Securing Avery, page 27
In seconds, the team was gathered outside the room and preparing to enter and take tactical positions. Rocco had a pistol, though none of the rest did. But they all had their KABAR knives. And they were almost as lethal.
Between one breath and the next, the insanely loud fire alarm shut off. One second Rex could barely hear himself think, and the next, the only sound was his ears ringing.
“I’m coming for you, Lieutenant!”
Rex jerked at the words from the man on the other side of the door.
He was taunting Avery, and it only heightened Rex’s determination to end the threat this man posed to his woman.
“Got you now, you fucking bitch!”
“One,” Rocco mouthed after hearing the man’s words. “Two…three!”
Like the well-oiled machine the team was, the men acted in tandem.
Pushing open the door, Rocco dropped to one knee just inside the entrance. Ace and Bubba had their knives ready to throw, standing on either side of Rocco, their thighs almost touching his shoulders. Gumby and Phantom immediately stepped to the left and right of their teammates, and Rex stood tall right behind Rocco.
They were an imposing sight, and they’d obviously surprised the man standing to the left of the door, fiddling with something on the wall.
He turned and fired at them without a word.
Five knives were thrown simultaneously at the threat, and the sound of Rocco’s weapon discharging echoed in the room.
All six weapons hit their target.
“Sit-rep!” Rocco barked from his crouch on the floor.
“Clear!” five voices rang out immediately.
“Anyone hit?” Rocco asked, slowly standing.
“No, we’re good,” Ace said.
“Can’t say the same for him,” Phantom said with a disgusted look on his face.
Gumby approached the mortally injured man and kicked the pistol away from his hand. When he’d been struck by the knives and Rocco’s bullet, he’d hit the wall behind him and slowly slid down. He was now sitting in a growing pool of blood. He had a knife sticking out of his shoulder, right thigh, two in his stomach, and one in his side. Blood was also leaking out of a hole in his left thigh from a bullet.
Rex joined his teammate and crouched in front of him. He wanted to find Avery, but at the moment, taking out the threat took precedence. “Why?” he asked the man.
The traitor coughed and blood sprayed out of his mouth. Rex stood and took a step back, not wanting to be contaminated by the filth in front of him.
“Why not?” he said with a small laugh, followed by more coughing.
All six men knew they should be trying to help the man. Putting pressure on his wounds, doing their best to save him so he could be put on trial…but no one made a move toward him.
“Two men were murdered because of you. And you put countless more in danger. Why? Money?” Rocco asked.
“Of course,” the man said.
“You’re a piece of shit,” Gumby told him. “You single-handedly prolonged the violence in the Afghani region.”
“Bullshit,” the man slurred. “There have been wars for thousands of years and there’ll continue to be wars for thousands more. Doesn’t matter what the US does over there, there’ll always be people fightin’. It’s everyone for themselves. It’s the doctor’s fault,” the man went on, his words not making sense. “I was gonna be somebody. But instead they got me hooked. If it wasn’t for them, I’d be a hero!”
“Won’t be long now,” Phantom said quietly to his team. “His skin’s getting pale and he’s slurring his words.”
“What are you talking about?” Rex growled, kicking the man’s foot, making him cry out in pain.
“Fuck you!” the traitor yelled, getting a burst of energy and lurching forward.
Unfortunately, his mind was more willing than his body, and he fell, barely catching himself with his good arm. He turned over and lay on his back on the floor, sneering at the SEALs staring down at him. “The lieutenant is one of ’em. A fucking doctor. I was killed by one. ‘Take these,’ he said. ‘Just a few a day will take away your pain.’ Well, my pain continued, and I took those damn pills and no matter how many I swallowed, the pain never went away.”
“You sold your soul to the devil for money for fucking drugs?” Gumby asked incredulously.
“There’s nothin’ like the feeling,” the man on the floor slurred.
“Where’s Avery?” Rex demanded.
“Fuck you.”
“Where. Is. She?” Rex enunciated, grabbing the man by the front of his camouflage uniform top.
“Fuck. You,” the man repeated.
Then he moved faster than any of the SEALs would’ve thought he could for someone about to die. He grabbed the knife sticking out of his side and wrenched it out of his body.
He threw his arm back to stab Rex.
But Rex was faster. He blocked the man’s thrust with a forearm at the same time he loosened his grip on his shirt.
Then he grabbed hold of the handle of the blade in the traitor’s stomach and twisted ruthlessly.
The man’s death was almost anticlimactic. One second he was glaring at Rex with hate in his eyes, and the next he lay on the floor, sightless gaze staring straight up at the ceiling.
Without a word, Rex stood. He knew as well as his teammates that they’d have to answer for what happened and try to explain it to a review board, as well as their commander, but at the moment, all he cared about was Avery.
Where was she? Had he been too late? Had the traitor already found and shot her?
“Averyyyyyyy!” he called out as loud as he could.
Then all six men stood stock still, listening for any sign of the woman they’d all embraced as one of their own.
Avery was sweating, but she didn’t dare move to wipe the sweat out of her eyes. She wasn’t convinced if she let go of the side of the laundry chute that she wouldn’t go plunging all the way to the basement. As it was, her limbs were shaking with the effort to keep herself wedged inside the chute.
