Chapter 1
LINCOLN
Tehran wasn’t half bad. It sure as shit wasn’t what I had expected it to be like when I’d first deployed. Imagine the surprise of that bright-eyed, bushy-tailed kid straight out of BUD/S training when we landed, not in some war-torn shithole but in a thriving modern city.
As a country, Iran was actually surprisingly easy on the eyes. Snow-capped mountain peaks rose above the city in the distance. The house in front of me had to be some kind of architectural wonder, and giant old trees lined the streets outside.
The people were pretty cool, too. I even had a suit guy here now. I’d been coming here on missions for seven years. Obviously, I had a suit guy. I also had a tea guy. I couldn’t get enough of his stuff.
Fuckers like the one inside the modern marvel of a house, however, were the ones giving this place a bad rap. Eden and I were camped out on his street, miles away from the next nearest neighbor.
The man lived up in the hills in a nice part of town. Due to years of conflict and hardship, many Iranian citizens would never even see this part of their own city.
Dawn had broken about an hour ago, and the air still had that quiet quality to it. It was that part of the day before traffic really started up and people piled into the street.
Too bad the quiet in the neighborhood was about to get broken in the worst way possible.
Because despite the serene swaying of the treetops in the breeze and the peaceful atmosphere, the man who lived in the house was a terrorist. A real, live terrorist who was currently holding seven American hostages.
Eden lifted a pair of sleek black binoculars to his eyes. “The target is on the move. I repeat, the target is on the move.”
Our lieutenant’s voice rang out into the speaker lodged in my ear. “Wait for my command. Don’t move forward until I say so.”
“Yes, sir,” Eden murmured. “I’ve still got a clear view of the hostages. All appear to be unharmed.”
“Let’s keep it that way,” the lieutenant commanded. “Wait for my order, boys. Don’t move in yet.”
My hands clenched around the magazine of my gun in frustration. Those poor people had been with that lunatic for six days now. We might not have been able to see any physical injuries from our distance away, but getting them out felt more urgent than ever.
Eden’s jaw tightened, but he gave a sharp nod at the order we’d received. “Got it, sir. We’re holding our position.”
His finger dropped away from his ear, and he let out a soft sigh. “How long do you think they’re going to make us wait?”
“It doesn’t matter. We know the plan.” I shrugged, darting a glance at him before returning my attention to the house. “As soon as there’s an opening, we’re making our move. Fuck waiting for orders. We can see what’s going on. They can’t.”
“The lieutenant isn’t going to be happy about that,” Eden mused, but he didn’t disagree. We’d met in basic training and had stuck together since.
I knew he would follow me if I went in. Orders or not.
My friend didn’t always agree with the so-called reckless side of my personality, but he trusted me. Just because I had a slight problem with authority didn’t mean I made wrong calls on the battlefield.
Eden scraped his palm over the white-blond stubble on his jaw. He squinted into his binoculars before his spine shot ramrod straight. “Were you serious? The target just left the room where the hostages are. This could be our window.”
I tapped the earpiece. “Lieutenant? The eagle has left the nest. The eggs have been left unprotected.”
Our sour stickler-for-the-rules leader hated my colorful ways of reporting back, but he’d understand the message.
“Copy that,” he barked, the expected hint of irritation in his voice. Other than that, the radio remained silent. No order to go ahead followed.
“Keep your eyes on the target,” I instructed Eden. “Where’s he going?”
Moving his head slightly as he tracked our guy, he suddenly grinned. “It looks like he’s headed to the back garden. He’s on the phone.”
I mentally ran through the floor plans we’d committed to memory on the way here. “Any other baddies in there?”
“Not in our path,” he replied, not needing me to verbalize where my mind had gone. “There’s one patrolling. He might intersect with us.”
“Might is a hell of a lot better than will.” I flicked the safety off my gun and jerked my head at the house, smirking at my friend. “You coming?”
“You know it.” Rising silently while he spoke, he waited for me to lead the way.
As I started the stealthy approach, weaving my way through the shrubs and hedges lining the property, I felt the familiar spike of adrenaline coursing through my veins. I fucking loved my job.
Everything inside my body vibrated with the thrill of the mission while at the same time, my mind became calmer than ever. Pure fucking magic.
