Duty Bound (Blackthorn Security Book 1)

Chapter 4

“Lilian Devereux?” the beast asked.

Stunned, she stared at the bloodied mess that had been the Taliban fighter, and then up at the shooter’s gun. He’d been so young.

“Lilian! Is that you?”

American. He was American. It filtered through her addled mind that he must be here for her.

“Yes,” she whispered, but he couldn’t hear her over the incessant shouting outside.

“What?”

“Yes!” She forced strength into her voice and bobbed her head.

“Good. I’m going to get you out of here.” Pushing the weapon over his shoulder, he bent down to inspect her shackles, then pulled out a lethal-looking combat knife. Her eyes widened as she recognized it. Joe had an identical one.

She gasped. “You’re Special Forces.”

The man pried the lock loose. He was pure Spec Ops, every move screamed it. He had that same chiseled-soldier look—all business, all mission.

With a grunt, he hauled her to her feet. Her ankles whined and blisters screamed, but with his arm wrapped around her—his grip like iron but not unkind—she was able to walk. “Let’s move out.”

They edged toward the mouth of the cave, the air turning colder. They almost made it, too, then all hell broke loose. Bullets flew from all directions.

He shoved her away and shouted, “Back!”

She crashed to the ground then covered her head.

The cave became a storm of sound and shrapnel. He was on comms, his voice a low growl of command. “Team, get the hostages clear. I”ve got Lilian.”

Something about the way he said her name sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint it. Was this one of Joe’s Green Beret’s buddies? Had their paths crossed before? She strained to get a clearer view of him, but it was dark in the cave and the blinding head light created a blurry halo around him, on top of which, the night-vision scope obscured part of his face.

He barked into his comms, the tension in his voice like a tightrope. “That’s a negative. I don’t want history repeating itself. Get those hostages to safety. That’s an order.”

This was not good.

“Other hostages?” She stared at him. “They’re here too?”

“Yeah, we tracked them via satellite. That’s how we knew where you were.” Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her to the back of the cave. “Any other exits?”

All she could think about was their near escape, and now they were trapped. A sob gurgled up in her throat.

“Lilian, look at me.”

She strained her neck. A beast of a man, but haloed by the bright head light, he was all shadow.

“Is there another way out?”

She tried to think, then pointed to a draft she”d felt earlier. “Maybe there?”

He was quick to check it out. “You’re right. There is a narrow tunnel here. It’s pretty tight, but it could be something.”

“Can we fit?” It was very narrow, only about four feet wide by three feet tall.

“There won’t be much wriggle room, and I’ll have to leave my pack behind, but it’s our best option. We can’t get out the front without support.”

Which you sent away, she added silently.

He began rooting through his bag, tucking what he could into pockets and through belt loops. “I’m going to set a trap.” He was all business again. “Stand back.”

“What?” She blinked at him. Was he insane? “You’re going to blow up the entrance?”

“It’ll buy us some time.”

“But—what if we can’t get through the tunnel? We’ll be stuck. We won’t be able to get out.”

She saw a flash of white teeth below the head light. “Yeah, but the enemy won’t be able to get in, either.”

Fantastic. He was going to turn their escape route into a rock pile and take his chances in the narrow tunnel. The dark, narrow tunnel.

Sporadic bursts of gunfire—far too close for comfort—sounded outside as he prepped C4 like it was Play-Doh. Once the cave mouth was wired to blow, he stood back to admire his handiwork.

Lily yelped as a stray bullet ricocheted off the rock not far from where she stood, spraying sediment into her face.

“Stand back!” He lunged for her, pushed her behind him, gave her a quick once-over for injuries. Whatever he saw—or didn’t see—satisfied him, because he continued with his plan. “Get ready. It’s going to get dusty in here.”

“Are you sure?—?”

He depressed the lever, then the world shook.

She screamed, flattening herself against the back wall of the cave, tensing for a barrage of shrapnel and falling rock.

But the blast was angled outward. Apart from a storm cloud of dust, nothing happened in the cave. Then a deep rumble sounded.

“Here we go,” he said.

Hundreds of tons of mountainside tumbled over the exit.

