18. Lee
18
LEE
I jolted awake and clutched my head. Dammit .
The bump on my skull throbbed in time with my heart, and my brain felt like it was about to pound out of my head. I remembered pulling the cord on Viktoria’s parachute, then…I’d grabbed my own cord handle just as her knee jerked up, accidentally catching me a good one above my left ear. She’d panicked when she shot up as her chute unfurled?—
Viktoria .
My eyes snapped open, and I cursed at the beginnings of predawn filtering through the leaves. How long had I been out? Minutes? Hours ?
Sitting up gingerly, I blinked my double vision away. “Viktoria?” I cleared my throat and tried again without the gravel in my tone. “Viktoria!”
Silence.
Ice shot down my spine. I heard trees all around me, the rustling of the forest, but the absence of human sounds chilled my blood. I moved to reach for my Sig, and my hand hit?—
What the hell?
I grabbed a section of the harness lumped into my duffel bag. Pushing it aside, I found the parachute stuffed between the two packs.
Relief speared, cool and sharp, through the throbbing in my head. Viktoria had made it to the ground unharmed, or at least alert enough to stow my chute. But why had she left me? Why wasn’t she…?
My mouth went desert-dry as the implications bombarded me. She’d hidden my chute because she’d wanted to hide me . Because she’d either sensed danger or seen it coming.
Christ .
She’d been in danger and instead of me protecting her, she’d had to protect me. I’d left her vulnerable…and now she was gone.
Way to do your job, asshole . I’d needed to get away from her, but not like this.
Touching my ear, I confirmed what I’d suspected. I’d lost my earpiece on the way down. I yanked my cellphone from my pants pocket and cursed. The entire screen was smashed. I mashed the power button repeatedly, but it remained blank.
Dumping out the rest of the parachute material, I tossed the useless phone inside my duffel and fished around until I found my satellite phone. I dialed Mike’s phone number, crossing my fingers the man hadn’t crushed his?—
“Hello?” Mike answered.
“It’s Lee,” I stated, flush with relief at hearing the man’s voice.
“Lee!” Mike exclaimed. “Thank God. I kept getting your voicemail.”
I grimaced. “My cellphone broke when I landed on it. I got knocked out on the way down, and Viktoria’s gone. Are you and Andrew safe?”
Mike cursed. “We’re banged up pretty good, couple of broken bones. Andrew called for a Medevac, but it hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Where are you? Coordinates?”
Mike read me their coordinates. “Middle of nowhere, in other words. Out in Pennsylvania mountains.” He made a disgusted sound. “We couldn’t have come down in Pittsburgh or Philly. Must be why the Medevac’s taking so long. My phone’s got one bar, and I’m grateful to have even that much.”
I compared Mike’s coordinates to the ones currently showing on my satellite phone. Calculating the distance in my head, I pushed to my feet and started walking, arms out to keep from falling over. The world swam out of focus and I almost hurled, but I managed to swallow it back.
“I’m about three miles from you. I’m on my way.” I hung up and slung my duffel bag over my shoulder, then started running. Holy God, did my head pound, but I powered through it. Once, I had to stop to heave the contents of my stomach, but I punished my body with a hellacious pace right after. I had no choice. Viktoria’s life meant more than following any concussion protocol. The sky grew lighter as I ran, using the satellite phone to navigate over uninhabited and rough terrain.
I found my men lying against a seven-foot rock face. Jesus, they looked like they’d survived a plane crash.
Duh, jackass. Get it together.
Mike and Andrew clapped me on the back as I dropped to the ground. My gaze zeroed in on Mike, who had a bloody shirt wrapped around his arm.
“It’s nothing.” Mike waved me away, and Andrew shrugged, then grimaced and pressed his palm to his ribs. As for me, I had to check in with Boom. Once the yelling subsided, my boss listened to me explain the reason for our extended stop in Ohio, the bomb and the plane crash, and my efforts to save everyone.
“My gut’s telling me Katrin’s involved,” I continued, finally voicing the suspicion that’d been bouncing around my head since I woke up. Mike and Andrew glanced sharply at me. “I think she had someone slip the bomb on the plane while we were watching Viktoria at the fashion show. With us occupied, it was the perfect time to strike.”
