Course of Action: Out of Harm's Way / Any Time, Any Place

Yeah, he knew about strong-willed Texas women, for damn sure. Pulling out his Sig Sauer 9 mm pistol, he put a bullet in the chamber. His mind lingered on that bad patch in his life. He’d loved Isabella, but his life as a SEAL had interfered and the marriage had dissolved over time like a ticking time bomb. Isabella wasn’t prepared for the months he’d be away. There was a ninety-percent divorce rate among the SEALs and she’d been a casualty of it, and so had he. Travis swore that, from that moment on, he was not going to fall in love again. At least, not while in the SEALs.

Now it appeared he’d gotten entangled with another headstrong Texas woman: Madison Duncan. He felt bad for her because he knew this particular enemy hated American women on a par with American men. She would not be treated well and that ate at him. Rape came to mind and he tried to ignore the possibility. They could beat her to death, as well. He hoped she had strong Texas genes because she would need them to survive this. If she survived it at all.

Travis could imagine that SEAL HQ at Bagram was going nuts at this point since Madison’s rescue had fallen on their shoulders. Yeah, they were black ops, but he wondered about the political fallout on this escapade. If the SEALs didn’t get this done right, their name would be tarnished in the American press and the world. Not something that the admiral running the SEALs wanted, Travis was sure. And everything was landing on his shoulders. With the lack of intel, he had to rely on her being from Texas and assume she’d be tough enough to deal with the situation.

His mind skipped like a rock over a pond’s surface. He knew the cave system in this area like the back of his own hand. He’d spent three deployments here along the border. That was the good news. There were some caves and systems he knew intimately. The Taliban favored certain caves, but he’d done his homework over the years, finding others where he could hide and not be discovered. Those caves were around and they’d most likely take advantage of them. If he could rescue her. If she lived. If she wasn’t injured. If she was ambulatory. Pushing his fingers through his longish black hair, his eyes narrowing, Travis knew he needed some luck. Would he get it?

* * *

Madison didn’t know how long she’d been on the trotting horse. Blinded by the hood, her arms and shoulders now numb, she tried to remain on board the animal. There was never any talking among her kidnappers. They just relentlessly pushed their horses. She could smell the sweat on her own horse. It was stumbling regularly, which meant it was tired and needed to rest. She had tried to push the rag out of her mouth, but couldn’t. Dying of thirst, her face swollen and her nose still leaking blood every now and again, she felt bruised everywhere.

Anguished, Madison knew she’d screwed up royally. She should have listened to the Marine captain. Why, oh why, did she let her curiosity get the best of her? She’d been so excited about seeing Afghan horses. She worried about her mother and father. By now, they probably knew she’d been captured. God, she was causing them so much worry and grief. Wanting to be a good representative of the United States, Madison had jumped into this with both feet. Her father felt she could do it. Her mother, Tess, a large-animal vet, had doubts. She worried about Madison being in a country at war.

Misery overwhelmed her. She had no idea what was going to happen to her. Her father always called her a “risk taker.” Yeah, she was, but this time, she’d gone too far.

The horses slowed. Finally, they stopped. Relief flooded her body. Her legs were raw and she could feel her ankles were numb where they’d tied her. The rope was beneath the belly of the horse, and if she fell off, she’d be killed by the horse’s back hooves striking her body and head.

She heard men’s voices speaking in a language she thought was Pashto. Someone untied one ankle. She was yanked roughly off the horse. Madison was allowed to fall to the ground. Her legs collapsed beneath her. Her head struck the ground, dazing her. She was yanked upright, the hood torn off. Blinking, her hair a tangled and unruly mess around her face, she realized it was still night. A man leaned over and untied her mouth. She spat out the rag.

Her arms were numb. She’d felt blood earlier, warm and leaking down her long fingers. Now she felt nothing. Her shoulders ached and burned as she watched her captors lead the horses over to a small pool of water at the bottom of a large, rocky canyon. The quarter moon gave her just enough light to see what was going on.

One man, his eyes black and glittering, came over and untied her hands. He stood with his rifle and threw a bottle of water into her lap.

