The bad guys had been expecting them, the proof in the explosion that had triggered soon after Brantley had entered the premises. The explosion that had rocked the floor right out from under him, sending Brantley deep into the earth with the aforementioned concrete, rebar, and dirt. Not all of which had been beneath him after the descent into this fucking hole.
Speaking of bad guys…
The voice was growing louder from above, the language one he didn’t recognize. Not surprising considering the hotbed they’d dropped into. God only knew which terrorist group was leading the charge in this shithole. Probably not the one they’d suspected considering everything they’d believed up to this point was proving to be bullshit.
“Phantom One. Sit tight. We’re making our way to your location.”
Unable to speak without revealing himself to the fucker stalking him, Brantley kept his trap shut, clamping his molars together as he attempted to heave the concrete slab off his fucking leg. Damn thing had trapped him in place, no doubt shattering his leg on impact. The pain threatened to blind him. He forced his heart rate to slow, honing the skills drilled into him by the US military. He would get out of this if he kept a level head.
It took tremendous effort, but Brantley managed to shift the concrete slab enough to allow him to drag his leg free. Once he did, he slid backward into the darkened corner, the spike in his adrenaline making him light-headed. Aside from the debris, there was no protection or cover, but at least this way the fuckers would have to come into view to take him out.
The only thing he could do right now was sit and wait.
A grunt escaped before he could swallow it down. His leg was broken, no doubt about it. But unless he wanted to add more injuries—like a bullet to the skull—he had to swallow the pain. Not easy to do as he dragged himself deeper into the space, over the piles of rubble that had come down with him. As he shifted, one of the sharp ends of some rusted rebar stabbed into his thigh, dragging through his flesh before he could stop it.
Son of a fucking bitch.
A blaze of fire ripped through him as he manhandled his left leg, unhooking his flesh from the rusty metal. Gritting his teeth, he fought the darkness that threatened to take him under. No way could he pass out now. Not if he wanted to live through this clusterfuck.
The only sounds he heard were his ragged breaths and the voice growing louder as it came closer. Without looking, he knew someone was above him, staring down into the rubble. It wouldn’t take much for the asshole to find him.
A flashlight clicked on.
Mother. Fucker.
That beam of yellow light swung through the room, passing over his injured leg more than once before his terrorist visitor hopped down onto the pile of concrete. There was no stealth to the guy’s movements, telling Brantley he wasn’t worried that he’d be found by the enemy. Then again, at this moment, Brantley was the enemy, the intruder, the guy who didn’t belong.
Brantley gripped his Sig firmly in his hand, ignoring the blinding pain that was threatening to darken his vision.
The beam of light grew brighter, cutting through the dust lingering in the stifling air. Lifting his hand, supporting it with his left arm, Brantley leveled his sight on the tango. Best-case scenario had him taking the bastard out, which he could do in his sleep. The only problem with that, the shot would most definitely alert his terrorist buddies, and at that point, Brantley’d be a sitting duck.
“Fall back! Phantom Team, fall back!”
The words were in his ear, but they sounded as though they’d been blasted through a bullhorn. A semaphore flag would’ve been less of an announcement of his presence.
The tango started shouting something over his shoulder, the beam of light landing on Brantley’s wounded leg again. He held his breath, not moving a muscle, praying like fuck the dickhead would suddenly go blind. Otherwise, there would be nothing more he could do.
More shouting. Despite his inability to translate, Brantley wasn’t an idiot. Fucker was calling out to his buddies, inviting them over for the party.
The fact that no one came—bad guys or good—should’ve been a sign, but Brantley’s brain was fuzzy, his body one big throbbing heartbeat. Blood coated his BDUs, oozing from the open wounds. No doubt, if he looked close enough, he’d probably see his femur poking out of his skin. The thought made him woozy, which was saying something considering he didn’t have a weak stomach.
“Phantom One.” This time the voice was soft, almost reverent, which was telling. Things weren’t looking good from their vantage point, either. “We’re comin’ for you, buddy. We’re comin’. Hang tight.”
The terrorist in front of him started kicking rocks aside, moving closer. Brantley couldn’t see the weapon in his hand, but he didn’t need to. Asshole was no doubt armed with whatever assault weapon they’d managed to get their hands on. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise him if it was a fucking rocket launcher.
