Until the silence was shattered as I twisted the guy’s head, I held in my hands. The crack of his spine echoed through the room. I let his dead weight drop to the ground.
I turned on the first guy, and he was still there on the floor. I advanced on him, searching him for life and weapons. Of which he had neither. Blood pooled under him. He must have hit his head on my discharged shackles.
I searched the other body for weapons as well.
Zilch. Fuck.
Frustration made me twitchy. I stood, looking around. I needed a fucking knife.
Stripping the smaller of the two guys, I pulled his clothes and shoes on. I’d run through the fires of hell buck-ass naked if I had to, but dressed as a captor would grease the wheels of my escape. Once dressed, I pulled the bodies out of the line of sight from the door. I hoped if anyone glanced in, they’d think I’d been taken back to the dog cage.
When I searched the table against the wall where the bench sat that they waterboarded and electrocuted me on, there was a pair of pliers and a hammer. I grabbed them both. Something was better than nothing. Breaking necks worked when there were just one or two, especially if I wanted it done quietly.
I made my way to the cell door, listening carefully. Sounds came from the left but not the right.
Right, it is.
As much as I wanted to slink around, I walked upright. Watching and listening closely, I made my way along the corridor, making as little noise as possible. My heart was beating like a fucking snare drum, though. At the end of the passageway, I stopped. It dead-ended in a tee with another passageway going left and right.
I gritted my teeth, taking a deep breath as I peeked around the corner to the left before doing the same to the right. Nothing. Two long corridors of stone walls. I closed my eyes, considering my options. Neither showed any signs of the outside. For all I knew, I was heading into a dead end.
Sneaking through hallways and buildings was much easier with a team behind you and ISR over you. Sucking in a breath, I took the right. As 3IC, Brock was my right hand. All I wanted was to get back to him.
I slinked down the hallway, staying close to the wall, peering into every room I passed. And then I hit pay dirt. The warrior in me did a happy dance. Brock would be in love. I rubbed my hands together in glee as smile split my face for the first time since before being captured.
I’d found their armory.
CHAPTER 12
BROCK
SUMMER 2009
I’d had shorterflights from Vah Beach to Kandahar as a strap than my first-ever flight on a luxury private jet. Seven SEALs, four dogs, a wife/mom, and five kids filled the plane, and they never shut the hell up.
About twenty minutes into the flight, Foster’s wife, Julie, walked over and snatched my backpack off the floor next to my feet.
“You look seconds away from murdering the lot of us, so here,” she said as she handed me my headphones. “Drown us out with some Nirvana or STP. I’d prefer not to have to go mama bear on you.”
“How’d you know I like grunge?” I asked.
This woman was frighteningly all-knowing.
I laughed at her. I’d said it before, Julie Holt was a damn fine SEAL wife.
“You’re a bit scary, ma’am.”
Julie smirked, her brow cocked. “I’ve been a Holt for a long time. It’s eat or be eaten, kill or be killed. They take noprisoners.” Her face immediately fell, and she dropped to a squat next to me. “I’m sorry. That was insensitive.”
I nodded. “You didn’t cause any harm, and you didn’t mean anything by it. No need to apologize. Adam wouldn’t want it, and neither do the rest of us. Plus, Woody would’ve found that funny. Not that he would’ve laughed.”
Julie slid into the seat beside me. “Tell me about him. Adam, I mean.”
I snorted. “There’s not much to tell. He’s a SEAL, through and through. He eats, sleeps, and breathes being a team guy.”
He’s the love of my life. His smile is rare, but it’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. His body is strong and sexy, and I miss feeling it over me, under me, and inside me. And I miss him so much my bones ache.
Julie smirked. “Typical team guy answer.”
