SEALs of Honor: Shadow Read online

  Her heart pounded inside her chest and it took minutes for her panic to ease back. They’d been here close to ten hours now. How much longer until something happened? There was a four by four parked outside, but she knew the keys were in the pocket of the guy with the cell phone. Was there a second set to be found? She assessed the men. There’d been four at the cabin when they’d arrived. But there were more than that here now only she didn’t know how many more. She’d thought it was only fly in and fly out access but old roads crisscrossed the area so it made sense that they’d have driven more men in if they could.

  And that was encouraging. Road access also meant an escape route.

  Kevin whispered, “I have to go to the bathroom again.”

  She sighed and stood up. She held out her hand. “Come on then.”

  He walked beside her until they got to the third gunman. “He needs to go again.”

  “What’s his problem, he got a bladder infection or something?”

  “Likely just nerves,” she said quietly. The gunman moved to the side and let them pass. As the bathroom was right there, she motioned to Kevin to go in.

  “No shutting the door,” the gunman warned the same as he had every other time they’d been forced to come this way.

  “We won’t.” She gave Kevin a little shove toward the bathroom. “Go on. It will be fine.”

  Kevin gave the gunman a worried look before racing inside. He shut the door just enough for privacy while she stood outside. She deliberately kept her gaze on the door straight ahead. She had an excellent memory, she was a hobbyist photographer after all, and she’d recognize this type of man anywhere. They even looked similar. They all wore khakis. They all had black hair and long beards. Each had dark eyes and larger slightly hooked noses. They all had mustaches. Their builds were similar. She didn’t get it. All brothers of the same family? They were all roughly the same age. Or within ten years. And that made it possible. But…as she stole a sideways glance at the one guarding the bathroom, she realized their faces would have something unique to them. She struggled to find a way to identify the men from each other.

  The man beside her smirked when he caught her looking at him.

  Damn.

  She didn’t want him to notice her. But it was already too late. They’d been eyeing her since they’d arrived. She was casually dressed in jeans and a t–shirt with a heavy sweater over top. Decently covered but still showing too much for her peace of mind. Her stepmother was much prettier and more attractively dressed and barely a decade older. Why weren’t they looking at her the same way?

  Because she was the senator’s daughter? She had to find a way out of this damn cabin before one of the men decided she’d make a great way to pass the time or to pressure her father into doing what they wanted. They probably didn’t know that nothing would make her father change his mind.

  The bathroom door opened and Kevin stumbled out. She reached for him. “My turn. Stand right here and wait for me.” He nodded but his lower lip trembled. She gave him a quick hug and walked into the bathroom. She knew the guard had watched her last time, his position allowing him to see her in the mirror. She deliberately bent so as to keep out of his view as much as possible. When done, and wow had she become fast, she quickly washed her hands and walked out to her brother. He looked horrible. Fear had turned his eyes to huge orbs. He gave a tiny shake of his head to the right. She glanced over and saw the heated gaze in the guard’s eyes as it locked on her. Shit.

  With her throat too seized to speak she led her brother back to the fireplace. She had to escape. These men might have done this to force her father to help them on some stupid ruling, but they had no trouble seeing her as spoils of war. She had to get through the night and was very much afraid that it wouldn’t be alone.

  *

  The team had been silent as they trekked through the wilderness. They’d checked the coordinates several times, but no sign of the cabin yet. The wet weather wasn’t helping. With nightfall coming, they had no idea if the senator and his family were going to make it until morning. There were four family members here. The senator’s third and much younger wife, their eight-year-old son, plus his twenty–five year-old-daughter from marriage number two. The senator himself was in his mid–seventies.

  He had a reputation as being a square man. A bit old fashioned and stuck in his ways and if his cohort’s reports came in a two hundred-page style, his tomes were usually five times that. Much to the consternation of anyone forced to read it. Long-winded maybe, but often with solidly made points.

  And he had a reputation for being a good man. Unswayed by popular opinion. A bit stodgy in his views maybe but he was thorough and pragmatic. Not someone who bent to pressure or could be bribed – apparently. But when a man’s family was threatened, Shadow wasn’t sure any man would hold out. If you wanted to maximize pressure on a person, take his family hostage. In this case, they’d taken the whole family. And that was the part that really confused Shadow.

  Why? If they’d done this while the senator was home to do their bidding, they could have whisked the family anywhere in the world.

  If the senator didn’t survive this “holiday,” it could be months before he was replaced. Or longer. It wasn’t a simple process to appoint a new member to the senate.

  Then why kidnap the family? Why not just kill the senator outright? He highly doubted the kidnappers had a conscience. But if so, maybe they were expecting the senator to do the right thing so they weren’t forced to kill everyone. Because of course if they killed him, they’d have to kill them all. And no one wanted that.

  Or was something else going on?

