SEALs of Honor: Mason (13 page)

He couldn’t imagine finding someone else that would appreciate who and what he was at this point in his life. Better to love and leave them.

Right?

Sure
, his head said.
As long as we’re not talking about Tesla
.

Chapter 18

M
INDLESS AND IN
pain from the uncomfortable position, Tesla lay almost comatose in the back.

The vehicle swerved violently to the side, hitting the shoulder before being reefed back out to the road again.

She moaned as she bounced forward, smashing the back of the seats and then down to the other side as the vehicle swerved across the road. Luckily with her hands in front, she could brace herself slightly.

“Who the fuck is that?” Daniel screamed in frustration as he struggled to keep the big vehicle on the road. “Fucking idiot drivers.”

Tesla cheered. They needed a few more drivers like that. It woke Daniel and his nasty partner up. And her. She was more alert now.

Was that a good thing? Still, just knowing that her kidnappers had been shaken was good enough for her. She’d started to wonder if anything could rattle them.

And where was Mason now? He should be tracking her. He wouldn’t leave her to her fate. Even if she’d upset him. Had she upset him? That badly? She hoped not. She wanted that idiot driver vehicle to be them, but it wasn’t likely. Just then the SUV slowed down and took a sharp right. And hit rough road. She moaned as her sore shoulders were jostled and bounced. She had no control as the big rig carried her further away from Mason.

Hot tears clung to her eyes. And she shuddered. She was going to give him a piece of her mind for this. He’d said she was safe.

He’d lied to her. Her rational mind knew that he was not responsible, but she wanted someone to
be
responsible, and Mason was the one who came to mind. Hell, he was always the one who came to mind. He was too damn beautiful. No guy should be so gorgeous. And of course that was reason enough to have nothing to do with him. Get rid of him before he got rid of her with a prettier model. She was fine, but there was nothing special or unique about her. She was all about average. And in this world average sucked.

Brush banged against the side of the SUV, filling the back window with dark shadows. The air inside tensed. Was there something wrong?

Please let there be something wrong. She desperately needed there to be something to disrupt their plans. A chill had settled on her skin as she realized a turn off the highway meant they were coming to their intended destination. And a hidden one at that.

She was running out of time.

“They aren’t here yet?” Daniel’s worried voice filtered to the back.

“They should be. Although we made good time. We’re actually a little early.”

“Not that early.”

She heard Daniel swear as he pulled the vehicle to a stop.

“Is this the right location?”

“According to the GPS, it is.”

“There’s no way a plane is going to land on this strip.”

“Bush planes land in all sorts of places,” Daniel said. “It’s a proper runway, just rundown and overgrown with weeds.”

“Good thing I’m not going. I doubt any plane could take off here.”

“Oh, you’re going all right. That was the deal.”

“Except we didn’t pick up Charlie. He was supposed to take the rig back. Now that’s left to me.”

Tesla could hear Daniel’s muttering under his breath but not a resolution. If she was up against only one man, even a mercenary like Daniel, she’d have a much better chance than if she were up against the scary dude as well. But she wasn’t going to be able to ditch him until she was on the plane. And that was really bad news.

The men got out of the truck. She expected them to come around and haul her out but sounds faded as they walked further away. She struggled to her knees and looked around. With her hands in front of her, it was easier to twist around and look out the window. As far as she could see, there was nothing but trees and more trees. There had to be something. They spoke of a runway. Surely that was here somewhere. Except as she studied the area outside the vehicle, there was no sign of the men.

There wasn’t going to be a better time. She opened the back door as quietly as she could, and pushing it open just enough that she could slip out, she bent down and crept to the closest tree. Then the next one and the next one.

When she didn’t hear a mad shout behind her, she flat out ran. She kept the tracks in sight, knowing she’d end up lost if she didn’t, while yet trying to stay hidden. Following the tracks would be easier, but they’d also have an easier time of tracking her down too. She didn’t dare get caught. Unless it was by her SEAL.

