Navy SEAL Survival (16 page)

The other guard had gone around the other end of the mansion, out of sight. Duff moved swiftly toward the back entrance the guards had come through. The door was locked.

Duff jammed his knife between the door and the frame and forced the lock. The door swung open and he slipped inside.

The room he entered appeared to be the laundry room and storage area for pantry staples and cleaning supplies.

Duff leaned out and waved the others in.

He didn't wait for them, but moved toward what smelled like the kitchen. He hovered near the half-open door and peered through the crack.

Servants hurried in and out of the room, carrying trays of drinks and hors d'oeuvres.

Duff waited until the wait staff left the room. He slipped up behind the one who appeared to be the chef and pressed his knife to the man's throat.

The spoon he'd been using to stir something on the gas stove clattered to the floor.

Duff backed him to the storage room and left him with Sawyer who, armed with a roll of duct tape, made quick work of silencing the chef.

Making his way through a swinging door, Duff entered a hallway that split in opposite directions. He could hear the sounds of voices from the left. Footsteps came from that direction. Duff slipped back into the kitchen and waited for the persons owning the feet to either pass the door or enter for more appetizers and drinks for the invited guests.

The footsteps paused on the other side of the door and then moved on.

Duff pushed the door open a crack. Two guards hurried away from the noise, speaking in Spanish. Duff understood the words
llevar las mujeres.
Bring the women. Duff motioned for the team to follow. If these guards were going to get the women to be auctioned that night, they could lead them to Natalie and Kylie.

Duff waited until the men turned a corner then he ran down the hall, careful not to make a noise. His team had his back with Sawyer following close behind, Quentin behind Sawyer, then Montana, who would back down the hallway, weapon raised.

As he neared the corner, Duff slowed. Ducking low, he peered around. The guards had disappeared but there was a staircase leading to a lower level, possibly a basement.

Pushing forward, he eased down the steps. The sounds of Spanish-speaking voices echoed off the walls at the lower level. A woman's scream made Duff abandon caution and take the rest of the stairs two at time.

He arrived at the bottom to find the guards struggling with a blonde woman Duff didn't recognize. She kicked the guard nearest to her in the shin.

He yelped and let go of her.

The woman made a run for it, but the other guard grabbed her hair and yanked her so hard she fell backward, landing on the ground, forcing the guard holding her hair to hunch over.

Duff pointed his weapon. “Let go of her.” He didn't care that the guards might not know English. He didn't plan on letting them live long enough to translate.

The guards' heads jerked up at the same time as Duff fired. First one then the other slumped to the floor. The woman between them scrambled to her feet and stared at him wide-eyed.

“Please tell me you're one of the good guys Natalie was alluding to.” Her voice had a pleasant Australian accent, similar but different from the one Natalie had tried to use as a disguise.

Duff nodded. “Where is Natalie?”

“She was taken away a few minutes ago.” The woman bent to one of the men on the floor and dug in his pockets, unearthing a set of keys. Her hands shook so hard she couldn't push the key into the lock on the door beside her.

Quentin stepped forward. “Let me.” He took the key from her. “What's your name, sweetheart?”

“Katherine Stanton.” She wrapped her arms around her middle, her entire body shaking. “Are you going to get us out of here?”

“We're sure as hell gonna try.” Quentin twisted the key in the door and pushed it open. “Found Kylie.” He knelt on the floor and checked her pulse. “She's alive but appears to be drugged.”

Duff turned to Katherine. “Do you know where they took Natalie?”

“Probably where they took Melody.” Katherine bit her bottom lip, tears rushing to her eyes. “To be auctioned off like cattle.”

Duff had to get to Natalie and her sister before that happened. “Sawyer, Montana, you're with me. Quentin, see to the safety of the women. Get them outside if possible. Meet at the rally point.”

“How are we going to get them off the island?” Quentin asked.

“That's where Lance comes in. And if all else fails, we'll take one of the yachts anchored in the cove.” Duff turned back the way they'd come. He didn't know how many more guards to expect, and being down to three men on his team didn't give him the level of confidence he preferred to have going into a mission. He had no choice. Failure wasn't an option. Natalie's and her sister's lives depended on the SEALs coming through for them. As he neared the room where the voices were getting louder, he fished in his pocket for the detonator and pressed the button.