More yelling, more urgency. Based on his frantic shouts, the guy wanted backup, but they still weren’t coming. Seconds ticked by while Brantley maintained his position, pretending he was invisible but knowing this asshole had found him. Only reason the fucker didn’t shoot him full of holes was because he was more valuable alive than dead. Which meant, any minute now, he would be dragged out of here, thrown in a fucking hole, where they’d ensure the shattered femur was the least of his worries. It was a risk he took whenever they went out on a mission, so he was at peace with it.
But Brantley wasn’t ready to give up yet. The longer he could hold this bastard off, the better chance his team would get here.
The beam of light moved, lowered, which meant the guy had made it down to Brantley’s level. It began a slow creep up his leg, his torso. The tango’s face came into view, his dark eyes following the yellow glow. Right before it could blind him, Brantley pulled the trigger, nailing the bastard between the eyes. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth as the reverberation sent agony rippling through his leg.
A deafening silence followed the gunshot, the ringing in his ears right on its heels. There were no pounding footsteps, no voices calling out his location. For a brief moment, Brantley thought the stars had aligned, that the bad guys had taken a dinner break, retreating.
“Phantom Team,” Brantley rasped, his words scratching along his throat, sending his diaphragm into spasms. “Need help.”
“Sit tight, B,” came the response.
“Not goin’ anywhere,” he said softly.
“B, we’re comin’.”
No, they weren’t. He could hear it in that tormented voice. Something was keeping his team from coming for him. Either they were pinned down or—
That was when he heard it. The familiar whistling sound alerted him to a big fucking problem. The only thing he had time to do was scramble in his brain for a prayer that might get to the big guy’s ears before—
The blast shook what was left of the house overhead as well as the ground beneath him. Another was right behind it, closer, bringing the building down on top of him. The third was just icing on the fucking cake.
Sometime later—hours, days, who knew—his team would do as they promised. They would eventually find him, dig him out of the rubble, evac his battered and broken body, deliver him to the nearest medical facility, where he would cling to life for weeks. Numerous surgeries would be performed to repair the extensive damage to his leg, drain the fluid off his brain, and ultimately keep him alive. Months of agonizing therapy would follow, during which Brantley would finally learn how to use his leg again.
Nine months after that clusterfuck of a mission, his superiors would add insult to injury, releasing Brantley from his duty as a United States Navy SEAL.
Good news: he was alive.
Bad news: every-fucking-thing else.
Get your copy
BY NICOLE EDWARDS
ALLURING INDULGENCE
Kaleb
Zane
Travis
Holidays with the
Walker Brothers
Ethan
Braydon
Sawyer
Brendon
THE WALKERS OF COYOTE RIDGE
Curtis
Jared
Hard to Hold
Hard to Handle
Beau
Rex
A Coyote Ridge Christmas
Mack
BRANTLEY WALKER: OFF THE BOOKS
All In
Without a Trace
Hide & Seek
AUSTIN ARROWS
Rush
Kaufman
CLUB DESTINY
Conviction
Temptation
Addicted
Seduction
Infatuation
Captivated
Devotion
Perception
Entrusted
Adored
Distraction
DEAD HEAT RANCH
Boots Optional
Betting on Grace
Overnight Love
Jared
DEVIL’S BEND
Chasing Dreams
Vanishing Dreams
MISPLACED HALOS
Protected in Darkness
Salvation in Darkness
Bound in Darkness
OFFICE INTRIGUE
Office Intrigue
Intrigued Out of the Office
Their Rebellious Submissive
Their Famous Dominant
Their Naughty Student
Their Fairy Princess
PIER 70
Reckless
Fearless
Speechless
Harmless
Clueless
SNIPER 1 SECURITY
Wait for Morning
Never Say Never
Tomorrow’s Too Late
SOUTHERN BOY MAFIA/DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND
Beautifully Brutal
Without Regret
Beautifully Loyal
Without Restraint
STANDALONE NOVELS
Unhinged Trilogy
A Million Tiny Pieces
Inked on Paper
Bad Reputation
Bad Business
NAUGHTY HOLIDAY EDITIONS
2015
2016