Ace was beyond pissed. How dare these men think they could use women as human bombs. He slipped away so he could inform the team what he had overheard. Ace hit the mic and whispered quietly. He knew the mics were sensitive enough to pick up what he was saying. “Fuckers are planning something big. Using the women as human bombs. No sign of assets,” Ace clicked off the mic. He moved back toward the rendezvous point. They would need to decide what to do with this new information.
When Ace was sure he was far enough away to not be over heard he related what he overheard through the mic. “They are planning to use the women as suicide bombers. They have remote denotation. We have to get the women before they have time to get the bombs on them. We need to find them ASAP!”
“Get back here,” Hawk demanded over the com. “We need to formulate a plan.”
Soon Ace met up with the rest of the team. They began to formulate a plan. They had to find the women before they took out the men. They tossed out ideas.
“We could take the cabin and force the bastards to tell us where they are keeping the women,” Bull explained. Ace glared at him as he began to argue his point.
“What if they are other men?” Ace growled. “Daisy and Marley could be killed before we get the information out of them.” Ace spun on his heel and stormed out the door. Mercury went after him as the others stood looking on in shock. Before anyone else voiced another idea, the mic clicked again.
“Wallace, here. I have found a trail behind the cabin that looks like it was used recently. I’m going to check it out. It could lead to the women or the bomb making materials.” Wallace ended the message.
“Affirmative. Keep us posted,” Deadeye replied. The command center was deadly quiet as they waited to hear more information. Mercury and Ace returned after a few minutes.
Wallace was quickly slinking down the trail. He noticed the cluster of bushes in front of him looked odd. He tried to slip between them as the trail had abruptly come to an end. He found a door behind the haphazardly placed bushes and tree limbs. He heard a woman’s voice calling for help. Before he could radio for help, Straw and Casper were suddenly at his side.
“What have you found?” Straw inquired as they peered into the small opening in the door.
“I’m not sure, but I think the women are inside. Listen,” Again, a woman’s voice called for help. Before they could attempt to get the door open, the mics in their ears clicked to life.
“Targets are heading your way, Wallace. Moving fast.” It was Tank’s voice. Wallace, Casper, and Straw quickly moved off to the left to hide behind a couple of large trees. They had just gotten in place when they saw the men from the cabin coming down the trail. They quickly moved the fake bushes and limbs. One of the men, removed a key from his pocket and removed the padlock from the door.
“Shut up you bitch! Stop yelling no one that cares can hear you,” The first man said. The men opened the door and headed into the bunker. Ace had double timed it to the back of the cabin and down the trail. Wallace, Casper, and Straw slipped up to the door and peer inside. The terrorists had moved inside to another door. Ace, Hawk, and Virus had arrived and moved in behind their comrades.
The second man was unlocking the inner door. He entered the room as the second man was yelling again. “I swear you bitches are going to get what is coming to you. I will…oooph!” A commotion erupted from the room. Ace and Straw were moving before the first scream sounded.
Ace entered the room and could not believe what he was seeing. The terrorists were on the ground. Marley was wrestling with one of them while Daisy had neutralized the other one. Before any of the men could fire their gun, Daisy shoved Marley out of the way as she drew a Ka-bar across the downed man’s throat.
Blood sprayed up into Daisy’s face as she slit the man's throat. The warm fluid running down her face made her sick and relieved at the same time. She looked to see if Marley was ok when she saw movement out of her peripheral vision. She jumped to take on the new threat. As she spun around with her knife at the ready, she was face to face with Ace. Daisy froze, relief and fear flooded her at the same time. Was he really here? Was she hallucinating?
Ace reached out carefully and took the knife from Daisy’s trembling hand. She was covered in blood, breathing hard, and her skin not covered in blood was pale. Once he had the knife out of her hand, he secured it in his tact vest. Ace then pulled Daisy into his arms. It was awkward due to his combat gear, but he managed to get his arms around her.