Chapter Fifteen

The guards had dragged Natalie out of the room she'd shared with Kylie. She didn't like being split up, but then Kylie wasn't going anywhere soon. The drugs they'd given her had incapacitated her to the point she couldn't stand on her own.

Until she found Melody, Natalie couldn't fight back. She needed to save that element of surprise for when they led her into the same room with her sister. If that was their plan. She hoped the buyers weren't taking possession of their women and leaving the island immediately upon payment. The guards led her up the staircase to the main level of the mansion and turned her toward the rear of the building and a large wooden doorway.

The door opened and she was shoved into what appeared to be a large entertainment area with plush leather sofas, modern artwork and men standing, sitting and drinking. Some wore suits, others were more casual in tailored slacks and polo shirts.

All of them turned their attention from the woman at the far end of the room, positioned on a raised dais, her long blond hair brushed smooth, her body barely covered in a sexy pink corset and negligee. She crossed her arms over her breasts, her cheeks pink, her chin tilted up, her blue eyes flashing.

Melody.

Her sister's eyes were glazed and she swayed where she was standing. If not for the armed guards on either side of her, she would have fallen from her perch.

Natalie's heart pinched hard in her chest. She wanted to charge forward and stand in front of her sister, to protect her and take out every one of the sick bastards who'd come to purchase women for their own disgusting desires.

Holding back her gut instinct to barge in kicking butt, Natalie took in the occupants of the room. Eight men who appeared to be buyers. They looked as if they hailed from all over the world. When one of them turned, Natalie swallowed her gasp.

Rolf Schwimmer—or Rex Masters. By either name the man was lower than the worst form of life. He'd fooled them into thinking he was one of the good guys. She'd take him out first.

A man entered through a door at the far end of the room and walked directly across the floor to the side of the dais where a wing-backed chair sat half-facing the stage.

Frank “Sly” Jones, yet another man Natalie was determined to take down when this show got going. The only other woman in the room besides Natalie and Melody sat in a chair near the dais, her face in profile, her hand curled around the stem of a wineglass. When she turned to face Natalie, her lip curled up in a sneer.

Natalie's breath caught in her throat. The woman in front of her was Cassandra Teirney, the real-estate agent from Washington, DC. How could Royce's data be so wrong? Real-estate agent, ha!

The woman stood without spilling a drop of the red wine. She wore a long black dress that hugged her figure and flowed with every step she took toward Natalie. “Gentlemen, let me present our second offering.” She waved her hand at Natalie's figure. “We didn't have time to package her for the occasion, but you can see she is fit, beautiful and should bring top dollar. Do I hear fifty thousand?”

A man held up his hand, his gaze on Natalie's naked midriff, practically salivating.

“Perfect. Notice her long, supple legs and perky, generous breasts. Who will give me one hundred thousand for this prime specimen?”

Natalie's fingers clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms to keep her from taking a swing at Cassandra and her sneering lip and attitude. She had to let them believe she was as drugged as her sister.

She counted the number of men she presumed were guards, some of them obviously armed, others who could be hiding a weapon beneath their jackets. In all, she counted ten. How the hell she was going to fight ten guards was beyond her. But she wouldn't let Melody leave the room without her. And she refused to let someone hurt her while she was there.

The guards led her toward the dais and pushed her to stand beside Melody.

Melody's head lolled and she glanced up at Natalie. “Nat?” she whispered.

“Shh,” Natalie urged. “Don't talk.”

“As you gentlemen can plainly see, these two women are worth every penny and will bring many hours of pleasure,” Cassandra continued.

Able to stand on her own, Natalie shook off the hands of the guards and stood in front of the men, trying not to glare and call every last one of them arrogant sons of bitches. These were the kinds of men who gave men of their countries bad reputations.

One of the men walked up to Melody and reached for one of her breasts.

