SEALs of Honor: Mason Read online

  That was the first she realized only one big white parachute floated above their heads. She’d had no idea. Somehow she’d seen enough to know Mason would take care of her regardless of the danger to himself. Clipped together, their parachute was carrying twice the weight. So not good. Thankfully she was a lightweight. Still, she had one on her back so maybe that was a precaution only.

  “Here we come,” he warned. “We’re going to come down hard and roll.”

  She had no chance to decipher what he was saying as the ground came up awfully fast. She screamed as they approached. A hard jolt, a series of tumbling rolls and he was on his feet, again stabilizing her as she struggled to sort out vertical from horizontal.

  “Is it over?” she asked, hating the shakiness in her voice, clinging to him, desperate to have the world steady.

  “It is.” He was busy unclipping, unhooking and undoing straps and clasps until they were separated. And the parachute harnesses were on the ground. He quickly spun around and rolled up the parachute as it slowly floated to the ground behind them. The sky was black. Their new world a myriad of shadows. She crouched down wondering what the hell they were going to do from here? The cold was seeping through her. That wind on the way down had been biting. With no coat, she was damn near numb. She was dressed in only lightweight jeans, a t-shirt, with a light sweater over top.

  Riding double, they’d landed ahead of the other men. She watched as the big white balloons floated down around them, the moonlight easily helping her to spot them. They were all several hundred yards away though. As if timed, they landed one by one and winked out of her sight. How could they find each other in this darkness?

  The answer was so obvious she almost laughed. They were SEALs. They could do this blindfolded.

  Mason turned to her, his pack already fully stuffed and reached out a hand. “We need to go.”

  “Go where?” She’d love to go somewhere, but…

  “Anywhere but here.” He helped her up. “I know you’re tired, but whoever shot the helicopter down is looking for survivors.”

  That guaranteed her cooperation. She ran beside him, her feet shredded by the paper thin flat shoes that had long since done their job. She stumbled over a hillock and would have fallen if it wasn’t for his arm. “Easy,” he whispered.

  She kicked off the broken threads covering her feet, realizing the remnants of her shoes were tripping her up more. Now barefoot, she ran.

  At his side, her steps were long and free. With her eyes adjusting to the half light, she forged ahead, strong.

  Mason ran beside her. He let out a weird half call. She glanced over at him. But there was no point in asking questions. They’d steal her breath and stop her rhythm. She hoped she didn’t have to run all night, but she’d give it her best.

  *

  MASON COULDN’T QUITE hide the pride he felt as he watched this woman who’d survived so much, do what he commanded without question and still even after being tossed out of a helicopter, got up and kept on running. Harry, where ever the hell you are man, you did good.

  But pride or not, there was no way in hell he should have kissed her. How completely unlike him and totally unprofessional. And if there was one thing in this world he knew for sure, he was a pro.

  But there’d been something about her… There still was.

  A hawk called to the left. He cut sideways and she never missed a step. He glanced down and realized she ran in bare feet. Her jeans were frayed and cut but she still ran.

  He knew many men who would have given up before now.

  Not Tesla. He didn’t think she had any give in her.

  Directing his path toward the tall stand of trees where Hawk was perched, he listened for the calls from the others as they moved to collect around Hawk. Time was of the essence. Not only did they have enemies on their ass, but he was pretty sure the pilot hadn’t made it out alive.

  Sliding into the shadows, he pulled Tesla around and into his arms. Against her ear he whispered, “We have to stay quiet and will be using our call signals. We don’t want something unfriendly to come in.”

  She stiffened but true to from, she nodded. He let her lean back against the bark of the closest tree to catch her breath. The scratched and bleeding toes was something he couldn’t do anything about right now. After they made camp, then he’d see to it.

  The others came in, heads down, bodies low.

  Mason counted them as they slid into home base. Swede, Shadow, Dane, Hawk. His mind automatically went to add Cooper but he was back at base.

  Good. They were all here. He lifted an arm, and without giving any explanation to Tesla, moved forward at a steady pace deeper into the shadow of the trees. After a few moments, Hawk came up beside him and took the lead. The others fanned out around her. They’d do anything they could to keep her safe.

  She was showing her mettle, a character that they could respect and admire, and then there was now the fact that she was Harry’s sister. Interesting they hadn’t been told that before. Had Harry told the others about the type of work his sister was involved in? The reason the unfriendlies were after her.

  If they knew that, they’d worship at her feet.

  That almost pissed him off. He had no reason to feel this way, but he couldn’t stop feeling like those little feet should be his. And that was foolish. He’d planned to stop by and see her sometime in the future. To share stories of her brother, to get to know her. Harry had told him about her since forever. Half of the stories were obviously overstated, but…he looked at her as she ran, tiring but stalwart at his side…maybe not.

  She’d been raised by a military man. A former SEAL himself, and although he’d wanted a second son, he’d gotten a daughter. And had raised her to be tough.

  Mason had thought she was a marshmallow, but in the world of civilian women, she had showed herself amazingly well suited to handle life’s bitchiest moments.

