Running Fire (13 page)

Kell felt her pain. “But you survived it, and you learned.”

“I did,” Leah said. “In my sophomore year at college, I met this guy and he kept after me for nearly half a year. I finally gave in and he took me to his dorm room. Tried kissing me, touching me. It was the same horrid situation all over again. I was terrified, pushed him down and ran out of his room.”

“Did you ever have any talks with your father about this? About relationships? Boys?”

“No. I was afraid to. He was always so busy and I didn't want to bother him. I learned early on not to take my problems to him. He was so uncomfortable when I'd ask him something.”

“What about Grant?”

“I don't know,” Leah muttered, shaking her head. “I look back to when I was twenty-three. I was trying to please my father, to get him to be proud of me for joining the Army and graduating from flight school. I was at the top of my class. I wanted him to praise me. Hayden was in his Shadow Squadron. We met at a squadron picnic. I just felt like a fish out of water, Kell. All the wives and girlfriends were there, and I was alone. I guess Hayden saw my discomfort and came over and made friends with me. He was nice...kind, then...” Her voice trailed off.

Kell allowed his hand to travel lightly down her left arm. He took her cool, damp hand into his and said nothing. Leah was struggling and it was tearing him up. Grant was a wolf in sheep's clothing. He'd really wanted Major David Mackenzie's attention. What better way than zeroing in on his shy, innocent daughter? Using her to get what he really wanted, which was more power, a higher rank in the squadron.

“I fell for him. He was so worldly, so polished and he was paying attention to me. In six months, we were married and my father couldn't have been happier. I found out on our wedding night that whatever I had read about, whatever brides and grooms normally did, wasn't what would happen to me.”

Kell tried to steel himself against whatever she might say. His fingers stilled on hers.

“I'm so embarrassed to tell you this...I had a hard time telling my therapist.” Rubbing her face, Leah couldn't meet Kell's gaze. “He tied my wrists to the headboard. He told me that's the way he liked his women, helpless. I thought he'd try to kiss me, like those boys had. Or try to touch my breasts. But he didn't. He pushed his fingers up into me and I remember the pain and I screamed, trying to get away from him. He covered my mouth with his hand and all I felt was terror.”

Kell felt black rage roll through him. He held her hand a little tighter. He wanted to tear that bastard's heart out of his chest.

“He said I was dry. I didn't know what that meant, what he was talking about. He got angry with me. I didn't know...” Leah forced herself to look at Kell, his eyes flat and hard. “He just entered me. And I remember he nearly suffocated me because his hand was so large and it was across my nose and mouth. I was screaming. I think I lost consciousness...I don't know...maybe fainted.” She shook her head. “When I came to, my hands were untied and I was in bed alone. I found him out on the couch, asleep.” She looked at him. “I wish I'd had experience. If—if I had some earlier, someone to tell me what ‘normal' was, but I didn't know...”

He picked up her hand, kissing the back of it. “He raped you.” The words came out low and tight.

Leah's face scrunched up with pain. “Yeah, I finally figured that all out later. I thought that's what husbands did to their wives. What the hell did I know? It felt wrong. It hurt. I was afraid to tell anyone because I was so ashamed. Hayden told me he'd kill me if I told my father or ever spoke to anyone about our sex life. I believed him.” She drew in a pained sigh. “About three months after we were married, I tried to fight back. I told him he wasn't going to keep hurting me like that anymore. That's when he hit me in the face.”

Kell stilled his rage, his gaze going to her nose. “That's how your nose got broken?”

“Yes, and he fractured my cheekbone, too.” She touched it with her fingers, remembering that day. “I thought he was going to kill me right there in the kitchen. He swore if I ever fought back again, I would die. He's a big man, Kell. I believed him.”

“Of course you would. Why didn't you go to your father?”

Snorting, Leah whispered, “Hayden had situated himself with my father by marrying me. I finally realized what he was doing. My father, because he always felt guilty about Evan drowning, began to see Hayden as the son he'd lost. Hayden replaced Evan in my father's world.” She grimaced, pushing strands of hair away from her face. “He wouldn't have believed me.”