That move broke the camel's back. Without a plan, acting on pure instinct, she cocked her leg and threw a sidekick, catching the buyer in the jaw. He stumbled backward, hit his legs against a side table and fell on his back.

The guards holding up Melody let go and lunged for Natalie. She dodged their hands, swung her leg around and caught the closest one in the nose. A loud snap sounded and blood rushed down his face. He clapped a hand to his broken nose and staggered sideways. His foot caught on the edge of the dais and he tipped over the edge, falling to the floor, landing hard.

The other guard grabbed her arm and yanked it up behind her.

“Wait.” Rolf raised his hand. “Don't hurt her or the other woman. I want both of them.” He turned to Cassandra. “Three hundred thousand for both.”

Cassandra nodded to Frank, who scurried across to the man Natalie had first kicked. He helped him to his feet.

“She's a feisty one, which will translate to much enjoyment in bed.” Cassandra turned to the others. “Do I hear a bid of four hundred thousand for the pair?”

The buyer who'd been kicked straightened and held up his hand. “Four hundred thousand.”

With her hand pushed up between her shoulder blades, Natalie could barely breathe past the pain.

Rolf raised his hand. “Five hundred thousand dollars.”

Natalie wanted to spit in the man's face.

“My, my, she really has your attention, doesn't she?” Cassandra crossed to Rolf and ran her fingers down his chest. “I'll bet you're pretty hot in bed, too.” She stared up into his eyes. “Two women might slake your desire.” Cassandra snorted softly. “But I doubt it.”

Frank stood on the other side of a buyer, his face a ruddy red, his nostrils flaring. He had to be jealous of Cassandra paying too much attention to Rolf.

“Five hundred thousand dollars going once.” She paused. “Going twice.” Cassandra stared around the room, giving the buyers a chance to bid again. “Sold to this young man who needs two women to make him happy.”

The guards shoved Natalie and Melody toward Rolf. He grabbed Natalie and pulled her against him, his hand reaching down to squeeze her bottom. “Don't say anything. I'm here to help,” he whispered into her ear. Louder he said, “Nice firm bottom.” He reached down and hefted a gray suitcase up onto the table. “Your money.” He took Natalie's hand and turned toward the door. “Thank you for setting up this little shindig. My boss will be highly satisfied with his purchases.”

Natalie hooked Melody's arm and led her along with them toward the exit. Before they could make it outside, a loud boom shook the crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling and a shout rang out.

Everyone moved at once. The buyers ran for the exit and the guards pulled their weapons and turned in circles, searching for the source of the sound. They didn't have long to wait.

Three men charged into the room. Dressed completely in black from the tops of their heads to the tips of their toes, they carried submachine guns. As soon as they entered the room, they dived to the sides of the door, rolled to their feet and fired at the guards holding weapons.

At first confused, Natalie didn't know whether to run for the door or to join the fight. When she caught the flash of green eyes, her heart fluttered and she warmed inside. The cavalry had arrived in the shape of three Navy SEALs.

Grabbing Melody's hand, she pulled her to the ground and shoved her behind a sofa. “Stay!” she said and rolled to her feet to assess how best to help.

* * *

D
UFF
REALIZED
N
ATALIE
and Melody would be in danger if they stormed the room. The explosion outside would breed chaos and hopefully Natalie would get down. First through, Duff threw himself to the side, rolled and came up on his haunches. He fired at the nearest gunman, took him down and aimed for the next.

Sawyer and Montana breached the door and performed the same maneuver, taking up positions on the other sides of sofas, dodging the bullets of the guards and returning fire.

Duff scanned the room for Natalie and her sister. His throat closed and his breathing tightened in his chest until he caught a glimpse of Natalie hiding behind a white leather couch on the other side of the room. Though her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was a mess, she appeared relatively unharmed and just as beautiful as when she'd worn the black swimsuit that first caught his attention. Behind Natalie a guard reached for her.

Duff aimed, fired and eliminated that threat. The man fell forward, landing on Natalie's back. She went down on her knees, taking the weight of the heavy man. Then she turned sideways, dumping him to the floor. Glancing across the room, she made eye contact with Duff and mouthed the words
thank you
. Her eyes widened and she yelled, “Duff, behind you!”

