Page 33 of Charlotte
Once we are on the ground, I am running for the command post on base. I need to know every detail of what has happened. When I enter the room, Olson is there looking at map on the wall. Commander Hurt and the SEAL team is there as well.
“Talk to me!” I demand as I enter the room. Ace, Deadeye, Straw, Mercury, Tank, Worm, Virus, Hack, and Wallace on my heels.
“Tex is tracking her. Whoever has her doesn’t know about the trackers.” Hurt updates me. “They are moving along I-40 toward Texas. We think Lopez’s group has her and are attempting to take her back across the border. We are mobilizing teams to head for the border. We will move once we know where they plan to cross.”
“I don’t want to wait until they get to the damn border. I don’t want to imagine what the hell they are doing to her. Damnit, we need to get to her now! She’s fucking pregnant with my twins. I can’t lose her or them. It’s not an option.” I am losing control. I pound my fists on the table. I need to hit something, someone preferably.
“Come on, Hawk. Hold on for Charlotte’s sake. She needs you to be calm when we find her,” Cookie tells me. I know he is right, but it’s hard to keep my cool when I know they are hurting her.
“You know he’s right.” Deadeye grabs my shoulder. “She’s going to be scared. You need to have your shit together so you can calm her fears. If she sees you lose it, there won’t be any calmer her down. You got to hang in there, brother.” I nod.
“I am sorry. I just need to find her. Sooner rather than later. Let’s get ready to head to Texas. I need to be there when we find her.” I turn and leave the room, followed by the best group of men a man could ask for as friends and teammates. I know with them helping me, we will find her and bring her home. Hours later we touch down in San Antonio, Texas. I am full of nerves. She is getting closer. I can feel it. Something is definitely going to go down and soon. We have to be ready.
Chapter 28
Charlotte
Awareness returns slowly.Where am I? I feel a rocking motion and hear the hum of tires on blacktop. I’m in a car. JoAnn injected me with something. Propofol I am certain. Shit! How long have I been out? Oh God! The babies! Are they ok? What is going to happen? Why would JoAnn sedate me? I remember the men getting out of the SUV. Hispanic men. NO! Please no! Don’t let it be what I think. She wouldn’t help Lopez find me. Would she?
Laying quietly, I pretend that I am still unconscious. There are men talking, but I can’t make out what they are saying. Time passes slowly and I drift off again. Dreams of Hawk, our babies, Brian, Sara, and Justin fill the void of my mind. We are all together, happy and a family. Suddenly I am awakened by the careening of the vehicle as it leaves the roadway.
I am thrown around as the vehicle swerves and weaves violently. The men are yelling what I am pretty sure is curse words in Spanish. Sounds of gun fire and the smell of gun powder permeate my nose. What is happening? Where are we? I try to raise my head when the back glass of the SUV shatters. Diving for cover, I wrap my arms over my head, as glass rains down on me. Suddenly the world begins to spin over and over. I am thrown violently around the SUV like a super bouncy ball. I try to curl myself into a ball, but it’s almost impossible.
As quickly as it begun, the spinning stops. I am laying on the ceiling of the SUV in a pile of broken glass. Everything hurts. When I raise my head to look around, I hear voices in the distance. Someone is moaning just outside the window on the ground. A man lying in the grass. It’s one of my captors. Movement off in the distance catches my eye, the shapes of men are moving in quickly. Please let it be help and not more of these crazed drug dealers.
Hawk
We are so close. Tex has them pinpointed near San Antonio. They were last on I-10. We have created a closure of the interstate, so they are forced to take the route we want. We just have to intercept them before we get too close to the border. We are set up as the SUV approaches. The driver knows the gig is up. He turns the vehicle sharply to avoid the blockage on the road. We move to take chase. He is following into our trap just as we have planned. However, he is a shit driver and dips off the edge of the road a little too far. He can’t regain control.
