Chapter 20
WHEN THE red light dotted his chest again, Duke decided discretion was the better part of valor. He climbed out of his sniper’s nest, leaving his rifle in place as ordered. Despite Carter’s urging, there’d been no shooting. Yet. He planned to keep it that way until he could figure out the situation and get his guys safely out of harm’s way. He didn’t bother being quiet as he slid and climbed down the mountainside to join Dalton, Carter, and the two women. He knew Hannah McIntire could handle her weapon. Now that he had a good look at the other woman, he realized she was just as comfortable with a weapon in her hand.
“Major.”
“You can call me Hannah, Duke.”
His gaze flicked to Dalton then to Carter. “So, we’re friends now?”
She laughed, but her hand never wavered as she covered him. “Not hardly. But we don’t have to be enemies.”
Duke’s rifle sailed into the space separating DJ and Carter from Hannah and the other two. “Why didn’t we see signs of your husband, Mrs.—Hannah. Or his team?”
“They were around.”
He took a step toward her, but stopped when a snarling growl filled the air. The hair on the back of his neck prickled and he didn’t have to look at his chest to see the red dot. A moment later, a man broader than Tank and taller than Duke stepped out into the moonlight ghosting through the small clearing.
“Hi, honey, I’m home.” Mac glared at the two SEALs closest to Hannah. It was all he could do to keep his wolf leashed.
“Master Chief Petty Officer Duke Reagan, my husband, former Command Sergeant Major Mac McIntire. You two should play nice.”
“I assume you’re the one who took out my men?” Duke glared back.
Hannah arched a brow. “Oops. You didn’t play nice, Mac?”
“They were wiring fucking explosives to blow the houses, Hannah. Hell no, we didn’t play nice. Back away from them.”
Antoine appeared at DJ’s side. He picked Carter up by the collar and dragged him over to Dalton and Duke. Hannah stepped over next to DJ and they exchanged exasperated looks.
“I saw that, Hannah.”
“We had this under control, Mac.”
“Where the hell are the others?”
“Safe.” Bunker under the Admin Building. They used the tunnels, she added using their mental link.
“Let’s go.”
Mac and Antoine herded the two SEALs and Carter down toward the quadrangle. Hannah and DJ paused long enough to gather up the extra weapons then followed. By the time they reached the fire pit in the center of the green square, the Wolves had hauled out the rest of the team. All were bound, most were still unconscious.
Duke bristled at their condition. “What did you do to them?”
“You’re damn lucky they’re still breathing,” Mac snarled. He kicked the nearest one and Tank came awake fighting the ropes holding him.
“What the fuck, Duke?” Tank blinked a couple of times, but the stars dotting his vision persisted. He closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing until his head cleared.
The Wolves made a pile of the weapons they’d stripped from the SEALs then backed away to stand guard. Mac and Duke squared off, both men looking like they were ready to go ten rounds in an MMA steel cage. The rest of the SEALs slowly regained consciousness and sat up, as much as they were able. When he had everyone’s attention, Mac spoke, his eyes boring into Duke’s. “You have some explaining to do.”
“We’re under orders.”
“Whose orders?”
“I’m not at liberty to divulge that.”
Hannah slipped up next to Mac. Hands on her hips, her expression akin to a stern school teacher, she faced the men from Atlantis. “Seriously, Duke? You’re going to play SERE here? Now?” She smiled when the rest of the team recognized her. “Hi, boys. Fancy meeting you here.”
They all gaped at her then gawked when Sean ushered the other women and the kids into the quadrangle. Dalton found his voice first. “I told you, Duke. Women and kids. Something’s fuc—fubarred. Like totally seriously fubarred.”
Carter jumped to his feet. Spittle flew from his mouth as he tried to get words out. Mac made out a couple of names—Secretary Jarrett and General Bradshaw. He concluded they’d signed the orders that sent a SEAL team onto domestic territory after the Wolves. Carter made a grab for Hannah. Mac snatched her out of the way as a red dot appeared on Carter’s chest. While out of control, the man wasn’t quite ready to commit suicide by Army sniper because he stopped and stood dead still.
“You aren’t terrorists,” Duke admitted softly.
“Nope. And you don’t butcher innocents.” Hannah pushed out of Mac’s protective embrace. “We need to put aside our differences—” Mac growled deep in his chest, interrupting her, so Hannah thumped him. “Shut up, Mac. Duke, we need to talk, compare notes. There’s bad shit going on.”