She almost giggled at that.

A SEAL to the rescue. Or he would be if he actually got here and rescued her.

Thank God her feet were mostly better. And that the assholes had grabbed her shoes and jacket. She was in a better position now than ever. Well, almost. Unfortunately, her jacket was too bright to keep her hidden in the brush. The neon yellow reflective stripes did their job well. It helped others to see her. And so not what she wanted right now.

She grabbed it by the waist and pulled it over her head. Off her back but now wrapped around her restraints. Still, inside out kept the reflective strips hidden.

She gasped for breath, struggling to find her natural stride. At home she used to jog every morning. Then that was before the kidnapping. This last week of healing had helped her feet, but they were not up for a twenty mile sprint. She breathed through her nose, tried to massage the stitch in her side. A stitch was deadly to a runner. She tried to take long slow breaths and find that natural rhythm. She lengthened her stride and dodged around a tree and up a small hollow. She shifted around rocks and headed down an easier pathway. She was still running parallel to the road. She had no idea how far away the main highway was, but she wanted to reach it fast. She’d still have to flag someone down and get help, but she’d take her chances with a stranger over these two men.

She could hear a vehicle approaching ahead. She slipped into a thick stand of brush and caught her breath. The black SUV raced down past her. It never slowed. She shivered. Thank God.

However, it also meant they were ahead of her and could be waiting up ahead. That was dangerous. She had to see them first and she was running toward them.

Damn it. What if they were out of the vehicle and running toward her?

She didn’t know what to do. If she did nothing, she’d be sitting there until dark and chances were good she’d get lost for real. They could just sit there in the dark and wait until she showed up on the main highway.

Then what was she going to do?

Stilled by indecision, she froze as she heard another vehicle. What was she going to do? She cocked an ear, trying to see who else was arriving. Instead, the sound approached and disappeared without her seeing it. Then she got it. The vehicles were on the highway.

She slipped out of her spot. And crept forward to the next grove. There were a lot of hiding places and she moved carefully. There was no sign of the SUV. Or any other vehicles. So now what? She could walk parallel to the road, staying in the shadows, or she could stay and let Mason find her.

Damn it. Which way to go?

*

“
T
HAT’S
D
ANIEL.”
M
ASON
swore as he caught a glimpse of his archenemy whipping past. Mason turned the vehicle around and ripped down the road after the SUV. The road was curvy and the SUV seemed to be always just that little ahead. He gunned the motor.

The plan to get ahead had worked, but he only just realized how well. What was the chance Tesla had been right there within twenty feet of him? He hadn’t expected to see them within minutes of hitting the road.

“Keep an eye out.”

“That had to be her,” Hawk said. “It’s the same license plate.”

“I recognized Daniel.” Mason swore again. “I should have killed him before.”

“Yep, you should have,” Swede agreed.

“I’d hoped to get more information from him. Pick him up on the way back so we can stop these attacks on Tesla. She has to be safe.”

But the SUV was gone from sight. He pushed the vehicle as fast as it would go. They had to be ahead of them still.

Unless they’d taken a turn off.

“So far she’s been nothing but in trouble,” Hawk said. “I can’t imagine her safe. It seems too preposterous.”

“We’ll find her.” Mason searched the road, but there were no signs of anyone. Or any vehicle. No sign of a pedestrian or wildlife even. “Where the hell are they? We should have seen them by now.”

“Unless they left the highway somewhere and we missed it.”

Mason considered that information for a quick second then hit the brake – hard. The SUV came to a bone shuddering stop. He made a quick change of direction and started back the way he’d come – at half speed. “If that’s the case, we need to look for any signs of where they’d have turned off the road.”

“There…” Hawk pointed to the left. “Back up, back up.”

Mason hit the brakes, shifted into reverse and backed up, tires squealing.

He saw it then. He pulled off the road onto the tracks and stopped.