It wasn’t very wide, maybe about two feet, just enough for her shoulders to fit. She’d scrunched her legs up and wedged herself in as tightly as possible after her legs started shaking so bad she knew she’d never be able to continue to crawl the rest of the way down.
She was stuck. She couldn’t go up and she couldn’t do down, at least not without the chance of falling. And the dark was starting to get to her. It was as dark as it had been in the cave, and she was having a hard time controlling her panic.
When the traitor had opened the door high above her head, Avery had thought that was it. She was dead. But instead of hearing shots and feeling the bullets enter the top of her head or shoulders, the door had slammed shut once again.
She’d heard voices above her, but her ears were ringing so loudly, she couldn’t make them out. The man after her was probably talking to himself or threatening her some more.
Then a gunshot had scared the shit out of her, and she’d almost lost her grip.
Several more minutes went by, Avery didn’t know how long, but then she heard her name being called.
“Averyyyyyyy.”
She froze. That had sounded like Cole.
But that was impossible, wasn’t it?
Then she heard it again, and this time she knew it was her man.
“Avery! Where are you? You’re safe, you can come out now.”
Except his voice was getting farther away as he spoke. For a second she considered that maybe it was a ruse. That the traitor was forcing Cole to call out for her. But she dismissed that idea almost as soon as it was formed. Cole wouldn’t go along with something that would put her in danger. She knew that without a doubt.
But if Cole had been in the break room when he’d called her name, it sounded like he was now leaving. If he left, he might not hear her call out for him.
Taking as deep a breath as she could in her cramped position, Avery lifted her chin and screamed out, “I’m heeeere! Cole! I’m here!”
Silence followed—and it took everything within her not to completely panic.
But then she heard Cole answer.
“Where, baby? We can hear you but can’t find you!”
“Here!” she called out a little weaker. Cole had heard. She knew he wouldn’t leave until he’d figured out where she was hiding. “In the chute in the wall!”
It took a few seconds, but then she heard the best sound ever. The creaking of the hinges of the door high above her head. This time she wasn’t scared of it, not knowing Cole was there.
“Avery?” he called out.
She tilted her head and looked up and saw Cole’s face. It reminded her of back in Afghanistan, when she’d seen his silhouette at the entrance of the cave. She’d never been so glad to see someone in her life.
“I’m here!” she told him.
“Shit, I can’t see her,” Cole said, and his face disappeared.
“Don’t leave me!” The words burst forth without thought. And then his face was back.
“I’m not leaving,” he reassured her. “How far down are you? It’s all black from up here.”
No wonder the traitor hadn’t shot her. He couldn’t see her, after all. Avery wanted to laugh, but couldn’t find the energy. “I don’t know. But I don’t think I can hold on for very much longer.”
“Bullshit,” Cole growled. “You can and you will. We’ll get you out of there, but you have to do your part. Understand?”
Avery nodded, even though she knew Cole couldn’t see her.
He turned his head, and she figured he was listening to the rest of his team strategize. Then he called down, “What is this chute? Where does it go? What’s it used for?”
Avery quickly explained that it was a shaft that went from the top floor down to the basement, and that there were trapdoors on each floor.
Cole had another quick conference with his team, then he said, “Okay, baby, Rocco is going down to the third floor and Ace is going to the second floor. You’re probably somewhere between there. Hang on. We’re going to get you out.”
“Cole?”
“Yeah?”
“Is he dead?”
“Yes.”
That was it. One word. But it was all Avery needed to hear. She was going to be all right. She didn’t have to look over her shoulder anymore, she was safe.
But…that also meant Cole didn’t need to babysit her anymore. Their lives could go back to normal.
As she waited to be rescued, Avery made a decision. She’d been an idiot. Life wasn’t guaranteed. But if she wanted to be happy, she had to take a risk. Reach for what was right in front of her.
Another squeak above her made her look up. Avery was startled to see Rocco’s face just feet above her head.
“Hey, Avery. Fancy meeting you here,” Rocco said with a smile. Then he turned and yelled up toward Cole. “Third floor, Rex. Get down here.”
Cole must’ve sprinted the entire way because within a minute, it was his face she was looking at instead of Rocco’s.
“Hey, baby. You look a bit uncomfortable,” Cole said.
Avery chuckled. Leave it to Cole and his team to make jokes in a situation like this.
But then his voice gentled. “You okay? It’s dark in there.”
“I’m okay,” she told him, and realized that she wasn’t lying or just saying that to make him feel better. She really was all right. Yes, she was scared of plunging to the basement three stories below, and she’d had some bad moments flashing back to her time in Afghanistan. But in the back of her mind, she always knew Cole would come for her. That he’d find her.
“Good. Here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to lower a rope and you’ll need to fasten it under your arms and around your torso. Then we’ll just lift you up to us. Do you have any issues with that?”
“No,” Avery told him.
Her rescue from the old chute took mere minutes. The rope dug into her skin, but she didn’t complain and didn’t fidget as Cole and his teammates hauled her up. The feel of Cole latching onto her arm was the best thing she’d felt in a very long time.