Mac pulled her back under his arm, as much for comfort as for her protection. “More than you know, Hannah.”
Ten minutes later, the kids were bedded down in Mac and Hannah’s quarters, their mothers and DJ on guard. Hannah remained in the quad. They’d released the SEALs—except for Carter. They’d not only tied him up, they gagged him as well. Hannah offered them coffee while Mac and the Wolves dragged Duke into their HQ to brief him out of Carter’s hearing. Lightfoot still held high ground and reminded the SEALs periodically by painting their chests with red dots. They’d slowly relaxed, as much as any military specialist would under the same conditions.
Hannah wasn’t stupid. They’d take her as hostage bait in a heartbeat. Any one of them—except for the sniveling Carter—could also kill her with one hand. They didn’t need their weapons. Good thing Lightfoot was still out there, watching. Any swabbie who tried to touch her would be dead a heartbeat later.
Almost as one, SEAL Team Atlantis turned to watch the Wolves emerge from the shadows. The Wolves now stood on one side of the quad, the SEALs on the other. The testosterone was so thick Hannah could have scooped it up with her hands. Mac and Duke walked into the circle of light, separating as they joined their men.
Only an idiot threatened a Wolf’s mate or pups and expected to walk away unscathed. That wasn’t going to happen. Forget the Wolves. Hannah would have no trouble putting a bullet in the Lieutenant’s head. Mac had been so upset, his thoughts had leaked over to her. Bradshaw had escaped. No matter what their previous relationship had been, Hannah would gladly put a bullet in the general’s brain. She’d realized she had been just a puppet. They all had. The Wolves would eventually get to the man in charge, the one pulling her strings, the Wolves, and very likely the SEALs standing there looking tough but slightly shell-shocked as Duke quietly filled them in.
Hannah recognized the horror and revulsion on their faces as understanding sank in, as they realized what they’d been tasked to do. She glanced at Mac, wondering what he planned to do now and wasn’t too surprised when he gestured toward their weapons and backed away while the SEALs rearmed. The Wolves had to erase their existence to cover their tracks and the SEALs’ butts. Failure was not an option for a SEAL team on a mission. This group of men had failed to accomplish their mission, had disregarded their orders. If the Navy found out what happened this night, they’d either be court-martialed…or worse. They’d proven to be honorable and Hannah didn’t want to see them erased as the government had tried to erase all existence of the Wolves.
Everyone stared at the figure laying between the two groups, then at each other. Hannah was ready to scream to break the tension, but figured if she did, bullets would fly out of sheer reflex. The SEAL leader broke first.
“What are you going to do?” Duke’s voice sounded strained.
Mac met his gaze without blinking as he answered, “Take care of him.”
The one called Tank stepped forward. “Y’all got a place t’go? We’ll help get you packed up. Get those babies outta here. Then we’ll…fix things.”
A shorter man built like a boxer, stepped up next. “We need to blow this effin’ place, Duke. Make it look like we did what we were told.”
Sean perked up, eying the other man. “You look familiar.”
“John Coppola. You’re Sean Donaldson. We did an EOD course together.”
“PETN?” Sean’s grin was way too gleeful.
“RDX.”
Like two kids with baseball cards to trade, the two explosive experts converged. Hands flailing in semaphores only they understood, they walked off comparing notes.
Hannah knew what had to be done. Scorched earth. Everywhere they went. Everywhere they tried to put down roots, they left scorched earth behind. Perhaps this was the only way—totally erase their existence. Let the world believe they had perished here.
Mac’s head turned and he pinned her with his gaze. He knew what she was thinking. They didn’t need to share thoughts. They’d been mated so long he knew her inside and out.
We will survive. And we will win.
Yes, they would. She turned away to go break the news to the women.
HARJO WATCHED the shadow move behind the curtained window. He’d had to do some very deep dives to find the identity of the man inside. Newton Graham. A ssistant director of the FBI’s Office of Congressional Affairs. As much as he wanted to get back to Amy, he couldn’t leave the D.C. area just yet. He glanced at his watch. There was still time.
A pale line of gray tinged the eastern horizon was poking at the darker sky above when he heard the single gunshot. Police, fire, and EMS arrived within minutes but Harjo was already gone—along with Graham’s laptop, a hard drive, and a box of files.
