SEAL Together: Silver SEALs Series Read online

  When he let go, she struggled roughly, but to no avail, tears streaming down her face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, and she sagged, defeated. His hands shook as he tied the gag into her mouth, and it brought her a small measure of comfort, to know that he was as cold and miserable as she was.

  Without another word, he walked away and disappeared around the side of the building. Leaning her face against the rough bark of the tree, the canopy doing little to shield her from the rain, unable to stop herself, she cried.

  She had no idea how much time had passed when she felt the tape roughly ripped off her wrists. Stumbling back, she caught herself before she fell completely, wrapping her arms tightly around her middle.

  “Come on,” he ordered, his hand around her arm once more.

  He half-dragged and half-carried her down a lighted path to the farthest cabin. After knocking three times, he entered and pulled her forward. A blast of warm heat hit her, and her legs gave out from under her. She slumped to the floor, relishing the feel of a warm, dry room.

  He bent, and untied the handkerchief from around her mouth, before threatening, “I’m only doing this because we’re not close to any other cabin. But you make a peep, and I’ll hogtie you up.”

  Too exhausted to consider any other recourse, she simply nodded, grateful to not be bound. She pushed her dripping hair from her face and tried to focus on the room, looking for the source of the heat. There was a register in the ceiling near the chair by the bed, and she thought about trying to crawl over to sit under it. Looking in the other direction, she spied the door to the bathroom and that called to her more urgently.

  “Can I…use…the…bathroom?” she asked, her chattering teeth making it difficult to speak. “Pl…please.”

  He stared for a moment, then checked it out and came back, relenting. “The window is painted shut, so don’t get any funny ideas.”

  She nodded and stood on shaky legs, grabbing the door frame as she entered and then shutting the door. It was hard to peel her sopping pants down her legs, and even harder to get them back on, but she managed. Finishing her business, she ran the water in the sink until it was warm and held her hands under the stream. Finding a washcloth, she wet it and luxuriated in the feel of the warmth on her face.

  Hearing voices from inside the room, she froze, panicked. Who else is here? Someone from the hotel? Please, God. Opening the door a crack and peeking through, her hopes were dashed as her gaze landed on a man dressed in an expensive black raincoat and fedora.

  She gasped, recognizing him instantly. “Ji-Ho?”

  “You?” he asked, his eyes boring into her, appearing equally stunned.

  Stepping out slowly, she watched in fascination as his expression morphed from shocked to enraged. He swung his head slowly from her to her kidnapper.

  “Robert,” he spoke with surprising calm. “Can you explain why you have her here?”

  Robert. It dawned on her that she had never asked his name, mostly out of fear. She shifted her attention to him, seeing his brow knit in confusion.

  “Her? What the hell are you talking about? You wanted Dr. Linda Hughley, so I brought you Dr. Linda Hughley!”

  “That’s not Linda Hughley,” Ji-Ho bit out, his face red as his arm swung out to indicate her. ‘That’s Dr. Lydia Hughes.”

  Robert’s gaze shifted to her, and dawning slid over her at the same time it obviously did him. He didn’t want me…he took the wrong person! Thoughts raced through her mind like cars on a racetrack, all moving quickly and passing each other.

  I’m not who they wanted. Why did they want Linda? Why is Ji-Ho involved? What will they do with me now?

  It was the last thought that caused her blood to freeze in her veins, knowing they would never let her live to tell what had happened. Her lungs felt incapable of drawing in enough air, but she could not take her eyes from the scene playing out in front of her.

  “You have been nothing but a problem since I met you.”

  “No, Hyun-Gi…no, she’s the right one,” Robert sputtered, staring at her. “She never said…”

  “I don’t understand,” she whispered, uncertain of her voice. “Why…” Her gaze dropped to the floor, and she pressed her fingers to her lips in horror as the reality of the situation hit.

  “This waste of a man is the head of the Foundation for Liberating Animals.”