“But what about your broken nose and cheekbone?”

“Hayden told me to go to a civilian hospital off base and tell the medical staff that I'd fallen down a flight of stairs. I was too frightened at the hospital to ask for help. He was so violent...”

“So, he hoodwinked your father for three years?”

“Yes. I just partitioned off my personal life from my career. I wanted my father to be proud of me. And Hayden was jealous of me. He'd punish me by raping me. He didn't do it often, just when he felt threatened. And if I didn't go to my father and ask him to put Hayden up for a task that would make him look good in the squadron, he'd rape me that night.” She rubbed her cheek dry of tears. “I told you, I'm screwed up. I can look back on those three years and wonder where the hell my head was at.”

“He beat you down fast,” Kell said, his voice vibrating with rage. “He knew exactly what he was doing, Leah. The guy's a sexual predator. I've seen his type before. They look for someone who's not worldly, someone they can manipulate and scare into submission. They use fear and physical abuse to control you.” His voice dropped to a rasp. “You were only twenty-three and what did any of us know at that age?”

“Not much,” Leah muttered. “But I knew a lot less than normal. I tried two more times to escape him. The second time, he broke this arm.” She held up her right arm. “He did it on purpose, I think, because by then, I had joined the Shadow Squadron and was making really good grades. I was showing him up. I figured that out after the fact. With my arm in a cast for eight weeks, that put me behind in the ratings because I couldn't fly, and it made his scores look good. I was out of the way. Looking back on it with my therapist, I saw I was focused more on pleasing my father than trying to survive Hayden's machinations.”

“You said there was a third time?” He saw Leah's face close up, her mouth tighten.

“I don't want to talk about it, Kell. It's just too painful. Maybe someday. But not right now.”

“I understand,” he said, trying to get a hold on his rage. “And you say Grant is at Bagram right now?”

“Yes, he's the CO of the Shadow Squadron.”

“How did you manage to get into his unit?”

“Not by choice, believe me,” Leah said, frowning. “I got picked by the general to stand in for a pilot at Bravo who got appendicitis. It's only a temporary slot and assignment. As soon as they can get a permanent replacement, I'm gone. I want nothing to do with that son of a bitch. I don't
ever
want to see him again, Kell. He scares me to this day.”

Kell could understand why. His mind turned over the sat phone calls with Axton. “He has jurisdiction over you, though?”

“Right now. Yes.”

“And did he see you when you flew into Bagram to take this assignment?”

“No, he was out on a mission. His XO signed me in and gave me my orders for Bravo. I was so damned scared I would have to face him.” Leah shivered. “I wish I could get over my fear of him, Kell. I've tried so hard.”

Kell knew Hayden was gunning for her right now. He was damned if he was going to bring it up. Leah had enough on her plate. Gently, he said, “I want to hold you.”

She held his gaze, a trembling smile on her mouth. “I'd really like that.”

Kell stood up and scooted her away from the wall and sat down behind her, easing her back against his chest, her legs inside of his. “Just rest right now,” he urged her thickly, bringing his arms across her waist. Leah placed her hands upon his. He was sure his erection was pressing into her lower back. She didn't move, but simply melted against him, their trust in one another in place. He was grateful to Leah for giving him a chance. She could have turned him down for a hundred good reasons.

His gut was tied in painful knots of rage. Grant had gotten away with abuse and spousal rape. He understood Leah being innocent and untrained in the ways of the world. A mother who hadn't even had a chance to teach her daughter anything about her budding body. A father who didn't care for his daughter as much as he had his son. Plus, most fathers would never be able to comfortably teach their daughters things about a woman's body. Grant manipulated her to get what he wanted out of her blind father. Kell wasn't sure who he was more angry with.

And tomorrow, Leah was supposed to talk with her father. He'd like to rip him a new asshole. His arms tightened around her for a moment and he leaned to his left, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“Better?”

