Chapter Thirteen
Fuck. A trapdoor had opened up in the floor under Hale, and swallowed him.
He reached up, hammering at the rock above him with his fists. He couldn’t see anything in the darkness, and he didn’t have the flashlight, Elin did. The lantern was also in her backpack. Double fuck.
Now there was solid rock between him and her. She was stuck on the other side of it, with Silk Road trying to kill her. He roared in anger.
His chest tight, Hale slammed his palms against the rock. He felt all around, looking for a way to get it open and get back through.
He couldn’t find anything, but he kept shoving and hitting until his knuckles tore and started to bleed. He had to get to her.
“Hold on, Elin.” He felt around the other walls of the space he was in. It was a small tunnel. There had to be a way to trigger the trapdoor from this side. There had to be.
Finally, he slumped against the wall in defeat. Nothing. There was no way back to her.
Once again, he was stuck, unable to help someone he cared about. He dragged in some deep breaths, each one hurting his chest. Was she okay? Did Drift have her?
Was she even still alive?
He had to find another way. He turned, facing the blackness. Keeping his fingers on the side wall, he moved down the tunnel, taking careful, shuffling steps.
Hale hadn’t prayed in a very long time. Not since that long-ago mission where he’d lost the men he’d loved like brothers. He did now. He prayed Elin was still alive.
He reached an area where the tunnel split off in different directions. He stared into the blackness. Damn, he’d give anything for some light. Then he blinked. To the right, he could see a faint light at the end of the tunnel. He turned that way, and as the light got better, he picked up his pace.
He had no idea if he was moving farther away or closer to Elin.
Then, he heard something. He stilled and cocked his head. Running water.
He rounded a corner and ahead, he saw a large, round opening in the wall. Light was filtering in from narrow openings in the ceiling above. Water poured from the pipe, dropping into a long channel cut into the tunnel floor. The channel ran back into another dark, dank tunnel. Inside it, he heard the sound of something grinding and clanking.
What was that? He moved closer, peering into the darkness. He couldn’t see whatever it was but his respect for the miners grew. There was some sort of machinery still active here.
Hale looked up. In his head, he tried to picture the layout of the mine, and the way they’d come. If his calculations were correct, this water was coming from the large pool above in the cavern, and there was some sort of plumbing system here pumping it back up to the waterfall. It had to be water-driven and he itched to examine it in detail. Whoever had built the mines had constructed one hell of a plumbing system.
He stared at the flowing water. If he could swim back up this tunnel, there was a chance he could make it all the way back into the pool in the cavern.
Back to Elin.
Hale kicked off his boots. He was a SEAL. The water was his terrain, and he’d been trained to hold his breath for a very long time.
He dumped his backpack and yanked it open. He’d only take what he needed. He tossed aside the sleeping bags and clothes. He kept his grappling gun. His fingers landed on some small silver balls in the bottom of the pack. Little prototype grenades he’d been playing with. He stuffed them in his pockets. Time for them to take a test run. He slipped the lighter backpack onto his back and tightened the straps.
Once again, he stared at the water-filled pipe ahead of him. He had no idea how wide it was farther up, and if he could even get through it. Hell, maybe it didn’t even go back to the cavern pool.
Maybe he’d drown, trapped in King Solomon’s Mines for eternity.
But saving Elin was a risk worth taking. It was one thing that Hale never regretted, going in to try and save his SEAL team. He hadn’t thought it through or planned it well, but he hadn’t hesitated to try and save them.
He sure as hell wasn’t going to hesitate now.
Hale sucked in a few deep breaths, and then climbed into the rock-cut channel. The cool water hit his feet, and soaked the bottom of his trousers.
He sloshed through until he reached the circular pipe entrance. He pressed a knee to the edge, water hitting his face. He launched himself inside.
He pushed through the water, even as it tried to push him back. Soon he was swimming through the darkness, the light gone. He kept one hand on the wall to direct himself. The water flow pushed against him, but he kept his kicks strong and steady.
It was so fucking dark. He tried not to think about the walls closing in on him.
Hale’s lungs started to burn, but he kept kicking with strong strokes. Elin would come for him. She was too driven and stubborn to give up. He wasn’t going to fail her.
The tunnel curved, and Hale was pretty sure it was heading upward. Come on. God, maybe his oxygen-deprived brain was just playing games with him.
As dizziness hit him, he thought of Elin. Her smile, and the way it lit her eyes and warmed them. The way she kissed—with everything she had. The way she looked at him, like he was important.
He blinked. Light ahead. He blinked again, wondering if it was real or if he was imagining it.
He kept moving his legs, although he could feel each kick was losing strength. His lungs were burning, his brain screaming at him to open his mouth.
