SEAL's Revenge (Alpha SEALs Coronado Book 4) Read online

  SEAL’s Revenge

  AN ALPHA SEALS CORONADO NOVEL

  Makenna Jameison

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2021 by Makenna Jameison.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  Table of Contents

  About This Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Books by Makenna Jameison

  About the Author

  About This Book

  A hostage rescue gone wrong. A woman in fear of her life. And a Navy SEAL who’ll stop at nothing to save her.

  Navy SEAL Ethan “Everglades” Flannigan feels an instant draw toward the woman his team is tasked with rescuing from the mountains of Afghanistan. Kidnapped and held by a terror cell, her condition is unknown. But when the innocent woman bolts from them in fear, he’ll stop at nothing to get her to safety.

  Army Reservist Kimberly Turner was kidnapped after a bombing in Afghanistan. She’s been held in the mountains for nearly two months and given up hope of a rescue. When a group of armed men storm the camp and she’s held at knifepoint in the confusion, she runs. The buff and assertive Navy SEAL who chases after her won’t let any further harm come her way—but he won’t let her avoid the attraction simmering between them either.

  Ethan knows Kim has been traumatized during her ordeal, but as she slowly opens up, he needs to persuade her that he’ll protect both her body and heart. When they return stateside and she slowly recovers, Kimberly realizes Ethan is the only thing she wants—but is it too late to have him?

  SEAL’S REVENGE, a standalone novel, is book four in the addictive Alpha SEALs Coronado series.

  Chapter 1

  Kimberly Turner groaned as she rolled over on the thin, dirty blanket on the cave floor. She shifted slightly, her body stiff and sore from another night sleeping on the hard ground. Her stomach rumbled with hunger, but she’d gotten used to the feeling after nearly two months in captivity. Her long, dark hair was tangled and matted, and she’d kill for a hot shower. For soap and warm water to rinse the sand, dirt, and grime from her skin.

  Bathing in her clothes in the river had sufficed on the few opportunities she’d gotten. There was no way she was undressing around the group of violent men who’d kidnapped her.

  After walking for hours yesterday, her captors had moved her and another woman to this hidden location. It looked exactly like the last cave she’d been in, but Kim knew they were trying to avoid being caught. The more frequently they moved her, the less hope she had of being rescued.

  She hadn’t seen the other hostage since yesterday, but she’d heard the woman’s screams last night.

  Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she shuddered.

  They’d raped the other woman nightly but had only hurt her once. The other captive was blonde and American. She cried when they hurt her, which only seemed to urge them on more. Kim hadn’t fought the first night when a man had attacked her. She’d closed her eyes and willed it to be over as soon as possible. He’d climbed off her, spit in her face, and then stormed away yelling in Farsi while she’d righted her clothing.

  Only after he was gone, and she was certain she was alone, had she cried.

  With Kim’s dark hair, she blended in more here in Afghanistan. Or she would’ve, had she been dressed in traditional attire. The camo fatigues she had on—the very one’s she’d been wearing when kidnapped from Bagram Airfield—gave her away as an American.

  They knew when they’d kidnapped her that she was valuable—a female American servicemember. Kim wasn’t sure what the blonde woman did, or even if she’d been taken from Bagram. Despite being moved together every few days to new spots hidden in the mountains, they weren’t allowed to talk or communicate.

  The men still taunted and harassed Kim, grabbed at her, but only one man had held her down in the dark tent that night. Kim wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep from crying. Tears wouldn’t solve anything. Memories wouldn’t keep her safe. And fighting her kidnappers would only get her hurt.

  Again.

  After taking a few shaky breaths, she blinked in the dim light. It was early morning—too early for the men guarding her to be awake. They knew she wouldn’t run. She’d attempted escape only once before and been beaten because of it.

  And aside from the first night she’d been taken, when the man had forced himself on her, they’d preferred to prey on the other woman. Kim wanted to vomit thinking about what she’d been through—wanted to tell her to stay quiet and stop crying so they’d leave her alone. She’d only caught glimpses of the woman though. They weren’t held near one another. They’d never been allowed to speak.

  Rolling onto her back, she stared up at the cave ceiling, barely visible in the morning light.

  Was anyone looking for her?

  The explosion in her building at Bagram had resulted in chaos and utter confusion. Women had been screaming, rushing to get out the door as smoke filled the air. Flames licked up the sides of the building. Kim had been down in the lobby and one of the first women to rush out, yelling for help.

  In the confusion, someone had grabbed her. Silenced her. Strong arms had wrapped around her, lifting her from the ground as she kicked and fought. She’d seen a group of men rushing toward the building, one who’d been with her friend Hailey moments before. Kim didn’t recognize them from base, but plenty of military personnel came and went. Kim was only supposed to be there for a month as part of her reserve duty.

