Absolution (23 page)

Rhys draped a blanket around him, then the medic took Luke’s hands between his and held them there, and soon warmth registered. The younger man’s gray eyes held a sardonic glint. “Just frost nip.

But this is still going to hurt like a bitch, sir.”

And it did, as soon as the blood began flowing to his fingers again. The fiery burn made it feel like he’d stuck his hands in the fire rather than between the young SEAL’s palms. As it warmed, his skin throbbed and turned bright red, but at least the pain meant he hadn’t killed any nerve endings, so he could still shoot if he needed to. Inside his steel-toed assault boots, his toes were like icicles. As soon as he was able to move his fingers, he unlaced them and pulled off his damp socks. Someone handed another 183

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pair to the medic and they set about thawing his feet. When the familiar burn started up in his feet, the medic stood up. Dec ambled over, his golden eyes assessing the situation. “Well? What’s the verdict?”

“No need to amputate, sir,” the medic replied with a grin. “He’s good to go.”

“Damn right,” Luke growled, and Dec clapped a hand on his shoulder as he squatted down next to him. “We’ve already scouted the village,” he said, and from his tone Luke already knew what he was going to say. “No sign of Tehrazzi, and nobody’s saying anything.”

“Any evidence to suggest he was in one of the caves during the air strikes?”

“None.”

Luke clenched his jaw. It was possible the HUMINT Davis had received from their source was false, but Luke had never known him to be wrong before. Something else that made him uneasy. Even if he’d been caught up in the blizzard, Davis should have checked in by now. “Any word from Davis?”

“No, but the TOC confirmed his arrival at the insertion point twenty-five minutes prior to you. I’ve got some of the boys out looking for him.”

He wouldn’t have gotten caught up in the air strikes. Davis was way too good at what he did to make a mistake like that, and he was a superb navigator. If he was out there wounded too badly to make radio contact, they’d have to resort to using the infrared cameras on an aircraft or satellites to scan for him. The temperature was rising, so if he’d survived the cold this long, he’d probably make it until they found him. He swiveled around to grab his ruck, but Rhys was already there, handing him a satellite phone.

“Thanks.” Rising, he dialed using the secure 184

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connection and Jamie answered on the second ring.

“No word on Davis,” Luke told him. “Miller know anything?”

“He dropped Davis off at the airfield yesterday.

Hasn’t heard from him since.”

Well, they weren’t leaving until they found him.

“Keep this line free.”

“You know it.”

Luke tucked the phone away into one of the pockets of his assault vest and pulled on his gloves.

“Let’s get moving,” he said to the others.

They doused the fire and grabbed their equipment, then Luke and Dec consulted their maps.

Using Davis’s insertion point, they established a search area radius between that and the RV point, then split everyone up into two groups. Dec updated his SEALs already out looking for Davis as they left the shelter. The sky grew brighter, layers of stratus clouds breaking up and letting in rich golden rays of early sunlight. Moving around in enemy country during daylight hours was not a covert warrior’s ideal operating conditions, but the only other alternative was to hunker down until nightfall. Not an option. They needed to find Davis and regroup until another lead on Tehrazzi came along.

Luke, Rhys and two SEALs humped it out to their designated area and fanned out, still maintaining vigilance for any al Qaeda or mujahedeen, or whoever the hell had lobbed those mortars last night. His heart was heavy. He didn’t want to find his friend’s body out here.
Don’t do that
to me, Davis.

They combed the snowy terrain at the insertion site, moving steadily toward the original RV point.

Less than a click away from the village, Dec came over the squad radio, saying they’d found evidence of tire tracks leading away from there.

Luke and the others hustled over to meet them, 185

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and when he got close enough to see Dec’s grim expression, his stomach sank. “Find him?”

Dec nodded, and Luke knew Davis was dead.

“This way.”

Ah, Christ, Luke thought, wanting to drop his head and close his eyes for a minute. But he followed Dec to where two of his SEALs hunkered beside a body laid out in the snow. Tire tracks showed in the sandy soil beneath the melting snow, leading up to his friend.