Suddenly, there was a shimmer of light coming from above. He looked up and saw a tunnel headed vertically up above him.
Clumsily, he kicked until he was moving up. Determination punched through him, and he dug deep for the last reserves of his strength. Near the top, his mouth opened reflexively, water flooding into him. Choking, he kicked again, and his head broke the surface.
Hale coughed the water out and then sucked in air. That’s when he heard voices.
He slowly sank back into the water, just keeping his eyes above the surface. He worked to keep his breathing shallow and quiet, and slowly turned his head. He’d been right; he was back in the main cavern.
He spotted the Silk Road group entering the space. Two men were dragging a struggling Elin between them.
Everything in Hale wanted to leap up and charge out of the water, but he forced himself to stay still.
They shoved her onto a large rock and he saw that her hands were tied behind her back. He also saw that one side of her face was swelling, with bruises forming.
Bastards. Hale’s hands curled into fists. Someone would pay.
John Drift stepped forward, eyeing Elin like she was some specimen for him to dissect.
“How did you find us?” she demanded.
“Claude liked pretty gadgets in all his toys. Your vehicle was outfitted with a tracker.”
Hale cursed inwardly. They should have known. It explained why Drift hadn’t chased after them in the helicopter when they’d first gotten away.
“Where is the Seal of Solomon?” the man said.
Hale jerked. Hell, he’d completely forgotten about the damn ring. He touched his pocket and felt the slight bulge.
“I don’t know,” Elin answered. “We didn’t find it.”
Drift’s gaze narrowed. “I saw the paintings, Agent Alexander. The one showing the ring at the foot of the statue of King Solomon. Right where we found you.”
“It wasn’t there.”
Drift nodded. A guard stepped forward and punched Elin in the gut. She doubled over with a groan.
Hale had to hold himself back. It was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. He bit down hard on his lip, instead.
The last time he’d rushed in, unprepared, and it had cost his fellow SEALs their lives.
“Where is Solomon’s ring?” Drift asked again.
“I don’t know. There is no other way to say it.”
Drift moved fast and slapped her across the face. Her lip split, bleeding.
Hale stayed on the deeper side of the pool and moved to the rocky edge, trying to calm his racing heart. Don’t go in halfcocked. You’ve done that before.
Elin’s life depended on him.
Think, Hale. He tried to remind himself that she was trained, that she could handle this. He knew Elin Alexander was the last person who needed him to run in like an action hero.
What she really needed was for him to think. He studied the group. Four guards and Drift. Of course, they were all armed and he wasn’t…but that didn’t mean he was helpless. That was doable. Hale could take them.
The closest guard to Hale was partly hidden from the others by a rock pillar and standing right beside the water. Target Number One acquired.
Slowly, inch by inch, Hale climbed out of the pool. He slipped into combat mode as easily as breathing. His vitals steadied and his concentration was centered on his target, even as he monitored the rest of the room.
He blocked the sounds of flesh hitting flesh, and Elin’s harsh expulsion of air. Whoever had hit her would regret it shortly.
Hale moved silently, and then grabbed the man from behind, slamming a hand over the guard’s mouth. Hale dragged the man backward into the water. He jerked the man down, and just as the guard overcame his surprise, Hale quickly twisted the man’s neck. There was a muffled crack, and his body sank down into the water.
Hale grabbed for him, thinking he’d check for a weapon. But the body slipped into deep water and Hale cursed.
Stick to the plan. One down, four to go.
Hale climbed out of the water and crouched behind a rock. Suddenly, he heard Elin scream. The sound was like claws to his soul.
“I love this knife.” Drift’s voice. “It’s even prettier coated in your blood, Special Agent Alexander.”
Hale gritted his teeth, even as his head snapped up. His thoughts coalesced into one direction. Save Elin.
He slipped his backpack off his shoulders and yanked out his grappling gun. Peering around the pillar, he took in the locations of the others.
Take one out with the grappling gun and attack the next one closest to him. It would leave Elin open to Drift and the final guard. Damn, it was a huge risk.
“Enough of this.” Drift pulled out his gun and aimed it directly at Elin’s chest.
No. A red haze covered Hale’s vision. For a second, he saw the insurgents killing his SEAL commander, Sean, then the others, one by one.
He couldn’t lose Elin. Hale lifted the grappling gun and aimed at the nearest guard.
He fired. He heard the distinctive sound it made as the bolt and rope flew across the space. He charged toward the other guard, and saw the grappling hook slam into the guard’s chest with a spray of blood.
Two down. Three to go.
“What the fuck?” someone yelled.
Hale tackled his next target, and landed a hard blow to the man’s head, knocking him unconscious. He spied a knife in the man’s slackened hand and snatched it up, already springing away.