  Looking up at Robert, she assessed him with new eyes. She recognized the organization and the terrorist tactics they used. He was the one behind it all? She didn’t trust herself to speak, but she did not have to worry about that, because Ji-Ho continued.

  “He was paid well to serve us and, as you can now surmise, he was supposed to take the head of the NBAF, not a low-level veterinarian.”

  “I don’t…I don’t understand. Why do you need Linda?” She shook her head slowly, “I don’t…”

  He held her gaze, before replying. “Dr. Hughley has specific knowledge…knowledge my country wants.”

  Her brow scrunched, her head shaking back and forth repeatedly. “South Korea?”

  “No,” he bit out, his tone indicating his frustration. “I’m North Korean. My name is not Ji-Ho, it is Hyun-Gi, as Robert has mentioned. I’m a scientist from North Korea…not a journalist. We need the research she has perfected, and my country paid well for us to have access to it. She gave very little away during the seminar, so I was given instructions to just take her.”

  “Take her where? None of this makes sense,” she cried, no longer caring if her questions made her captors angry.

  “Back,” he said. “Back with me. If she did not cooperate, well, my organization can be very persuasive.”

  At this, her mouth hung open, the impact of his words hitting her.

  “This is pointless,” Robert said, drawing an immediate glare from Hyun-Gi. “We need to figure out what to do with her.”

  “You’ve made a mess of things, and now I have to clean it up,” Hyun-Gi said, his voice soft, but just as frightening.

  Without pre-amble, he pulled out a small gun from his pocket and lifted it, shooting Robert point-blank in the chest.

  She screamed, jumping back as Robert fell to the floor with a thud, a look of surprise etched on his face as blood ran from his body.

  Her body shook, more than when she was cold, and she stared up at Hyun-Gi and began to shake her head back and forth. “No, please no.” His jaw ticked, and it seemed an eternity before he lowered his weapon but kept it in his hand.

  “I can still use you,” he said, bending over to pick up his coat. “You’re my ticket out of here.”

  Waving his gun, he ordered, “Move. My car is out front.”

  Her legs barely holding her up, she avoided looking at Robert’s body on the floor as she made her way to the door. She stumbled but righted herself at the sight of the gun near her. “Where are we going?”

  His lips curved but he did not answer. Jerking his head to the side, he indicated for her to go back outside. Opening the door, she was immediately hit with the rain blowing in. Shivering as they ran to his car, she wondered when her nightmare would end…and what would be at the end.

  26

  “Turn here!” Chris yelled from the back seat. Logan jerked the steering wheel, and the back end of the SUV skidded slightly on the wet pavement, its all-terrain tires quickly digging in and shooting them forward.

  Eric leaned forward, staring out the windshield as the wipers slung the rain to the side, giving him an instant to see clearly before visual was once again compromised. A small building with lights and neon signs declaring it a cabin rental was on the left, but Chris directed them down the small lane to the right. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw headlights pulling away from one of the cabins nearby and moving toward the street, but their destination was the furthest cabin.

  Cutting the headlights, Logan crept forward, and Rank maneuvered his SUV close by. Alighting from the vehicles silently, they circled around the final cabin. T
he windows were covered with curtains, but light was shining from inside. His mind was fully on the success of the mission, anxious to see Lydia but wanting to make sure she was rescued unharmed.

  Chris stayed in the vehicle while everyone else encircled the cabin. There was no back door, but they made sure all windows were covered. Weapons drawn, Rank moved to the front door, prepared to kick the door in if necessary, but reached and tried the doorknob first. Eyebrows lifted, he shot a look toward him and received a nod.

  Throwing open the door, his weapons drawn, Rank moved in, and Eric immediately followed. A man’s body was flat on its back on the floor, surrounded by blood.

  Rushing over, he looked down and recognized Robert, dead from a gunshot wound to the chest. Eyes quickly scanning the space, he saw water puddles on the floor but no evidence of Lydia. As Logan and Bart came around from the back sides, Rank moved out of the bathroom, shaking his head.