“Much.” Leah sighed. “Did you know, Kell, that all my anxiety goes away when you come into the cave? If I'm with you, I feel fine. I feel strong. Confident.”

“And if I'm not around?” he asked, nuzzling his face into the soft ginger strands near her temple, inhaling her scent.

“I have too much time on my hands around here.” Leah partially laughed, opening her eyes and looking up at his shadowed gaze. “I think too much. About the past. About my many, many mistakes. You take my mind off all of that.”

“That's because,” Kell rasped, pulling her around so that she could rest in his embrace, kissing her mouth tenderly, “we share something good. Something special.”

Her whole body went hot. His kiss enflamed her, tightening her breasts, and she could feel that gnawing sensation between her legs. “It's not going to be easy.”

“Nothing worth having ever is, Sugar. We'll figure it out as we go.”

“You are always so damned confident.”

“I don't like the alternative.” He chuckled, feeling her laugh with him.

“I don't know how long I'll be at Bravo. It's a temporary assignment.”

“And then where do you go?”

“Back to Hunter, Georgia. I was taking advanced flight training. I'll pick it up where I left off. When do you go home?”

“We return to Coronado in November. Just in time for Thanksgiving.”

“Maybe we could spend it together?”

“Even better,” Kell said, smiling down at her, “I was planning on going home for turkey day. Why don't we try to plan to get you there with us? I'd like you to meet my family. My two brothers, Ty and Cody, will be home on leave, too, so it's sort of a special holiday this year for all of my family.”

“I'd like that. I'm sure I can request leave for a week and be with you.”

“Then it's settled,” Kell murmured, holding Leah close. But so damn much could happen between June and November. Kell had deployed too many times, knew the drill, knew that life was never even or a constant. Not in their line of work.

He worried about the phone call to her father. Was he going to bring up the fact that Grant was laying blame on Leah for the crash?

* * *

T
HE
SUN
WAS
barely edging the peaks, the wind cold as Leah sat with Kell outside the tunnel. He'd patched David Mackenzie through to her and had handed her the sat phone.

“Leah?”

“Hi, Father.” She crouched down, her back to the wall of the cliff outside the tunnel opening. Knowing all sat phone conversations were taped, she wanted to keep this call short.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, sir, I am. Chief Ballard is a good combat medic. I'm up on my feet and I'm almost a hundred percent.” Leah heard real concern in her father's voice. That was a change. Or maybe she wanted to hear care in his voice, like how Kell cared for her.

She looked over to see Kell standing guard, his gloved hands on the M-4 across the front of his body, looking around, remaining alert.

“Can't you get out of there?”

“No, sir. We have two hundred Taliban camping two caves over from where we're at.” She heard the frustration in his tone.

“Major Grant needs you back at Camp Bravo.”

Her stomach clenched. Her voice went low. “This is a SEAL op. I have no say in when I get picked up, sir.”

“All right. I just wanted to make sure you were all right and you are.”

“Yes, sir. I'm fine.”

“Roger. Out.”

Snorting softly, Leah pressed the button to end the call. She felt rather than heard Kell approach. Slowly getting up, Leah handed him the phone. “It's Hayden bugging my father,” she growled. And she told him about the short call. Kell's face turned stony. That powerful sensation of protection wrapped around her.

“Don't worry about it” was all he said. “Go back in. I have to call Ax and give him my report.”

Nodding, Leah turned and walked into the tunnel.

Kell released an uneven breath, his stomach like a nest of angry, disturbed snakes. He needed to tell Ax he'd found the flight recorder. That valuable piece of evidence would clear Leah's good name and reputation once and for all. He wanted to talk to Clutch, but knew he'd have to wait until he got back to Bravo.

Right now, Kell felt the like the Sword of Damocles was hanging over the two of them. He felt trouble brewing for Leah. Knew Grant was responsible for it. Knew he'd come after her. And then, all hell was going to break loose because Kell wasn't going to let that sick asshole get anywhere near her ever again.

