Page 11 of No Regrets
Quickly removing his combat vest, he took off his shirt and held it up.
“Here, put this on, and then I’m taking you home.” The word home seemed to resonate, and he spotted the smallest glimmer in her eyes. Hope? He waited as she struggled into the shirt, clearly in pain. Her frightened eyes never left him.
“Boss, we got company. We gotta go now!” Ryan’s tone was urgent.
“Kelly, I’m going to pick you up now. No one's going to hurt you, I promise. It’s over. I got you.” He shrugged his combat vest back on before moving to pick her up. She retreated, eyes wide, like a deer in headlights, but he had no choice. They had to go. Gathering her in his arms, he held her against his chest. She tensed but didn’t fight him. She didn’t speak, just looked at him with those hollow eyes. Fuck, that look was going to haunt him.
“OK. We’re good. Let’s go.” Dex moved back to the door. Ryan stole a quick glance at them.
“Holy shit!” The horror Dex felt mirrored on Ryan’s face. “She’s alive?”
“Barely. Has anyone got eyes on Lazir?” Dex spoke into his coms. He wanted that bastard. He wanted him to pay for this. None of the team had seen him. Son of a bitch was probably secure in a cave by now. He wished they had time to seek him out. Taking a deep breath, he put his team leader head back on.
“Alpha five. Vehicle?”
“Secured. Steve has the charges ready to go on your word. But you need to move fast,” Tyler replied. Ryan darted his gaze to Dex. He nodded ready. With Ryan watching his six, they got to the rear of the building where Tyler waited with a truck.
Dex climbed in, carefully keeping Kelly safe in his arms.
“Let’s go boys,” he shouted into his coms, eager to get the hell out of there.
The rest of the team leapfrogged their way to the truck, holding off the enemy fire as they climbed aboard. Tyler sped away. Dex looked over at Steve.
“Blow it.”
“With pleasure.” Steve detonated the explosives and the compound burst into flames, rocks and debris blocking the dirt road. No one would be following them out of there anytime soon. Hopefully, the whole damn tunnel system would collapse, maybe burying Lazir.
“Ah fuck.” Tyler cursed.
“What is it?” Dex looked through the windshield, trying to see what Tyler was looking at. “See that clearing up there? It’s missing our ride.”
Before anyone could say anything else, the sound of rotors filled the air.
“Or maybe it’s just late,” Donnie said.
Tyler stopped the truck, and they watched the helicopter land. “Er, guys, that is not my contact.”
The team immediately went weapons hot, stepping from the truck and using it as cover.
Dex laid Kelly down, joining his team. Four men stepped from the helo and took up defensive positions, but not against them. Instead, they were securing the perimeter.
The men were dressed in black, their faces covered, no markings. Another man walked toward them; his arms raised. “Looks like you boys could use a ride home.”
Dex stepped forward. “DEVGRU?”
The man laughed. “Nope. But you just hijacked our op. Did you secure the hostage?”
When Dex lowered his weapon, the rest of his team followed suit, realizing this was the black ops team sent to rescue Kelly. “Yes. She’s in bad shape.”
“Then let’s get her the fuck out of this shithole.”
The black ops team got them to their plane before disappearing as quietly as they arrived. Who the fuck were those guys? Dex hadn’t asked, respecting that they would not share it. Anyway, he was too focused on Kelly. But he was damn grateful they had been there.
Once on the plane and in the air, Dex lay Kelly down along the bench, holding her hand. Tyler sat beside him with a medic bag.
“Dex? Let me check her over. We have a long flight ahead; I want to be sure she’s not in pain.”
Nodding, Dex shifted. Tyler set up an IV, giving Kelly the fluids she desperately needed, and some pain medication. Dex watched Tyler bathe her wounds, cleaning them out, and applying antibiotic cream. He gently explored her arms, legs, and ribcage for broken bones. All the time, her face stayed blank. Eyes closed; she gave no reaction at all.