  At a signal from Mason, they all stood up silently. Hidden under different trees they were close enough to be in contact but far enough that no one could see them all together. Cooper was closest to him. Now back to active duty, and not a moment too soon, Cooper was chomping at the bit for some serious action. He’d been sidelined with abdominal injuries that had stopped him from carrying the weight required out in the field. He’d healed but had been too overzealous and caused a setback with several pulled muscles. He bounced to his feet, appearing to be in glowing health now.

  Moving in formation, Shadow leading, they hopefully were closing in on the cabin. The wind had picked up, making the going tougher. The undergrowth was wet and footing treacherous. With the dark of night settling in early, they’d need to locate the cabin and make plans when they saw the lay of the land. It was easy to make plans on paper but the terrain would have a lot to do with their next move. Shadow was completely okay to hike in and out, but he wasn’t sure the senator was up to that level of physical exertion. And there was no point in saving him only to kill him on the way home.

  Hat slung low over his eyes with the rain sliding off the brim to the left, he carefully assessed the way forward. Seeing the next step, he took a sharp right and picked up the pace. It couldn’t be too long now.

  Chapter 3

  “Ari, I’m hungry,” Kevin whispered.

  She hugged him little closer. “Sorry, bud. I don’t know if dinner will happen.”

  He gave her long look. She grinned. “I know. For you that’s going to be horrible.”

  “I haven’t eaten since we got here,” he exclaimed. “Surely they don’t mean to starve us.”

  “There’s food.” That was the man with the cell phone. “But not what you’re used to.” He got up and walked to a box at the side. One of a good dozen boxes. Without any fanfare, he pulled out a jar of peanut butter and a loaf of bread. He tossed them at Kevin. “This is your dinner.”

  Kevin lit up. “Hey thanks.”

  The gunman looked at him oddly for a few moments then shrugged.

  “Can I have something to spread the peanut butter?” Kevin asked in his guttural tone.

  The gunman glared at him, then pulled out a plastic spoon and gave it to him.

  Again the irrepressible spirit of a child on an adventure surfaced. Kevin snatched it up
and opened the peanut butter. The spoon went in and he didn’t bother with the bread – the first spoon went right in his mouth. If there was one food guaranteed to put a smile on Kevin’s face it was peanut butter. Arianna rolled her eyes and helped him to spread peanut butter on several slices of bread. She slapped tops on both of them and handed them over to him.

  He took one in each hand and had the first gone before she’d managed to make up two more. She nodded to their parents. “Go offer them some.”

  Still buoyed by the peanut butter, he headed to his father with a sandwich in each hand. Arianna watched as she continued making sandwiches. Her father was gruff and often distant but she knew in his own way he loved Kevin. However, he hated peanut butter.

  Yet, with a resigned look on his face, the senator accepted the sandwich and whispered, “Thanks.”

  Kevin grinned. “I’ll get you a second one too.”

  He turned to his mother. “Mom, do you want one?”

  Arianna lowered her gaze. It was painful to see the other woman so out of her element. She’d not wanted to come in the first place, had made life for her father hellish for weeks and now seeing as what had happened, she could imagine what her stepmother was thinking.

  “No, I most certainly do not.” She turned on her husband. “See, I told you we shouldn’t have come.” She glared at him from watery eyes. “This is a terrible place.”

  He reached out and patted her knee. “We’re here now and we’ll make the best of it.”

  Kevin kept holding out the second sandwich to his mother.

  Arianna watched, waited. Her gaze narrow, Linda stared at the sandwich like it was a viper about to strike and opened her mouth as if to offer a scathing report only to catch sight of Arianna’s hard gaze. Her face pinched and she shot a glare at Arianna as if this mess was her fault, then accepted the sandwich. “Thank you, Kevin. Very kind of you.”

  Beaming, and seemingly unaware of the tension between the two most important women in his life, Kevin raced back to Arianna. “Two more please.”

  She nodded and handed him the next two sandwiches.

  He reached almost instantly with empty hands. She had made four more by now. He snatched up two and walked over to the gunman who’d given him the peanut butter. “These are for you.”

  Silence.

  Everyone in the room stared as the young boy held out the sandwiches to his captor. Arianna wanted to look around and see what the other men would do. Hell, she didn’t know what this first man would do, but she hoped not beat the child for being impertinent. Instead, the gunmen accepted the sandwiches and returned to the game on his cell phone.

  After that Kevin went to the other three gunmen inside the house. She worried when he went down the hallway to the kitchen and back door where the fourth man stood.

  Still he came back empty handed.

  Then he realized the bag was empty and his face fell. He studied the two sandwiches left in her hand. One she’d been taking bites out of as she worked. She laughed and handed over her second sandwich. “That will teach you to give all the food away while you’re still hungry.”

  “I might be a little hungry, but better that than everyone being really hungry.”

  Arianna smiled. She loved her kid brother. He said the most wonderful things. She had no idea how her stepmother had created him, and he looked nothing like her father or herself so she’d always worried he might not even be genetically related but knew DNA had been checked at his birth. He was family, but it wouldn’t have mattered to her one bit if he technically weren’t. He was precious regardless.