This, right here, was what I lived for. The rush, the clarity of mind, the sense of control, and the knowledge of impending danger. It was like a drug to me, and like the addict I was, I craved it every second I didn’t have it.
I would never give this up. Not for anything in the whole wide world.
If it wouldn’t have given our position away and placed the hostages’ lives in danger, I would’ve let out a whoop. That was how good I felt.
My boots crunched on the hard, icy ground. Small white puffs of air left my lips with each breath, vanishing into the early morning as we walked right on through them.
I tucked my chin close to my chest, only vaguely aware of the crisp bite licking at the exposed skin of my face. Combat gear covered every other inch of me.
Eden and I made it to the building without being seen. I held my fist up to stop him once we were there. Flattening myself against the exposed brick, I risked a peek around the corner to make sure we were still alone.
Only after confirming that I wasn’t about to lead my friend and partner into a surprise firefight did I give the signal to go ahead. Our footfalls were soft thuds against the concrete walkway surrounding the house.
I kept my eyes wide open, but I couldn’t see any of the guards I knew were around. Hoping they were holding their positions where Eden had spotted them before, I jogged to the back door.
From it, we had a straight shot up the stairs and into the room on the second story where the hostages were being held.
Stopping once we reached the unassuming wooden door with slatted glass panes set in it, I strained my ears and squinted to see if I could make out any movement on the other side of it.
The doorjamb was made of solid brass, and it gave easily when I tested it. My brows jumped up in surprise. I shot Eden a glance, but he just shrugged and shook his head from side to side.
These guys must have been pretty damn confident about the location of their safe house if they hadn’t even bothered to lock the door. Their loss was our gain since it allowed us to keep the element of surprise even longer.
“We’re going in,” Eden murmured quietly, his pale green eyes holding mine as he delivered the update to our lieutenant and the rest of our team.
They were going to be pissier than Eden’s devout Catholic ex had been after finding out he’d gone to that strip club, but we’d have to deal with it. There was no other way.
Before there was a burst of activity over the speaker and the Lieutenant threatened my poor innocent balls, I shut the sound off. Those hostages weren’t going to save themselves, and I would be useless to them if I didn’t stay in my zone.
Eden ripped his earpiece clear out, letting it hang by its cord over his shoulder as he nodded at me. “I’m ready.”
“Stay behind me.” I dipped my chin, grinning over my shoulder at him as I slowly twisted the doorknob and aimed my gun. “Let’s go raise a little hell.”
A thick carpet absorbed the sound of my boots stepping into the house. Eden closed the door behind us with the softest of clicks. Neither of us communicated as we crept to a wide, sweeping staircase in the center of the room. We didn’t need to.
Ascending the stairs as fast but quietly as we could, we ran into the first sign of trouble on the landing. One of the guards had his back turned to us as he stared out of the window with a lit cigarette stuck between his teeth.
He hadn’t seen us yet, but he would. If he turned around, the automatic weapon he cradled like a newborn fucking baby in his arms would be in our faces in no time.
Signaling to Eden to stay put, I moved up behind the guard with the determination of a lion stalking its prey.
I briefly considered putting a bullet through the back of his head, but the sound of a gunshot would be like announcing our presence using a megaphone and a marching band.
Even with a silencer, it would be a dead giveaway that they had company.
No, subtlety is better for now.
As I stepped up behind him, I spun the gun in my palm and slammed the butt into his skull. He dropped like a sack of rocks, but I caught him under the arms before his enormous body hit the floor.
Out cold, his tongue lolled to the side as I brought him down to the carpet. I stomped the cigarette out with the heel of my boot next, then dipped into a quick bow for Eden’s benefit before resuming my focus.
He rolled his eyes at me but also mimed clapping his hands. I knew people thought I didn’t always take the job seriously because of antics like this, but they helped me stay focused. No one took being a professional badass more seriously than I did. I just did it my way.
Motioning to the corridor that led to the room where the hostages were being kept, I turned and stayed close to the wall. Eden and I made steady progress to the door.
Finding it, too, unlocked, I frowned at my brother-in-arms. This was almost too easy, and it was making me suspicious. Even so, I pressed on. There was no time to fall back and reevaluate the plan.
As the door swung open, an armed gunman came racing from the direction of the stairs. Uh oh. He must have found his fallen comrade.