My heart stops when I see the SUV flipping over and over. Charlotte is in there and I doubt they have her belted. It finally comes to a stop. We move in. I have to get to Charlotte. One of the bastards drag her to her feet and begins to back into the trees before we can reach them. I signal for the team to hold their fire. We can’t take a chance on her getting hit in the crossfire.
Charlotte
Suddenly, I am dragged backward out the driver’s side of the SUV through the shattered window. Grappling around, I manage to grab hold of a large piece of glass and hold it in my hand. I am pulled to my feet by my hair, not a good sign. A tall muscled man begins to drag me away from the SUV. He has his right arm wrapped around my neck from behind. He is choking me as he drags me off into the surrounding foliage.
“You are too, much trouble, bitch!” He growls into my ear. “I don’t know why the boss is so obsessed with getting you back. We should have just killed you. It would have been so much easier. Much less messy. Now I have to kill all those soldiers, which causes more trouble with the US government.”
When I stumble, he jerks up hard on my neck. It’s a struggle to regain my footing. I really wish I could kill this asshole. The need to find some way to get free burns in my mind. Luckily, I have been able to hold onto the piece of glass. I can use it as a weapon. There is no way I can let him hurt or kill more people. He takes up position behind a large tree. He slams me down at the base of the tree. “Stay put! Or I will gut you.” He growls. He continues to scan the horizon in front of us. He is looking for an opportunity to shoot whomever caused us to crash.
Hawk
We continue to move in closer, keeping his attention on us. Unknown to the madman that has Charlotte, I have men moving in from behind as well. We just have to wait for the right moment to make our move. Time moves by slowly. Ace signals that the second team is in position. Ok, time to make a push to draw his attention our way, while they overtake him from behind. I take aim but shoot wide. I must be sure the shots are nowhere close to Charlotte.
Charlotte
This is not going to be easy. I’ll need to be creative. It will be necessary to wait until he is distracted enough that I can stab him. I need to go for the throat. It will be the easiest way to take him out. I am not sure if I have enough strength or skill to hit his heart or lungs. He is barely paying any attention to me, so I watch him carefully waiting for the perfect moment to make my move. Taking a couple of deep breaths to get the courage to do what has to be done, I see him raise his pistol and take aim. This is my opportunity, while he is distracted.
I leap to my feet, but he sees me and swings at me. I duck out of the way just in time. He faulters when he misses making contact with my face. I pop back to my feet and make to fatal slash across his throat, while he is off balance. Blood spatters across my face. The man grabs his throat and begins to fall backwards as he drops his gun. The sound of the gun going off and a flash of fire registers in my brain as the bullet leaves the barrel. Searing pain rocks my body and I lose my footing. The ground comes up to smack me hard. I’ve been shot.
Hawk
The kidnapper fires in our direction. A shout rings out as the man swing his arm around to hit Charlotte. She is standing next to him with something in her hand. Is that blood dripping from her hand? I try to shout, to warn her to get back before he hits her. At the last second, she ducks. His swing is wide, and he stumbles. Charlotte is on her feet again. She slashes across the man’s throat. He falls back dropping his gun. The gun fires as it hits the ground. Charlotte drops like a rock. “NO!” tears from my lips as I break into a dead run.
Charlotte
Please God, let my babies survive this. I can’t lose them, not now. Hawk was so happy. It would destroy him. He is all about family. It was easy to see in the time I spent with him and his family. God the pain is all consuming. The metallic taste of blood floods my mouth as I cough. I never knew getting shot hurt so damn bad. Help is coming. I saw them before I was shot. Hawk is among them. I can feel he is close. I have to hang on just a little longer.
Warm arms wrap around me. Looking up I see Hawk’s beautiful green eyes boring into me with concern. I reach up to touch his gorgeously handsome face. Everything will be right with the world, now. Hawk is here. He found me. I knew he would. How he is here I have no idea. He was being sent on a mission. He should be far away from here by this time. God does answer prayers. I prayed he would find us and here he is holding me in his arms. He is carrying me somewhere.
