Scott's Summit (Terkel's Team Book 6)
Books in This Series:
Damon’s Deal, Book 1
Wade’s War, Book 2
Gage’s Goal, Book 3
Calum’s Contact, Book 4
Rick’s Road, Book 5
Scott’s Summit, Book 6
Brody’s Beast, Book 7
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
About This Book
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
About Brody’s Beast
Excerpt from Magnus: Shadow Recon
Author’s Note
Complimentary Download
About the Author
Copyright Page
About This Book
Welcome to a brand-new series from USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer, where dark-ops SEALs have special senses and skills, needed to solve intrigue, betrayal, and … murder. A series with all the elements you’ve come to love, plus so much more, … including psychics!
Everyone has the right to make a mistake, … but the one Naira made isn’t one Scott can forgive. He wakes from a coma, sure that the ex-love of his life had been at his side, but finds no sign of her. When he does see her, he can’t get past a long-ago decision she’d made that tore them apart.
Naira had hoped that Scott would protest her decision way back when, but he didn’t say anything to stop her. Heartbroken, she went ahead with the business marriage to appease her father, which ends in divorce. When Terk called, she came running to Scott’s bedside, even knowing he’d hate to see her when he woke up. But she has always loved him and can only hope he might find his way back to her.
But finding his way back to the team is on his mind, with Naira second. Except that the operatives who took down his team initially are coming around and trying to pick off everyone left alive—and all the people they hold dear, … like Naira.
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Prologue
Scott woke up. His gaze was fuzzy; his eyes ached, and he didn’t recognize anything around him. The woman sleeping in the chair beside him though, that was someone he knew. He blinked several times to be sure. “Naira?”
She bolted to her feet and raced to his side. “Hey. How are you?”
He drifted back under without answering; just knowing that she was here was incredible. It felt like he’d been climbing through the clouds to get back to her for a very long time. There was another woman though, a woman whose name evaded him, and that bothered Scott because he felt like she was important, and he didn’t know who or how she fit into things, but Naira was here, and that mattered in a way that he couldn’t even explain. He heard voices dimly in the background, and he tried hard to focus, but he couldn’t.
Another voice whispered in his consciousness. Relax. You’ve made the big jump. Now just calm down and rest.
Scott kept fighting toward consciousness, and, when it wouldn’t work, he felt himself panicking. A gentle touch reached out, stroked his forehead, and he was out cold.
When he woke the next time, he didn’t know what was going on, but more awareness was slowly returning. Had he just dreamed that Naira was here? He opened his eyes, and, sure enough, she sat at his bedside again. He stared at her. “What are you doing here?”
And damn if his voice didn’t sound like it was rocks in the water, gravelly and yet soft.
She bounced to her feet. “Terk told me that you were here and that you were hurt.”
Scott noted a little nervousness in her voice and her gaze. He closed his eyes again. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“I know,” she admitted in a low voice, “but I couldn’t stay away.”
He tried to open his eyes, but, once again, he went under.
When he woke the next time, he was alone, and he hated to say it, but it was a relief in itself. He wasn’t sure what he had seen before, but no way Naira should have been here. She was married, with a husband and a whole different life, one that didn’t include Scott. He rested for a moment and then slowly shifted in the bed, searching, looking around. He didn’t know where he was.
Almost immediately the door opened, and Terk stepped in, along with another woman. Thankfully it wasn’t Naira. Scott wouldn’t mention Naira’s presence either, since it would show where his mental state was, and he couldn’t afford that. The woman stepped forward, placed a hand on his forehead, and he determined she was a nurse, although she didn’t wear the traditional scrubs.
She smiled at him. “My name is Cara. How are you feeling?”
He stared up at her, feeling a recognition that he didn’t quite understand, but he nodded. “I think I’ll live.”
“Good.” Terk stood beside him. “We’ve been waiting a long time for you to come back.”
Scott stared at his old friend. “How long?”
“Over a month,” Terk replied. “A few days longer, I guess.”
Scott’s gaze widened. “I’ve been out that long?” he asked in alarm.
Terk nodded. “And you’ll slowly recover. You know what happens when your body has been incapacitated for that long. It’ll take some time to recuperate.”
“Well, I’m sure you probably have some magic juice to help me get back on my feet faster,” he murmured. “The nightmares are the worst.” He shook his head. “God. It’s almost enough to stop me from going back to sleep.”
“We can’t have that.” Cara stood at his side. “Rest is what you need, and rest is what you’ll get.”
Something was in her tone. He looked at her. “As long as you don’t do anything to force me back to sleep again because I’ve had some of the roughest nightmares ever.”
“Not at all,” she replied gently, “but you do need to rest, and you do need to sleep.”
“Maybe.” He yawned, looked around. “Where’s everyone else?”
“Most of the team are back on their feet,” Terk noted. “I hate to say it, but you’re one of the last few to surface.”
