Page 19 of Hazard

“Where can I get a vest?” she asked.

He whirled on her. “What? You need to stay here.”

“No, that’s not the plan. I’m going. You might need my expertise, besides…I’m not as helpless as you think.”

Iceman said, “She’s right, Hazard. Commandeer one of the Marines for extra security.”

“I so should have had that cup of coffee,” Leigh snapped, giving him an accusatory glance.

“We can stop by the mess before we leave,” he snapped back, which was so out of character for him. He was Mr. Calm and Collected, but nothing about this woman was in any way normal or predictable. Not at all happy with Iceman’s decision to bring her along, he had no choice and had to oblige. Where they were going was isolated, and poorly policed. Drug runners worked and lived around there for a reason. He didn’t like it, but he was outranked.

“I’ve got her, Hazard,” Anna said. “Come on, I’m going to our lockers. I should be able to find something there for you.” Hazard was reluctant to let her go. She was his charge, but Anna was completely trustworthy and could hold her own, besides she would have the smaller vests to fit Leigh’s body. He gritted his teeth, the memory of how her curves felt steamrolling over him. There would be no time to talk about what happened in the room between them until this fast-moving train they were on slowed down. That wasn’t a bad thing. It gave him a moment to gather his thoughts and decide how he was going to solve this thing between them.

“And a cup of coffee?” Leigh asked hopefully, giving him a rebellious look.

“And a cup of coffee,” Anna said with a smile.

As their plane left the ground, the sun was dipping to the horizon, the sky filled with purple and orange streaks. Leigh, who was sitting between Hazard and Skull, leaned over and asked, “What’s so awful about the Darien Gap?”

Skull studied Hazard. There was something about his interaction with Leigh that fascinated him. Their boy was tough to get to know, but once he let you into his circle, that was that. Hazard wasn’t a big gossip hound like…say Boomer, but he was a savvy operator, would go to the bone for any of them, and cared deeply about what they did as SEALs.

“Hellhole,” Kodiak said.

“Deathtrap,” GQ growled.

“Even the plants are trying to kill you.”

Leigh turned those inquiring eyes toward the last speaker. Boomer.

“We’re not going into the gap, Leigh,” Breakneck said, their youngest member of the team. “They’re just messing with you.”

“You would know FNG,” Boomer said with affection.

“That means Fucking New Guy, but I’m not so new anymore,” Breakneck said.

“Still a baby boy,” GQ said.

“This baby will kick your ass,” Breakneck said, and GQ laughed.

“Anytime, munchkin.”

He was a fresh-faced kid, but he was formidable. He had all the gung-ho attitude you could want in a Navy SEAL and was a lethal sniper to boot, but he was a soft touch when it came to ladies, animals, children, and the elderly.

Skull noticed how Hazard squeezed her hand briefly, and how she withdrew it in seconds. The lady was tough.

From what he could see of Leigh Waterford, she wasn’t spooked easily, didn’t back down from threat or danger. She seemed to have a SEAL mentality. As a federal prosecutor, she had to stand up to the very scum of the earth. A person who did that job couldn’t be faint at heart. He had a feeling that during her time in Colombia, she was going to find what she was made of for real. No safe and secure courtroom, no morning lattes, or surrounded by briefs, legalese, or the law. They were in the stark lawless world where people suffered, lived, and died in a heartbeat with no quarter and no mercy.

His team had learned that lesson the hard way by putting themselves in harm’s way over and over again. No quarter from them, no mercy from them. They would run into the line of fire to get to you, that was a goddamned promise, on their duty, on their honor, on their blood. The brotherhood never faltered, not for one moment, eight guys and a dog, but one beating heart.

As fighting men, they noticed courage, and Leigh Waterford had that elusive trait, earning the beginnings of respect from this team. People who went into battle with monsters, whether in a courtroom or combat needed to be slayers, without fear, possessing genuine, and deep courage.

“The gap stretches from the north to the south coast of Panama, from the Atlantic to the Pacific,” Skull said quietly with an undertone of caution. “There’s no way around except by sea, and no path through. It erases any signs of civilization. People disappear—missionaries, adventure seekers, orchid hunters, conservationists, medical researchers and biologists.” She turned to look at him, and he gave her credit for the steady, unwavering eye contact. “There’s no law there except the law of survival from wild animals, the terrain, the heat, and two-legged predators—guerrillas, drug smugglers, bootleggers, and poachers. They especially profit from the gap’s no-go area.”

“Colombia is purported to be the bloodiest country in the world, but the gap…is an intensely dangerous place, a land and law of its own,” Boomer said.

“No one’s tamed that tropical wilderness—inhospitable environment, not the Scots, Spaniards, or Panamanians,” Kodiak said.

“Is it a place where SEALs fear to tread? The only dirt, air, and water on this planet you won’t go?” Leigh asked.

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