Honor Reclaimed (HORNET #2)

Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

Seth’s heart lodged in his throat as he crested the ridge where they had left the horses. He’d heard the bombs hit the compound behind him, could still hear the planes’ engines droning as they disappeared over the mountain, but he’d hoped the village…

The village was gone, nothing more than a pile of rubble spread through the valley.

He was too late.

No. No, he wouldn’t accept that. Maybe Phoebe hadn’t been in the house. Or possibly not even in the village. She didn’t have the best track record for listening to orders, so she could be wandering around, snapping photos, completely oblivious to how terrified he was right now.

And the dog was alive, pacing through the rubble. That had to mean Phoebe got out in time, too.

He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Phoebe!”

No answer.

He skidded down the hillside, vaulting over rocks and chunks of mud that used to be someone’s living room wall. The dog chased him, barking, nipping at his heels as if telling him to go faster. He skidded to a halt in front of what was left of Tehani’s family home. “Phoebe!”

Nothing.

Flattening himself out on the ground, he peered through a small hole the wreckage. He couldn’t see a damn thing. “Phoebe!”

Still no response.

Shit, shit, shit.

Had to make the hole bigger. Had to go in there and get her the hell out. He started digging with both hands, pulling away chunks of wood and other debris. The dog danced around him, tugging on his pant leg.

The structure shuttered and big slats of dried mud fell from the walls, forcing him backwards. The roof shifted dangerously, pieces raining down. A plume of dust shot into the air as the house shifted, collapsed in on itself, and settled.

Fuck it. He’d take the place apart piece by piece if he had to, but he was going to pull her out of there. He dug faster, his hands coated in dust and blood from the wounds opening on his knuckles and palms. Didn’t matter. He’d had worse pain. All that mattered was getting Phoebe out.

He’d promised Gabe he’d look after her.

Several sets of hands locked around his ankles and dragged him away from the house. Away from Phoebe.

No, he couldn’t leave her. Being with her…for the first time in years, he’d been able to just live. He’d felt alive and whole when he was with her and he wouldn’t give her up. She was his connection to humanity, to life. The good to soothe over the decayed pieces of his soul.

“Phoebe!”

No response.

Except the hands on him, yanking him somewhere against his will.

Inside his mind, past collided with present and he screamed until his voice gave out. He was still in captivity. He’d never been rescued and those hands on him weren’t friendly. They were dragging him into the center of the village for more humiliation, more torture. Everything else—his new teammates, the mission to rescue a black ops soldier, the taste of Phoebe’s kiss—it had all been nothing but a cruel trick of his imagination.

Someone crouched down in front of him and he lashed out. The man ducked and his cowboy hat went flying.

Wait. Cowboy hat? Not a turban.

Seth blinked.

For a long time, he couldn’t make sense of the face his eyes showed him. A sharp jaw covered with several days’ worth of stubble. Kind blue eyes. Brown hair pulled back into a tail. Not one of his captors. When his brain finally caught up and placed a name with the face, shame burned like a coal fire in his gut. Jesse Warrick. A friend. Sort of.

“Hey. Hey.” Jesse snapped his fingers in front of his face. “Seth. Focus on me. You back with us? Don’t make me sedate you, pal.”

He was free, with friends. Free.

And yet, his body refused to listen to logic. It took every ounce of self-control in him to stop struggling against their hold and his muscles twitched at the forced inactivity.

Chest heaving, he stared at grim faces surrounding him. Gabe held his arms twisted behind his back at a painful angle and Jean-Luc and Marcus each had a leg pinned to the earth. Again, memories of being held down threatened to rip his sanity into shreds, but he held on, focused on the here and now.

Friends.

These were the good guys.

The. Good. Guys.

His gaze snapped to the collapsed house. “Phoebe?” he croaked in a voice that didn’t sound like his own. “Where is she?”

Gabe’s grip loosened. “We don’t know,” he said. And was that understanding in his tone? “But the house is gone, Seth. There’s no getting inside.”

“I’m good now. Let me go.” The hands holding him lifted and he climbed to his feet, his eyes glued on the tiny opening he’d tried to make bigger.

C’mon, Phoebe. Come out of there.

What was left of the house shifted again, more slabs of mud crumbling inside.

Despair dragged him to his knees as a cold wind swept off the mountain and kicked swirls of dust into the air around him. His eyes watered, but he refused to look away.

The men murmured behind him. He ignored them. But then Gabe, of all people, settled down beside him in the dirt.

“I know what you’re feeling right now,” Gabe said softly. “During our last mission, I thought I lost Audrey.”

Seth didn’t bother glancing over. “But you didn’t.”

“No. I didn’t.”

“And I haven’t lost Phoebe. She’s still in there. I don’t know why—why she won’t answer me, but—she’s coming out.” He’d have hope, like she’d told him to, and he’d hang on to it with every cell in his being because that protective, intelligent, courageous woman was the first good thing that had come into his life in a very long time.

Stupid of him to take so long to see it, but he’d make damn sure she’d know if—no, he had to have hope. When they got her out.

“I’m so sorry, Seth.” Gabe squeezed his shoulder. “We have to keep moving. Zak is in no condition to stay in these mountains.”

“Go. I’m not leaving here.”

The words conjured up another flashback, one he now realized he’d visited many times in his dreams. Fourteen months into their captivity, just him and Omar Cordero left. Awakening to blood-curdling screams that lasted all night until their captors finally flung Cordero’s limp body into the room.

The rattling breaths of approaching death.

Seth assuring him they’d get free.

No. I’m not leaving here, Lieutenant. Tell Theresa I love her and I’m sorry.

Seth finally looked away from the house, dropping his head into his hands. He never had gone to see Omar’s wife. Had never told her that her husband’s final thoughts had been about her.

He hadn’t been able to save any of his men.

And he could do nothing to help Phoebe.

A horrible numbness filled him, similar to the cold detachment he’d felt for weeks after his rescue. “She’s gone, isn’t she?”

Gabe exhaled slowly, but didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. Too much time had passed without a sound from her and every one of the men standing there knew what that meant. If Phoebe was alive and trapped, she’d be calling out for help by now.

“But Zak?” Seth rasped. “There’s still hope for him.”

“Yeah,” Gabe said. “There’s still hope. He’s in bad shape and will probably lose his leg, but if we get him to a hospital as soon as possible, he’ll survive. Thanks to you.”

Straightening, Seth wiped at his eyes. Nobody gave him shit about the tears, not even Ian, who was standing off to the side of the group, his arms crossed over his chest, staring at the ground.his gaze locked on the ground.

Amazing. Somehow Phoebe had managed to win even that asshole over.

Just went to show how truly special she was.

He may have failed Omar Cordero, but, goddammit, he was going to do right by Phoebe. “We’re coming back for her,” he said. “She’s not staying here. We’re coming back with the right equipment to dig her out.”

And if it was the last thing he did, he’d make sure the world mourned her loss with him.