Chapter Five

S everal small cracks in the cavern housing the Sea Dog’s lair provided a little bit of light, allowing them to remove their NVGs as they surveyed the take. A quick search through the stolen goods didn’t produce a laptop. In fact, it didn’t produce anything of much value at all. Wes’ anger reared up inside of him. Four people had died last night over a few pieces of jewelry and a fucking iPad. His stomach churned. Either these pirates were getting bolder, or they were the lowest scum he’d ever encountered. Probably both.

“I bet the laptop is at their HQ,” Lex said. “This is probably just the most recent stuff they stole.”

“And they’ll be back to divvy it up later,” Corey added.

“Let’s report back to Brand and hang out here a little while longer.” Wes shifted on the uneven ground and crossed his arms. In other words, he wasn’t fucking budging. Not until he spilled some pirate blood.

Lex pressed his comms and told Brand they’d found the pirate’s stash.

“Good job,” Brand responded. “We found their HQ.”

“Fuck,” Wes hissed. He wanted to be there. More than anything, he needed to wreak his revenge. But all he could do was wait there in the cave and hope their targets would show up so they could neutralize them. Make this part of the world’s waters a little safer and quench his vengeance.

That’s what the logical part of Wes’ brain thought. The emotional part of him craved the bloodlust. And, hopefully, that satisfaction would make him feel better. He doubted he’d ever find a sense of closure, not completely, but he was damn well going to try.

“Keep your eyes on the tide,” Lex reminded them. “It’s already starting to rise.”

“Roger,” they all murmured.

Wes sloshed forward, trying to find a drier location, when Xander’s voice cracked through their comms, loud and clear. “Pirates approaching. Four of them, armed and dangerous. Watch your backs.”

“Roger that,” Lex said, and the three of them took cover.

Wes moved behind a large boulder and touched the gold “E” hanging around his neck. The time had finally come and he was ready to be judge, jury and executioner.

It all happened in a blur that left Wes dizzy, panting and covered in blood. The moment the targets came into close proximity, Wes felt something snap in his head, and he launched himself out of his hiding place and fired his pistol, killing two pirates. Corey and Lex did the same, each taking down one. They hadn’t even known what hit them. Suddenly, Xander was blasting a warning through the comms, “Two more coming in hot!”

Out of nowhere, Wes went down hard, gun flying out of his grip. It took him a moment to realize someone had snuck up and tackled him. Had they missed another entrance? Where the hell had the guy come from?

Rolling onto his back, Wes looked up into a pair of black eyes spewing hate. A fist slammed into his jaw and Wes curled his hand and punched the pirate in his face. He’d never been a fan of close quarters combat, and this was as close as you could get. It sucked on every level. A knee smashed into his gut and he grunted, his breath knocked out in a whoosh. Pinned down, he reached for the Ka-Bar tucked in his boot, pulled it out and sliced upwards. The blade cut across the man’s arm and he howled, falling backward, allowing Wes to regain the upper hand.

Getting up onto his hands and knees, Wes catapulted forward, driving his knife up, right into the soft, vulnerable area of the pirate’s neck and chin. Staring into the man’s shocked eyes, Wes twisted the handle. No mercy. He watched the life drain from him, eyes rolling back, then yanked the blade out. Warm blood spurted everywhere and the asshole dropped.

As Wes pulled himself up, he realized there were more pirates in the small cavern than they’d anticipated. Four had turned into seven, but now it looked like ten or more. Thank Christ his team had taken more than half of them down already. Where the fuck had all these assholes come from?

Corey and Lex were busy trying to neutralize the new arrivals and Wes hurried forward, on his way to help, when a large rock came down, hitting the side of his head. Stumbling forward, Wes saw stars. The rock came down again, this time between his shoulder blades, and Wes dropped to the ground. Motherfucker. Spinning, landing hard on his back, he blinked rapidly, trying to clear his head. A flash of silver slashed downward and Wes threw his arms up, trying to block the blow. He grimaced when the pirate’s blade sliced across his forearm.

Ignoring the stinging pain, Wes twisted and managed to swing his Ka-Bar up, plunging it into his opponent’s gut. The guy shouted in pain and Wes shoved him hard. At the same time, he yanked his knife out, pushed himself up into a sitting position and grabbed the pirate. Wrapping his bloody forearm around the pirate’s neck, Wes squeezed with all his might. Once the thrashing and kicking stopped, Wes snapped his neck.

Breathing hard, Wes released the dead tango and slumped back on his ass. He, Corey and Lex had neutralized every last one, a quick body count putting that number much higher than what they’d anticipated.

“We need to get outta here,” Lex said. “Tide’s coming in fast.”

For the first time, Wes noticed how much the water level had risen, sea water flowing in and getting higher.

Corey appeared, offering Wes a hand and pulling him up onto his feet. He ignored the concerned look on his friend’s face and quickly checked his prosthetic. All good. They splashed through the rising seawater. It was flowing into the cavern fast and the entire thing would probably be completely flooded in under ten minutes.

“What’s going on?” Xander asked through their comms. “Everything okay?”

“On our way,” Lex reported.

“Hurry the fuck up. I’m calling Brand to pick us up.”

