Unconditional Surrender (9 page)

“Will you quit looking at that thing?” Sasha’s annoyed voice broke into her reverie. “I have a good mind to put it in my purse until we leave here. We’re supposed to be having fun, remember? It took me long enough to get you out for a couple of hours. I’m not competing with your cell phone for your attention. Who are you expecting to call, anyway?”

“Just… No one. No one at all.” As if to emphasise her words she picked up the phone and dropped it into her tote. “There. All gone.”

Sasha picked up her drink and took a sip. “Uh-huh. Why do I think that’s all a big act? You’ve been really weird for the last few weeks. Months, even.”

Kari looked at her friend with what she hoped was a confused expression. “Weird? I don’t understand. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, for one thing, you hardly want to go out for drinks anymore. I practically had to throw a rope around you to get you here tonight. If we hadn’t had the day from hell, I’m not sure even a rope would have worked.”

“I’ve just been…tired. You know how I really like to go home and hole up by myself.”

Sasha shook her head. “Not as much as you have lately. You’re almost a hermit these days. I’ve tried three times to set you up with this friend of my brother’s and you just blow me off. And look”—she glanced at the bar where a small group of men were laughing together and drinking—“there’s that guy who hangs out here all the time that’s hot for you. How many times has he sent a drink over to you and you keep sending it back?” She giggled. “He’s probably broke by this time.”

“Puhleeze. Which one are you talking about?”

“Are you kidding me? How many guys keep sending you drinks? He’s the one in the blue dress shirt with the dark blond hair.”

Kari slid her gaze in the direction of the bar. The man in question turned at that exact moment, caught her eye, grinned and raised his glass to her. She quickly looked away, determined not to give him any encouragement.

“I’d lick him all over if he’d let me and you won’t even give him the time of day.”

“Give it a rest.” Kari flicked a finger in the air. “He’s okay but he’s not my type.”

“Not your type?” Sasha practically squeaked. “Well, damn, girl. What
is
your type? At this rate you’ll end up being an old maid.”

If you only knew.
“Besides. You know I don’t like blind dates. I’m too old and too picky. And I don’t hook up with guys I meet here.”

“Well, you need to hook up with someone pretty soon or your poor little pussy’s going to just dry right up.”

“Sasha!” Kari nearly knocked her drink over. She looked around carefully to see if anyone had heard.

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s so noisy in here people can hardly hear themselves, never mind us. But it’s the damn truth.” She studied Kari. “Wait a minute… Wait just a minute here.”

“For what? What’s in that crazy brain of yours now?”

“You
have
met someone, haven’t you? Ohmigod, you’ve met a man and you’ve got something going. I should have spotted that look in your eyes long before now.”

“What look is that?” Kari lifted her glass and took a long drink of the sharp-tasting frosty liquid.

“That ‘I’ve been laid and it’s better than Christmas’ look.”

“You’re delusional.” Kari let her gaze wander around the room, trying to settle it anyplace but on her friend. “And I’d be lying if I tried to make you think that at my age I’d never been laid before. Besides, you know better.”

“Yeah, but this is different.” Sasha tapped a brightly polished nail on the varnished tabletop. “This is different. I can tell. Come on, girlfriend. Dish.”

Kari finally looked at her hands. “There’s nothing to tell. And if you’re going to push this topic, I’m going home.”

She was afraid to damage the fragile state of the new level of her relationship with Slade by discussing it with anyone. Besides, then she’d have to tell Sasha where and how they’d met, and that was totally not up for discussion.

“Fine. But I’m keeping my eye on you. You’d better believe it.” She signalled the waiter for another round of drinks.

* * * * 

Slade cursed the bitter cold of the Hindu Kush mountains and the assignment that had once again sent him and his team to these godforsaken rocks. This was the fourth one since his quick visit to San Antonio and the incredible night with Kari.

Kari.

