Link (Delta Force Protection #1)

Chapter 1

The cool breeze gave Scott "Link" Lynch some relief. His full pack not only weighed a lot, but when you added in his body armor, plus the full length of his shirt sleeves and pants, it was heat city.

He and his Delta Force buddies were prepared for anything, but deep down, he hoped this mission would be problem-free.

They’d been going hard for months, and they deserved a break.

But missions rarely gave them breaks. The world seemed to be on fire, and tensions kept popping off. That’s why they were here.

“Don’t move,” Chase whispered over coms.

Link froze, his gaze scanning the area. Then he saw what had made Chase issue his warning. One guy had stepped out of the building they were surveilling, and it looked like he was lighting a cigarette. Yep, the idiot was lighting a cigarette, broadcasting his location to everyone watching.

Had the guy rolled it himself while he stood guard over the group of Marines they’d captured a few days ago?

Was this jerk so sure of himself that he didn’t think the US military would send someone to rescue the Marines?

If that idiot knew they were out here, he certainly wouldn’t be acting so nonchalant.

The fourteen Marines had stumbled into a trap set by some terrorists who wanted to negotiate with the US government. The government had chosen to send in Delta Force operatives instead of negotiators.

He would be lying to say he didn't like this part of the job.

Training was great, but actually going in and doing something that made a difference was awesome.

This group of terrorists didn't know what they were in for by taking US military personnel captive.

There was information out there, but because of the way Delta operated, the terrorists probably thought the rumors were just tall tales and not the truth.

The group that had taken the Marines wasn’t too well known to military intelligence. Honestly, their involvement was a surprise to everyone. Before capturing the Marines, they’d been fairly mild, going after small targets in obscure places, but they’d upgraded big time with this attack.

The dude finished his cigarette and headed inside. Chase gave the signal, and they made their way closer, moving in the deadly silent way they operated.

Link relaxed his shoulders as he moved toward the door his team would breach. Excitement bubbled, and he held it in check. There would be time later to celebrate.

Funny enough, military intelligence had been trying to pin down who had been hitting soft targets in the Mediterranean, and now they were certain it was this group.

If they hadn’t taken the Marines hostage, they would have flown under the radar for at least another year or so. Now, all eyes were on them.

Link closed the distance and placed two small explosive devices on the door before he moved six feet away. With his back plastered against the wall, he counted the seconds until the charges blew.

His ear protection meant he heard only a small pop when the door flew open. It was game on, and he couldn’t wait to extract some punishing revenge.

Ansley lost consciousness at some point after they’d been attacked. She woke disoriented and angry that they’d been placed in this position. They were in a small room, and she was awake. A part of her wished she could still be lost in oblivion.

Their attackers had taken one of their guys, Russ, from their group and were doing something to him that made him howl and scream. She could only imagine what those assholes were doing to her buddy.

She'd joined up three years and seven months ago. This was her last tour overseas. They were headed home in a few days. She guessed that the timeline would change. Hopefully, she would make it home. Dying over here wasn't on her list of things she wanted to happen.

The Marines had changed her, made her harder, but also stronger. She wasn’t the lost kid she’d been at nineteen when she’d arrived at Parris Island. Back then, she’d thought she had it all figured out. Now she knew she had no clue what life would bring.

Russ screamed again, and she clenched her muscles, sending a shock of pain sliding down her leg.

Of course, she’d been injured. It was so close to her getting out.

She’d thought about signing up for another four years, but she hadn’t inked the dotted line.

This experience was making her glad she’d decided to leave.

She knew from the training they’d received that the captors would probably turn to sexual violence next. A shiver raced down her spine, even making her legs shake. Pain erupted in her ankle, and she winced.

“Ansley, are you good?”

She turned to her left and blinked, trying to make out the guy next to her. Was it Holt? It sounded like Holt. Her bell had been rung during the attack, and her vision was still a little messed up, plus it was dark in here.

“Holt?”

“Yeah. Are you okay?”

She wasn’t sure how to answer that question. “Probably.”

“We need to do something.”

She peered into the darkness, only making out six other lumps of the fourteen of them who'd been out on patrol.

She wasn't sure if anyone had gotten free and run off to find help.

With Russ in the other room, that meant only eight of them were there.

Did that mean the other six from their group were dead, or were they being held in another room?

Fighting back wouldn't be impossible, but their odds weren't good. They needed more people to manage a counterattack. Plus, they had no weapons. How would they take down the jerks holding them?