Madison reached out for the water. Her fingers were numb. Fire shot through her shoulders as she moved toward that precious bottle of water. Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth and then forced her unfeeling fingers around the bottle. It took a minute to unscrew the lid but when the water flowed into her mouth, Madison groaned. She gulped down the water, feeling lightheaded and weak. When she finished it, the man threw her another bottle. She drank three of them before she was sated. Her stomach growled. The last time she’d eaten was at noon. She looked up at the soldier. Cringing inwardly, she noticed the raw hatred in his eyes as he glared down at her.

Madison looked past him and saw all six horses drinking deeply at the pool. Their bodies gleamed with sweat. They’d been pushed hard. As she scanned the area, Madison thought they were in a canyon from what she could make out in the deep shadows. Could she escape? Oh, God, if only she could! Everywhere she looked, it was desolate and desert. Craning her neck, she looked at the group of men standing, their heads together, talking quietly. What were they going to do with her? Where were they taking her?

Her hands began to wake up. She could feel blood coming back into them, the pain almost unbearable. Pushing the hair off her face, she felt close to tears. What had she done? How was she going to get out of this? As she looked up at the soldier guarding her, Madison felt the crushing answer. She wasn’t getting out of this alive. She didn’t know the area. She had no water and no food. These men knew this land because they lived here. Once again, she could only feel dread for what would happen to her. Her one stupid, childish and selfish mistake had landed her here. Tears burned in her eyes and she shut them. Madison didn’t want them to see her cry and she sucked it up, burying it deep within her.

“Get up!”

Madison snapped her head up. Another man in dark clothing stood, his hands on his hips, glaring at her. “Y-you speak English?” she rasped, her voice hoarse.

“Get up!” He gestured sharply to her.

Madison stood on wobbling legs. She saw the expression in the leader’s face, behind the black beard hanging halfway down his narrow chest. He turned and said something to the soldier. They both looked at her.

Suddenly, Madison felt like raw meat for sale, and it scared the bejesus out of her. Were they going to rape her? Oh, God...

“Move!” the man barked, gesturing for her to walk to where the horses stood.

Instantly, Madison moved. Relief shot through her. They weren’t going to rape her. No...no, not that. Dazed, weak from not eating, she was pushed toward the horse she’d been on before. In minutes, her hands were bound behind her once more. Groaning, the pain hot and burning across her shoulders, she was forced back onto the horse. They dragged the rope beneath the horse’s belly and again her ankles were bound. They placed the hood back over her head. The men mounted and the soldier who had guarded her tied the reins of her horse to the back of his saddle. They kicked the animals, moving out at a fast trot.

Madison found it tough to ride in this position. She compressed her lips, looking around but seeing nothing. From earlier, she knew they were moving out of the canyon and back on to the desert floor. Up ahead, huge mountains rose to her right. Where were they taking her? Her mind cartwheeled with terror. Wasn’t anyone going to try to rescue her? Did the Marines even know she was gone? When she didn’t show up at dinner, surely they’d realized something was wrong.

Tears began to leak down her drawn cheeks. Madison was alone. No one knew where she was or what had happened to her. With one stupid decision, her life, as she knew it, was over.

Chapter 2

Travis hissed a curse as he saw six riders coming right around the slope of a mountain. It was barely dawn, grayness tinging the mountain peaks above him. He used the Nightforce scope on his sniper rifle and counted five Taliban riders guarding someone in the center. That had to be Madison Duncan, but he couldn’t positively identify her with a black hood over her head. His eyes narrowed as he watched the horses moving at a swift trot. They were only three miles from the border. He spoke into his radio transmitter.

“Raven Main, Raven Actual. I have the package in my sights.”

“Roger. You are authorized to take action.”

Dammit, this was not going to be easy. Travis moved his scope, checking out the ground between him and the enemy. The Taliban were smart in remaining near the slopes. There was one piece of flat and open land where he could take his shots. Already, he had two more mags of three bullets each beside his left hand. He had to take out five men.

His lips lifted away from his teeth as the group turned in his direction. The woman’s horse had its reins tied to the back of a Taliban soldier’s saddle. That was not good. The possibility of the horse bolting, frightened and wild-eyed, as he started taking his shots, was very real. And with Madison Duncan helpless, there was no way she could jump off even if she wanted to. He saw the rope beneath the horse’s belly, saw her ankles tied to each end of it. Sonofabitch. Travis quickly painted a verbal picture for his master chief.