Three down. Two to go.
Gunfire echoed in the cavern, bullets peppering the ground where he’d been standing.
Hale dived, sliding across the rocky ground on his side. He spun, sighted his next target, and threw the knife.
It nailed the man in the shoulder, shock and pain skittering across his broad face. He staggered backward and Hale leaped up. He landed on the man and drove him to the ground. The man’s head connected with the ground with a dull thud.
Four down. One to go.
Hale yanked out the knife, jumped up, and spun.
His chest constricted. Elin had somehow freed her hands and was wrestling with Drift for control of the gun. He started forward, his hand tightening on the bloody hilt of the knife.
Elin and Drift strained, turning in an untidy circle. Drift was stronger and managed to turn the gun to aim it at the center of Elin’s chest.
The gun went off.
Elin! No!
Hale sprinted forward, rushing forward as Elin’s body fell backward and hit the ground. Drift had disappeared.
Hale dropped heavily to his knees. She was flat on her back, her face twisted in pain. There was a ragged hole in the center of her khaki shirt.
He slid an arm beneath her. “Elin.” His voice was choked.
No one could survive a shot like this.
“Hale,” she croaked out, her hand groping for his.
He grabbed it, squeezing her fingers tight. “God, baby.”
“I…” Her voice broke off, her body going lax and her eyes drifting closed.
“No.” A hollow feeling burst inside him. She was so warm, but he knew it would fade. Hale felt like his insides had been shredded. He’d failed her. He’d been too late.
“Get the secondary team in here!” Drift’s shout came from the other side of the cavern. “Get them in here. The woman’s dead, but I want Carter contained, and I want the ring!”
The sounds of running footsteps and shouts penetrated the ice encasing Hale. He fought through his shock and pain. Drift had more people coming.
They weren’t going to touch Elin again.
He scooped her into his arms, spun, and waded back into the pool.
He was getting her far away from fucking Drift and Silk Road. He dived down into the water, swimming for the tunnel he’d come up through. He held Elin tight against his chest and tried not to think. Tried not to think about the fact that he’d lost her. Lost the woman he was falling in love with.
Suddenly, she started moving in his arms, thrashing against him.
Shit, she was still alive. He felt like a light burst inside him. She was trying to breathe.
He lifted her up to his face and pressed his mouth to hers. He breathed into her, and then pulled back and kicked as fast and hard as he could.
It felt like forever, but finally they whooshed out of the pipe and into the rock-cut channel with a splash.
Elin was gagging and coughing up water. Hale managed to climb over the side of the channel with her, and collapsed on the ground. He spun her around, his hands shaking, and pushed her sodden hair out of her face.
“Elin?”
She coughed again and pressed a hand to her chest. “Dammit. What were you trying to do, drown me?”
“Drift shot you point-blank in the chest. I thought you were dead.” Hale’s voice cracked on the last word.
Elin stilled, her wide eyes meeting his. She reached forward, dropped her head to his chest and hugged him hard. He wrapped his arms around her and held on tight, absorbing the fact that she was breathing and alive in his arms.
She pulled back slowly, her hand caressing his jaw. “I’m alive because of you. Or because of your shirt.”
She lifted up the hem of her khaki shirt, and Hale saw the T-shirt she’d borrowed. He hadn’t noticed before, but it was his experimental, anti-ballistic shirt.
The fabric was deformed right in the center, where it had stopped the bullet.
Jesus. He pushed it up. “I hadn’t finished testing it. It’s made from a structured polymer composite, and it worked in the lab, but still hasn’t passed field testing.”
“I like when you talk geek,” she said. “The shirt works.”
“That still had to hurt.” He gently touched her stomach.
“Yeah. It was like getting hit with a sledgehammer. I must have passed out, and it winded me.”
He cupped her cheeks. “Winded now?”
She licked her lips. “No.”
He pulled her forward and kissed her. “Elin. I…think I’m fucking falling in love with you.”
She stared at him, her mouth dropping open.
He shot her a rueful smile. “Wow, Agent Alexander has nothing to say.”
Her hands gripped his wrists. “I just got shot, Carter. Give me a second.” She cupped his cheek. “I really suck at this love thing.”
“Well, I can’t say I have much experience with it, either.”
“Our odds of success suck.”
He grinned at her. “I happen to like long odds.”
She smiled back. “Me, too. But right now, we have a mission to finish, and some bad guys to catch.”
Hale’s gaze drifted to her battered face. “I’m pretty eager to get my hands on Drift.”
“You can’t kill him,” she warned. “I’m law enforcement, remember?”
Hale pulled her to her feet. “I know a lot of ways to hurt him without killing him.”