CHAPTER TEN

M
AJOR
H
AYDEN
G
RANT
was pissed as he stalked into his office at Ops at Bagram. His young assistant, an Army private first class, blonde and stupid, had interrupted his meeting with his pilots, saying the call was urgent. The only thing that bitch was good for was sex when he needed it. At least she didn't fight him. Slamming the door to his office, he picked up the sat phone.

“Major Grant here.”

“Master Chief Axton, Major. I have some news about your helo crash. Our operator took a grave risk and went back down to the crash site the other night. He's retrieved the following items, the black box, two sets of dog tags and five bone fragments.”

Hayden's blue eyes narrowed, his hand tightening around the phone. “He found the flight recorder?”
Shit!

“Yes, sir, he did. Once our operator returns to Bravo, I'll have it sent directly to your office.”

Cursing mentally, Hayden said, “Good work, Master Chief.”

“Sir? About the body remains. Aside from those few bones, my operator said nothing was left. He spent hours in the dark searching for the remains of your crewmen. The dog tags are somewhat melted and partially destroyed. Commander Lanoux felt the families of these men would appreciate anything that could bring them some closure.”

Shrugging, Grant said, “Yes, of course.” He could care less about that end of the crash. Right now, he had Leah in his gunsights, and this was his chance to destroy her career. He'd essentially already made light colonel, so he didn't care what her father said or did. This was payback with that bitch. “When can I get that flight recorder?”

“When my operator can get into a safe enough area to be picked up, Major.”

“But, dammit, this is important!”

“So is my man's life, sir. And he's the one that is protecting Chief Mackenzie, so our commander is taking a conservative route, because this is an unusual situation.”

He wanted to curse the master chief, who sounded like he was dealing with a petulant child.
The bastard.
“Well, you keep me informed on the progress with this black box.”

“I will, sir. Out.”

Clicking off the sat phone, Hayden sat down at his desk, thinking. He'd already gotten the evidence on the helicopter communications for that night, and destroyed it. Sweet-talking an Army sergeant, a redhead who had eyes for him and probably thought she was going to marry him, had done the deed.

Rubbing his chin, Hayden smiled a little. Without that tape to prove that Brian Larsen had the controls when they went in to pick up those two SEAL operators, he could then blame Leah for it. If there was no record of the comms, it became a he said, she said. And because he was the head of the squadron, his word carried a helluva lot more weight than Leah's ever would.

Smiling, he moved his hand across the desk, anticipating the coming confrontation with his ex-wife. He'd promised himself over the years that if he ever got a chance to sink her career, he'd do it. Well, it was here, and he sure as hell wasn't going to pass up this golden opportunity.

Standing, Hayden knew he had to get back to the meeting. Once that black box arrived, he'd make sure the evidence in it was destroyed, if it hadn't been destroyed already by the heat of the crash. Hayden wouldn't know until after it arrived, but he'd get his redheaded bitch to find out. And if there was anything in it, she would make sure it wasn't available to anyone. That way, he had Leah where he wanted her.

Moving out of his office, he glared down at the blonde. “No more interruptions,” he snarled at her as he passed her desk.

“Yes, sir.”

Hayden hadn't counted on the black box being found, much less successfully retrieved. He was already hating the thoroughness of the SEALs. Too bad that operator hadn't been killed, and Leah along with him, during his rescue attempt. That would tidy up everything. With any luck both of them would be killed out in the badlands, and Leah would be off the face of this planet.

Hayden was worried she'd someday turn him in for what he'd done to her. He'd never felt easy about it, and was always looking for an opportunity to take her out of the Army. If she ever testified against him, he'd be court-martialed...or he would have been, if there'd been enough evidence. Smugly, he knew there wasn't, but he didn't want Leah to ever file a report on how many times he'd hit her and broken her bones. That would stop his career in its tracks. He dreamed of becoming a general, and only she stood in the way of it happening.

