Page 38 of SEAL the Deal

At the mention of its name the dog let out a savage growl.

Rick lowered his cudgel and came up with a new plan. He’d let the men get close then disarm one of them, knock out the other, deal with the dog and escape. The odds weren’t in his favor, but it was better than giving up.

Suddenly, there was a low snarl from the bushes. The noise sent a shiver racing up his spine. Bones dropped his tail then whimpered and cowered on the ground.

The shotgun swung in the direction of the commotion.

“What the fuck is that?” asked the other man. “Doesn’t sound like no bear.”

“RICK, DOWN!” a familiar female voice yelled.

As he dropped to the earth a shotgun boomed. He caught a glimpse of a brown shape as it streaked from the bushes.

The hound yelped wildly and the men bellowed in terror as Axe attacked. The SEAL dog went directly for the camouflaged gunman. Axe ripped the shotgun from his hands then latched onto his arm. The man in the cowboy hat fled after his dog.

“Axe, stop!” screamed the woman’s voice.

Rick watched as the dog released the hunter. The man turned and fled, crashing through the foliage. The shotgun boomed again, blasting leaves above his head.

“Damn, am I glad to see you,” said Rick to Axe as the Malinois set upon him with a slobbery tongue. He let the dog lick his face as he turned to identify the shooter.

Jenny, the pole-dancing ranger, stepped from the bushes dressed in cargo pants and a green uniform shirt. She looked like someone from the Wild West with a pistol on her hip and a shotgun in the crook of her arm. “You look a little worse for wear, sailor.”

Rick climbed to his feet, grinning.

“You’re a god damn angel,” he croaked from a parched throat.

“Axe is your angel.” She took a canteen from her backpack and passed it to him. “He led me straight to you.”

She gave him a moment to drink then handed him granola bars. He devoured two in a matter of seconds.

“We need to get help,” he managed as he chewed.

“Is someone injured? Where are the others?” she asked, reloading her shotgun. “And who the hell were those guys?”

He took another sip from the bottle and then recounted the past sixteen hours to her.

She shook her head in disbelief. “That’s crazy. I can’t believe they’ve got an entire plantation growing up there. We need to get back and let the police know.”

“More like the DEA. Do you have a radio?”

She nodded and unhooked it from her shoulder strap. “Ali, this is Jenny do you read me?”

“Ali’s up here?”

She nodded as she listened for a reply. When she heard nothing, she tried again. There was still no response. “There could be interference. Are you right to walk with me to the hut?”

“Can we contact the authorities from there?”

“Yes, Ali’s manning the radio back to my station.”

“Excellent, let’s get a move on then.” He climbed to his feet and took a few tentative steps.

“Are you, OK?” she asked.

Rick screwed up his face. “Not really.”

“Your feet?”

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