Davis was on his back, dark eyes half open and staring sightlessly into the blue sky. Luke knelt next to his friend, jaw clenched so hard it ached. Part of his skull was missing on one side, and on the other, two round bullet holes marked the skin behind his temple. A double tap to the head. Done close enough to leave powder burns. Whoever had shot him had been up close and professionally trained. One of them.

Luke had seen death enough that it didn’t affect him much anymore. This time was different. This hurt. It always hurt when he lost one of his own, but Davis had been the closest thing he’d had to a friend out in the field. They’d gone through variations of hell together, and they’d made an incredible team.

One of the best.

Luke took Davis’s hand. His facial muscles were already stiff with rigor mortis. The motionless fingers were still bendable, but the elbow and shoulder were fairly rigid. Rigor mortis wasn’t a reliable thing to use for estimating time of death, but it gave Luke some clues. Maximum effect occurred anywhere from twelve to twenty-four hours post mortem. Rapid cooling of the body could delay the onset, but it always occurred upon thawing. Like the sub-freezing temperatures of last night’s blizzard, and the comparatively warm temperature now.
God dammit
. Forcing aside his anger and 186

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sadness, Luke glanced at his watch, then up at Dec and Rhys. “They had to have shot him right after he inserted.”

Rhys’s expression remained calm, but his navy eyes hardened like shards of steel. “Someone he knew.”

And trusted. The words hung in the air between them all. Was it the contact? Davis had trusted his murderer. Otherwise he never would let someone that close with his back turned.

Dec looked at Luke. “Any hunches?”

Yeah. He had a few. Each as ugly and hard to believe as the next. But unless he found more evidence, he couldn’t prove a damn thing.

A molten anger boiled in his gut as the pieces clicked into place. He didn’t want to accept the conclusion he’d come to, but it had to be dealt with.

As soon as he calmed down enough to make the call.

While Dec got on the radio to request an extract, Luke and Rhys went over Davis’s body to examine it more closely. No blood soaking the ground, so he must have been dragged and dumped here after the killing shots. Pulling off his friend’s web gear and vest, something crinkled beneath Luke’s gloved fingers. He stilled an instant, then opened Davis’s coat and BDUs. A wrinkled piece of paper lay against his cold, bare chest.

Pulling it out, Luke opened it and read while Rhys and Dec watched him closely.

Betrayal is the deepest wound of all. Let us
finish this in the place where it all began. Allah’s will
awaits us both.

The handwritten Arabic blurred before his eyes for a second. He knew that writing. Would recognize it anywhere.

Tehrazzi
.

“Jesus Christ,” Rhys growled, looking up at him.

“You think he did it?”

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Luke’s heart leapt. Had Tehrazzi been here after all? He could have captured Davis somehow, but Luke didn’t think that was likely. But shit,
had
Tehrazzi done this and managed to escape from under their noses?

Betrayal. It could mean so many things, but his gut said his first reaction was the right one.

Luke fished out the satellite phone and contacted Jamie.

“Ah, shit,” his boss sighed when he heard Davis was dead.

“Double tap to the head, along with this note.”

He translated it, and after a shocked pause on the other end said, “You need to get over here, now.”

“Yeah. I’ll be on the next flight to Beirut. I’ll contact Miller and let him know.”

A lethal rage began to build, cold and bitter.

“Tell him you want a meeting with him in Beirut. I want to talk to him face to face.” Before Jamie could respond, he ended the call and stood. “How long until the chopper gets here?”

“Fifteen minutes,” Dec replied.

He looked at Rhys. “I want to talk to some of the villagers.”

“Absolutely.”

“You’ll stay with him?” he asked Dec, nodding to Davis’s still form lying in the snow.
I won’t let this go
unanswered,
he told his friend silently
. You have my
word.

“I’ll personally load him onto the helo.”

“And tell command that I’ll be the one to inform his parents.” A retired couple living out their golden years in southern Florida.

“Roger that.”

With Rhys at his back, Luke started for the village. He didn’t expect to find Tehrazzi there, nor any trace that he had been. Bastard was much too clever for that.

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But Luke was going to get some answers to the question foremost in his mind.

Had that note been shoved into Davis’s uniform by friend or foe?