His heart slowed down because he willed it. Snipers could control their bodies like no one else could. His finger brushed the two-pound trigger on the Win Mag he had shoved against his right shoulder and pressed tight to his cheek. This didn’t look good for the American woman. There was a good possibility that when he shot the rider and he fell off, the horse would leap and run away.

His only recourse was to put a bullet in the head of the fleeing horse to drop it. And when it collapsed, Madison’s horse would more than likely plough into it. The belly rope around her ankles would stop her from being hurled over its head. Madison had no way to safely dismount and would very likely be crushed beneath that thousand-pound horse she rode. These were problems Travis had not expected. No one had. It put her at real risk.

His mind moved at the speed of light. There was little wind this time of morning, which was a plus. The light was getting brighter, and he could now see the group clearly through his sights. Which one to take out first, second, third? He tried to guess what the soldiers would do once they saw one of their friends lifted out of the saddle and punched six feet backward, dead before he hit the ground. The bullets were supersonic, moving faster than the speed of sound. The boom of the Win Mag would follow. That gave Travis time to pump more bullets into the targets before he had to drop the empty mag and slap another one into his rifle. By then, all bets were off. It would come down to the element of surprise and him shooting fast enough so that none of the soldiers could shoot Madison Duncan, once they knew they were under attack. And shoot her they would.

His other concern was that his Win Mag did not have a muzzle suppressor. If one of the soldiers saw the flash of his rifle being fired, they would target him. Travis had no problem with that, but he worried more that the soldiers would scatter to minimize the chances of the rest of them being killed.

This wasn’t going to be easy at all. He’d hoped they’d tie her hands in front of her. Hoped they wouldn’t have put a bag over her head. For a moment, he wondered how much pain she was in, knowing she’d been captured ten hours earlier. She was probably frightened out of her skull. If she got injured, there was no medevac flying in to take her out. It was simply too dangerous for a helo and its four-person crew to come anywhere near this area right now. So it all fell on Travis’s shoulders.

He watched the group move straight toward him. They would be across the half mile of open, flat ground shortly. It would be there that he’d take them down.

Travis was under cover five hundred feet above them, well hidden in the scree, lying prone on his belly. He kept his ruck beside him. His heartbeat slowed even more. His first target would be the rider who had Madison Duncan’s horse in tow. Watching the Taliban spread out more, he smiled a little. These would be one-thousand-yard shots, easy enough to accomplish with the Win Mag. Travis set the dials on the rifle and settled in. There was a point where a person’s breath stopped. It was called the still point, a magical half second lull between the inhale and the exhale. And that was the point where a sniper would shoot.

His finger brushed the trigger. The boom of the rifle jerked and rippled all the way through his body. He didn’t even wait to see if the bullet hit his target, moving to the second and third horsemen. By the time he released the spent mag and slapped in the next one, Travis was settled and situated. He was minimally aware of men flying off their horses. He couldn’t hear anything at this distance, but he saw one horse rear up and then turn to gallop off. Quickly, he sighted on the other two soldiers who were now looking around, fear etched in their faces.

Too late, you bastards. You’re going straight to hell.... And he took the fourth and fifth shots.

Travis leaped to his feet, leaving his rifle behind, jerking the 9 mm Sig Sauer pistol out of his drop holster and hurtled down the scree. Below, five men lay unmoving. The horses, thank God, startled and upset, had moved together, circling one another, wild-eyed. He hit the flat plain and ran hard toward the milling group of anxious horses. He kept his eyes on Madison Duncan who was sitting very still on her horse. She was doing the right thing, Travis thought, pulling up his Sig as he approached the carnage.

His gaze moved swiftly to each of the soldiers. None of them moved. He crooned softly to the horses, walking slowly toward them. The animals milled, snorting, their ears moving back and forth in fear. Okay, the soldiers were all dead. He holstered his pistol and approached to within six feet of the first horse.

“Ma’am?” he called, “I’m Travis Cooper, U.S. Navy. I’m here to rescue you. If you can just sit very still until I can get my hands on the reins of the horse, that would be helpful. Don’t talk. Don’t move. Just slowly nod your head once if you understand me.”

