going to hurt these bastards when we regroup.”

There were laughs covered by coughs as the team watched the standoff, and Boomer mimed eating popcorn. This was movie-worthy.

That was her no-argument voice, and all of them had heard it before, the look she leveled at Iceman from those just as cold blue eyes could have frozen even him, besides their boss, her tone was the only cool thing in the tropical jungle.

Skull liked that tone and the way she took charge. He liked that a lot. It was just smart thinking on her part. Fuck he respected the hell out of her—no easy feat.

Iceman rubbed the back of his neck. “Do as she says, Kodiak, but watch her as we move.”

Kodiak nodded, whipped out some gauze, and cleaned her face, setting a butterfly to the gash there as a temporary measure. “You need stitches, Rambo, but that can wait.”

She huffed out a laugh as she accepted a mag each from GQ, Preacher, and Breakneck. “Please don’t mention that nickname to Dodger. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“I don’t know,” Boomer said. “Could come out during a bout of drinking.” He winked.

Anna huffed a hard breath. Yeah, the special ops community was small, and word about her nickname would easily run through the grapevine right to Dodger’s ear.

Skull took Bones to the perimeter to pick up their enemy’s scent. He sniffed around and then pulled violently on the leash. Skull said, “He’s on the scent.” As they all broke into a run, four of Anna’s SEAL buddies surrounded her. They ran from the camp at top speed, and he was hoping and praying they would get to Leigh in enough time. With this new and cunning addition to their pack, they ran as one, protecting their courageous and determined CIA leader.

Leigh woke with her face in dirt and her body drenched in sweat. She blinked and pushed up, every inch of her aching. She was in a shack, tin walls and roof, and it was so hot she could barely breathe. The last thing she remembered was the blow. This was definitely not a tent.

With a panic that climbed up her throat and fear that finally took over, she realized that Anna wasn’t with her. What had they done to her? Where was she? She rubbed her jaw, felt the tackiness of blood. Pushing her hands through her hair, then levering herself off the floor, she tried the door. Someone on the other side growled and hit back hard, the sound reverberating like a tuning fork, singing through the tin with a high-pitched sound. She screamed to be let out. Screamed about Anna, kicking and pounding. No one answered.

She backed up, looking around in despair, a whimper she couldn’t control making her clamp down harder, feeling trapped and reaching for anger that was slippery and buried in terror.

No light came into the ramshackle structure, except from the thatched roof, but it didn’t reach the makeshift floor. Sitting down hard, her back to the hot tin, she idly inspected her sleeve, torn at the shoulder. She tried wiping off the dirt, but it smeared with blood. She blinked and looked at her hand, the palm red. Taking several breaths, behind her closed eyes, she looked back down. There was nothing but her grimy skin. In the back of her mind where sanity still existed, she knew she was slipping in between reality and delirium.

Hurry, Hazard, before I go mad, and then die more than one death. I want to see your face again and know why you look at me the way Anna says you do. What do you see? I want to finish this mission and get justice. I don’t know who I am anymore, so much is breaking down inside me and not making sense. Please, don’t be too late. Please…

Like his teammates, Hazard was pushing himself hard. Almost thirty hours without sleep, a brutal run in soaring temperatures and humidity through a thick, dangerous jungle, two firefights, heartbreaking deaths, minimal rest, and MREs consumed four hours ago. It almost felt like he was in BUD/S again. But this time, his heart hurt through all of it, making it far worse on his heart instead of his body.

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