38. Elliot
CHAPTER 38
ELLIOT
S ix months later
“You’re sure?” I whisper, taking the binoculars from Nova’s hands.
“Positive. Four armed, three unarmed.”
Only because I need their placement and not confirmation, I check through the scope, tracking the movements of the men guarding the woman we’re here to save. “Unarmed might be civilians.”
“Or they might be unfriendlies,” Nova says as she checks her weapon one final time before our final assault.
“Delta, Tango, are you ready to move on the east side?”
“Ready,” Tucker replies through the coms.
“Locked and loaded,” Dylan adds.
“November and I will go west,” I tell him, nodding at Nova.
“Understood. Let’s go get our target.”
I raise my weapon and look down at Echo, still sitting between my legs. “Ready, boy? Let’s do this.”
“He’s always ready,” Nova comments with a smile. Her thick red hair is braided down her back, and she’s dressed in all black just as I am. Tactical boots and bulletproof vest as well. A black hat is pulled down over her eyes.
She’s been working with us for the past six months, helping out as needed, and today is her first boots-on-the-ground mission. Pride swells in my chest. God gave me a wonderful woman.
“Move out,” Tucker orders. Since it’s his op, he’s running the shots, his plan going seamlessly—so far.
But we know how fast things can change.
Nova and I move through the brush with me in the lead and Echo at my side. Our weapons aimed and ready, we do our best to keep our steps silent. We’re deep in the marshlands of Louisiana, so I keep watch for predators while treading carefully so I don’t step onto unsure terrain.
So far, the ground is dry. I’m only hoping it’s this way all the way to the house.
The teenage girl we’re after is a runaway. A foster kid burdened by the weight of the world. She’d left one nightmare only to end up trapped in hell when she was abducted by a drug dealer and used as a mule. But today we’ll bring her back to the light—if all goes well.
“Two hundred yards out,” Dylan whispers.
“Same,” Nova replies.
We hit the side door, and I look to her. She offers me a nod. “Breaching in three—two—” I trail off and slam my boot into the door. It splinters open.
Gunfire rings out, and we both seek cover. Echo remains at my feet, silently watching, both ears perked as he prepares to strike. I withdraw a stun grenade from my waistband and throw it in. It goes off with a piercing bang, so Nova and I push inside.
Moving quickly, we put down two armed gunmen with their rifles aimed at us then manage to locate the room where the teenage girl is being held.
“Hey, honey,” Nova says softly as she rushes over toward the teenager. “Are you Susie?”
“Yes. Wh-who are you?”
“I’m November, and this is Echo. We’re here to bring you home,” she says as she cuts the zip ties on the girl’s wrists.
“I don’t have a home.”
“Then we’re going to take you to safety,” Nova says. She helps the girl to her feet. “Are you injured?”
“Just my head. I tried to run, and one of them hit me.”
“You’re a fighter, that’s good.” Nova smiles again. “Stay behind me, okay? We’re going to get you out.”
“All clear, we have the package,” I tell Tucker and Dylan through the earpiece. Seconds later, the gunfire ceases.
“We’ve secured all the unfriendlies,” Tucker says.
“And secured the unarmed civilians,” Dylan adds. “Team is two minutes out,” he adds in reference to Loyotta and his men, who were called in for the final assist.
“We’re bringing her out now,” I tell them. “Stay behind November, okay, Susie? If you hear any gunfire, drop to the ground.”
“Okay.”
“Ready?” I ask Nova.
“Ready.”
“Let’s do this.” Just in case any more guards are lurking, I keep my weapon up as I make my way out of the house and toward the rendezvous point. This place will be swarming with Loyotta’s men in minutes, and we don’t want Susie out in the open when it is—just in case there are any more conflicts.
We make it to the small clearing that serves as our rendezvous point at the same time Loyotta’s men storm the compound.
Dylan and Tucker, along with Delta and Tango, step into the clearing. Dylan’s shoulder is bandaged, but he moves as though he can’t even feel it.
“You hit?”
“I’ll be fine,” he replies, brushing it off. It’s just like Dylan. The boy who used to save spiders from being squashed has now suffered so much that a gunshot wound barely fazes him.
“How you doing, kid?” Tucker asks her.
“Better,” she replies. “For now.”
“We’ll make sure you’re safe,” Nova tells her.
Susie smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. There’s a darkness there, her innocence lost years ago when she’d first been placed into a broken system. “Thanks. What happens now?”
“Now we wait. In a few minutes, we’ll all be on a truck and headed back to civilization where I plan to eat the largest cheeseburger known to man,” Tucker replies.
Susie’s smile widens. “A cheeseburger sounds nice.”
“Then we’ll make sure you get one too,” I tell her.
* * *
Twelve hours and a plane ride later, Nova, Echo, and I are stepping into our house. Echo heads straight for his water bowl while Nova and I stash our weapons in the safe and hang our gear up in the hall closet.
Then, she crosses over, and I wrap my arms around her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Some honeymoon, huh?” We’d gotten married only a week ago, right beside the creek where I’d found her what feels like lifetimes ago.
She laughs. “Some honeymoon. It all turned out okay though, didn’t it?”
“I think so. I’m a bit worried about Susie though,” I tell her truthfully. “I hope they find her a good family. Someone who won’t make her want to run.”
“I hope so too,” she replies. “I really do. Help me?” She turns and lifts her braid, so I undo the chain of her necklace and wait as she slides her wedding ring off before securing the chain back around her neck.
She slips the ring onto her finger, and I do the same with mine after I remove it from the chain around my neck where it has rested, right beside an iron cross Nova gave me on our wedding night.
“Right back where it belongs,” she says, stretching up on her toes to kiss me.
She starts to pull away, but I deepen the kiss, savoring the way she fits me just right. “I love you, Nova Hunt.”
My wife.
My love.
My life.
“I love you, too,” she replies with a wide smile that sets my heart ablaze, just as she’s done every day since the very moment I met her and will continue to do until the day I meet the God who brought her to me.
The same One who never left me, even when I’d abandoned all hope myself.
* * *
Keep reading for a sneak peek at Riley’s book, Romeo! Coming soon!