Chapter 24
brEACH AND EXCTRACT
Logan crouched in the darkness three hundred meters from the compound, watching the guards through his night vision.
Slow patterns. Predictable rotations. Exactly what the ISR imagery had shown.
Beside him, Hawk counted silently, timing the movements.
Behind them, the rest of Delta Force waited in tactical formation.
Two hundred meters to the east, Sloane's team held position at their designated entry point. Logan couldn't see them but he knew they were there. Ghost had confirmed positions five minutes ago. Both teams ready. Both teams waiting for the signal.
"Guard rotation in thirty seconds," Ghost's voice came through the comms. "Stand by."
Logan's grip tightened on his rifle. Somewhere in that compound was Mara. Three days in Nazari's hands. Three days of interrogation and confinement and whatever else that monster had done to her. But that was about to end. In the next few minutes, she'd either be free or they'd all be dead trying.
"Rotation complete. Window is open. Execute, execute, execute."
Logan moved. The whole team moved. Fluid. Silent. Covering the distance to the compound wall with practiced efficiency. Bulldog placed the breaching charge on the main gate while Risk and Joker covered the approaches. Hawk hand-signaled the countdown. Three. Two. One.
The charge blew with a muffled thump that punched the gate inward. Delta poured through the opening, weapons up, moving to predetermined positions. Logan heard the second breach to the east. Shadow Veil hitting their entry point simultaneously. The compound erupted into chaos.
Guards reacted slower than they should have. Sleep-deprived. Overconfident. Two went down from Logan's suppressed rifle before they even raised their weapons. Bulldog took out a third. Joker dropped a fourth who was trying to reach an alarm.
"Main building, three hostiles," Hawk reported, moving toward the largest structure. "Engaging."
Logan wanted to follow. Wanted to be the one who found Nazari and put him down. But that wasn't his job tonight. His job was Mara. Everything else was secondary.
He broke off from the main team and headed for the small structure on the east side. The one with the isolated heat signature. Risk followed, medical pack ready. They moved quickly, clearing corners, checking for threats.
Shadow Veil had already reached the building. Nadia stood at the door with a breaching charge ready. Winter covered the approach. Sloane saw Logan and nodded once. Professional. Focused. Then she signaled Nadia to breach.
The door blew inward and Logan was through it before the smoke cleared. Small room. Concrete. A cot against one wall. And there, on the floor beside the cot, hands zip-tied and face bruised but alive and alert, was Mara.
Their eyes met. Logan saw shock, then relief, then something that looked like she might cry but was fighting it. He crossed to her in three steps, dropping to his knees beside her.
"Hey," he said, his voice rough. "Told you I'd buy you that beer."
"Logan." Her voice was hoarse. Dry. But unmistakably hers. "You're here. How are you here?"
"Long story. Tell you later." He pulled out his knife and cut the zip ties. Her wrists were raw underneath, rubbed bloody from testing the bonds. "Can you stand?"
"I think so." Mara tried to get up but her legs wouldn't hold her. Logan caught her before she fell, easing her back down. Risk was already there with his med kit, checking her pupils, her pulse, assessing injuries.
"Dehydrated. Malnourished. Facial contusions. Wrist abrasions." Risk pulled out an IV kit. "I need two minutes to get fluids in her."
"We might not have two minutes," Nadia said from the door. She was watching the courtyard where gunfire continued to echo. "Compound's still hot."
Logan looked at Mara. At the bruise on her face that made his vision go red. At the way she was trying to stay upright and failing. At the evidence of three days in hell written across her body.
"Take the time," he said. "We're not moving her until she's stable enough to travel."
Risk worked fast, getting the IV line in and starting fluids. Mara watched Logan the whole time, her eyes never leaving his face.
"You shouldn't be here," she said quietly. "This isn't your mission."
"It is now." Logan kept his hand on her shoulder, grounding her. Grounding himself. "Where's Nazari?"
"Main building. He was there an hour ago. Interrogating me about his family. About where they are." Mara's jaw tightened. "I didn't tell him anything."
"I know you didn't." Logan looked at Sloane. "How long has she been here?"
"Three days based on when we lost her." Sloane was watching the door, rifle ready. "Nazari took her specifically. This was targeted. Revenge for the Steele extraction."
"Then he's about to learn what revenge costs," Logan said.
