A shiver raced through her, the miracle of the moment tinged by the fear of her father. Again, the thought that this was wrong hit her. The anger and strife she lived with wasn’t right.
She shut off the water and reached for the alcohol, hoping it would stop the bleeding. The sting made her yell out in pain as her leg throbbed. He’d really hurt her.
After the flow of blood slowed, she stepped from the tub and wrapped a towel around her body before finding a bandage to cover the wound.
With the bandage in place, she removed the towel and stared at herself in the mirror, thinkingabout the baby growing inside of her body. He would be strong and smart. No question, his little smile would look like his daddy’s. Tears fell as worry for Striker grew. He didn’t even know she was pregnant.
What would he do when he found out? Would he abandon her, or would he want this baby? Was he not texting or calling because he was somewhere in another country, or had he dumped her?
She would have to keep moving forward to her license and move out on her own. Her baby may not have much, but she would make sure he had a good life.
11
The weird feelingstayed with Striker as they were briefed on the location where the embassy employees were being held. He dug into the surveillance, shocked anyone had thought going to this resort was a good idea. The team for the rescue included guys he’d worked with before. Whitney, Jackson, and Bishop knew their shit. He’d met all three on a previous mission.
Before they headed out, they ran through a simulation four times, each time improving on theirtasks. Worry filled him, but he pushed it away, thinking it had something to do with Shannon and not their mission.
Close to dark, they loaded onto helicopters and flew into the area where the men and women were being held. His nerves were on high alert though they were landing miles away from the resort.
The seriousness of their operation could be viewed in the faces of the men around him. Jackson pulled him to the side and revealed they were moving on the resort in less than an hour. Talks had broken down, and unless they somehow managed to miraculously resolve the issue, they would be called on to do the rescue.
Striker was ready for it when the call to head out came. His heart picked up speed as they left the secure location in the dark. Approaching the compound at night gave them the best advantage. As far as they knew, none of the embassy employees had been killed, but that could change at any moment.
His team was past the perimeter fence and had performed their entry tasks flawlessly. They approached the compound without being seen. Bullet holes in the walls of the outer buildings were evidence of the violence wrought here.
The adrenaline rush kicked into high gear as he slipped around a building and found the first combatant. This was dirty work, but he figured ifsomeone was willing to kill women and children, destroy lives, and otherwise cause chaos, and then try to kill him, they didn’t deserve to live.
He dispatched the man quickly and kept moving, heading around the next corner. After making it past five outer buildings, they had the main building surrounded. His group had taken out four men guarding the perimeter. Striker believed they were in a good position for now.
His heart sped up as he prepared to go in. This was what he’d trained for, what he lived for. The danger of the situation wasn’t lost on him, but he had confidence in his abilities and the skills of his team.
Whitney gave the order, and they rushed forward. He had to take out one more guy before his quadrant of the building was secure. The hotel probably had been nice maybe a decade ago, but he could see the wear on the carpet and the paint chipped on the walls. Again, he was amazed anyone from the embassy had come up with this hotel location and thought it would be safe.
He stepped into the main room where most of the hostages were being held and froze. Blood was splashed on the floor and up one wall. He narrowed his gaze, staring at the group of embassy workers. Some were sitting, others were stretched out, not looking so good.
Jackson stepped close. “Four people are down.”
“How bad?” Striker asked.
“Not good enough to walk out on their own,” Jackson glanced to the group. “Two women twisted their ankles, and there are a few more with scrapes, nothing serious.”
“So much blood,” Striker said. “Did anyone die?”
Jackson gave his head a quick shake. “None of our people.”
Striker stared around the room, thinking this was a terrible place for them to be. “This room is too big to defend.”
Jackson shook his head. “We gotta get them out of here.”
“Agreed.” Striker wondered how. The two guys who’d been shot were still losing blood. The women who’d been hit were faring a little better.
Whitney and Bishop came close and agreed with them; this was all sorts of screwed up.
“I don’t like it,” Whitney growled.
“Neither do I.” Jackson stalked off to talk to a few of the other men Striker didn’t know very well.
“Tell me, Striker, what do you think?” Bishop asked.