Page 50 of SEAL's Spitfire
“Are we going now? I’m ready,” Miranda said, and they all turned to look at her. She was quite a woman. After all, she’d been through, she was ready to go help rescue her friends. Most of the women he’d met would have been crying and begging to go home.
“Yes, ma’am,” Jake answered as he scooped her into his arms. “But you get to ride.”
“I can walk.”
“Sure, you can, but we can move a lot faster this way. We have a lot of terrain to cover.”
“Won’t I slow you down having to carry me? It’s not like I’m a sack of potatoes.”
“You won’t. We train for this all the time. Just hold on and let me know if you’re in pain.”
Miranda nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Cam, you and Halo take point.”
“Copy that.”
Silently they moved across the hills keeping to the shadows and brush hoping to avoid detection. It would have been faster without Miranda, but no one complained. They switched who was carrying her every half hour. Ryan gave her an injection for the pain and thankfully, she slept through most of it. With her broken ribs and being carried and moving at the pace they were, it would have been extremely painful.
It had been just over two hours since they’d set out for their new location when Jake gave them the signal to stop. They crouched in place and waited. Rafe could see his lips moving but he was speaking so low he couldn’t make out what he was saying. Then his voice whispered in his ear.
“I just got an update from TOC. We have confirmation of the hostages’ location. They’re in a compound about five klicks from here.”
“Did they say anything about Meghan?”
“No, but we’re going on the assumption that she will be with the other hostages.”
“Copy that.”
“When we get within range of the compound, we’ll do some recon and come up with our plan.”
“Okay, boss.” Rafe hated not having confirmation of Meghan’s location, but Jake was right. It made sense that they’d bring her to the same location as the other hostages. He prayed they hadn’t hurt her or worse. The Taliban were irrational fanatics and trying to anticipate their next move was like playing whack-a-mole.
Love at first sight had been a joke to him, something they wrote about in books. How could anyone really fall for someone right away? Lust yes, but love? He’d never have believed it possible until his eyes met hers in that airport. It was like lightning struck and even then, he hadn’t believed it. Not until he held her on the plane. From that moment on he knew he’d never let her go. Since then her beautiful face and full lips have haunted his dreams. He ached to hold her, to make love to her, to wrap her up and keep her safe for the rest of their lives. God help anyone who hurt a hair on her head.
* * *
By the timethey were within range, it was just after noon and the sun was high in the sky. As they made their way through the hills toward the compound, they’d had to stop when Miranda woke. Rafe had been carrying her, when she got restless. He checked her pulse and discovered she was burning up with fever. Ryan gave her a shot of antibiotics and cleaned her wounds. They had no choice but to continue on and pray that she’d survive until they could get her medical attention at the base.
Cam had been the only one who hadn’t taken a turn carrying her since he’d been on point with Halo. Now that they were within striking distance of the compound, he held on to her like he’d never let her go. Rafe recognized the look on Cam’s face even if the kid didn’t realize it yet. Miranda was going to have a lot to deal with when she got back home, and he hoped that Cam would be able to give her the time she needed to heal.
Jake updated command on their current location and Miranda’s condition. Then he got the latest intel from the drone reconnaissance. At this point, they had no idea how many tangos were waiting for them or where they were holding the hostages. They’d go in blind if they had to, but Rafe was really hoping they’d have something for Jake.
“Do you want the good news or bad news first,” Jake asked.
“Good.”
“We think we know where they’re holding the hostages, and from the heat signatures it looks like Meghan is with them.” Relief poured over Rafe like a waterfall, but it was only temporary.
“And the bad news,” Murph asked.
“They are on the second floor with only one way in or out and it’s heavily guarded. TOC said there are at least fifty tangos at the compound.”
“Well fuck me running,” Ryan said with a sigh. “What’s the plan?”
“For you? You’re staying with Miranda. You’ll be able to keep her stable.”
Rafe knew Ryan was disappointed. He practically drooled at any opportunity to kill members of the Taliban. But he was also the most qualified to treat Miranda.