“It doesn’t matter?—”
“The hell it doesn’t matter,” I snapped, cutting Boom off. “Katrin’s been talking to Viktoria’s assistant this whole time. Aleta fed Katrin our locations. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Her goons kept showing up after we’d changed flight plans. Somebody had to be giving her our locations—someone with access to inside information. I want to put a team together to retrieve Viktoria?—”
“You’ll do no such thing,” Boom barked. “Jon Aronsson canceled our contract.”
“What? But we’ve kept his daughter safe,” I protested. “I jumped out of a goddamn plane with her.” Granted, my dumb ass got knocked out in the process, and she’s currently missing, but ...
“Doesn’t matter,” Boom said again. “He’s putting his own team on it. He’ll handle her retrieval, and I don’t want to hear another word about it. Lee, you’re to join Mike and Andrew at the hospital for a full debrief, do you hear what I’m telling you?”
“I hear you,” I answered, but Boom had already hung up. I fought the urge to toss my phone in the bushes. I couldn’t do this. Couldn’t blow another mission. I’d let my fellow Rangers down, and that was bad. Doing the same to Viktoria—no. I refused. Even if she did see me as a caveman, just the help, I’d promised I’d keep her safe. I’d do whatever it took to make good on that vow. If that meant I had to find a new job come tomorrow, so be it.
The thunder of rotors vibrated overhead. I clenched my jaw, a plan forming in my head. Piling onto the Medevac with the rest of the wounded, I kept my mouth shut about the lump on my head. I couldn’t afford to have a medic report my condition, which would lead to me getting tied up at the hospital. I’d lived through concussions before. I’d get through this one, too. But whatever Viktoria was going through, she’d need my help.
I sat out of the way, tucked up in the corner, and then I turned the volume all the way up on my satellite phone and dialed Jon Aronsson’s assistant. When a female voice answered, I repeated the security passphrase I’d read in the file Boom had given me in San Diego.
Please work , I prayed, hoping Aronsson hadn’t severed the protocols with his staff yet.
“Is this the SOB who let my daughter get kidnapped?” a gruff male voice snarled in heavily accented English.
“I should have trusted my gut when I met Katrin and her security team,” I answered, accepting responsibility. “I’m positive she’s behind the jet’s sabotage and that her men took Viktoria when we hit the ground.” My stomach turned over. I hated that Viktoria had been forced to face them on her own. “I understand you’ve put together a team to get your daughter back. I want to be on it.”
“You’re out of your mind,” Aronsson barked. “I’m having a team of professionals assembled, and that doesn’t include you. I won’t have you anywhere near this operation.”
Guilt hit me hard. For all my experience and effort, I’d failed to deliver Viktoria to this man safely. I needed the chance to keep my promise.
“Furthermore,” Aronsson continued, in a voice that brooked no debate, “your assertion that Katrin had anything to do with Viktoria’s disappearance is utterly absurd?—”
“Wait,” I interrupted, blaming my concussion for being slow-witted. “Did you say you will have a team assembled?” My gut tightened, and the red flags in my head began waving anew. “It’s been hours since we jumped. If you’ve had time to cancel our contract, then you’ve had time to assemble a new team and get them on the ground.” And why in the hell would he ignore good intelligence, even if he had trouble believing it?
“You need to watch your tone and think about who you’re accusing,” Aronsson snarled. “Kidnappings always proceed the same way. I’m waiting for a ransom call or a list of demands.”
Ransom? Was he serious? “They bombed us out of the air,” I shouted. “None of us were supposed to leave that plane alive. That’s not a kidnapping. That’s an assassination attempt!”
“Stay out of this and do not contact me again.” Aronsson hung up.
I sat gripping my phone, struggling to comprehend the situation. Aronsson was wasting time, but why? Why would he drag his heels with Viktoria’s life in the balance? I was missing something important.
I pulled the battery from the satellite phone so it couldn’t be tracked and dropped the pieces in my duffel bag. Aronsson would probably call Boom after the conversation we’d just had, and Boom would most certainly try to stop me from getting involved. Now I’d made it tougher for my boss to find me.
“Hey,” I yelled, wincing as my head throbbed.
The medic bandaging Mike’s arm paused and peered at me.
“Can I borrow that?” I pointed at the tablet peeking out of a satchel attached to the man’s waist.
The medic nodded and cocked his hip to let me grab it myself. I did, and then I logged into an account I’d created on the plane before we’d left for the fashion show. The website hesitated and stalled, then finally loaded. I tapped GPS, then TRACK, then 0001-NECKLACE. I ground my teeth, impatient, as the loading bar stalled.