Madison quivered violently, unable to see anything. The soldiers had put the hood back on her head but they hadn’t gagged her. Sweat had covered her as she’d heard men screaming, then nothing. The horses had become frightened. When she’d first heard the loud, booming sound, she knew it was a rifle, but she couldn’t see anything! The man’s Texas drawl brought down her fear just a notch. Her shoulders were still numb. She slowly moved her head forward as he’d requested.

The horse she rode snorted. She could feel the animal tense. Oh, God. Who was this man? Definitely American. Her mouth was dry and she wanted to see him.

Madison sat quietly. She heard his voice again, a soft sing-song as he came closer. Her horse snorted and moved sideways.

“Easy, easy, son,” Travis crooned, not meeting the horse’s eyes, knowing that would threaten him. He approached the horse from the side and slowly eased his hand toward the animal’s sweaty, glistening neck. The horses had been ridden hard and ruthlessly. Their nostrils were wide open, showing red up inside the passages. Travis placed his hand on the horse’s reins, relief shooting through him.

“Ma’am? I’ve got the lead horse’s reins. Now, you just keep sitting quietly, and I’m going to work my way back toward your horse. The reins of your horse are tied on the back of this horse’s saddle. Just slowly nod your head if you understand me.”

Travis moved furtively, constantly crooning to her horse whose eyes were rolling. The animal was skittish, and the last thing Travis needed was for it to bolt. The horse’s nostrils flared, picking up his scent. Travis didn’t smell like the other riders. The horse suddenly planted its front feet, getting ready to bolt.

“Whoa, big guy,” he called to the horse. “No need to bolt, son, just stand down, stand down.” He eased the knot out of the reins. More relief rushed through Travis as he gripped the reins in his left hand.

“Okay,” he told her, “I’ve got your horse’s reins. I’m going to come up beside you and cut off that belly rope.”

He heard her gasp a little. Travis could see her shaking in the saddle. Feeling sorry for the woman, he pulled his KA-BAR from its sheath and quickly sliced the thick rope. Her legs were now free. He slid the knife back into the sheath.

“We’re almost home free, gal,” he told her softly. “I’ve got the horse’s reins in my one hand. I’m going to come up on your left side and slide my arm around your waist. When I do that, I want you to relax, trust me and I’m going to pull you off this horse. Got it?” He looked upward, watched her nod. Heard her erratic breathing.

As he slid his arm around her waist, Travis felt her relax. “Okay, here we go,” he said and then lifted her away from the saddle. She was probably five foot seven and weighed around a hundred and thirty pounds.

Madison groaned and clenched her teeth as he hauled her off the horse. Pain and burning shot through her shoulders. He was strong and tall, that much she could tell. And then she picked up his scent, a combination of sweat and his own unique maleness. Her feet touched the ground and she gave a soft cry as her legs gave way.

Travis gently guided her to sit on the earth. He released the horse and focused on the woman. Taking off the hood, he saw her blond hair was mussed and her blue eyes were filled with pain. Quickly, he moved behind her, unknotting the bonds and releasing her wrists.

“You’re safe,” he rasped, carefully pulling the ropes free. He scowled. Her wrists looked like hamburger; her fingers were covered in dried blood. Rage flowed through him over what they’d done to her. He knelt in front of her.

“Madison Duncan?” he asked, holding her terrified blue gaze.

“Y-yes....” She tried to move her arms, grimacing as she did so.

“Travis Cooper, ma’am.” He kept a hand on her shoulder. “Where are you hurt?”

Madison struggled to speak. “I’m...thirsty....”

He pulled a bottle of water out of a cammie pocket, opened it and handed it to her. “Here you go. Drink your fill.” Well, it wasn’t going to happen. Huge tears formed in her eyes as she tried to move her hands.

“I—I can’t,” she managed. “M-my arms are numb. I can’t feel anything.”

Travis slid his arm around her shoulders. “It’s all right,” he said soothingly. And he placed the lip of the bottle against her mouth. Damn, but she was twenty times better looking than the grainy color passport photo he’d seen of her on his laptop. Her hair was long and slightly wavy, halfway down her back, with streaks of darker blond, cream and more gold colors.