  Shots fired through the darkness, splattering bark beside Tesla’s head.

  She let out a little shriek and collapsed to the ground.

  Shit.

  He dropped to her side, his hands already checking to see if she’d been hit. Please let her be okay. There was no blood that he could see.

  “My head,” she moaned. “Stinging.”

  He held a tiny flashlight up so he could see the damage. “Splinters from the tree.”

  “Hurts.”

  She was gasping for breath, but he wasn’t sure if that was from the pain or the shock. Either way it was something she had to control. He plucked out the couple of larger splinters he could easily grab, then tugged her to her feet. “I can’t do more right now. The others are small.”

  He watched her nod in understanding and try to regain control. She swiveled to look around for the others. But they’d melted into the shadows looking for the shooters.

  “They are making it safe for us to proceed,” he whispered.

  Her eyes widened. She gave a clipped nod then in a low voice, she asked, “The pilot?”

  He shook his head. He doubted anyone could have survived. The first explosion had ripped the cockpit apart. Mason had seen Hawk when the chaos happened but hadn’t had a chance to confirm with him. But he wouldn’t be with them now if there was a chance to save the pilot too. Not with those waiting on the ground watching, waiting to take out the survivors.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  He saw the despair in her eyes. Then the grit as determination lit their dark depths.

  “That’s my girl.” He kissed her lightly again. As he pulled his head back, he heard the rustle behind him. “Hawk is here. Let’s go.”

  Hawk took up the front position and led the way.

  “How did you know it was him?” she muttered.

  “I always know where my men are at all times. It’s how we stay safe.” It might be, but she was a distraction he could ill afford. What was wrong with him? He couldn’t stop kissing her.

  “And never leave any man behind, I believe.”

  “No man is left behind,” he confirmed, feeling the vow he’d taken deep inside.

  And in this case, no woman either.

  Chapter 5

  SHE HAD TO stop. Except she refused to be the first one. And that was damn stupid. She wasn’t trained for this. They were. She should have stopped a long time ago. For the tenth time in the same number of minutes she stumbled. Mason once again caught her. Without missing a stride he swooped down and picked her up, still moving at top speed, but now with her in his arms.

  “I can run,” she protested.

  “No, you’re done.”

  She didn’t argue. She was too damn happy to not be trying to power along at his side. He was right. She was done. And she hurt enough already that the jostling of being carried was making it worse.

  Then he said it. “You were slowing us down.”

  “What?” she exclaimined in hoarse outrage. “I was not.”

  But she had been, she realized. They were moving faster. The men had picked up the speed now that they weren’t maintaining the pace she’d set.

  “Sorry,” she muttered against his neck.

  He squeezed her close. “You’re doing wonderful. Just keep it up.”

  She closed her eyes, letting her body relax, adjust to the swaying movement as he ran. Comfortable as she could be, warm against his chest and so very tired she dozed lightly.

  “She’s held up well,” said a deep voice beside her.

  She thought that was Swede but was too comfortable to care enough to open her eyes and look.

  “She has.”

  “Hard to believe she’s Harry’s sister.”

  “But appropriate.”

  “Same spine.” The man gave a half snort. “Let me know, huh?”

&n
bsp; Silence.

  In her drowsy state she couldn’t quite follow the conversation. It was more a drifting noise in the background. Words flowing but not making any sense…

  “Nothing to let you know about,” Mason said in low tones.

  The other man laughed. “Right. You are in denial.”

  “No denial here.”

  “Good, then when you make up your mind about her. Let me know. If you’re not keeping her, she’s available.”

  “No, she’s not.”

  The same laughter.

  A new voice joked, “If you’re not keeping her then there are more of us interested.”

  Mason snapped, “Let’s keep our eye on the job.”

  “Sure. The job. The damned prettiest job I’ve seen in a long time.”

  Yet another voice popped in. “And who knows how this would have worked out if someone else had rescued her from the shack.”

  Muffled laughter filled the air.

  She finally understood where this conversation was going. With that in mind, she made an audible groan and opened her eyes, giving the men lots of warning.

  She was no prize.

  And there was no way Mason would be keeping her.

  Neither would any of these other men.

  She wasn’t a possession. And she wasn’t a kept woman.

  She was a big fan of these men though.

  Especially the one who held her close to his chest.

  *

  “HOW ARE YOU feeling?” Mason asked in between dodging the trees. He’d kick the others if they woke her. She needed her rest. He also hoped she’d missed the conversation if she’d just woken up. Not that she’d have understood it in the first place.

  It was an old joke. But one he didn’t want to have to explain.

  The men were all jesters. And he was one of them.

  He slowed his pace as the others motioned they were stopping.

  “What have you found?” he asked in a low voice.

  “An old camp on the left, likely a hunting camp.”

  “On the map?”

  “No.”

  “Good. Let’s see what we’ve got.”

