Chapter One
Jane gasped and choked, disoriented by her surroundings.
She was floating. No, not exactly. Strong arms banded around her, but instead of being afraid the only emotion she could muster was relief.
Distant shouting and the ripple of water parted the remaining fog in her brain.
The past few hours came back with glaring clarity.
She’d been taken hostage with some of the children she’d been treating in their village.
They’d been tied up and taken on a boat against their will.
The men were going to hurt one of the little girls, so she’d baited them.
Death was a better option than witnessing a child be violated like she had once been.
She’d killed one man, hopefully two, before jumping overboard.
She was a strong swimmer, and if she made it to shore, surely she could find someone to help.
The captors fired shots into the water and her lungs had burned as she tried to stay below the surface.
When she didn’t think she could stand another second without oxygen, she was moving, propelled downward by something strong.
Something gentle. Instinctively she knew it was a man and despite her distrust of others, she didn’t fight.
The moment his arms came around her, every cell in her body sagged with relief.
Maybe it was the loss of oxygen or the trauma of being held against her will, but somehow, she imagined he was more of a guardian angel than one of the sinister men on the boat.
The pressure in her lungs was too great.
She only had seconds before her body would instinctively gulp for air, and she’d drown.
The man suddenly pulled her up against him and pressed something to her mouth.
She couldn’t see anything in the murky water.
Had to put her full trust in the person beside her.
She held her nose and breathed against the hard plastic.
Oxygen filled her lungs. Then they were moving again.
Large, firm hands gripped her bare skin, easily cutting through the dark water.
Letting this person lead her where he wanted might be a mistake, but he’d already offered her his oxygen and that took trust on his part, too.
And then his body had jerked, and instinctively she knew her rescuer was in pain.
That didn’t stop him from continuing to silently slice through the water with her in his arms. The color of the river became lighter as they rose to the surface.
“Breathe, love.” The whisper was harsh and demanding, and she immediately sucked air into her oxygen-starved body.
She blinked rapidly, trying to make out their surroundings.
Something floated in front of them. She could barely make out the small inflatable boat concealed by darkness and tree cover.
“Take her.” The man’s hands tightened around her waist, and she was thrust upward with profound strength.
Hands gripped her arms and pulled her over a smooth, rounded hull and into the boat.
Sudden panic shot through her. The stranger who’d saved her was hurt.
“Help him. Please.” Her voice seemed distant.
Nearly wild in its urgency, but the men on the boat immediately jumped into action at her request. Her lungs seized and a cough rattled through her chest.
“Are you hit?” The voice was directed at her rescuer as he was lifted out of the water and placed beside her.
“Leg.” Her guardian’s voice was labored.
“It’s fine. Give me some space, yeah?” Suddenly, she was breathless.
Must be choking, because she couldn’t catch her breath.
The man’s face was right next to hers, and even though she couldn’t make out his features, having him close made some of the tightness in her chest ease.
Rough palms framed her face. She hated being touched, but for some reason having this man’s hands pressing against her only seemed to ground her.
“You’re safe. Breathe with me.” Her guardian continued to cradle her face. She could feel his ragged breaths heat her cheeks and nose, and she tried to time her breaths with his. “There you go. That’s it,” he coaxed. There was a tenderness to his voice that made tears spring to her eyes.
“Here.” A woman’s soft voice was audible, and the guardian turned toward the voice before angling his body back to her.
“You’re safe,” he repeated. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. I have a shirt, and I’m going to help you put it on. That okay?”
She nodded jerkily, suddenly ice cold despite the torturous day bound and gagged beneath the blazing sun.
“So brave.” The man continued to murmur kind words as he gently moved the fabric over her head.
Her arms felt heavy and clumsy as she tried to get them into the shirt, but he was right there, helping her adjust the fabric.
“I counted eleven other hostages in the boat,” Jane choked out. Some were already hostages on the catamaran when they’d been dragged into captivity. “Most are children.”
“Could you tell if any were injured?” the guardian asked.
“I-I’m not sure.” Her teeth were chattering now. As a nurse, she knew the logical explanation was shock and adrenaline. “They were restrained, lying on the bottom of the boat.”
“How did you free yourself?” another gruff voice sounded to her left.
“I didn’t,” she gasped. “They were…” Her explanation dried up on her lips.
It didn’t matter how she came to be freed of her ropes, only that the girls were brought to safety.
“The others need help.” She wasn’t ready to talk about the assault.
If she didn’t keep her situation strictly clinical, her mind would transport her right back to her teenage years.
At first, she’d thought nothing could be worse than the rape.
Right up until she took a risk and told her mother and stepfather what had happened.
In the end, they believed the police chief’s story over hers.
She lost her faith in her family and gained a charge for possession—something that had nearly been a barrier to a career in nursing.
Whether the man sitting at her side sensed her distress or recognized it from the shrillness of her tone, he began to murmur softly again.
“That’s where we’re headed, love. My name is Sully, and these are my friends.
” Sully grasped her hand, and she couldn’t help from gripping it right back.