She stared at the wall of rock and started to hyperventilate. Now they were well and truly stuck.

“Lilian, come on.”

Still, she didn’t move. Her breath came in short, rapid gasps. The cave was hazy with dust, and the lantern glowed red behind them.

“Lily,” he said more quietly.

She turned, as if in a daze. Joe had called her Lily, and his father, Pat, but no one else.

His head light danced in front of her eyes. That combined with her breathlessness made her vision swim.

Dear God, don’t let me pass out.

“Come on, Lily. We’ve gotta get out of here.”

She followed him in the direction of the tunnel. Even without his backpack he was a giant of a man, like Hercules slaying the monster, except she had no idea how he was going to get them out of this one.

He secured the weapon over his back and crouched down. The gap was so small, how on earth would he fit? It didn’t look big enough for her.

Shit, he was going to go for it. Not that they had a better option. Or even a worse one.

It was so black in there…

“I’ll go first. Keep behind me.”

She gulped as he eased himself into the tunnel. The light from his head-mounted flashlight danced off the narrow, rocky walls, and she heaved a sigh of relief. At least they weren’t going to be swallowed by the darkness.

His massive shoulders took some maneuvering, but then he was in. He actually did it. She watched as he leopard-crawled along for a few yards, her eyes dropping to his tight, khaki-clad butt.

Catching herself, she blinked. What the hell? This was hardly the time. Still, she had to admit, it was a great butt. Hard, taut, muscular.

“You coming?” he called, but it was too narrow for him to turn around.

“Does it lead anywhere?” She really, really didn’t want to go in there, but what choice did she have? He’d demolished their only other way out.

“Looks safe enough. The breeze is strong. I think we’ll be okay.” A few seconds later, he started moving again.

Oh, God. She was actually doing this.

If he can fit, so can I.

Lily got down on all fours.

Here goes...

Taking a shuddering breath, she crawled in after him. The ground under her hands was cold and crumbly with a metallic smell that would have been sharp and pungent had it not been diluted by the breeze.

They progressed slowly, inch by inch, for about twenty yards, him in front of her and her focusing solely on his wiggling butt. As silly as it sounded, that perfect backside helped keep the panic at bay.

Eventually, the passage widened into a small, rounded alcove where they could sit side by side. The soldier pushed his night vision scope aside and wiped sweat from his face. “We can rest for five minutes.”

“Thank goodness.” Lily sat next to him, back against the wall. The stiff breeze made the confined space more bearable, and she wanted to believe the hilltop and freedom were only a short distance away.

“You okay?” he asked. The head light was still on, so his features were a dark haze. That was okay with her. It would be pitch black in the tunnel without it, which would probably send her over the edge. This way was better.

His voice was familiar. She tried to place it but couldn’t. “Yes, I… I think so.”

“Good.” He pulled a compass out of his pocket then studied it. “We’ve been going steadily west and at an upwards trajectory, so it shouldn’t be long until we reach the outside. I’m guessing another twenty, thirty minutes. Do you think you can handle that?”

Like she had a choice. “Yeah.”

He turned his head, and the alcove was plunged into darkness. Nearly there, she told herself. Just keep going. It was dark and claustrophobic, and she couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen if the tunnel narrowed to a point where they couldn’t get through. What then?

A muffled blast made her jump and sent a puff of dust down the narrow tunnel.

“What was that?”

“They’re trying to blast their way into the cave.” His voice was controlled, measured. Meantime, she was about to have a full-blown panic attack. There was no going back.

He must have sensed her terror, because he turned around and laid a firm, calloused hand on her arm. “Stay calm, Lily, and keep breathing normally. We’re almost out.”

“Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll try.”

“Good.”

“Um, I have to ask. Do we know each other?” It was the familiarity with which he said her name. She couldn’t see his eyes but sensed he was looking right at her. Her face, on the other hand, would be illuminated by his head light.

“Yeah, we’ve met, I’m Blade Wilson, Spade—sorry—Joe’s friend. I haven’t been able to get in touch before now because you left so soon after he… passed away. I was with him when… anyway, he gave me a message for you. He said to tell you he loves you.”