SEALs of Honor: Shadow by Dale Mayer Page B

didn’t know the man. She’d heard that voice last night, right? But then she’d been snatched up by a lot of men last night too. And been hurt by them.
    Was this the man who’d hurt her?
    She swallowed hard and stared at him saucer-eyed.
    “No one is going to hurt you. Your leg is injured. We had to clean and bind the wound.” He spoke slowly and carefully, his hand gently stroking her arm. “No one here is going to hurt you.”
    She shuddered. “Where are the others?”
    He smiled at her. “They are coming. You’ll see them in a few minutes. I’m Dane. You heard my name mentioned before, surely,” he said in a teasing voice. “I know you did.”
    Another face slid into view behind Dane. She narrowed her gaze at him but didn’t recognize him either.
    “No need to worry. I’m Mason. Hawk is here too. The three of us were keeping a watch on the far side of where you were and holding the prisoners back,” he said cheerfully. “Not a very glorious job this time but there was lots of communication. You’re looking for one of the other three goofs. They went back to make sure there were no injured men after the bombs went off.”
    Prisoners? Communications? Bomb?
    At the word bomb her eyes widened. “They blew up my grandfather’s cabin?”
    “They did. And their own truck apparently. Not sure about the other rig. We could use it right now.”
    Rig? Right, the terrorists had brought another vehicle.
    Slowly the distorted memories filtered into her brain and arranged to a more or less recognizable pattern. She relaxed back slightly. She studied the truck bed she lay in. There was something beneath her, but it wasn’t soft or comfortable. And she was so damn cold. Just when she thought it was getting better, a wave washed over her making her teeth chatter.
    “So cold,” she whispered.
    “I can help with that,” Mason said before he disappeared from view.
    Like that was a help. But he returned a few minutes later with a big heavy coat that he laid over the front of her. “Now just rest. We’ll be leaving here soon.”
    “Leaving?”
    “Yes, we’re driving you to a small town close by and will make arrangements to get you home from there.”
    “Oh.” She didn’t even know what to say to that. Drive to a town didn’t sound great considering how she was feeling right now. A small town wasn’t going to have a doctor or even a medical clinic. And arrangements to get home, although home sounded lovely that whole arrangement thing sucked.
    But home was the nirvana she was looking for right now.
    She snuggled under the heavy coat, loving the familiar smell to it, and closed her eyes.
    *
    “How is she?”
    Shadow walked into the camp and straight to the truck. He nodded to Evan who stood at the edge. Markus, who’d followed him back, veered off to talk to Evan. Always alert, always on guard.
    Good thing. Too bad he didn’t have good news to report. They hadn’t been able to salvage either of the other two vehicles – or anything of what remained of the cabin. In fact, it was a hell of a mess. He hated to see it. The cabin had been prime in its day. Now it resembled charred toothpicks.
    “She’s awake. Cold, hurting and worried.”
    “Worried about what?” Shadow frowned at Dane.
    “You, you weren’t there when she woke up.”
    “And?” Shadow studied the men around him suspiciously. He was often the butt of the jokes in the group but no more than anyone else. Only when the others were grinning at him like he could see them doing now, well, that was guaranteed to set off his radar.
    “She woke alone, she was scared,” Mason said in a calm low voice. “And she was worried. About where she was and more so about where you were.”
    Shadow turned to look at his friend. “Worried about me?” He raised an eyebrow at the thought. In the physical surroundings he was the last person here she needed to be worried about. “She’s just not feeling well.”
    “Ah, it’s more than that,” Cooper