  “No sign of her.”

  “Fuck,” he cursed. “Of course, his fuckin’ cell phone is here with him and we’ve got no idea where Lydia is!”

  Chris came across the radio, and said, “According to my satellite pictures there was only the one car in this area and that’s the one that left just as we were coming in.”

  They all looked at each other for a split second before darting back out into the rain toward the SUVs. Eric ordered, “Logan, call this into Silas so he can notify the local police. But let him know we’re after Lydia. Whoever shot Robert has taken her.”

  Bart and Rank climbed into their vehicle, and he, Chris, and Logan jumped into theirs. Twisting around in the seat, he pinned Chris with a hard stare, “Pressure’s on you, man. Keep track of where they’re going and get us there!”

  “You got it, boss. Head back out, going north,” Chris said, his face a study of concentration as he stared at his computer screen. “They’re only about three miles ahead and not driving very fast.”

  Glancing to the side, Eric opened his mouth, but Logan got there first. “No worries, we know how to drive in the dark and in the rain. We’ll catch them.”

  “Whoever Robert was meeting knew what Linda looked like. When he recognized Robert’s mistake, he shot him and took Lydia,” he surmised, doing everything in his power to stay focused and not think of the new danger this put Lydia in.

  “Who do you think has her?” Bart asked. “We know North Korea was aware of the abduction, but it could be anyone.”

  “The only person we have connected to Robert at this point is a man named Hyun-Gi. It could be him, but we don’t know for sure. All we can do now is follow their trail.”

  From the backseat, Chris asked, “Why take her at all? If she’s not who they needed, what’s the purpose?”

  Shaking his head slightly, his thoughts were interrupted as Chris threw out, “Take a left right here,” and Logan easily maneuvered the vehicle onto the new road.

  “They must be keeping her hostage because she represents safety. Whatever this person’s original plan was for Linda Hughley, they’ve now got to keep Lydia with them as collateral to help them get away.” The road became rougher, and Eric questioned out loud, “Where the fuck does this road lead?”

  “If they’re going by the GPS, this road is a shortcut to getting back to the highway, but it’s not a good road. It’s in somewhat of disrepair, and it has a one-lane bridge that goes over a body of water. They call it a lake, but it’s real small.”

  “Stay sharp,” he said to those in his own vehicle and, with the radio, to Rank and Bart in the other. “Desperate people make mistakes, and this person has got to be desperate.”

  He knew his words were true, but the fear that was snaking through his body was that Lydia would be caught in the crosshairs of that desperation.

  * * *

  Lydia watched as Ji-Ho…Hyun-Gi…drove cautiously down the road. She had felt that Robert took unnecessary risks as he sped through the dark night in the pouring rain and wind, but then it was not an automobile accident that killed him. Instead, he died at the hands of the man sitting beside her. That thought should be sending shockwaves of fear through her and, yet, she felt strangely calm. Whether it was the shock, fatigue, or that she had somehow been transported into the set of a movie instead of reality, she did not know.

  Casting her gaze to the side, she watched as Ji-Ho—Hyun-Gi, she reminded herself, gripped the steering wheel with tight concentration and wondered if he had any idea where he was going.

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked.

  He did not answer for a moment, focusing on the road as he made a right turn where the GPS indicated. “Someone will meet me. It was my way to get back home.”

  His words did not make sense, and she glanced out the windshield, thinking of where someone might possibily be waiting out here. Water was the only means of escape that she could think of. Of course, a boat couldn’t get to North Korea, so the boat would probably have to meet up with a ship somewhere. Thinking of how Linda would have been forced to make that trip, she shuddered.

  She did not know how much longer they had before they met up with his transportation, but knew she was close to the end of her line. Once there and safe, he would have no more use for her.

  Grateful he had not bound her hands, her mind raced to think of escape.

  “Soon,” he said. “We are close.”