Just thinking her name made his body heat and his cock harden. On the very boring flight back, he’d amused himself by staring at the photo of her with the wax designs and the ropes decorating her body. Her breasts were plump and swollen and it aroused him to remember that her cunt was naked beneath the wax.

He knew it would be a while, just like he’d told her, before he could get back stateside again. His team was already pissed off that he’d sneaked out on them, leaving them to find their own recreation during the short break. They had also met women at The Edge and wanted to pursue those relationships. But just this once he’d wanted to be selfish. And because he never was, his men let it be and didn’t give him grief. Thank God.

Still, he knew they were dying to ask a million questions, which at the moment he had no intention of answering. He and Kari—her name had such a musical sound—were just moving into a new stage in their relationship. Taking it outside the club. Getting to know each other outside the D/s play. It was all still too fragile to discuss with anyone.

As soon as his boots hit the ground he tucked all thoughts of Kari and the future in a corner of his mind and returned to full mission mode. Assignments were waiting for them and there was no opportunity for daydreaming.

This time they were in hostage rescue mode, a delicate situation that required stealth, sharp eyes and guts. An Army colonel out with one of his men to meet with a local tribal leader had been ambushed, the driver shot and the colonel taken captive. Already the man who had captured him, Faisal Usman, had broadcasted from his camp and shown the colonel bound hand and foot and blindfolded, on his knees in front of him. The message was clear.
Remove your troops from my area or I will execute this man.

So Slade and his Delta Force team had been tasked with the rescue. Satellites had pinpointed the location of Usman’s camp and given them the layout. The thermal imaging showed them exactly how many people were there—twelve—and how many buildings—four. They were definitely going to be outmanned but the decision had been made to go with just their team. Any more and their lieutenant was afraid they’d provoke an all-out fire fight and the first person they killed would be the colonel.

The only additional manpower, besides the helo pilot, would be two shooters ready in the open doorway of the Little Bird if trouble showed up, and a medic who would check out the colonel.

So it was on their heads and they knew they damn sure better not make a mistake.

The helicopter dropped them as soon as it was full dark, the pilot confirming the exfiltration time with Slade—just before the first fingers of dawn would begin to light up the sky. They had to do all of this under cover of night. Even then they’d be in danger, but the inky blackness would give them great cover. And no moon tonight…a lucky break.

It was completely still. Not even the birds seemed to be making themselves heard, as if they had silenced their singing so the men of the Delta Force team could hear any other sounds. There wasn’t even the distant tinkle of a sheep herder’s bell as he urged a flock of yaks from place to place. Not that Slade expected them to be moving at night but weirder things had happened. Almost an entire SEAL team had been wiped out because a young sheep herder had been leading his charges and had stumbled upon them. They’d chosen not to kill him…and he’d chosen to rat them out to the very man they’d been assigned to kill.

Slade concentrated on his movements as he and his team crawled quietly to the ridge overlooking the camp and pulled out their night binoculars to study the layout.

Marc, who had taken point as usual, shimmied back until he was next to Slade.

“Satellite indicates they’ve got the colonel in the shed off to the side,” he whispered and held up his thermal imagining scope. “I agree. It’s isolated from the other buildings. They’d want to keep the ‘infidel’ separate. Plus, it doesn’t look like they’ve even got a guard on him.”

“Probably not necessary. They’re a cocky bunch of assholes and they’re convinced no one will find them. Besides, from what I saw on the video clip, those bastards gave him a pretty harsh beating, so he may not be in any condition to give them trouble.”

“Which could also make getting him out of there that much harder,” Marc pointed out.

“We’ll just have to deal with it,” Slade whispered back. “Okay, we need a distraction. Something to draw them to the opposite side of the camp.”

“Two people to create chaos and two to retrieve the colonel,” Marc agreed.

“We’ll let Beau and Trey handle the diversion while we spring the colonel.”

Slade spoke very softly, just enough to be heard through the comm link. As still as the air was in the mountains tonight, almost a total absence of sound, it would be very easy for voices to carry. Not that any of them thought the men below them were paying much attention. The two around the fire appeared engrossed in an animated conversation and everyone else was inside.