Duff rolled to his back. A man stood over him aiming a 9 mm pistol at his chest.

A shot rang out and the man dropped where he stood, his body landing on Duff's legs.

Duff looked around to see Rex Masters retracting his handgun. He turned and fired at a guard about to shoot Sawyer. People ran and yelled. Chaos reigned in the big room.

Kicking his feet free, Duff lurched to a standing position holding his submachine gun at the ready.

The unarmed men ran for the exit. A woman Duff recognized as the one Lance had identified as Cassandra the real-estate agent lifted her dress and raced after the men in suits.

The guards still alive were either wounded or had run out the door with the others.

Sawyer and Montana rose from their positions behind the sofa. They aimed their weapons at the wounded guards on the floor. “Throw your guns to the side.”

Those who could, did.

Former army ranger, Frank “Sly” Jones, cut off from the door by Rex and Montana, ran toward Natalie where she remained hunkered down in a squatting position. He pulled a gun from the inside of his jacket and aimed it at her head. “Stop! Or I'll shoot her.”

Duff stood, refusing to lower his weapon. For all he knew, Frank would kill Natalie anyway. Duff had a small chance of pulling the trigger first. God, he didn't like playing with the woman's life. But the look on Frank's face didn't bode well for Natalie.

“Throw down your weapon,” Frank said. “I will not hesitate to pull the trigger and kill your girlfriend. Do it!”

“Like hell you will.” Natalie rolled into the man, hitting him hard in the knees.

Frank's hand went up in the air to balance him. He squeezed the trigger as he teetered and fell backward. The shot hit the ceiling. As soon as he landed, Natalie sprang to her feet, kicked the gun from his fingers and stepped out of reach, holding out her hand. “Give me a gun. I'll kill him for what he did to my sister and the others.”

Frank sneered. “You don't have the guts.”

“And you are an animal.” Natalie's voice shook with her anger.

Duff crossed the room and pulled her into the curve of his arm, his submachine gun aimed at Frank's chest. “It's over, Jones.”

Rex Masters stepped up beside Duff. “I'll take care of him.”

“Keep him alive,” Duff said. “We need to find out who he's working for.”

Masters jerked Jones up by the collar, spun him around and tied his wrists with zip-ties.

Duff frowned. “And when you have time, I want to hear how you got involved in this, and why you were here as a buyer.”

“I promise I'll have your answers for you. But for now, I'd like to take this man for interrogation.”

Duff's eyes narrowed. “Save it for when we can all be there.”

“You bet.” Masters shoved Jones toward the exit.

Duff nodded toward Montana. “Stay with him. He might have saved mine and Sawyer's lives, but I still don't know that I trust him.”

“You got it.” Montana took off after Masters while Sawyer slipped outside to check the surrounding area for the group's escape.

Natalie pressed her face into Duff's chest. “Thank you for coming to the rescue.”

Duff chuckled. “I have no doubt you would have gotten yourself out of this mess.”

“I could have, but getting the others out alive was more important, and I couldn't have done it without your help.” She pushed away from him and ducked behind the white leather couch. When she rose, she helped another blonde to her feet who had a slight resemblance to Natalie.

Natalie glanced up at him and beamed. “Dutton Calloway, I'd like you to meet my sister, Melody.”

Melody shoved her hair out of her face and stuck out a hand. “Nice to meet you.” She frowned at Natalie. “Who is this man? Are you dating and you haven't told me about it?”

Natalie hugged her sister. “Baby, I'm just glad you're going to be okay. We can catch up when we get back to civilization.”

Melody pressed fingers to her temple. “What the heck did they give me? I feel like I have a heck of a hangover and didn't have the pleasure of the buzz.”

Natalie laughed.

Melody's brows puckered. “And where did you learn to kick like that. You've got to teach me that move. I might not be in this situation had I known it.”

“There's a lot we need to talk about.” Natalie hugged her sister.

“For now, unless we want to spend time in a Mexican jail, we need to get back to Cancun.” Duff waved his weapon toward the exit.