Page 26 of Maddox

“Obviously, Commander Jenkins.” My snarl was as soft spoken as possible given the time spent in the Navy had changed me. Some had said not for the better. Did I hold grudges? You bet your sweet ass. However, a woman’s life was on the line. I intended on following through with the assignment even if the situation had changed.

“How long has she been considered missing?” I asked as the pilot moved from the cockpit, swinging the lever and opening the door. I kept a gaze on the surrounding area, calculating the distance to the barbed wire fence. I’d been supplied withblueprints of the small airport as well as detailed imaging of the buildings in use. I knew every road surrounding the acreage, every access point via land and water.

“Two days.”

“And I’m just hearing about this shit?”

“We only found out three hours ago,” Gray hissed in return.

Three hours. He’d waited until the plane was ready to touch down to tell me so I wouldn’t call forfeit and turn the plane around. “She’s at the compound where I escaped. Right?”

“It would appear so.”

Karma was coming back to kick my ass.

With the airstairs in place, I hesitated debarking until the conversation was finished. “You’re an asshole, Gray. What you’re telling me is bullshit and you know it.”

“That’s all we have, but it’s important to get her back. Now, I sent you the coordinates. The heat imaging shows one building houses multiple people. They don’t move around much.”

Meaning prisoners were locked down.

“Yeah, I think I can remember enough to get me started. Let me guess. Our method and plans of departure have changed.”

“We can’t hold the plane there. Your best bet is to get to Honduras. Find a place to stay the night. I’m sending another SEAL team to get you out.”

Great. The man was adding insult to injury. A brand new crop of SEALs determined to make names for themselves. The memory of being one of them was bittersweet.

“You already have this planned out. Right?”

Gray half laughed. “I know how you operate, Maddox. I have two plausible escape routes. One in Guatemala and the other in Honduras, but you need to leave El Salvador as soon as possible. Once you rescue Charmaine, you’ll have an hour, maybe two tops to create enough distance between you and the armed soldiers. They’ll cover the borders into both countries. You need to decide which option is better. If you can’t get out right away, hole up somewhere and take the back roads into Honduras.”

“Don’t worry about me, Commander. I’ll find my way. After I do, how fucking long before we can get the hell out of the shithole?”

“Hopefully one day. Just lay low. Contact me when you’re safe. You have cash, all the credentials you need.”

“And just what the hell am I supposed to do with her?”

The bastard laughed. “I’m sure you can think of something. There’s one more thing. It’s possible several of the women kidnapped are being held as well.”

“What do you want me to do with them?”

“There’s little you can do but to see if the information is accurate.”

In other words, leave them to die. Fabulous.

I gritted my teeth and stepped out into the waning sunshine. The fucking place smelled of mold and mildew. Every surface was drenched from recent rains, the humidity upwards of one thousand percent.

While I was only wearing a tee shirt and cargo pants, the damn material was already damp. This was going to be a shit day.

“Fine, Gray. But you owe me more than just a paycheck.”

“Yeah, I know I do. You deserve it. I’ll see what I can do.”

I ended the call, snarling as soon as I did. I wasn’t going to hold my breath my military record would be cleared.

Even if my old buddy Kage Rollins had made peace and cleared my name. At this point and after so many years, who the hell would care?

Charmaine

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