She drank, the water spilling out the corners of her mouth, dribbling down on the dirty tank top she wore.

“Slow down, gal. There’s more where that came from.” He held her eyes, giving her a slight smile meant to help her relax.

Travis kept his hearing keyed. The five booms from a Win Mag would be instantly recognized and any Taliban in the area would know it was an American sniper. The dawn was barely upon them. The sky was indigo and a few stars still blinked above. She finished off the bottle of water.

“Good,” he told her, throwing it away. “Now, talk to me. Where are you hurt?” He prayed like hell she hadn’t been raped. The slope of her left cheek was swollen and there was dried blood around her nostrils and chin. Plenty of blood had spilled on her tank top as well, and Travis knew she’d been hit at least once.

Madison tried to move her hands. Her fingers wouldn’t work. They felt cold and numb. “M-my shoulders and arms hurt.”

“That’s from being tied in that position for so long,” he told her, running his hand across her shoulders. He could feel Madison trembling. And to her credit, she was trying to keep it together. Yeah, she was a Texas gal, through and through.

“They hit me,” she whispered, trying to look up at him through her hair. Lifting her hand, she tried unsuccessfully to push the hair out of her eyes. She saw his bearded face, his dark green eyes narrowed intently upon her. He was dressed in cammies, a boonie hat on his head. His mouth was thinned. Travis Cooper. He’d rescued her. She was safe, alive.

“Anything else?” he asked, trying to steel himself. Her eyes grew cloudy and she quivered in his arms.

“N-no.... Why did they do this?” She searched his hard, weathered face.

“Kidnapping is profitable,” he said. Damn, but she was beautiful. Her eyes reminded him of the dawn sky, a deep cobalt blue. Her pupils were large and black, a thin black crescent curved around the outside of her iris, emphasizing them even more. He gently pushed some of her hair away from her face to hold her gaze. “Look, I need to get you back on a horse. We need to hightail it out of here. I’ve got a cave in mind where we can hide and get out from under the Taliban’s gunsights.” He looked down at her. She reminded him of a disheveled, broken doll. “Can you do that?”

“Y-yes, I can.”

“Good,” he grunted, unwinding and standing. “Stay here. I need to get my ruck and my rifle. I’ll be right back.”

The horses had huddled around them. Travis took off at a fast trot across the flat land toward the scree slope. He knew horses were herd animals. They were used to humans and hopefully would remain with Madison while he picked up his gear. As he ran, he called back to Camp Bravo, giving them information on the package and her present medical condition.

“You’ve got forty Taliban on horseback three miles north of you, heading your direction.”

Yeah, well, Travis had expected the Win Mag would wake up every Taliban in the area. “Roger that.” He filled the master chief in on his escape plan and gave him their GPS position. Travis located his ruck, strapped his Win Mag to the outside of it and pulled the ruck over his shoulders, then swiftly turned and headed down the scree.

In the distance he could see Madison was sitting, her head bowed, her arms hanging uselessly at her sides. God, he felt sorry for her and lengthened his stride, urgency pushing him. Three miles could be covered damn quick by men on horseback.

Madison looked up, watching the Navy man jogging toward her. He was tall, probably at least six feet. And lean, like a starved wolf. It was his oval face, those wide-set green eyes of his and that black beard that made him look hard. He’d just saved her life. Emotions welled up in her. She watched as he slowed to a walk, picked up the reins of one horse and then walked over to the dead soldiers.

What was he doing? She frowned, watching him quickly take off vests, cloaks and trousers from two of them. In no time, he had the clothing strapped on to the back of the saddle. Turning, he walked over to her.

“How are you doing?” he asked, kneeling down, searching her dirty, sweaty face.

“O-okay....” Her heart took off when he gave her a lazy smile. His entire face changed and he almost became handsome.

“Now, you wouldn’t lie to me, would you, darlin’?” He could tell she was rallying beneath his softly spoken endearment. Her mouth...her mouth was meant to be kissed. Full lips, with the corners of her mouth curving naturally upward. Groaning to himself, Travis knew he couldn’t go there.

“I’m okay,” she managed. “I know I look a sight, but—”