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Voices outside her room woke her. Emily jerked awake and rubbed at her eyes before glancing at the clock. Almost eight. She’d been awake until after three waiting for Luke to return but had eventually dragged herself up to bed because Ben had threatened to carry her there. That she’d fallen asleep at all was a miracle, but she’d been exhausted. Sitting up, she strained to make out who was in the hallway, and recognized Bryn and Neveah’s voices. Were the guys back? After shrugging on her robe, she tore her door open. Bryn stopped in her tracks and gave her a tired smile.

“Are they back?” Emily demanded.

Nev nodded. “On their way.”

Her knees went weak, and for a moment she sagged against the door frame. Bryn came over and put her arms around her. “They’re all okay. Why don’t you take a shower and get cleaned up? Sam said they won’t be back for another hour at least.”

But Dec wasn’t coming back at all. He’d be either in the field with his men, or back at his base.

Her heart went out to Bryn. “It’ll be over soon,” she said to her, returning the embrace. “He’ll come back to you.”

“Yeah,” Bryn sniffed, struggling not to cry. “He knows I’ll kill him if he doesn’t.”

They shared a smile, then Emily pulled away.

“I’ll meet you downstairs in a bit.”

Once she was showered, dressed and ready to face everyone, she smoothed her wig into place and headed downstairs. Everyone was in the kitchen, 190

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and they all looked as tired as she felt. Sam and Ben were both filling big mugs full of freshly brewed coffee when she came in.

“Hey,” Sam said, and reached into the cupboard to pull out another mug. “Want some?”

“Please.” She looked at Ben. “Long night for you both.”

“Yeah,” he said, “for all of us.” He narrowed his pale green eyes on her. “Nev look you over recently?”

“She just saw me upstairs. Why? Do I look that bad?” She’d spent extra time getting her make up just right to cover the dark circles beneath her eyes.

“I’ve seen you look better.” Sam elbowed him, and he flinched before glaring at his fiancé. “Well, it’s true.”

“I’m just stressed out,” Emily said.

Sam nodded, throwing her long red hair over one shoulder. “That’s understandable. Personally, I think you’re a trooper.”

She was glad someone did.

They were all milling about the kitchen when Rhys walked in the front door a half hour later, his desert fatigues covered in dirt, and his face streaked with camouflage paint and grime. Nev let out a glad cry and ran over to him, leaping into his outstretched arms. His wide smile completely transformed the hard lines of his face and warmed his frigid blue eyes. Looking away to give them some privacy, Emily’s heart pounded against her ribs.

Luke had to be here. Was he outside still? How she’d love to be able to run up and throw her arms around him like that, but she couldn’t. He wasn’t hers anymore.

But he’d been thinking of her out in that desert last night while he’d frozen waiting for an extraction. And the way he’d looked at her the night before he’d gone when she’d kissed him goodbye—

like he wanted to pull her back into his arms more 191

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than anything. That had to mean something. He’d nearly died out there last night. Did he finally realize they should be together while they could?

She prayed he did.

Ben was uncharacteristically grim as he watched his brother reunite with Neveah. The instant they separated, he spoke up. “Need you downstairs for a few minutes.”

Rhys slid an arm around Nev’s waist and tucked her into him, his expression sobering. “Be right there.” He murmured something into Nev’s ear that Emily couldn’t make out, then kissed her and nodded at Ben, who followed him down to the coms room. Emily glanced at Sam, who bit her lip.

“What’s happened?”

Sam looked down into her coffee. “We...lost a good teammate yesterday.”

Her stomach sank. “One of Luke’s?”

“Yes. One of his favorites.”

There was something more to it than that, Emily was positive, but she wasn’t going to ask because she wouldn’t get any more information.

That much was clear from Sam’s closed expression.

A door shut down the hall. Drawn to it like a magnet, Emily’s head turned, her eyes going to the study. “Is Luke...”

“Looks like.” Sam met her gaze. “It’s not my place to stick my nose into your business, but… You might want to give him some space for a while. Until he sorts some...things out.”

What sort of things, she wanted to ask, but thought better of it. “Thanks for the warning.”