As he swung down the hall toward a room at the end where his pilots were waiting for him, Hayden thought about his mentor, Leah's father, David Mackenzie. He was getting ready to retire and Hayden had his eye on that prize. Now that he knew he was officially going to become a light colonel next month, at a special ceremony that Mackenzie would be presenting for him here at Bagram, Hayden smiled. He knew his mentor doted on him, had once said he was the son he'd wished he'd had. Well, the son was now going to take the mentor's throne. He was in perfect alignment for the career plum and knew Mackenzie would be suggesting that he become the next commander of the Shadow Squadron.

Rubbing his hands, Hayden put on his game face as he swung into the room. No one would know how damned happy he was. Tonight, he'd take the redhead to his favorite place and screw her royally. She liked rough sex and he liked making it painful for her. He'd celebrate his good fortune.

* * *

T
OM
A
XTON
LISTENED
intently on the sat phone to the report by Ballard. Things were heating up near his hide. The Taliban were back in those caves, and more riders were joining Khogani. Writing down the intel, he said, “Let me talk to the LT and the commander. We have Khogani and we want him taken out.”

“Roger.”

“What are the chances you can move Chief Mackenzie and yourself out of that immediate area?”

“We may be forced to move if Khogani keeps returning to these caves. It appears he's using them as a central meeting place. For what, I don't know.”

“Do you have another place in mind?”

“Yes. But it means a five-mile hike down the mountain to reach it.”

“Is Chief Mackenzie up to it?”

“I think so. She's no longer dizzy and her headaches are receding.”

Ax grimaced. It would be one thing if it was only Ballard. He was a mountain goat and knew the Hindu Kush intimately. Plus, he was in top shape; five miles was no challenge for him at all. But the pilot? It was a prickly situation because she was an Army warrant officer, and the commander had no wish to get entangled in a showdown between Army politics and the Navy SEAL way of doing things. Yet, Ballard was courting real danger, with Khogani seemingly setting up shop right next door to the cave where he was hiding the chief. “Are you sure she's up for this?”

“I think she can handle it.”

“Okay, start making plans to move, because if Khogani keeps adding men to his army, they're going to run out of room in those two caves and yours is right next door.”

“I'm way ahead of you on that.”

“Good. If you have to move, call me immediately. I want your GPS.”

“Will do, Master Chief. Out.”

Ax scowled. He'd just set the sat phone aside when Commander Lanoux poked his head into his office.

“How's Ballard doing?”

Ax leaned back in his chair. “Sitting on a bad situation.” He caught his boss up to speed. Lanoux sat scowling at his desk.

“That woman pilot is our Achilles' heel,” Lanoux muttered.

“Ballard thinks she's good to go.”

“Yeah? When was the last time she played goat on a mountain in total darkness for five miles?”

Ax picked up his mug of coffee and took a sip. “Ballard's a good judge of character, so I think if they have to move, he'll get it done.”

“I just got another call from that asshole, Major Grant,” Lanoux griped. “What the hell is
his
problem?”

“He's one of those brownnosers who can't keep his nose out of our shit,” Ax growled, unhappy.

“He's the kind I like to put on a hook and troll down a bayou with, dragging along in the water, inviting gators to lunch.”

Axton didn't disagree. “Funny thing, maybe odd,” he told Lanoux, “but I spoke to Grant earlier. Ballard retrieved the flight recorder for that MH-47, two sets of dog tags and five bone fragments of the crew. You'd think that as a squadron CO, he'd have been a little emotional and a helluva lot grateful that Ballard found dog tags remains of his men. Those things are important to the families of those lost men. DNA will sort out the bones and who they belong to. At least the families can have some sense of closure. But this asshole was far more excited about the black box shit than anything else. Doesn't make sense to me.”

“Takes all kinds,” Lanoux deadpanned, shaking his head. “Ballard shouldn't have taken the risk. He was out in the open for hours that night. He was a sitting duck if Taliban were around.”

“He wanted to do it. He's a SEAL. He understands what it means to give these families closure.”

“I know. It was damned risky with all the Taliban crawling around that area right now.”

“Ballard understands what it means to have found those remains.”

“Yeah, Kell's like that. He's a damned good man.” Lanoux stood up. “Any chance of getting them picked up today? Tomorrow?”