“We’ll continue on foot. We’ve blocked the trail, so they aren’t going to be able to leave this way. The ground is soft, wet. We should be able to track them easily enough.”

Mason smiled. “Good.”

He pulled slightly forward until he found a place where the road diverged. Take the road less travelled, and he parked. “That will do it.”

The men got out. After a quick check over their firepower and ammo situation, Mason took the lead. The others spread out. Now to find Tesla.

They moved forward in a steady encircling ring like a noose tightening on the enemy’s head. There was no sign of anyone. And no sign of anyone having passed.

An odd sound came from the left, more of a whisper of a sound. He didn’t recognize it. And that made it very interesting. He slipped off of the side and came around behind the noise. And frowned. There was the SUV, but it appeared to be empty. This was the old airstrip, but it didn’t look to have seen any maintenance in the last many years. Hell, from a decade at least. They were going to land a plane here? Take her out that way? That was taking a chance.

So what had gone wrong?

Besides Tesla?

And where was she?

He cocked his ear. There was someone now running. He grinned. She still favored her sore feet. He’d recognize those footsteps anywhere.

He signaled to the others and took off after her.

She was running at a great clip. He was amazed. But she still wasn’t going to get away from him. He hadn’t come all this way to lose her now.

And yet…he lost her. He strode forward listening, his eyes glued to the trail she’d left behind. They were almost to the highway. But they were on the wrong side of where his SUV should be.

He wanted to call out to her but couldn’t take the chance.

He closed his eyes and imitated Hawk’s bird cry. She might recognize it.

After sending the second cry he crept forward again.

He turned, looking for her, and realized she’d slipped from the back grove to the next stand of trees. He grinned. She’d done well. He needed her to keep that up. To keep her spirit up.

With a quick glance around he made his move and crept up to her.

He quickly wrapped an arm around her ribs, slapping his other hand over her mouth to stop her from crying out.

“Shh. It’s me, Mason.”

Chapter 19

T
ESLA CRIED OUT,
but no sound erupted as a hand had clapped over her mouth. Strong arms held her. Instinct said to run. Instinct said to fight. But her heart said she was safe. Then his words filled her ears and she understood. It was Mason. She sagged in place, her knees weak and her spine suddenly boneless.

He’d come for her.

He spun her around until he looked down at her. “Are you okay,” he whispered in a hoarse guttural tone. “Did they hurt you?”

She clasped her hands on either side of his head and shook her head wildly. “No, they didn’t hurt me. They didn’t have time. You came, oh thank God.”

“Are you sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine. I’m so glad to see you.”

“Shh, it’s okay. Be quiet. Shh. Be quiet.”

She tried. Honest she did, but it was so freakin’ hard. She finally looped her arms around his neck and hugged him. Then pulled back and kissed him. A heart-wrenching kiss of loss and longing.

She felt his surprise, felt his arms wrap around her. She recognized the moment when he got over his surprise and kissed her back. She loved that about him.

Suddenly she was set back, cool air between them. She hated it. But she understood it. She smiled up at his hard face. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Damn it, Tesla.” He groaned. “When do you ever stay out of trouble?”

“Ha, I was working alone when I was attacked. What was I supposed to do, ask them to come back later?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

She laughed. Forgetting his admonishment to be quiet until his mouth came down on hers. Hard.

She hugged him hard. In joy. She didn’t want to let him go. She’d felt so alone. But he’d come for her. He set her back slightly and picked up her hands still caught in handcuffs. He studied the mechanism for a long moment then released her. He pulled out a small tool set from his back pockets and got to work.

“What about the others, are they here?”

He nodded, did something, she heard the click, and he popped the handcuff open. “Searching for you and the enemy. So far no sign of the men who attacked you.”

She rubbed her wrists in relief. “Thank you. And as for the enemy…that was Daniel again. And his partner.” She gave him a quick description of the second man. She could see him cataloging the details to fit into the puzzle pieces in his own mind.

“Do you know where they are?”