He stared at him. “Seriously? Even as strong and fit as I was?”
“You also took part of that blast a little harder than anybody else.”
“I don’t even remember what happened.” But he felt the need to sleep taking over again. “I’d go back to sleep right now but for those damn dreams.”
Immediately Cara put her hand on his forehead and said, in a gentle voice, “Sleep.”
And just before he lost consciousness, he whispered, “Was she here?”
“Was who here?” Terk asked, his voice low.
He whispered, “Naira. Was she here?”
Scott waited desperately to hear the answer, only to go under—the question left unanswered.
Chapter 1
Scott Little opened his eyes and stared around the room, frowning.
When an older woman walked in, she gave a startled exclamation and then smiled brightly. “You’re awake.”
He nodded slowly. This was not the gifted nurse accompanying Terk earlier. He remembered her coming to him two times. Cara. In his thoughts and in reality. “If that’s what you call it, yes,” he replied. “I feel like I got hit by a sledgehammer.”
“And maybe you did at that,” she agreed, with a bright smile. “However, a lot of people are excited to know that you’re coming back to the land of the living.”
He watched as she bustled
about, taking away a water glass that was here, opening up the curtains. “Where am I?” he asked, an inane distrustfulness taking over his mind.
She smiled. “You’re in an apartment,” she noted. “And I’m Nancy, a private nurse hired to look after you.”
“Thank you.”
She laughed. “Don’t thank me, thank your friends who brought me on board. Honestly I’m not even sure how or why you’re awake right now, but I’m grateful that you are.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning, we weren’t sure you would ever come back,” she stated. “It’s been touch-and-go for a while.”
He felt the shock of her words hit his brain, but it wasn’t making any sense. “Have my friends been here?”
“The one, yes,” she confirmed easily. “Terk’s been here many times.”
“And, for that, I’m very grateful,” Scott said. “I’m assuming he’s the one who hired you?”
She nodded. “Absolutely. He’s been very worried about you.”
“Is there a way to contact him? Is there a phone I can use?” Just knowing Terk was alive and well made some of Scott’s panic ease back. He needed answers, and that’s something he knew Terk would have.
“I’ll let him know that you’re awake,” she replied comfortably. “What I need you to do is stay in bed, relax, and, if you can sleep some more, do so. Now that you’ve surfaced, you’ll find that your recovery is not quite as fast as you want it to be. Thus you’ll need more rest than you expect.”
He didn’t say anything because, as far as he was concerned, nothing would be fast enough, and the last thing he expected to have was more time in bed. From the look on her face, she understood that’s how it would be too.
He smiled. “I’ll try,” he noted, offering a compromise.
She laughed at that. “I’ve seen plenty of men like you,” she confirmed. “I’ll be grateful if you at least try, and I know full well that your attempt to be as quiet as what I would hope for will fail.”
He shrugged. Disappointed, he lay quiet for a moment. What he had avoided doing was testing his muscles. He also hadn’t asked her very many details on how long he’d been down and all. This would be a challenge to not get more data. He could only hope that he was in way better shape than he appeared already. Still, regardless of his injuries, he wanted information on his team. But that could bring on way more pain.
After she closed the door, he pushed back the blankets and stretched his legs, relieved to see that they were both there and that they could move freely. And then he slowly sat up. He stretched, rolled his neck and back, wondering what had happened because he seriously felt like he’d been hit by something heavy, maybe even a train, and he was only partially joking.
He sent out a message to his team, only to have it rebound right back. He frowned at that. They’d become accustomed to using their abilities to stay together as a unit, and so Scott couldn’t understand when it returned, almost as if it were unanswerable. Not the kind of response he wanted. And it terrified him that there might not be anyone there to receive his message.
He tried again, but that message also came back. He frowned at that, hoping that his nurse would come back, with a phone that he could use.
Very gingerly, he stood and carefully made his way to the small adjoining room, hoping it was a bathroom. It was; with relief, he used the facilities. He wasn’t even sure how any of this worked because, although he felt decent, and he couldn’t see any injuries, his limbs felt like they were full of lead, and every movement was filled with pain. That surprised him. He thought he was in much better shape than this, especially after apparently having done nothing but slept for as long as he had. And what the hell had happened to drop him so hard?
When he walked out of the bathroom, Nurse Nancy stood there, glaring at him. He threw up his hands. “What? I’m not allowed to go to the bathroom?”
“Well, I guess, especially considering that I took your catheter out yesterday. On Terk’s orders by the way,” she noted.
He stared at her. “Terk told you to?”
She nodded. “Believe me. I wasn’t sure about doing it, but he insisted that you were waking up. Interesting, since he wasn’t even here at the time.”
He smiled at her. “Yeah, Terk is like that.”
