Only Mine (Honey Mountain #5)(82)

“They aren’t deep in the cave. I better have my ass out of there with Bullet by then. If not, it’s all hands on deck. Go in blazing and get our brother out of there.”

“I’ll be nearby with the chopper, waiting for you. If you have Bullet, get the fuck out of there and get your asses on it so we can get out of here before they realize we were here.” Birddog handed me some beef jerky. “Eat. You’re going to need your fuel because you may need to carry his ass out of there.”

I took the stick of beef and ate it quickly.

I was ready.

We were ready.

The next two hours were brutal. We went over our plan several times, and then we waited. I thought of Dylan. I wrote her a note just in case something happened to me and I didn’t get out of here. I needed her to know the truth. I made my way over to Birddog and handed it to him.

“Anything happens to me, you get this to my family and ask them to give this to Dylan Thomas, okay?”

“You going soft on me, Wolf?” He smirked.

“Never soft. Just a dude who loves a girl.”

“Fuck me. I never thought I’d see the day. But don’t you fucking make me deliver this letter. Get Bullet and get the fuck out of there. You got it?”

“That’s the plan.”

He tucked the note into his back pocket and studied me. “You sure you don’t want to have Stealth go in? You can stay outside the cave.”

He was giving me the safer path. Not that we weren’t all at risk, because we were. But going into a dark cave with armed terrorists was definitely not the least risky position. I’ve got the skill set and experience—it was my job.

“I’ve got this. I’ll bring him out if it’s the last thing I do.”

“That’s what fucking worries me, brother.”

We all got quiet, which meant we were getting ready. Dagger walked over, as he’d been on the final watch, making sure no one else showed up to guard Bullet. Surprises were never good, and we were fairly certain we now outnumbered them. They also weren’t expecting us, so we had the element of surprise. It could work both ways, though, because we had no way of knowing if there was another way into or out of the cave from the other side, or if a crew had been inside before we arrived that we weren’t aware of.

Surprises could cost you your life.

You prepared for every scenario and always had an exit strategy.

Aside from things like this today.

There was no exit strategy without Bullet. I was going in regardless if there were two or ten men guarding him. I wasn’t going to leave my brother there alone.

It wasn’t happening.

This is why I needed to say goodbye to Dylan quickly. If she’d asked me too much. If she’d pushed me—I wouldn’t lie to her.

Hell, I hadn’t told my own family about where I was going and what I was doing. I’d told her because I fucking trusted her.

But for all I knew, she could tell my family, who could make calls to the Navy and blow things up. Hell, my father would send a team of men here to get me out if he knew where I was.

But I’d learned a long time ago that you have to have faith in something if you want to survive. And for whatever reason, I had faith in Dylan Thomas.

Not that she wouldn’t try something crazy like get on a plane and fly her ass to Pakistan. But for whatever reason, I believed that she wouldn’t tell anyone where I was, no matter how hurt or pissed she was.

I’d said the one thing that I thought would keep her safe.

But that could backfire on me, too.

She had a temper, and that made telling her where I was going very dangerous.

Yet I’d done it without hesitation.

“Okay, boys, it’s time. Scotty One is nearby and ready to go. The minute Wolf goes in, he’s in the air. In and out. Clean and easy. Let’s do this.”

We all huddled together one last time and slapped each other’s backs, then I turned to Dagger and Bear. “You’ve got this. We’re right behind you.”

“We got you, Wolf,” Bear said, giving me a quick nod.

“In and out.” Dagger cleared his throat, and they both took off jogging as we tucked behind.

Once we were close enough, they both held up a hand to let us know they were going in. I let out one last breath when they took off. We wouldn’t hear gunshots because the last thing we needed was to warn the guys inside that we were here. That we were coming for Bullet.

We gave them a thirty-second lead, and then I signaled for Clark, Stealth, and Limbs to fall behind me.

Adrenaline pumped as my eyes scanned left to right in my night vision goggles, which allowed me to see in the dark. I looked for movement in the grass or in the trees around us. The weather was chilly, but it didn’t bother me. The cold had never been a problem for me. I’d always adjusted easily to different climates both in and out of the water.

Bear and Dagger stood in front of the cave and gave me a thumbs-up, letting me know they’d taken care of the two men guarding the cave.

It was game time.

I moved inside, my guys remaining outside the cave just in case things went sideways. It would allow time for them to get away. All of us storming the castle could be catastrophic. Two lives lost would be better than seven.

That’s just the brutal truth of it.

I moved in slowly, and I heard voices that sounded like they were only a few feet away. I rounded the corner, and a light hung from above where I saw Bullet strapped to a chair, his head hanging forward, which had my blood pumping. I couldn’t tell if he was alive.