He texted Mac: Lunch is on me.
DAWN ARRIVED but was no match for the scene in the valley below them. Hannah stared out over the flaming remains of the place they’d hoped to call home. The forest had grown deafeningly silent, the animals cowering in fear. Outlying buildings burned. Small, scattered fires started from flaming debris sent rocketing from the explosions that shook the compound swayed in a macabre dance. The Administration Building folded in on itself, collapsing in slow motion to fill the bunker hidden beneath it. Everyone else had gone. As promised, the SEALs helped them pack their personal effects, loading boxes and kids into vehicles, and sending them off to Blaidd’s Gap. With the innocents gone, the teams worked together setting explosives and adding accelerant to make for a complete burn. There could be no sign of bodies, save one. He died of a single gunshot wound to the head.
The SEALs left soon after their guy, Cop, and Sean had set off the explosives. The authorities would come to check. Eventually. At the moment, the nation was reeling from the breaking news that Department of Defense contractor John Smith, Secretary of Homeland Security Harry Reed Jarrett, and Anthony Rockland, the Deputy White House Chief of Staff, had all died in what was being described as a natural gas explosion at Smith’s suburban Alexandria, Virginia estate. Hannah had caught the news while packing. Something new exploded down below, but she felt so numb she didn’t react, just continued watching for a few more minutes before speaking.
“Did we win?”
“We survived.”
“Is that enough?” She shoved her hands into her pockets to keep from grabbing Mac, to stop herself from seeking solace in his touch.
“For now, it has to be.” Mac stepped into her space, turned her and gripped her biceps in his large hands. He tugged her to him. Her cheek found the spot on his chest that seemed shaped just for her to rest there. Hooking her thumbs in his web belt, she leaned against him, absorbing his heat, his strength.
Mac studied each member of his team as they arrived, slipping through the trees like their namesakes. Sean, loose-limbed, a cocky grin spreading across his face, always sure of things, always trusting in Mac’s judgment. Lightfoot hung back, his sniper instincts in play as his gaze scanned the clearing below and the hillsides surrounding them. Silent, sure, his second in command, Lightfoot seldom questioned Mac’s decisions. Lightfoot and Sean. They were the only two left of the original Wolves. Nate strode up, his face hard and unyielding. He still fought demons the rest of them would never face, yet he stood rock-solid with them, a brother through spilled blood and shared strife. Rudy and Antoine appeared together, with Antoine’s mate, DJ, a half-step behind. Both rogue Wolves to begin with, they were now an important part of the pack.
Pack. Mac tasted the word, remembering his many discussions with Josiah. He’d been honest when he told the Blaidd’s Gap Alpha that each of these men could be the Alpha of any pack they joined. The knowledge that they stood with him, that they offered him their allegiance with none of the pack bullshit almost drove him to his knees. He never wanted to fail them.
DJ stopped next to Antoine and leaned. Her face was smeared with soot. “Everyone else is well on their way. The kids were fussy, but Annie and Liz had them well in hand, with Liam and Joy’s help. Jacey’s driving with Izzy riding shotgun. They’ll get the little ones safely back to Blaidd’s Gap.” She glanced over at Sean. “Are you sure they’ll be welcome there?”
Sean nodded. “Yes. I guarantee they will. That goes for all of us.” He eyed Mac speculatively.
“One more.” Mac sounded almost jovial, but his eyes reflected the fierce predator living just beneath his skin. Powerful men had threatened his pack, sending men to kill them, to kill his mate, his children. Liam might be his only blood child, but every one of the pack’s children were his. They belonged to him, just as each of these men and their mates did. “One last target and we’re done.”
Hannah didn’t want to think about betrayal and death. They’d already lost so much. Except what was important—each other. Things could be replaced. Wasn’t that the sentiment people expressed in the aftermath of a disaster? The Wolves had gotten smart. The things that couldn’t be replaced were kept somewhere else. Somewhere safe. All in the hopes that someday they’d have a place to call home. Not today, though.
Mac touched her shoulder and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “We’ll find the general. He won’t get away.” He nodded toward the rising sun. “Command and control.”
“Son of a bitch is mine.”
Her mate’s mouth tugged up into a wry grin as he bent to kiss her. “You’ll get ’im, Major Darlin’.”
Damn straight. She was ready to cut the balls off the monsters that hunted them.