The bloodlust that had made Wes see red lessened as they stormed toward the entrance. The fact that he may have just killed Ellie’s murderer should’ve made him feel better. But, he still felt empty and at a loss.

They sloshed out of the flooded cavern right as the water reached their knees. Wes gritted his teeth, already feeling the wet liner in his prosthetic. Ignoring it, he charged into the sunlight and glanced down. For a moment, he didn’t move—just lifted his arm and numbly watched the blood flow from the knife wound and fall to the ground. He slowly turned his hands over. They shook ever so slightly and he still held his blood-soaked Ka-Bar in a tight fist. His blade wasn’t the only thing covered in crimson. Wes was splattered with blood from head to toe.

Corey came over, opened his medical kit, and tore open an alcohol wipe. Wes hissed as he cleaned the wound then wrapped a bandage around it. “Put pressure on it,” Corey advised. “You got nicked pretty good.”

Wes nodded, then looked at Corey and Lex. Neither appeared in as bad of shape as him. Or, at least not as blood-soaked. Swallowing hard, he started forward, heading back to the jungle path that would lead them down to the beach. But not before he noticed the concerned look that passed between Corey and Lex.

“I’m fine,” Wes snapped, marching ahead.

◆◆◆

It was Ellie’s day off and she headed straight down to the lagoon with a bag of lettuce for the sea turtles. She liked to visit them every day and make sure they were doing well. Even though she couldn’t remember a lot of things, she knew she loved animals, especially the amazing sea creatures she saw around the island. Whatever occupation she’d had in her previous life, she was pretty sure it wasn’t merely sitting at a desk all day crunching numbers. Being outside, surrounded by nature, made her happy. The fresh air, the animals, the sea…something about it called to her and she felt most satisfied when she was sitting at the edge of the lagoon, watching her turtles.

There were quite a few different species in the area, but she loved the green sea turtles the most. Research she’d done online indicated they were large herbivores who migrated long distances between feeding grounds and the beaches from where they hatched. The amazing creature was also endangered, and that made her heart hurt. If she could learn how to help protect them, she would.

After tossing the lettuce into the water, she studied their movements, noting their behavior and how they communicated with one another. She found it fascinating and ended up spending a couple of hours watching them and jotting down some notes in the small notebook she carried. Thunder rumbled, pulling her attention away from the turtles, and she noticed the sky was turning dark. Time to go. After stuffing the notebook and pen into her bag, she stood up and brushed the back of her pants off. A storm was brewing and she didn’t want to be caught in it.

Slinging her bag over a shoulder, Ellie began to hike back down the trail. It was about a twenty-five minute walk back to her place and the humidity was becoming unbearable. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck and she paused to swipe a hand across her forehead. The approaching rain would help lift the humidity, but only temporarily. It always returned with a vengeance once the rain stopped. Opening her bag, she pulled out a bottle of water and was about to take a drink when she heard movement in the jungle not far away.

She froze, listening closely, and the sound of deep, male voices reached her ears.

Not wanting to run into a group of strange men by herself, knowing pirates prowled the area, she stepped off the path and moved behind a large tree. It was probably nothing but some local fishermen, but she decided to err on the side of caution. Especially after her last memory.

As the voices grew louder, approaching quickly, she realized too late they were coming from behind her and she was in their direct line of vision. Spinning around, she came face to face with four men who looked like soldiers. They wore tactical vests, carried weapons and appeared to be in the middle of a hunt. Heart in her throat, Ellie jumped back onto the path and hurried forward.

“Hey!”

Shit. They’d seen her. For a moment, she nearly paused when she realized they spoke English. Americans. But what the hell were Americans doing wandering around in the Indonesian jungle? She didn’t wait to find out. Breaking into a jog, she hurried to put as much space between her and them as possible.

A voice called out to her again and Ellie glanced over her shoulder. Oh, shit. One of the soldiers was chasing after her. Picking up her pace, she hoped she could outrun him, but the thumping boots behind her kept getting closer.

“Stop! Please!”

The desperation in the man’s voice almost compelled her to comply. Almost. But she wasn’t reckless or trusting of strangers. Pushing herself harder, fear filled her, propelling her forward. A side cramp hit out of nowhere and made her gasp. It also slowed her down enough for the man to catch up.

A large hand grabbed her arm, halting her in her tracks, and spun her around. Panting hard, clutching a hand to her side, Ellie looked up into a pair of wide brown eyes.

“Oh, my God,” the man whispered, staring at her like she was a ghost or some kind of apparition. A myriad of emotions flashed across his face—shock, confusion, relief, joy. “ Ellie? ”

Ellie’s mouth dropped open. Even though he seemed to recognize her, she had no idea who he was or what he wanted. Her gaze dropped, taking in the dried blood splattered all over his clothing. He had a gun. He was missing a leg.

Her panic skyrocketed. He looked like he just stepped out of a slasher flick and she was pretty sure he wasn’t the victim.

No, that would most likely be her.

“Please, leave me alone.” She tried to pull her arm free, but his grip was firm.

“Ellie, what’s wrong? It’s me.”

She frowned, not sure how to respond to this complete stranger.

“Wes…” he said, studying her closely, waiting for a response. When she didn’t say anything, he clarified, “Your husband.”

Wes? A wave of dizziness pummeled through her and Ellie’s eyes rolled back in her head.