“No.”

“I want that Army major off my ass,” Lanoux growled, leaving the office. “Or I'm gonna drop kick his ass into a Lousiana swamp.”

Ax snorted. So did he, but he couldn't push the Taliban out of that area to get a Shadow helo in there to pick them up.

Lieutenant Nate Drager, Dragon, knocked on Ax's door and popped in.

“Hey, Master Chief, what the hell is going on with this Major Grant? I just got a call from a Colonel Mackenzie, head of the Army 80th Shadow Group.”

“Sit down,” Ax motioned. Draeger was the OIC for Ballard's platoon. He caught him up with the latest intel from Ballard. “That's his daughter out there. That's why you got the call.”

Drager rolled his eyes. “Like we don't have enough to do without babysitting these candy-assed Army types?”

“They don't know how good Kell is. He'll keep Chief Mackenzie safe out there, or die trying.” Not that Ax wanted any of his SEALs dead. That wasn't the point. But he saw the first lieutenant become grim.

“I was just on the phone with Bagram SEAL HQ. Their intelligence section has two drones up in that area. If anything, it's a hotbed of Taliban activity right now. There's just no way we can risk a helo and crew to drop in there and try to safely exfil them.”

“It's a very dynamic, fluid situation right now,” Ax agreed. “And it's gonna stay that way for probably the next week. I was thinking that maybe we could get some Apaches in there to wreak havoc on Khogani's gathering army. It would mean Kell and that woman pilot would have to leave the area because all hell would break loose after that.”

“It's a thought,” Draeger agreed. “Knowing Kell, he's got Plan B, C and D already lined up, too.” He grinned a little. “He's not a sniper for nothing.”

“Yeah, I talked to him about that already. He's prepared to move if we tell him to. Or if Khogani's growing army decides to take up immediate residence near his hide area.”

“It's too damn close for comfort,” Draeger agreed.

“Kell knows those cave systems. If he tells me they're safe, I believe him.”

Draeger ran his hand through his long, dark blond hair, not looking like an officer at all. The thick beard covering his face made him look like an operator out in the badlands. “I'll sleep better if I know they're out of that immediate area. It's too damned dicey for all of us.”

“Yeah.” Ax sighed, leaning back in his protesting chair. “But Kell's a poker player. He knows the odds. He'll move if he thinks it's getting too dangerous. He knows his top priority is to get that warrant officer back to Bravo alive and in one piece. Then, he can go back to hunting our HVT down.”

Snorting, Draeger muttered, “Ballard cleaned me out a month ago in that Texas hold 'em game in the big room. I lost forty bucks. That guy has a set of steel balls and a poker face to match it.”

Chuckling and watching Draeger rise, Ax said dryly, “That's why I don't play with him. He's got poker luck.”

“Yeah, well, he'd better have that luck holding right now,” Draeger grumped. “The Intel people at Bagram are worried. There's more enemy flowing across the border. Forty to fifty men per group. That's never a good sign for any of us.”

“No,” Ax agreed. “But it's the spring offensive. The Taliban does this every year.” They had three other SEAL teams out there, placed at important gate points where the inflow tended to go, with eyes and rifles on the situation.

By far, the most important target was Khogani and his growing army. This was a new development and Ax knew every black ops group was watching the Hill chieftain with a wary eye.

“Later,” Drager said, leaving the office.

Ax heard a couple of his SEALs out in the big room. Clutch's laugh was deep and booming. The men were out there cleaning their weapons. Another of his SEALs was working up a DA, direct action, mission for him at the desk in the same room.

The kidding and teasing going on between his men made him smile a little. He had a good platoon of SEALs. They'd been together for three years and were tight as hell. As he rummaged around for some paperwork on his messy desk, his biggest worry was Kell Ballard. He was in a hell of a spot. And with Khogani around, his concern grew. The red-haired Hill leader hated Americans with a passion. He would kill any and all of them. It didn't matter if the American was from an NGO or charity, either. Everyone was fair game to him and a target.