“We’re here to get you and the other missing women and children to safety. ”
“Your jump into the river was a good distraction,” someone said. How many people could be on this boat? Each voice she’d heard sounded different.
She ignored the statement and angled her body more closely to Sully. “For the ambassador’s granddaughter, right?” Her teeth chattered painfully. Sully motioned for something, then wrapped a thermal blanket around her shoulders.
“What do you know about her?” one of the men asked.
“Only that she’s on the boat. Says her grandfather is willing pay anything to get her back.
Sh-she’s not going to b-bat for the others being held against their will, though.
” She was shaking violently now, despite the thick, oppressive air that hung over the river and the blanket bundled around her.
She knew she was dehydrated, and the tightness of her skin was concerning.
She must’ve sunburned badly, but she couldn’t feel any pain.
“What do you mean?” One of the other men moved toward her with another blanket, and she flinched back. The man immediately stopped his forward motion and handed the blanket to Sully.
“Let’s get you warm,” he said tenderly and wrapped her securely in the second blanket, taking the time to cover her completely and tuck the material around her feet and back.
A wedge lodged in her throat. She knew from experience she could face whatever life threw at her, but this man’s offer of kindness made her want to sob and bury her head against his chest.
She blew out a breath and continued. “She said to take the rest of us, but spare her, because she was worth millions and we were nothing.” People said and did things they wouldn’t normally when faced with pain or terror, but she couldn’t accept that the woman had been willing to put the children in more harm with her careless pleas.
“Sounds like a peach,” Sully said. “Then we have Calamity Jane here diving into uncharted waters.”
She stiffened. “How did you know?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Know what?” Sully asked.
“That my name is Jane. I’m nobody.” She scooted closer to Sully. It was so unlike her she nearly snorted. She hated feeling boxed in or trapped, yet she was moving right against this man’s side. Maybe she was in rougher shape than she thought.
“I didn’t.” His fingers brushed her cheek, and she wanted to lean into his touch. “You remind me of this spunky character from a film my grandmother used to love. And for the record, you’re not nobody.”
There was movement at the side of the boat and her body froze.
“My buddies, Ransom and Branch, are going in. They’ll infiltrate the boat.”
She was expecting a splash as they dove into the water, but she barely heard anything. “Those men, they’re dangerous.”
“They’re cowards. Will die like cowards.” His voice was hard. Merciless.
“Who are you?” Instead of feeling threatened by his tone, it merely made her feel safer.
“We’re Navy SEALs. You’re safe. I promise you.”
I promise you. The words sounded like an oath.
“Jane.” Her name coming from another man’s lips had her stiffening. “I’m Silver, Sully’s teammate. I need to look at his wound. Get it cleaned.”
She was about to speak, tell him Sully needed care immediately, but her rescuer’s arm came around her shoulder, drawing her to his side. “No,” he said firmly. “You can look at it here. I’m not leaving her.”
The man must’ve silently acquiesced, because a large, shadowy form hunched in front of Sully.
“Hi. It is okay if I come closer?” The female voice she heard earlier was now on her other side.
“Yes. Thanks for the shirt.” Jane squinted, trying to see the other woman.
“When Silver is done treating Sully, he can help me get my pack at the back of the boat. I have some shorts you can take. And thank you for letting Sully get you to safety.”
A soft puff of air left her lips. “He did all the hard work.”
“Bullshit,” Sully bit out before the breath left his lungs in a hiss.
“Sorry. Know it burns,” the man she assumed was cleaning his wound said.
“You can hang on to me.” To her surprise, he gave her some of his weight as he leaned into her.
She was thankful for the lack of light, because her eyes prickled once more.
He’d never know how much it meant to her that he accepted her strength.
Automatically assumed she had some left to give.
He wasn’t treating her like a victim. He was treating her like she was someone who still had something to offer.
The way he instantly used her for support made her feel stronger.
More purposeful. More human than she had in a while.
“I’m Addy.” The other woman took her hand, and she accepted her touch, lacing their fingers. “And while Sully initiated the rescue, helping someone underwater can prove very challenging.”
“Didn’t fight me,” Sully rasped. “Let me lead you. Instinctively took my oxygen even when there was no visibility. No way to know what I was holding to your mouth.”
She had taken a chance to trust him. The thought struck her hard and her mind flashed again to the dark moment in her past, beneath a bridge, alone and scared.
The overwhelming pain. The authority figure who was sworn to protect but only made her suffer.
Ever since, her trust in others had been shattered, but for some reason, she’d trusted this man. Sully. He hadn’t let her down.
“You buddy-breathed? Jesus, Jane. It takes practice to be able to share oxygen. Teamwork. Trust,” Silver said. “Most people who are running out of oxygen, and you must’ve been because you were underwater for nearly a minute, fight like hell to get to the surface, sometimes clawing up and over us.”
“Calamity Jane, you’d make a fine SEAL.” She could detect the smile in her guardian’s voice, and his words struck her heart with a pang.