Into the Storm, page 17
When Luke answered, she said, “Sweetheart, I’m handing the phone to Ranger Jae Son. There’s something going on with Audrey, and I’m hoping you can help us.”
Exhaustion won and Audrey had fallen into a deep sleep almost instantly. The hard part was staying asleep after that first blissful hour of rest. It remained dark in the tent when she surfaced, but she knew it was daylight outside. Their tent was well and truly buried. With Xavier pressed to her back, she was enveloped in a warm, dark cocoon.
His breathing was deep and even, and she forced her body to remain calm and still. She didn’t want to disturb his slumber. If they were going to survive this, he was the one who needed sleep.
His skills, his team—those two things were her only hope of walking out of this forest alive. He’d never said a word about his shoulder, but she knew he was in a great deal of pain. He’d been injured again after he left her, when he’d fought whoever he’d gotten the NVGs and rifle from, but after she told him about the baby, they hadn’t spoken more about what had happened in the woods last night.
It was probably a mistake, but part of her was glad they’d gotten to share that moment without the nightmare intruding.
He wanted and would love their child. She would hold on to those thoughts in the coming desperate hours. And she had zero doubt this day would be as desperate as the last. But the father of her child had her back—he was literally pressed against that part now as he slept—and would protect them. She would do her part to help. No one knew this part of the park better than her. Well, except George.
She’d spent months in these woods over multiple years, but George had spent years over multiple decades.
George.
He’d been in Jeb’s shop last night, making bombs. Which meant he knew what happened to Jeb. Knew there were enemies in the forest.
He’d prepared to engage them, resurrecting the guerilla fighting skills he’d learned fifty years ago.
George was an ally, but if the SEALs found him before she and Xavier did, would they know he was friend, not foe?
Chapter Nineteen
During daylight hours, the platoon took turns sleeping in shifts. Chris wished he could be searching the forest for the missing Fire Team, but they all knew that the four men would be hunkered down during daylight as well. A search would be risky and likely yield nothing.
Still, concern for the missing team members gnawed at him.
As he lay inside a thermal blanket covered with moss and ferns with rain pattering his makeshift shelter, he went over again in his mind the size and shape of the body he’d witnessed being dumped over the side of the fishing boat. The person had been thick, with broad shoulders. Broad enough to be MCPO Mueller? Mueller was stocky. Thickly muscled.
Chris didn’t think it had been the master chief petty officer, but the boat had been too far away for him to be certain.
He and Huang had returned to the rendezvous point with tools and several gallons of gas. They were facing the prospect of attacking the lodge armed with Molotov cocktails and Simunition tipped with nails.
It was a ridiculous plan considering the lodge grounds were too wet for anything to burn and the tangos had guns that could fire .45 caliber rounds, but they couldn’t let this standoff last another twenty-four hours. One local was dead. Six trainers and four SEALs were unaccounted for. Plus, the park archaeologist could also be missing. They were potentially dealing with eleven hostages and an unknown number of tangos.
They’d debated sending two men to hike out, but they were stretched thin as it was with the need to maintain a presence at the rendezvous point, search for the missing team, and scout the lodge grounds for intel. Not to mention that they’d never gone over the maps outside the lodge area to determine best possible escape routes because this was meant to be a fricking training exercise and not the real deal, and without satellite connectivity for their GPS units they didn’t have maps of anything except the lodge basin, so they’d be sending two men on a twenty-mile hike—at minimum—in a storm-drenched wilderness with no clue how to navigate.
As an alternative, they’d spent hours this morning poring over the maps they did have, trying to guess where the signal blocker had been placed. They’d managed to narrow the options down to a half dozen based on terrain and road access—the signal blocker would almost certainly be a vehicle of some sort—and would send a team at dusk to check out the most promising locations.
If they could contact NSWC, they could end this nightmare and rescue the hostages before more people died.
Chris just had to hope it wasn’t already too late.
Rain drizzled down in icy fits, prompting Undine and Jae to agree to go to her house to hear the results of Luke’s phone calls to NSWC. It was a short drive up the hill on the western edge of town to the newly built four-bedroom house on acreage that had a sweeping view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. On a clear day, she could see Vancouver Island from her living room window.
The house was hers and Luke’s dream home, and she still had trouble believing she was living out her every fantasy with a man she loved more than she’d ever dreamed possible.
Her dog, a sweet black-and-white mutt of unknown heritage, came rushing out to greet her, while their orange tabby cat watched from the window.
“Neah, you remember Jae, don’t you?” she asked as she petted the dog. Neah turned to Jae on cue. Such a smart girl.
The only thing missing from her idyllic fantasy was a baby, something she and Luke had both wanted from the moment they got engaged. And just this week, her obstetrician had confirmed what the home pregnancy test had told her two weeks ago—she was officially nine weeks pregnant. Their first child was due in August.
She’d planned to share this news with Audrey at breakfast, and now her belly clenched at the thought that her friend was missing.