“He’s freaky,” she muttered. “It went against everything in my training to follow his instructions, but he wouldn’t listen to my advice.”
“Well, he’s the boss, I presume?”
“Yes, but not for much longer, apparently.” She suspiciously studied Scott.
“Hey, it’s all right,” he murmured. “I have a history of doing really well, once I’m back on my feet.”
“Maybe so,” she admitted, “but don’t kid yourself. Your system went through a lot. It’s not healthy, and it’s not doing as well as you or Terk might like it to be. You are definitely not in any shape to be dancing around and to be causing trouble.”
He winced. “Wasn’t planning on dancing for quite a while.” He sank onto the bed. “And trouble has a way of finding me. Did you happen to get a phone?”
“I have mine,” she noted. “I sent a message and told Terk that you were awake.”
“And, for that, I thank you.” He was elated to know that there was at least one phone.
“We’ll see,” she said. “As far as I’m concerned, you need to be in bed for another week.”
At that, he raised one eyebrow and, in a deliberately mild voice, stated, “You’ll have to adjust your expectations then because that’ll never happen.”
She glared at him and then shrugged irritably. “What is it about all you strong guys?” she asked. “It’s like you’re all against spending time in bed. You don’t know how much I would love an opportunity to lay around and to relax in bed for a week.”
With half a smile, he looked at her. “I like to stay in bed if I’m not alone, but it’s another thing entirely to stay in bed because somebody considers me an invalid.”
She laughed. “You’re obviously healing if you’re thinking along those lines.” She gave a shake of her head.
“I’d like to be, yes.” He glanced around his room. “I understand that you’ve been looking after me, and I really appreciate that, Nancy, but what are the chances of getting some food?”
She stopped, stared. “I’m not sure your stomach is quite ready for that.”
“Unless you are willing to put the feeding tube and the IVs back in,” he argued, holding out his arm, “I’ll need food.” He noted that only now did she realize he’d pulled out all his remaining tubes.
“Good Lord.” She bustled forward. “You’re just determined to be in charge, aren’t you?” She shook her head. “Life would move along much easier for you if you would at least give your body a chance to recover.”
“It’s had way too long already,” Scott stated. “And that’s about as much as it’ll get.”
She sighed. “Nothing in life is quite that simple.”
“No, it isn’t, but you can bet that I want to be out and on my own,” he stated. “I’ll do as much as I can, as fast as I can. You never know when I’ll need my abilities again.” At the term, he winced because she was staring at him, clearly puzzled. He shrugged. “I was respected in my field,” he added, “so it’ll be hard to have people see me as not measuring up.”
“Get used to it,” she replied. “Everybody has that to overcome. We all have periods when we are in our prime, but too soon thereafter somebody else comes along, better and stronger than we are.”
“Maybe,” he admitted, “but some of us are still in our prime.”
She smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m not trying to knock you down or to tell you that you’re anything less,” she explained. “I can already tell you’re ready to go. Let me go see what I can rustle up to eat. Chances are, if I don’t feed you, I’ll come back and find you gone, out looking for food on your own.”
“Oh, I can cook,” he noted.
At t
he doorway she stopped and glared at him. “Young man, you put your butt back in that bed,” she ordered. “Otherwise I’ll go lock up the kitchen, and you’re not getting anything. Terk may be my boss, but you are not. So follow my instructions while you’re here, or we’ll have a problem.” And, with that, she disappeared.
He stared at her retreating figure in surprise, and then he chuckled. It figured that Terk would find somebody like her to look after him. He had a healthy respect for women of all ages and occupations, but some were exceptional. And she appeared to be one of them. He settled back into bed smiling, only to lose his smile when he realized his body was sagging with relief.
He shouldn’t be that tired. He shouldn’t be that worn out. Not just from walking to the bathroom and back. It was the first indication he’d had that whatever happened to him had been bad and that he was far from being free and clear from whatever this nightmare was. He sat back in the bed to relax, hoping she brought lots of food when she returned to his room. Aside from the pain he felt, he had a ravenous hunger building that threatened to take over everything in his world right now. He hoped she would hurry up. Even as he thought about it, his stomach rumbled loudly.
And he settled back to wait.
*
Naira sat on the edge of her bed in her hotel room. Was there ever anything as quiet and unfriendly as a sterile hotel room? She’d gone to see Scott, and the visit had been harder than she’d expected. Normally she would have considered herself a very strong woman, able to handle stress like many people couldn’t. But seeing Scott, with all the tubes running in and out of his system, his body slack, his eyes closed, looking almost dead, had been more than she could handle. And seeing her own reaction had been devastating because she thought she could do so much better, so as not to show Scott how scared she was.
Instead it had taken everything she had not to burst into tears and collapse beside him. Yet Terk had seemed to understand.
He’d led her away and stated calmly, “I know you don’t want to believe me, but he is doing much better now.”