The radio crackled. Hawk's voice. "Main building secure. Multiple hostiles down. No sign of primary target. Repeat, Nazari is not in the main building."
Logan's blood went cold. Nazari wasn't there. Wasn't where he was supposed to be. Which meant he could be anywhere in the compound. Could be setting up an ambush. Could be running. Could be preparing a last stand.
"Ghost, locate primary target," Hawk ordered.
"Working on it. ISR shows heat signatures scattering. Multiple vehicles moving. He could be in any of them." Ghost's voice was tight with frustration. "We're losing him."
Logan looked at Mara. At the bruise on her face. At the raw wrists. At the three days of torture written in her eyes. Nazari had done this. Had taken her and hurt her and tried to break her. And now he was getting away.
"Logan." Mara's hand caught his arm. She was weak but her grip was firm. "Don't. He's not worth it."
"He did this to you."
"And I survived. I'm here. I'm alive." Mara's eyes held his. "Going after him now means splitting the team. Means risking everyone. Means maybe not getting out of here. Is that worth it?"
Logan wanted to say yes. Wanted to chase Nazari down and make him pay for every second Mara had spent in that cell. But she was right. Splitting the team to pursue a fleeing target in hostile territory was suicide. The mission was extraction. Everything else was secondary.
"Risk, how's she doing?" Logan forced himself to focus on what mattered.
"Fluids are helping. She's stable enough to move but she can't walk on her own. Someone's going to have to carry her." Risk packed up his kit. "We need to get her out of here. Get her proper medical attention."
"I can walk," Mara protested.
"You can barely sit up," Risk countered. "Don't be stubborn."
Logan slid one arm under Mara's knees and the other behind her back, lifting her carefully. She was lighter than she should be. Three days without food had taken its toll. She tensed at first, then relaxed against him, her head against his shoulder.
"I've got you," he said quietly. "Not letting go."
"Okay." Her voice was small. Tired. The adrenaline that had kept her sharp was fading now that rescue had arrived. "Logan, I'm sorry. I should have told you I was deploying. Should have told you—"
"Later. We'll talk about all of it later. Right now we just need to get you out of here."
Sloane led the way out of the building. Winter and Nadia provided cover as they moved through the courtyard. The compound was littered with bodies. Guards who'd chosen the wrong employer. Logan stepped over them without a second glance.
Hawk and the rest of Delta had secured the main gate. Vehicles were staged just outside the wall. Joker was at the wheel of the lead vehicle, engine running. Ghost was still coordinating with ISR, trying to track Nazari's escape route.
"Primary target is in the wind," Hawk reported as they loaded Mara into the vehicle. "Multiple vehicles scattered in different directions. We don't have the resources to pursue all of them."
"Let him go," Logan said, settling into the back with Mara still in his arms. "We got what we came for."
Hawk looked at him, then at Mara, then nodded. "All teams, fall back to exfil. Mission complete."
The vehicles pulled out, heading away from the compound at speed. Risk was in the back monitoring Mara's vitals, adjusting the IV flow, checking her injuries. Sloane sat across from them, her expression carefully neutral but her eyes showing relief.
"Thank you," Mara said to her. "For coming back. For coordinating this."
"We don't leave people behind," Sloane replied. "Besides, your boyfriend here was pretty insistent about mounting a rescue. Figured we'd better help before he did something stupid."
"He's good at stupid things," Mara said, but she was smiling slightly. Her hand found Logan's, fingers threading through his despite the IV line and the bandages Risk was applying to her wrists.
Logan held on tight, afraid that if he let go she might disappear. Might turn out to be a hallucination brought on by stress and fear and three days of not knowing if she was alive.
But she was solid. Real. Her pulse beat steady under his fingers. Her breathing was evening out as the fluids helped. She was here. Safe. And Nazari hadn't broken her.
"How did you find me?" Mara asked quietly.
"Sloane contacted Ghost. Ghost told me you were missing.
We put together that Nazari probably had you based on the location and the timing.
Then we got lucky. Command sent us after Nazari for a completely different reason.
Arms shipment. We just happened to convince them there might be an American hostage at the target location.
" Logan's jaw tightened. "When we hit the compound and you were actually there, that was the best moment of my life. "
"Mine too," Mara said. "Well, second best. Best was when the zip ties came off."
Risk snorted from where he was working. "She's going to be fine. Anyone making jokes while this dehydrated has fight left in them."