Surely, if she’d gone to the lodge, she was safe. Maybe she’d just gotten caught up in the storm and the road had washed out? Or maybe a tree blocked the way? Audrey could right now be sheltering in the lodge, unable to make calls because the phone line had been wiped out by the storm.
After all, phone and electrical lines to that old park complex weren’t buried. Every year, the cost of burying utility lines was slipped into the park budget, and every year, it was skipped over in favor of improving cellular service and satellite upgrades.
But satellites failed in the worst of weather, which Lake Olympus had in spades in the winter, and the same storm could take out a cell tower as easily as a telephone line. She and Luke had been stranded by such a storm a few years ago in Neah Bay. But in their case, the lack of contact with the outside world had been glorious.
If Chief Warrant Officer Xavier Rivera wasn’t such a prick—and in the middle of a job—she’d wish that luck for her friend, but as it was, she hoped to hell Audrey hadn’t come across the SEAL in her foray into the park.
She and Jae entered the house with Neah following them, her claws clicking on the hardwood floor. She led the park ranger into the study, where Luke was on the phone.
She met his gaze for a signal that they should give him privacy, but he waved them into the room. Gone was the special smile he’d had just for her ever since they learned she was pregnant. His eyes were now filled with concern.
“Thank you, Captain. I will.” He hung up the phone, then his gaze flicked from her to Jae. “Captain Barrett is going to go up the line to get authorization to share more information with me if he can. Everything about this training is highest level Top Secret.” His gaze met Jae’s. “You might have better luck. I understand Rivera had permission to share details with you from the beginning.”
Jae frowned. “Only the barest details, but yes, I knew about the planned exercise before anyone else affiliated with the park was notified, simply because I helped Xavier scout the location.”
“Barrett confirmed the training is happening now—which, of course, you knew already.”
Jae nodded.
“He also said everything was normal on NSWC’s end. I don’t know if that means they’re in communication with the trainers and SEALs or not, but it doesn’t sound like they’ve received notice that anyone interrupted the exercise.”
“Is there any chance Xavier would hold back that information from his superiors?” Undine asked.
Jae shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s a straight arrow—but we all know he behaved strangely when it came to Audrey a month ago. It’s possible he could withhold the information to protect her, if it wasn’t relevant to the success of the training.”
“Do you think he would contact you in that situation?”
“I’d like to think so, but if all comms are down for the exercise, perhaps he wasn’t able to.”
The whole situation made Undine uneasy. It didn’t feel right. She wrapped her arms around herself as if to ward off the chill. Luke stepped to her side and draped an arm around her shoulders, then pressed his lips to her temple.
He didn’t offer false words of comfort, and she appreciated that. Right now, there was little they could do and they knew even less.
To Jae, he said, “We’ll go through channels right now, but if we don’t hear from Audrey by four p.m., I want to go with you into the park to search for her.”
Jae gave a sharp nod. “I hate waiting that long, but I also don’t want to overreact, and this could be nothing. There’s also the issue that the gate lock was changed. My master key doesn’t work.”
Luke frowned. “Then how did Audrey get into the park?”
Jae shrugged. “My best guess is she entered before the lock was changed. Maybe both the park gate and the inholding gate weren’t changed until the last minute. But the problem there is—the Navy wasn’t authorized to change the park gate’s lock.”
“Have you asked the park superintendent about that?”
“I left a voicemail for Jim this morning. I didn’t tell him about Audrey, though—he stood by her after Xavier’s allegations, but if he thinks she went into the park to disrupt the training, she could be fired.”
Luke swore. “Glad I didn’t use her name in my conversation with Captain Barrett, but it’s bound to come out—sooner rather than later—that we’re looking for Audrey and not some other random park employee.”
Jae nodded. “I’ll talk to Jim face-to-face and give him the full context when I ask for the gate key. There’s no way the Navy could change the lock without giving the superintendent a key.”
“Is it possible, do you think, that Audrey got stuck on the wrong side of the gate after the lock was changed? Maybe she had to return to the lodge because she couldn’t get out?”
“I’ve considered it,” Jae said. “But in that situation, she would have called from the gate. Cell service works fine there, and she could have called Jim to ask to be let out.”
“Not if she was afraid of being fired,” Undine said.
“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure she would have called me. I have pull with Xavier and a good working relationship with Jim. And she had the excuse of the broken cameras. I want this to be simple, but the more I analyze it, the more worried I get.”
“Right now, it sounds like our best hope is she’s safe in the lodge with Xavier, and he’s protecting her with silence,” Undine said.
It was strange to hope Audrey was with Xavier, but Undine had to consider that maybe, just maybe, Xavier Rivera wasn’t a complete prick. It was possible he’d gone silent because he was protecting Audrey from getting fired.
Chapter Twenty
Audrey slept until early afternoon. That she slept at all was a testament to how exhausted she’d been, and that she’d managed to sleep for so many hours had to be because the fig she carried had drained her batteries to the bottom.