  Silently, the others did a quick search before returning as silently as they’d come. Mason held Tesla on her feet, steadying her as they waited. They’d be fine outside overnight, but she’d do better in a shelter. What they couldn’t do was leave a trace of their passing. If there was a camp down there it was likely it was more of a shack. But if the weather held, it would do nicely. Small, it would be easy enough to set up a perimeter watch, and taking turns, they’d be able to rest.

  At the all clear signal, he helped Tesla to the small cabin. Inside were several old chairs and a small table. She sat down while he unloaded the packs. “First things first…”

  “Tea?” she asked hopefully.

  “No, but nice try. We’ll put that on the list though.”

  “So what’s first,” she said in a lost voice. She slid her arms forward on the table and laid her head down. Only to bolt upright with a small cry of pain.

  “That’s the first priority.” Mason pulled out his field pack. A quick search of the cabin showed a lantern sitting on a shelf. He pondered the risk of lighting it. Optioning for the safer route, he opened a small flashlight and had her hold it while he picked the slivers out of her scalp. She stared at him the whole time, her eyes huge.

  After the first stifled cry she hadn’t said a word. He hurt for her. Too often the small injuries were the worst and as he pulled splinter after splinter out, he was the one wincing. Damn. She was getting under his skin. In a big way. Just a couple more…and finally he was done.

  “There, it’s all good.”

  She stared deep into his gaze as if waiting for him to say something to contradict his last statement.

  “That was the last one.”

  She closed her eyes with relief and gave a curt nod. Within seconds she’d slumped to the table, her head resting on her folded arms.

  And slept.

  Mason cleaned up then stood and quickly made her a makeshift bed. After picking her up and laying her down on it, he covered her up with his coat.

  Standing back up, he stared at her. What the hell was he going to do with her?

  “Damn,” he muttered, unable to pull himself away.

  She whimpered in her sleep. He knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulders. “Easy, Tesla. You’re safe now.”

  She stilled and dropped deeper into a dreamless state.

  Her color was pale, the small pinprick wounds on the side of her face showing stark against her white skin. Shivers still wracked her frame as she slept. He needed to clean her feet. Maybe he could do so while she slept. He didn’t have much to work with, but he got busy doing the little he could.

  She slept through it.

  Good.

  If she could get some rest, tomorrow would be that much easier.

  They were searching for another pickup location. They needed to get her out before they were found. The area was heavily wooded. They weren’t out of danger and would need to be on watch overnight. And as evidenced by what happened on the helicopter, the enemy wasn’t going to let her go so easily.

  Chapter 6

  SHE’D SPENT WAY too much time sleeping and recovering during this nightmare. Tesla lay quietly in the early morning dawn. She knew they’d be up soon and on the run. Unfortunately. She was exhausted. Just the thought of getting up was enough to make her body feel like lead. Quitting wasn’t an option. She had to hold up. Harry would expect nothing less. Neither would her father. It didn’t matter that any other person would understand weakness in this situation because she knew her brother and father wouldn’t show any.

  Harry would more than her father. Her father was a hard ass. Her mother had died a decade ago now. She and Harry had become closer after the loss whereas her father had become more distant. Colder. As if it was his way to avoid being hurt again. Weakness was to be avoided at all costs. Considering he was a former SEAL and weakness wasn’t in their vocabulary, she could understand. That she was here in this situation was not something anyone could prepare her for though. She had no training for something like this.

  “Are you going to wake her,” Swede asked in a low voice. “We’ve got ten minutes.”

  “I was trying to give her as much time as I can.”

  “Understood.”

  Silence.

  “Damn,” Mason growled. “I’ll wake her now.”

  “Don’t bother,” Tesla said, rolling over and sitting up. The movement caused her to suck in her breath and shudder as muscles screamed at her after stiffening overnight. It took a long moment to suck it up and speak again, “I’m awake.”

  “Good.”

  She stared at the four huge calendar model males. Talk about gorgeous… They stared back at her in silence. Thankfully without having a clue as to what was crossing her mind. She sighed. “I guess that means time to go?”

  “You get a few minutes to eat.”

  She brightened. “Food would be good.” She struggled to her feet until she tried to put weight on her puffy soles. She collapsed instantly, tumbling back onto the makeshift bed. “Shit.”

  Instantly Mason was at her side. “Your feet?”

  “Yeah. I’m fine. It was just the shock,” she muttered. Please let it be just the shock. She had to be able to walk.

  “Lie still for a moment. I cleaned them last night but the light was bad, so I need to take another look now.”

  “You cleaned them?” she asked in astonishment. “Really?”

  “Yes, after you fell asleep.”

  Oh shit. Chagrined to realize a man could actually wash her feet while she slept was a little unsettling. She sat up as he took a careful look at first one then the second. He pulled out a thick cream and coated the soles of both liberally then slowly eased two thick pairs of socks over her raw skin. She stared, open mouthed as he finished.

  “These should help. Now try to stand.”

  With his help she gained her feet. Thankfully the socks offered a thick cushion for her weight. She smiled gratefully. “Thank you. I was worried about how I was going to be able to walk today.”