  Her attention was forced back to the road as he slowed considerably and pulled onto a small, one lane bridge. The rain had decreased slightly and with the assistance of the headlights, she was able to see they were crossing a body of water. Unable to determine if it was a lake, a river, or a bay leading to the ocean, she was flooded with the realization that this might be her only possible chance of escape.

  A flash of light caught her eye through her side view mirror, and she blinked to enhance the focus of her tired eyes. It appeared to be headlights, but the light disappeared before she could be sure. If it was headlights in the distance behind her, then someone could see us and help.

  Hyun-Gi was not paying any attention to her, leaning forward over the steering wheel, staring out into the dark. Determined to make a move, without thinking it through any further, she quietly unbuckled her seatbelt and slammed her body toward the left, hitting him. Having the element of surprise on her side, she grabbed the steering wheel and struggled for control.

  She had the advantage for only a few seconds, before he threw his hands out to fight back. With his foot on the accelerator, he sped up just as she threw her weight onto him again and jerked the steering wheel once more to the right. The sedan slammed into the guardrail, and she felt it give way as the car dangled off the bridge.

  Hyun-Gi cried out, his hand meeting her face as he flailed his arms in an attempt to push her away and grab the steering wheel. As the vehicle listed to the side, he continued to turn the steering wheel, as though that would have any effect on a car whose front half was hanging off a bridge.

  Filled with adrenaline and rage, she pushed herself toward the right, managing to get her hand onto the doorknob and threw open her door just as the car rocked further. They were balancing on the edge, but she flung her body out the door, desperate for escape.

  She did not have far to fall, slamming into the icy cold water. The shock reverberated throughout her body, but she instinctively kicked her legs and pushed her arms so that she moved upward. Her head popped up through the surface, but the water was as inky black as the night, with only the headlights dangling from above illuminating her surroundings.

  A loud crack split the air, but she was uncertain if it was a gunshot, the automobile above, or the bridge. Unwilling to wait and see, she began to move away from the bridge, hoping she was going closer to land.

  She knew she had a very short time before hypothermia took over her body. With every passing second, her movements became more and more sluggish, as though she were in slow motion. Her mind began to slow down, matching her movements.

  Strange, she thought, treading water
instead of pushing on. I no longer feel cold.

  27

  Eric’s control slipped as he spied the car on the bridge, careening from side to side before it tilted over the edge. The headlights from his vehicle illuminated the scene in front of him, and he could see the occupants inside the car fighting.

  “I can’t tell if it’s her!” Logan called out, stopping on the bridge about twenty feet behind the car.

  “It’s her,” he said, certainty moving through him as swiftly as fear. He leaped from the vehicle and ran forward, but he was too late. The passenger door opened, and a figure tumbled out into the black waters below.

  Rank angled his vehicle so that his headlights were illuminating the water, closest to the bridge and bank. Logan rounded the driver’s side, his weapon aimed sure and true, and called out to the man inside, “Hands where I can see them!”

  Eric watched Ji-Ho lift his hands and immediately raced to the guardrail. There was no time to waste, so without hesitation, he dove off the side of the bridge.

  He ignored the jolt of cold when his body hit the water. It may have been several years since he was a SEAL, but the training was so ingrained, it was like the time had never passed. His only priority was getting to Lydia, knowing that she was much weaker and would not be able to survive the cold.

  His head broke the surface, the water illuminated by the headlights of Rank’s SUV. He saw movement to his left and dove under, his strokes powerful despite the temperatures, quickly sending him in that direction.

  His hands struck something soft, and he immediately grasped the material. With his free hand, he pushed up through the water, his head breaking the surface once more. Feeling Lydia limp in his arm, he easily lifted her head above the water as well.

  “Lydia,” he cried out, squeezing her with his arm banded about her chest.

  Her body shook violently as she sputtered, sucking in a gasp of air before she began to cough. He powered toward the bank, observing Rank striding into the water to aid him. Together, they hauled her easily to shore, where Bart met them and pulled her from their arms.