She woke with a jolt, completely ravenous, the same fig demanding food. Dim gray light penetrated the moss and leaf covering, enough to see Xavier’s handsome face as he lay with eyes open, staring at the netting that hung from the apex of the half-dome tent.
He shifted to face her, and his mouth curved in a soft smile.
“I can’t believe I slept so hard.” Her sleep had been fitful for the first hour or two, but at some point, her brain must’ve released the fear, knowing that Xavier was by her side and would protect her. Strangely, the hours she’d slept in the early afternoon had been the deepest sleep she’d gotten since she’d learned she was pregnant. “And now, if I don’t eat something in the next thirty seconds, I think I might implode.”
His smile deepened as he handed her the sleeve of crackers. “Get started on that while I slice cheese. Want some canned chicken too?”
“Yes, please,” she said as she rammed a saltine in her mouth. “I want it all.”
He handed her a fork and the canned chicken.
She pulled the ring on the top and dove in, placing chunks of chicken on a cracker and taking a bite. She added a cheese layer when he handed her a stack of slices. Her stomach didn’t settle until she’d inhaled her fifth fully topped cracker.
“Better?” he asked.
She nodded. “I was dizzy with hunger. That’s new for me. Pregnancy is full of delights.”
“Your blood sugar was probably desperately low. Your eating and sleep schedules are off-kilter, and your body doesn’t know what to do.”
She took a bite of cheese, this time chewing slowly as she felt her equilibrium return. “Thank goodness we got food from the Baldwins’. I have a few protein bars, but those won’t last long.”
“We should have enough for another day, but we can search more cabins tonight for supplies if need be.”
“How did you plan to feed the team this week? Is there food in the lodge?”
“In the yurt and the lodge, although each team member also carries enough for days.”
Xavier opened a can of tuna and ate it straight from the container. She offered him the crackers and her remaining slices of cheese.
“No. Those are for you. You need it more than I do. I’m content with plain tuna.”
She wanted to argue, but she had no way of knowing what her body was going to demand in the coming hours. She ate just enough to settle her stomach, then tucked the remainder away where she could reach it in a hurry. Yesterday she’d had two full meals in her belly before the nightmare began, and adrenaline had carried her the rest of the way. Today would be a different story.
Xavier set up the Sierra stove under the flap at the front of the tent and boiled water, making tea for her and coffee for himself.
They sipped their warm beverages while sitting cocooned in the sleeping bag. The moment was surreal. She loved camping. It had been one of the things she and her ex had enjoyed doing together, and being all alone in the wilderness, snuggled up as raindrops pattered the tent, had been her favorite way to while away the time. They’d read, make love, talk about the future.
Those were some of her favorite relationship memories. Now, here she was with a new man—one who also enjoyed camping, she knew—and they were alone in the wilderness, living what would be an idyllic romantic moment, except they weren’t here by choice and were hiding out because they were being hunted.
Still, the moment had an odd comfort. He knew her secret now, and his betrayal didn’t cut as deep as it had yesterday.
It still cut, but she was starting to see a path through that pain. Not to forgiveness, but maybe she could put it behind them. For the baby. But also…for herself.
Her attraction to him had gone dormant in December. Maybe it had burrowed down, hiding deep in her heart, and his actions since yesterday afternoon had allowed it to rise to the surface again.
All she knew was the kiss they’d shared last night had proven the attraction had returned…and as much as she cautioned herself not to trust him, a large part of her wanted to explore the feelings he triggered now.
She sipped her tea as she studied his shoulder. His Under Armour shirt was so tight, she could see the top edge of the raised scars on his left shoulder. She’d seen him wince several times in the long night as he moved his arm or adjusted his pack. “What happened last night, when you were alone?”
“A merc crossed my path. We fought, and I killed him.”
His words were stark, but not without emotion. “You did what you had to do.”
“Yes.”
“And your arm? It was worse after that.”
“My shoulder dislocated in the fight. I couldn’t pop it back right away. Hurts like a bitch even now.”
“I have some ibuprofen in my pack.”
He gave her a half smile. “Of course you do.”
“Want some?”
“Sure. Doubt it will cut into the pain, but might as well give it a try.”
“You’re used to hurting.”
His nod was almost imperceptible. “Comes with the job.”
“But not like this. You haven’t been on an op since you were…shot, I presume?”
He nodded.
“Can you…talk about it?”
“I’m sorry. It’s classified. An op gone wrong.”
She dug out her pills and offered him the small pack. He took four and downed them with a swig of water. “Thanks.”
“Were you…the only injury? On the op?”
He gave a sharp shake of his head.
“The other trainers—the ones who are missing—were any of them on that op too?”
“No. All five were SEALs too, but on different teams. The only guy here who was on my team is—” He cut himself off.
She guessed he’d said more than he should. Or could.
“You know what? Fuck it. There’s so much I can’t tell you about my job, but that op is old news, and family members have the right to know some details.”
She felt a small flutter at his words. They weren’t a family yet, but if the pregnancy went smoothly, they would be at some point. Even if they weren’t lovers in the future, they would be parents together.
