Page 109 of SEAL of Valor

The man cries out in pain as shards sink into his back. I rush forward, grabbing and throwing him to the ground, then zip-tying his hands.

Eliminate when necessary.

Capture when possible.

Those are our rules of engagement. Because, no matter how Brenda likes to paint the picture of my team, we don’t set out to kill. Not if there is another way a threat can be handled.

Garrison handles the last man, then secures him and drags him over to the side of the house. He straightens, and we survey the damage, breathing ragged. Demo’s head is bleeding, right over his brow, and Zane has a cut on the side of his neck, likely from where a blade missed its mark. Tank stretches his neck from side to side, sporting only a single scrape on his cheek.

I’ve got scrapes and bruises of my own, in addition to my still-healing injuries, but we’re all alive. And that’s what matters.

“Cable Guy, what’s the situation out there?” Zane asks.

Silence.

Oh no.

I start toward the stairs, but a single, female voice over our comms stops me in my tracks.

“Well, well, well.”

I turn toward Zane. He, Ryker, and Garrison have all straightened at the intrusion, and my heart sinks. This is a closed channel. Which means the only way she could have gotten onto it is with one of our comm units.

Sawyer.

“You couldn’t just follow orders, could you, Cowboy? Now I have to start killing people.” A man groans. “How many times do you think Cable Guy here can get shot before he stops talking?”

“You can’t count that high,” Sawyer mutters, his tone strained from pain.

“Let’s find out,” Brenda says. A gunshot echoes through the night, stealing my ability to breathe.

“I’ll kill you.” I shift focus and sprint toward the front door, but Ryker steps in front of me. He shakes his head, then taps his finger to his ear.

“Not so fast, Cowboy. This is still my game. You bring me Max, and I’ll let you have Sawyer—mostly in one piece. He did take a nasty tumble off the roof. And is sporting two new holes. I don’t think they’re critical, though. Who knows, really. I did bring a building down on you, yet you still walked away. Cockroaches. That’s what you are. Hard to kill,” she adds through gritted teeth.

My heart kicks in my ribs, and I turn toward Zane. He offers me a single nod, letting me know he has no issues with that deal, either. There’s not a single thing we wouldn’t give up for one of our own, and it seems to me he’s got the same idea. Ryker and Garrison both offer the same nod, their expressions just as tense.

“Oh, and before you get any ideas, you should know—Cable Guy here isn’t the only one ready to take a bullet. Bring him outside—alone—and you better not have any weapons on you. You’ve got three minutes before I escalate things.” A high-pitched screech rips through the comm unit, so we all yank them out of our ears, then toss them onto the ground.

“Cable Guy here isn’t the only one ready to take a bullet.” Brenda’s words rip through my mind, shattering all rational thought as I sprint up the stairs.

There’s no way she could have gotten her.

Not up here.

Not while we were downstairs.

I kick the locked door in and hear the whining. Aragorn paws at the closed closet doors—from inside. The window is wide open, curtains flying in the wind. Just outside, there are cable ties that lead down to the ground.

They got her.

They took out Sawyer and got to Reese.

Fury ignites in my veins like dynamite.

Rushing back downstairs, I set my gun on the table and yank Max up from the ground. He’s still dazed, but his eyes are open. “How many did you come with?” I demand.

He doesn’t say a single word. Just grins up at me, blood dripping from his split lip and a gash on his cheek.