Christ, he didn’t even know whatthiswas. Fear? Dread? Love? A deadly combination of all three? None of which made sense. Fear had been beaten out of him long before he’d made Delta Force. And the only thing he’d ever dreaded was making a life beyond the Teams. Cannon had helped with that. Sent Colt a Hail Mary when he’d realized he’d have to keep going after his buddies had called it quits. That his unit wasn’t reallyhisanymore. Wasn’t home. As for love…
He’d fancied himself in love once. With Ellis. But, it hadn’t been real. Hadn’t stuck. And she’d jumped ship the moment she’d learned he had a checkered past. How had Cannon phrased it? That she hadn’t truly cared if she’d let it deter her without so much as a conversation? So, Colt wasn’t sure if he even knew what love was, other than a giant pain in his ass.
Ice grunted, taking a moment to focus on each of them as he ran a portable ultrasound along her side. “I’m sure you noticed the bullet wound. I thought it might have something to do withthose holes in your wall, but this one’s been bleeding for a while. Thankfully, it ricocheted off a rib. She’ll hurt like a son of a bitch, but it won’t kill her. Most of the other wounds are minimal. Except…”
Colt froze. Fucking froze because “except” usually meant bad news. “Except what? What the hell aren’t you telling us?”
Ice snorted. “Easy, there Colt. Christ, you’re touchy today. Haven’t seen you this worked up since…”
His voice trailed off as he glanced at Ellis’ face. True, he’d met Ellis a few times, but… That had been years, ago. And only on a couple of furloughs. Or maybe when they’d been at the same compound. At a briefing for one of their joint ops. Surely, the man didn’t remember…
Ice narrowed his eyes, focusing back on her wounds as he continued to work. “Something you should know about PJs. Weneverforget a face. Names don’t matter as much as faces. Knowing if you’ve accounted for everyone in a photo you were shown once before leaving is crucial—ensures no one gets left behind. And I’ve seen this girl before. With you, in fact. So, remind me how close you were. What she means to you.”
“Why? Will it change things?”
“Seriously, man? Cannon called me. That’s all I need to know. I’ll do everything within my power to keep her alive. Make her well. But I might be a bit gentler with details if she’s more than just a stranger knocking on the damn door.”
Shit. Gentle with details? That didn’t sound good.
Cannon moved in on the other side, holding Jericho’s hand. “Her name’s Ellis Baker. She was Military Intelligence. Had a knack for codes. For obtaining information and delivering it—going the extra mile and uncovering the kind of intel people thought they’d erased. A hacker. Rumor had it she’d been transferred to some joint unit with DoD. But we’re thinking itmight not have been the Department of Defense she ended up at.”
“Understood. She’s a fellow soldier. And her relationship with Colt?”
Cannon glanced at Colt, sighing. “They were…involved.”
Colt huffed. “What Cannon’s trying to say is, the woman ripped out my heart and left it to rot in the desert sun.”
Ice winced. “Ouch. Though, it sounds as if you might have some unresolved feelings for her. Like I said. Youneverget this worked up unless your heart’s involved.”
“I’ll deal. So, out with it. What aren’t you telling us?”
Ice grabbed a needle, threaded it. “Most of her injuries are pretty standard fare. I’m guessing she got shot when she made her escape. The bruises and cuts aren’t serious. But those spots on her ribs…”
Colt frowned. He hadn’t noticed any marks on her ribs. He leaned in. They weren’t all that obvious. A few raised blisters. “What about them?”
Ice looked at Cannon, exhaled, then turned to Colt. “Looks like they used some form of shock treatment on her. Not sure what from, but those are electrical burns. Thankfully, they aren’t serious,” he added. “The ultrasound isn’t showing any necrotic tissue. Good news, since we’d definitely be heading for Harborview if they were any worse. If it had caused extensive trauma beneath the skin. But… I don’t need to be a genius to deduce she’s been tortured. Someone wanted information. And they weren’t going to stop until they’d either gotten it or killed her.”
Someone hadshockedher? Putprobeson her? Or usedtasers? Possiblystunbatons?
He’d kill them. Simple as that. Shove those damn probes up their asses. Then, he’d get serious. It didn’t matter that he and Ellis weren’t together. That she’d left him. He’d loved her—was pretty damn sure a part of him always would. That she was seared into his DNA. So, it was only natural he’d want to see justice served, no matter the personal cost. It didn’t mean anything other than they obvious—that you couldn’t take the military out of the man.
“Easy, Colt.” Cannon’s hand on his shoulder. Squeezing. “We’ll figure this out, but getting worked up?—”
“I’m not worked up. I’m motivated.”
“Either way, we need to get some answers before we go off hunting. Seeing how Ice didn’t haul her ass out of here the moment he saw her means she’s going to be fine. Out of it for a while, but fine. Which in turn means, we’ll be able to ask her questions once she wakes up. Until then, we’ll implement our other strategies. I’ll take Jericho. Make it look as if we opted to take Ellis to the hospital. Hopefully buy ourselves some time.”
He turned to Six. “Six, based on how badly she was bleeding, I’m betting there’s a trail. Wait for Midnight, then the two of you follow it as best you can. In fact, take Rigs, too. And if Addison’s not out with Blade on a call, have Rigs bring him. That mutt could be extremely useful. Chances are, whoever was after her will be executing a full-scale cleanup. It’d be nice to know where they were holding her before all the evidence is gone. But don’t engage unless challenged. This is strictly information gathering, for now.”
He turned back, once again, focusing on Colt. “We’ll call in reinforcements. Whatever it takes to keep her safe until we know what we’re up against. I’m just asking for a bit of time. Okay?”
“Whatever you say, boss.” He stared directly into Cannon’s eyes. “Just understand this. Once we know whotheyare, Iamgoing hunting. And I don’t plan on coming back until I’ve evened the score.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Ellis…
Ellis blinked, groaned, then let the world slide into darkness, again. Trying to focus wasn’t worth the pain. The burn through her ribs when she tried to breathe.Breathingwasn’t worth that much. But… She thought she’d heard someone call her name. And not just anyone.