  They had to make it out of here. She wanted to believe they would. Her whole life functioned on an irrepressible positive good humor and outlook on life. Kevin had his whole life ahead of him. She did in theory too, but she’d do what she could to save him. She’d focus on that and work to make it happen. She didn’t know what the kidnappers’ plan was at this point – they’d been very sparse with their commands thus far, limiting their talking to clear orders.

  As Kevin curled back up in her lap, she realized how late it was getting. She suspected there’d be no rescue this night. Unfortunately. She smiled. She’d hope for the morning.

  Then the man who’d given Kevin the food said, “It’s time for you to go to bed.”

  Kevin looked over at him, his body tense, his arm hooked around Arianna’s. “The bedroom upstairs?”

  The gunman nodded. “Two rooms. Two beds. You and your sister in one and your parents in the other. You first.”

  Thank God. Arianna hated to think that they planned to separate her from her brother, but with the looks they’d been giving her, she’d been worried. She got to her feet, knowing they’d be escorted. There was a bathroom up there as well. With one man behind her and her brother, they climbed the stairs to the bedroom.

  Every step she worried the next would be her last. Her dad and Linda stayed below. They still needed her father for something. She hoped. Kevin gripped her hand so tight she knew he was terrified. Upstairs, their bags already in their room, they quickly grabbed up their toothbrushes and went to the bathroom. The gunman never left. Kevin didn’t want to go to the bathroom while the man watched. She half covered him and persuaded him to get the job done then they could get into bed. Awkwardly, he finished and washed up his hands. Now it was her turn.

  Kevin turned his back and stared at the gunman as if willing him to take him on. Then he crossed his arms and spread his legs in defiance.

  The gunman laughed. But the trick worked. By the time the gunman’s gaze had shifted back to her, she’d already finished and had approached the sink to wash her hands. In the mirror she caught sight of his disappointment. He was just pure slime.

  In the bedroom the gunman had closed and locked the door. She hadn’t even realized there was a lock on it, not remembering it being there last time. In fact, the knob was very new looking.

  As in this had been preplanned and all contingencies worked out.

  Then she heard raised voices downstairs and realized they were going to work her father over while they were forced to listen upstairs. She had to distract Kevin. He’d heard enough already.

  Damn.

  *

  The cabin nestled deep inside the trees below. Shadow walked out on a ledge overlooking the tranquil setting.

  Or what could be a tranquil scene if a storm wasn’t blasting through the area covering them in rain and blowing branches into their faces. Still, there were lights on inside and that gave it a look of a haven from the storm. His team were spread out, taking up positions. They had work to do before going in on a blind rescue. As of now they didn’t know how many men were here and if the hostages were even still alive. His radio crackled lightly. He adjusted the sound, listening to the conversation going on around him.

  One man on east corner. Assault rifle over the shoulder. Two hand guns.

  Shadow’s lips turned down at the corner. The men were loaded for bear.

  Grenades on a clip at his back.

  Shit. Most kidnappers weren’t equipped with grenades.

  The radio sounded again. This time it was Dane talking. “Unit is a half mile out. Will be coming on foot from here.”

  The team traveling cross-country had arrived on schedule. Now to figure out how many terrorists they were up against – and to confirm that the hostages were still alive. It would be easy enough to pick off the one man outside but not until they were ready to move. Or the hostages would be sacrificed.

  Second man on the southwest corner, came the low whisper. Mason.

  That was two outside guards identified. Shadow studied the cabin. One single front door at the top of four stairs. A large lazy porch wrapping from the front to the left side. The windows long and low. So no traveling from one side to the other without being seen. He continued to catalog the house. Noting the light on upstairs on the right and the lights on in the main living room. Smoke curled lazily from the chimney. If they hadn’t had the text from
the daughter and seen the two guards, no one else would have any idea something was wrong.

  But he knew.

  The woods were alive with tension.

  Upstairs a woman moved to the window and stared out. The daughter, Arianna. Long blonde ringlets, fully dressed, arms crossed as she stared out into the world. He pulled up his binoculars to see her tapping her fingers impatiently on her arm. Her mouth pinched with tension. A young boy arrived at her side. She took him in her arms and hugged him close.

  That was the senator’s son, Kevin.

  So the two siblings were likely locked upstairs. Were the senator and his wife up there as well? He doubted it. The terrorists were “talking” to the senator now. Not good. The senator was known to be stubborn as shit and would take the beating, but at his age, that could be lethal.

  He shifted his position slightly and set his sights back on the daughter upstairs. And gazed directly in her eyes.

  She stared back at him.

  Surely she couldn’t see him. Her gaze narrowed and tingles slid down his back. He estimated the distance between them and realized that he could see her without the binoculars so in effect she might be able to see him, but not likely… She was in the light and looking into the dark. Still…

  He raised a hand to her.

  She froze. And damn if she didn’t slowly raise a hand casually behind the boy’s back and hold it palm forward.

  Excitement drove through him. Was this possible?

  Then she did something with her fingers. And repeated it over and over again. He locked the binoculars on her hand movement.