  But she’d been no match for the man who had taken her. And with the fire and smoke and screams piercing the air, no one had noticed as she’d been kidnapped in plain sight.

  She didn’t know what had happened to her friends. To Hailey. The women had become friends when they’d both worked at the Pentagon. They’d just happened to be at Bagram together for a few weeks while Kim was TDY. Had Hailey escaped the fire? Did she wonder what had happened to Kim?

  Did the Army think she’d gone AWOL or been killed in the explosion? Would anyone even know to come looking for her?

  A stray tear ran down her cheek, and she squeezed her eyes shut again. Crying alone in the cave wouldn’t help her. She needed to hold on. To stay strong. Maybe someone was looking for her. Maybe they’d find her any day now.

  Kim took a shaky breath, willing herself to calm down. She’d count backwards from one hundred to slow her breathing. To lull herself back to sleep. To keep her mind on anything else.

  Later that morning, the sound of voices woke her. She squinted at the opening of the cave, listening to two men talk. They were nothing but dark silhouettes against the bright sun, and she wondered how late in the morning it was. Although they’d woken her early yesterday to walk all day, this morning they appeared to be in no rush to leave.

  Kim only understood a few words in Farsi, but judging from the man holding the cell
phone, she wondered if they were planning to take a video of her again. She hadn’t spoken a word last time. They’d filmed her sitting on the ground, staring blankly at the camera.

  The irony.

  They hadn’t filmed her after they’d beaten her weeks ago—the one time she’d tried to escape. Her shoulder still ached a little, but her bruises had long since faded. Kim knew she was mal-nourished though. She hadn’t been eating enough for regular day-to-day activities, let alone for the day-long walks as they’d moved through the desert and mountains.

  She was conserving her strength and biding her time. If she ever had the chance again—when she was certain she wouldn’t be caught—she’d run.

  One of the Afghani men began walking toward her, hand outstretched. “Come!” he demanded.

  “What, no breakfast in bed?” she asked sarcastically as she stood.

  He evidently didn’t understand her snarky comment. “Breakfast later. Now come.”

  Eyeing him warily, she took a step forward. She’d gotten used to the man who usually guarded her, but she hadn’t seen him this morning. This guy was younger, with a slightly crooked nose and thin lips. Most of their faces blurred together after a while, but she remembered a few.

  The men preferred tormenting the blonde and mostly left Kim alone. It was awful to listen to, but Kim couldn’t help her. She couldn’t fight off a group of armed men. And as horrible as it was, a part of her felt relieved it wasn’t her. She’d feel guilty for the rest of her life about that, but both women had been put in a horrible situation.

  She’d never forget the man who had raped her the very first night. A part of her had blocked out the actual attack—like she’d witnessed it happening to someone else. She couldn’t forget the smell of his sweat though or the evil look in his eyes. He’d been missing part of his ear, a distinguishing feature she’d immediately recognized and loathed. As much as the other men blended together, she’d made sure to stay clear of him.

  Every day Kim lived in fear that the men would harm her, that the evil man who’d attacked her would do it again. But she knew they wanted to get a rise out of her. To hear her cries and screams. She didn’t respond to their taunts, and they’d left her alone—aside from beating her the one night when she’d tried to run.

  Her stomach roiled.

  This wasn’t the time or place to show weakness. The guy with the crooked nose might have been younger, but that didn’t mean he was any less ruthless. He could hurt her just as easily as the others.

  “We take new video. Too dark in here. Now move, filthy American!”

  Their verbal jabs meant little. They were nothing but trash themselves—terrorists who set out to attack Americans and other westerners. She’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they’d kidnapped her. No doubt these men were part of the group who’d bombed Bagram.

  Clenching her jaw, she followed him out into the sunlight.

  There were only a few other men around, and she saw no trace of the blonde woman. Crooked Nose grabbed her forearm, pulling her along when she didn’t move fast enough. A group of three men sitting together eating watched with interest but continued on with their breakfast when she willingly went with the man. It wasn’t too interesting to watch an acquiescent prisoner, she supposed.

  If they weren’t going to torture or rape her again, she wasn’t entirely sure why they still held her prisoner. Had they been trying to obtain a ransom for her release? Did they want some sort of prisoner trade?

  They hadn’t tried to get much information from her. Apparently being a woman had worked to her advantage in that sense. They didn’t think she knew anything of importance. She wasn’t permanently stationed in Bagram anyway. While they probably could’ve forced some information out of her, they hadn’t tried.

  She’d been a prisoner far too long though, and with each day that passed, she grew more unsettled. They fed her, and her body remained in shape thanks to the forced marches through the mountains. She hadn’t been eating enough though, and her uniform was looser than it had been a month ago.

  Would they eventually deem her of no use and just kill her?

  Looking around in disdain at the mountains, she knew it would be nearly impossible for the military to find her. She’d completely lost track of how far they’d come from Bagram Airfield, but that hardly mattered. The mountainous terrain around the cave looked similar to nearly every other place they’d taken her. How would the U.S. military ever be able to pinpoint her location?