Come on. Find Viktoria .
The screen whited out, and then it went black. Then a line of numbers filled the display. Yes! Her necklace was still active. I had added a discreet GPS tracker while she was getting ready. At the time, I’d worried my paranoia had reached a new level. Now I thanked God I’d trusted my gut.
I watched her coordinates, but the numbers didn’t change.
She’s not moving .
That could be a good thing, or very bad. “Just sit tight,” I whispered. “I’m coming to you.”
I signed out of the tracker and erased the browser’s history, then slid the tablet back into the medic’s pouch. I knew I should turn the information over to Boom, or to Aronsson, but the thought of anyone else handling Viktoria’s retrieval shook me to the core. What if they screwed up or arrived too late? No, I’d made the promise. I’d failed to keep it. I needed to be the one to make it right. Once she was safe, then I could walk away and do my damnedest to forget…the most unforgettable woman I’d ever met.
The Medevac touched down on the roof of a hospital, and I filed out with Mike and Andrew. A cloud of nurses rushed to greet us, pushing wheelchairs. I sat obediently and let them load me onto the elevator, but I stood when we arrived on the busy ER floor. “I need a minute,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”
“Wait—” One of the nurses went to grab my arm, but I was moving already, quick on my feet. I charged toward the information desk and asked for the closest place to buy a cellphone.
“The twenty-four-hour pharmacy next door has a selection,” the volunteer offered, pointing out the front.
“Thank you.” I tapped the counter. “Can you call a taxi to come pick me up?”
She nodded and made the call. “They’ll be here in fifteen minutes.”
“Perfect.” I hustled to the drugstore. The clerk kept eyeing my torn and dirty clothes, but I didn’t have time to worry about my appearance.
The burner phone didn’t have much charge, but it should be enough for two calls. I dialed a number I knew by heart.
“Hello?”
“Harris,” I barked. My brother’s voice was rough. I guessed he’d been sleeping. “I’m sorry to be calling so early, but I need you.”
“Lee?” Harris’s voice lost its grogginess. “What’s wrong? Whose number is this?” In the background, I could hear a woman’s voice—undoubtedly Rachel, Harris’s new sweetheart. So, things were apparently going well there.
“Ah, fuck,” I snarled, overhearing my brother telling Rachel to go back to sleep. I knew that Rachel was unexpectedly pregnant with Harris’s child, and Harris was both terrified and overjoyed about becoming a dad. “I shouldn’t have called you.” A horn blared in the street, and my head pounded. “I got your voicemail, by the way. Congratulations on moving in with Rachel. I’d give you shit about taking so long, but I don’t have much battery left.”
“Hell, yeah you should call me,” my brother snapped. “ Always . No matter what. Now spill. What do you need?”
I massaged my forehead, trying to think through my concussion. My head was all woolly, my thoughts in a scramble. Harris was about to be a father. He shouldn’t be involved…but if I didn’t tell him, he’d just call Chance and end up coming anyway. “My cellphone was smashed in a botched HALO, so I’m using a brand-new burner I haven’t had more than a second to charge. I don’t have time to get into it, but I need you and Chance to help me rescue a woman I’ve promised to keep safe. I’ve thwarted multiple kidnap attempts, but they sabotaged our plane. I had to jump with Viktoria?—”
“Jesus,” Harris interrupted. “There’s a story about a plane crash on the national news.” In the background I could hear a TV playing. “In Pennsylvania. That was you?”
“Yeah.” I paced back and forth, trying to clear my head. “We all survived, but I got knocked out on the way to the ground. They took her. I shouldn’t ask, knowing everything you have going on, but I need you to help me get Viktoria back.”
“Like I’d ever say no,” Harris answered, filling my heart. I’d always had my brothers’ backs. It felt good to know they had mine just the same. I hashed out a place to meet, and Harris promised to call back with the details once he’d booked his flight.
I had a similar conversation with my oldest brother, Chance, with two major deviations—one, no talk of children, since Chance and his fiancée weren’t pregnant, and two, supplies.
“I’ve got a SEAL buddy in the Philadelphia area who’s been retired a few years,” Chance announced. “He’ll help equip us with items I can’t bring on the plane.”
“Thank you, Chance.”
“You never need to thank me,” my brother rumbled, and then he hung up.
The taxi had barely rolled to a stop at the curb before I slid in. “Can you take me to the nearest car rental place? Doesn’t matter which one. As long as it’s open.”