“Are you ok, Daisy? Are you hurt?” Ace was running his hands up and down her back checking for injuries. He was hoping that none of the blood on her belongs to her. She began to shake violently and then went limp in his arms. He swept her off her feet and headed toward the door and some fresh air. He vaguely heard his friends discussing getting Marley out and securing the terrorists. Ace didn’t think they were going to have to worry about the terrorists. He was sure that Daisy had killed both men.
“Straw! I need a medic!” Ace yelled as headed outside into the cool night air.
Once he was outside the small bunker, Ace lowered Daisy to the ground. He began again to assess her body for injuries. He grabbed the knife he had taken from Daisy and began to remove her clothes. He moved quickly to find any wounds that would need to have pressure applied to stop the bleeding. Once he had removed her top and pants and didn’t find any life-threatening wounds, he felt relieved, but concerned. What caused her to faint? Straw appeared about the time he had finished removing her outer garments.
As he finished his assessment, Daisy opened her eyes. Ace moved over her and looked down at her. “Hey, sweetheart. You scared me. I thought you were injured,” Daisy’s eyes widened. She reached up and placed her left hand on his face.
“You’re here?” Daisy questioned with tears in her eyes.
“Yes, I’m here. I promised I would come back to you,” Ace took her in his arms again. Daisy threw her arms around him. Her tears were falling in earnest now. “Shhh…I’m here. You are ok and Marley is ok, too. It’s all over now, darling.” Ace ran his hand up and down her back to soothe her. Daisy jerked her head up quickly.
“Luke? Is he ok? One of the men told Marley he had someone watching Luke and was going to kill him if she didn’t cooperate with him,” Daisy rapidly related what the man had said.
“Yes, Luke is fine. I am sure the man lied. Luke helped organize this rescue mission,” Ace told her. Daisy could finally relax. She leaned in and placed a kiss on Ace’s lips. He returned her kiss, passionately. “You are a remarkable woman, Daisy Duke Robertson. I am sorry you had to kill those men, but damn it was amazing to see you in action. I am so turned on right now,” Ace grinned sheepishly at her. “That’s a shit thing to say, but it’s true.” Daisy looked at Ace like he had lost his mind. She just laughed and rolled her eyes.
“This is not the time or the place, but I will take care of your issue as soon as I can,” Daisy smiled coyly at him as she continued to laugh. She was so relieved to be back in his arms and to be free from those crazy men, she was almost hysterical. Ace was so relieved to see his woman alive and smiling. His team members exited the bunker about that time with Marley. Ace was suddenly aware that Daisy was only in her underwear. He removed his tack vest quickly and stripped off his t-shirt and quickly slipped it over her head.
While Ace highly respected and trusted his teammates, he would deck any of them that dared to look at Daisy’s naked body. The men respectfully turned their back until Ace had her covered. Daisy moved to get up, but Ace swept her into his arms. The group moved to head out to the road and the awaiting authorities. Daisy looked over Ace’s shoulder to see Marley being led by Straw and Wallace. The Marine team that accompanied Hawk had surrounded them and were scanning the area looking for additional threats. Daisy wondered where all these other men had come from, but she didn’t bother to question it just now.
When they reached the main road, several FBI agents moved toward the team. Deadeye moved toward the lead FBI agent to relate what had occurred. Ace carried Daisy to an awaiting ambulance for the medics to assess her. The medics cleaned and dressed the laceration on her forehead where the man had struck her with his gun. Ace insisted that Daisy be taken to the hospital to see a doctor, but she adamantly refused. Hawk and the other men on his team also tried to persuade her, but even Luke couldn’t talk her into going.
“I am fine. I think I would know if I had a significant head injury,” Daisy grumped at the alpha men glaring at her. “I will be seen once we are back at home,” She said to placate them. Ace had not left her side for a moment. Daisy signed the refusal form the medics had since she was refusing transportation to the hospital.
Ace still refused to let her walk on her own. He carried her to an SUV. He slid into the backseat with her in his lap. Daisy rested her head on his shoulder. She breathed his man-scent in and relaxed for the first time since the casualty assistance officers had shown up in Luke’s office. The Marines were still standing around talking to the authorities, so they were left alone for the first time since their reunion.