He kept the instructions to a bare minimum. It wasn’t their first time at this particular kind of ball game. They’d executed the game plan countless times before, in a variety of situations, so everyone was well aware of what had to be done.

Slade and Marc worked their way down slowly until they reached the edge of the camp. Two men were outside standing by a campfire but no one else was visible. When Slade and Marc were in position, he clicked his mic three times—the
’go’
signal. From his position from behind a giant outcropping of rock, Beau fired fifty millimetre rounds directly into the fire. Immediately they exploded and sparks flew in every direction.

The doors to the huts flew open and men raced into the area around the fire, then jumped back as Beau and Trey unleashed another volley of shots. Slade could visualise them moving stealthily in a semicircle, continuing to shoot to distract the men and pin them down. Over the steady sound of shooting he heard the men shouting, almost screaming, running to get their own rifles and shooting indiscriminately in the direction of the outcropping.

Crouched low, Slade and Marc made their way to the front of the shed where the colonel was. Luckily there wasn’t a lock to deal with. Of course, where could their prisoner go?

They opened the door just enough to inch their way inside. Slade’s gut churned when he saw the colonel, hands still tied behind his back, lying on his side. His clothes were torn, his body dirt-encrusted and his face was a mass of bruises. Anger churned in Slade’s gut but he swallowed it back as quickly as it came. No time for that now. The man’s eyes widened as Slade pulled down the black fabric covering the Delta Force patch and pointed a finger at Marc and himself. Slade held a finger to his lips and the man nodded. The guy was no dummy. He knew silence was key.

Marc pulled his Ka-Bar knife and cut away the colonel’s ropes. They had a little trouble getting the man to his feet and he stumbled as they tried to move him forward but mouthed “
I’m okay
” and pulled in a lungful of air. Slade knew the man had to be in a lot of pain but he also knew he’d suck it up and do what he needed to help them get him out of there.

Trey and Beau were still firing into the camp, moving from place to place on the ridge and staying out of reach of any stray bullets. The men in camp had no idea where the next volley would come from. Each time they tried to send someone in that direction, Slade’s team pinned them down.

It was very slow going but at last they were far enough away from the camp to stop for a moment. Slade clicked his mic three times again, knowing the sound would be audible in the ear buds of the shooters even over the gunfire. The next tricky part would come when Beau and Trey stopped firing and had to haul ass to meet up with them without giving away their positions or letting the men in the camp spread out to hunt them once there were no more bullets spraying at them.

But they were a well-trained team and knew what they were doing. They all managed to get back to the rendezvous spot, even half carrying the colonel, just as the helo came in over them, two gunners in the open doorway, rifles at the ready. The pilot set down long enough for them to heave the colonel into the cabin then boost themselves in, guns still slung across their chests.

And then they were away.

The medic immediately took charge of the colonel while the team unhooked their packs and their rifles. Looking down, Slade could see some of the men from the camp making their way along the path the team had just taken. He didn’t let out a full breath until they were safely over the next mountaintop. He was ready for their next leave time and a break from the unforgiving terrain of the Hindu Kush mountains.

* * * *

Teo was waiting for them again in San Antonio with the now familiar helicopter. It didn’t take the four of them long to wrestle their duffels onto the bird and strap themselves into the cabin seats. They were all eager to shower off the stink of their missions and get to The Edge. Although there was a lot of good-natured joking going on, Slade noted that no one was actually giving away details of whomever he’d hooked up with. Maybe they, too, had found women they wanted to develop something substantial with.

He had yet to figure out what excuse he was going to give for not going to the club with them. If he had to tell them, he would, but he still wanted to keep it between the two of them. For now, anyway.

As soon as they reached the ranch, he left Teo to make sure everyone was settled in the rooms they’d used last time and shut himself in his bedroom, pulling out his cell phone. He couldn’t believe he was actually nervous as he punched in Kari’s number. And even more so when she answered.

“Hello?”