  Unless someone tipped them off, revealing where she was held, they weren’t likely to just stumble upon her. And were they even looking? Or had she been presumed dead in the explosion?

  There were mountains after mountains here, with green valleys far down below and snow-capped peaks in the distance. It was eerily beautiful for such a war-torn country. And while the mountains looked stunning from a distance, from the secure walls of Bagram, it was another thing entirely to be held captive while moving through them. To sleep in caves and march through the rough terrain.

  She didn’t know where she was. She couldn’t provide any clues. Even if they did allow her to speak freely on the video, what was she supposed to say? She didn’t know the names of the men. She didn’t know where she was being held. Although she didn’t know the exact purpose of the video, she could assume it would be broadcast far and wide. Not much had happened after the first video they’d taken though, aside from them moving her yet again to a new location.

  Two other men came hurrying up, yelling at one another in Farsi. Kim instantly cringed as she saw them. Both were carrying weapons and looking at her with hate in their eyes. One of the men pointed his finger at her, spitting on the ground in disgust. “You will tell your Americans to pay your ransom! We have given them plenty of time. I will not wait any longer!”

  The second man started rapidly talking to him, arguing, and she froze. The first guy appeared agitated, tightly gripping his gun. Would he shoot her right now? Film her being executed? Her mind whirled. If they’d demanded a ransom, that meant the U.S. knew there was a chance she was still alive. That she hadn’t died in the explosion at Bagram Airfield.

  “Stand there!” Crooked Nose ordered, pointing toward the rocky area next to the cave. “Move!”

  She walked over uneasily, her gaze scanning the area. If she ran, they’d probably kill her right now. Besides, it’s not like she could get far. They’d search the nearby caves—spread out and track her down. Beat her again.

  Her stomach churned as she turned to face him. The other two continued arguing, the outspoken man glaring at her. “You will speak on the video. Tell them how well we’ve treated you. Tell the world you are an American soldier! If they do not pay, you will be harmed!”

  Swallowing nervously, she looked at the cell phone Crooked Nose held up. The other two men quieted, and the silence was eerie. Normally, she’d hear voices of men around the area they’d made camp in. She’d only seen a few men eating breakfast. She hadn’t heard or seen the blonde woman today. Had they moved her somewhere else? Killed her?

  “You will start on my order,” Crooked Nose said, drawing her gaze toward him. He held up his cell phone as the other men watched, growing agitated. One of them lifted his weapon, aiming it at her. She knew it was for show. They wanted to intimidate and scare her. They wanted a reaction.

  Her pulse pounded as she stared them down.

  Normally she worked in an office in the confines of the Pentagon. She had reserve duty once a month and TDY that was usually only two weeks a year. She’d been deployed a month this time to Bagram Airfield. She’d been excited to know she’d been heading the same place her friend Hailey was working. What were the chances her friend from home would be where the Army sent Kim?

  Hailey was a civilian DOD contractor. She didn’t deploy the way Kim did but had accepted a year-long assignment in Afghanistan. She was supposed to move out to San Diego for a new position, but Kim had no idea what had happened to her.

/>   Had Hailey escaped the explosion? Was she wounded or killed?

  Kim didn’t know what had happened to any of the women who lived in her building. She didn’t know if any of her friends had survived the explosion.

  And now she was a prisoner.

  The men talking in Farsi drew her mind back to the present. Her gaze shifted to the gun aiming at her and the cell phone that would record every word she said.

  Crooked Nose glared at her. “Now!” he yelled as he pushed a button on his phone.

  Kim’s mouth felt dry, and she nervously swallowed. It was hard to even think over the roaring in her ears. Her heart pounded so quickly that she could barely focus on anything else. She felt dizzy with the bright sun beating down and no food or water in her stomach. Her palms grew damp with sweat, and she frantically realized she needed to talk.

  “My name is Kimberly Turner.” She cleared her throat, trying to speak louder. “I’m a U.S. Army reservist stationed at Bagram Airfield. I was kidnapped by a group of armed men after the explosion. I’m being held somewhere in the mountains of Afghanistan. The men holding me demand for you to pay a ransom for my release. They’ve threatened to hurt me if they don’t receive the money. Please do whatever they say.”

  The guy abruptly cut off the video, and she listened as the three men argued some more as they played back the video they’d recorded.

  Would her family see that? Her friends?

  Her image would be splashed all over the news worldwide. She hadn’t looked in a mirror in months, but she knew her uniform was dirty and worn. She’d lost weight, and her hair was a matted, tangled mess.

  Maybe it was a good thing the world would see her now. If they had proof that she was still alive, the U.S. Army would come looking for her. They’d send in the Special Forces to rescue her. They’d find her. That’s what those guys did—the impossible.