Another scream from Russ shook her. She cringed as the painful screams continued. Worry about him blossomed. Russ might not survive either.

“What do you have in mind?” she asked Holt, hoping he had some grand plan because she was in no shape to come up with anything. Thinking about their current situation drained her and made her head ache.

“We could jump at them and take them down when they come in with Russ.”

She blinked at him, wondering if he could see the incredulous look on her face.

Her vision was screwed up, but his could be okay.

Still, his plan didn’t make sense. Was Holt stupid?

No weapons and lots of injuries. They had a better chance of passing out than jumping into action.

It would be more like a trip and fall than a leap into taking down the terrorists.

The door opened, and one of their captors dragged Russ in, his body limp as a noodle. Ansley flinched when they dropped him on the ground, and his head thumped like a watermelon against the hard floor. There was no way Russ would help them anytime soon.

She didn’t like the blood seeping from his ears or the lump on his forehead. Her stomach clenched as she stared at her friend, hoping he wouldn’t die right there in front of her.

Holt, who had more muscles than smarts, jumped up and tried to rush the men, but the butt of a gun against his face made him drop to the ground on top of Russ. Great, now two guys were out of commission. Just what they needed, more injured people.

Ansley pulled her legs closer, ignoring the pain shooting through her body. If she could disappear, maybe they wouldn’t take her to the other room.

Russ looked like he’d gone through hell. She had no desire to end up finding out what happened out there.

She glanced up, noticing her captors were looking at her. Great. They had other people to choose from, but it looked like they were zeroed in on her.

Seconds after the charges blew, Link rushed inside, clearing the first room while Chase and Bean moved deeper into the compound. Stanley and Keel came in, leaving Mick and Scott outside to keep watch.

After Stanley and Keel cleared the next room, Link moved forward, snaking his way through the halls, searching for the Marines they’d come to rescue.

He heard someone scream, heightening his awareness. Bean indicated that he’d heard the noise and picked up his pace.

The scream was high-pitched, leaving no doubt that it was one of the women from the group of Marines who'd been captured. Link knew what happened to prisoners, and he hoped they could get to her before the assholes killed her.

They were moving fast, Stanley, Keel, and Chase clearing rooms, while he and Bean searched for the screaming woman. The noise grew louder as they turned the corner and headed down a longer hall.

Link turned another corner and saw two guys. One of them had a woman over his shoulder, her arms hanging limp as if she wasn’t conscious. They didn’t turn and see him, so he was still undetected.

Link was amazed at their ineptitude. His team had blown charges, destroying the lock on the door to the compound, and no one had come to investigate.

Link moved closer, hoping to overtake the two bastards before they could enter another closed room. The woman jerked like she’d just come to then moved her arms, reaching up, trying to grab hold of the guy’s waist or something, but she was failing at gaining purchase.

The guy grunted and said something Link didn’t catch. Though the guy adjusted his hold on the woman, that didn’t stop her from trying to gain control again.

Link liked that she was fighting back. She had one arm around the man’s waist, and the other reached for his arm.

That woman might just wiggle her way out of his hold.

Link smiled, proud of her even as he questioned her plan.

As far as he could tell, she had no weapons.

Maybe she thought she could grab one of the guy’s rifles or knives. Whatever her logic, it was flawed.

Link motioned for Bean to move up and take out the guy not holding the woman as he moved into position to take out the other guy.

As he moved closer, the man holding the woman grabbed her arm, and she screamed. What had he done?

Bean moved forward, overtaking the other guy.

The shock on his face almost made Link laugh, but he didn't have time to enjoy the man's pain. He moved fast, grabbing the woman and lowering her to the ground before Bean dropped both men to the floor. She looked like she’d been through it, and now her arm was bleeding badly.

Link heard a noise above them. The other guys on his team must have run into opposition. It was getting hot up there, but he had to get this Marine to safety.

Link knelt next to the woman. “Get up, Marine. Time to go.”

Her body swayed as she blinked up at him.

He could easily see the lump on the side of her head, and her eyes didn’t focus.

He didn’t have time for her to recover. He was about to scoop her up when the floor shook as an explosion ripped through the building.

A chunk of the ceiling came down next to him, and he reached for the woman, pulling her close.

Part of the ceiling crashed down onto her and her injured arm.

“Fuck. We need to move!” Link shouted as he examined her arm. She wasn’t pinned down, which was good for her.

Another explosion sounded above, shaking the area. He had a harsh realization that they might not make it out of this building alive.