One second she was inside the claustrophobic chute, and the next she was sitting on the tiles on the third-floor break room in Cole’s arms. He buried his face in her neck, she did the same to him, and they simply held each other.
His teammates gave them a moment, then Phantom said, “I hate to be the wet blanket, but we probably need to get out of here. The building was on fire a while ago, and we should report the dead body on the fourth floor.”
Avery shuddered at Phantom’s dry statement. She lifted her head and Cole framed her face with his hands. They stared at each other for a long moment. Then Avery whispered, “After we debrief, get home, shower, and probably try to eat something, maybe you can kiss me. Really kiss me.”
His pupils immediately dilated. He licked his lips and asked, “Are you sure? It’s not just the adrenaline talking?”
“No. I’m sure.”
“Jeez, you two. You’re talking about a kiss as if it’s a wedding ring or something. Come on, Rex. Pick up your woman and let’s get the fuck out of here,” Bubba badgered.
Avery smiled at Cole. Little did Bubba know, the kind of kiss Cole would give her tonight was almost as good as a wedding ring, and they both knew it.
Chapter Twenty-One
It took hours for Rex to get Avery home. By the time they’d arrived outside the hospital, the fire was out, but it was still complete chaos in the parking lot. Between the evacuated patients, the emergency personnel, and the police presence, Rex had known it would be a long time before they’d be able to get out of there.
He’d insisted Avery be checked by one of the doctors, even though she insisted she was fine. He had to leave her to talk to Commander North at one point, which almost killed him, but she waved him off and said she’d be busy helping out her fellow nurses.
He was as proud of her as he could be. She’d been through her own kind of hell, and yet there she was, helping others. It was one of the hundred and one reasons why he loved her.
And yes, he did love her. Was head over heels, in fact. And her words to him in that break room were as good as her saying “I love you” back
The vice admiral master-at-arms in charge of the police force had met with them, as had the admiral of the base and Rear Admiral Creasy. The team had explained everything that had happened in the break room.
They’d learned all about Ensign Scott Wheatland’s demotion as a result of being caught at the dogfight, and how he’d been under investigation for prescription pill fraud as well as tampering with urine samples, his as well as that of other sailors.
All in all, the traitor who’d sold out his country for a million bucks—an amount confirmed by Tex—was in reality a low-level drug addict, desperate to do anything to keep his supply from running out…including treason, murder, arson, and condoning the torture of an innocent sailor.
It was pathetic and sad. At home, when Rex had told her about Ensign Wheatland, Avery had merely shaken her head in disgust, then said, “What’s done is done. He won’t be a threat to anyone any longer, although it’ll take a while for the army and navy to recover from his actions.”
And that was that. She held out her hand to him. “Ready for bed?”
Rex did his best to control his dick, but it was hopeless, especially when he felt her fingers close around his own. She led the way down the hall to her bedroom and, with a shy shrug, she dropped his hand and headed to the bathroom.
Rex stripped down to everything but his boxers and waited for her to emerge. When she did, he had to force himself to remain where he was. She had on a white tank top and a pair of panties, and that was it. Her long legs seemed to go on forever, and Rex was dying to see all of her spread out on her sheets, naked.
They’d showered earlier, separately, and Rex couldn’t wait any longer to make the beautiful and amazing woman his.
He held out his hand and she padded across the room. When she was right in front of him, her palms reached for his sides. She ran them up his body, then back down. As they were close to the same height, Rex could look deep into her eyes without having to stoop or crane his neck.
“I’m incredibly proud of you,” he told her.
“I’m proud of myself,” she said without a trace of embarrassment. “I outsmarted him. He wasn’t fucking around. His plan was to shoot me as soon as he saw me and get the hell out of there. But the smoke, the alarm, his cockiness…it all helped me get away and find that chute to hide in.”
“It had to have been extremely difficult,” he mused.
Avery shrugged. “I was kinda on autopilot. I acted without thinking. And I’m here right now, so it’s all good.”
Rex huffed out a breath. “I love you, Avery Nelson. I haven’t said it before now, but I do.”
“I know. I love you too.”
He smiled. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry about this morning. I wasn’t being very fair to you.”
“No, I’m sorry. I put an immense amount of pressure on you just to try to protect myself,” Rex said. “I know better than anyone that we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. As a SEAL, I face that every time I’m sent on a mission, and knowing that asshole almost succeeded in doing what he’d wanted all those weeks ago scared the shit out of me. I don’t need you to promise me the future. All I need is you, here and now. Whatever happens tomorrow, happens.”
He saw her sigh in relief. “Really?”
“Really. It wasn’t fair of me to put that pressure on you. I love you. We’ll take things day by day, okay?”
“Okay,” Avery said with a smile.
“So, we’re good?” he asked.
“Absolutely.”
He smiled at her.
“So…are you gonna kiss me or what?” Avery asked with a small smile of her own.
Without another word, Rex pulled her against him and crushed his mouth to hers. There was no build up. No gentle foreplay of their lips against one another. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and they both groaned.
