SEALs Of Honor: Mason Part 2

Hawk winced. "Sorry, ma'am."

She nodded as a fine shudder moved over her skin. "It's okay. Daniel used the term buyer earlier. It just sounded different when you said it."

Hawk glanced over at her and smiled somewhat bashfully. "Still not something you need to dwell on. We've got you now."

"And thank you very much for that." She smiled warmly at him.

He grinned. "My pleasure."

"My thanks to all of you," she said, carefully looking at each man. "I do appreciate it. Wasn't sure how much longer I could stay in that position to be honest."

They all grinned. "We do understand."

She bet they did. She'd heard some things about the types of training these men went through, and her brother Harry had been a big fount of information. Filling her head with tales of what he and the others went through. He'd been so proud to be a part of his family. And that was what he and his men had been. Family. All family.

"Hey, are you Harry Landers' sister?"

She glanced over at the tall blond man who looked like a tree trunk. "Yes, I am. Was." She stumbled over the word. It was so d.a.m.n hard to know her beloved brother was gone and wouldn't be back. She missed him so much. She'd instinctively avoided relationships with other men in dangerous careers because she'd suffered enough loss. But these men, one in particular had her rethinking that.

The men sat up straighter and studied her differently.

She knew they'd look at her in a new light. Harry had been a SEAL too. Hopefully her behavior wouldn't make them wince. That Harry, if he was looking down on her, would be proud.

There were few people in this world whose opinion mattered to her, but Harry's had been the big one. His team...possibly another. This couldn't, shouldn't be his team. But what did she know. It was a small select group. No, chances were they didn't know Harry, but they'd know of him.

MASON FELT THE blow to his stomach as if a torpedo had blown through. This was Harry's sister? They'd nicknamed him Dirty Harry after finding out the man could imitate Clint Eastwood and those old movies perfectly. Harry had been gone just over a year now. Mason had known him well, although he hadn't gone on any missions with him. But they'd been friends. Harry had spoken about his kid sister a lot. Affectionately, with respect and always admiration. She'd intrigued Mason. He'd always wondered about her. Always considered contacting her. But there was that unwritten rule about staying away from sisters.

So he had. After Harry's death he'd considered it again. Had even sent a card to her but hadn't heard back. Then that was to be expected. He was no one to her. Maybe a name but more than likely just one card in a sea of condolences. Back then, at the time of Harry's death, they'd all been in Iraq. They were leaving for a mission the next day but one superior took Harry with him on a trip to a different camp, needing to talk to him about a problem.

The truck had hit a land mine. They'd all died.

Losing one of their own was always hard. It had left them all at a loss.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Tesla. Harry spoke about you often."

She turned to stare at him. Those same blue eyes as her brother's made him wonder why he hadn't seen the resemblance in the first place. Because Harry was dark and she was light, as in ash blonde light. But now that he knew, he could see it in the eyes.

"You knew him too?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "We all did. He was one of us."

Chapter 4.

SHE SAT BACK, not surprised. Then all SEALs had a camaraderie that was second to none. She might have gotten to know some of them if she'd lived closer to Harry. Had these ones been at his funeral? They might have been. She'd been so blind to everything but her grief. Now that she understood, she could see the resemblance in their faces. The same hard, dangerous look to them. Harry had sent her dozens of photos of men. Some here and many others. "I have a photo of you all. And more. From Harry."

They looked at her, gazes narrow, considering. She didn't know if they were worried about the type of photo she had. "He kept it with him all the time. You're all on a large boat, grinning."

"Ship," one of the darker haired men said in a pained voice. "It's called a ship."

She chuckled. "I know that. It used to bug Harry too. That's why I still say it."

The men's eyes widened in shock then the air warmed up noticeably as they laughed.

Harry had loved her teasing. It was one of the things she missed most. Teasing him and knowing it was part of the relationship. Part of the joy between them. They'd been so different. So much the same. G.o.d she missed him.

As she struggled to pull her painful memories back to the present, there was a flash of light and a huge explosion. A high pitch mechanical scream ripped through the helicopter. It listed sideways. She shrieked.

Mason grabbed her and held her close. Several of the men raced to the front of the injured machine.

She didn't have time to think what anyone was doing. Mason had his hand wrapped around her wrist like a vice on a board. But he was dragging her to the back, then he slammed something large and heavy against her chest.

"Hold this," he shouted at her.

Her arms closed instinctively around the harness. Before she could understand, he spun her around and was leading her to the side, locked tight against his chest. "Now if we get separated, pull this." And he stuck a cord in between her frozen fingers. "Ready?"

She stared panicked into his gaze. "For what," she screamed over the noise. "Are we going down?"

"Yes, the easy way." He dragged her to the side, the wind gusting into the helicopter. "We're going to jump. Hang on to me." He reached down and clipped their chest straps together. Outside the ground fell away to a valley way down there. Oh h.e.l.l no.

"No. No." She shook her head. "No, it's not possible."

"Three, two, one..."

And he jumped, dragging her out of the machine.

Cold wind p.r.i.c.ked her face, head and hands, but it was her endless scream that killed her throat. He finally grabbed her head by the hair and tugged it backwards. He lowered his head and sealed her mouth with a kiss.

She clung to him, her hands clutching his chest straps as her mouth soaked up his comfort. Whimpers escaped out of her throat.

It took her a long moment to realize her legs were wrapped around him, and she was kissing him back as much as he was kissing her.

If she had to be thrown out of a helicopter then it was a h.e.l.l of a way to go.

She shuddered by the time he finally lifted his head.

"Better?" he asked, humor in his voice.

She heard it barely. There was just enough volume in his voice to hear him over the wind streaming past her head. "As far as I can be..." she snapped. "Considering someone just threw me out of a helicopter."

"Would you prefer to have stayed inside?" he said against her ear. He moved his head to the side. And a whole different vista opened up. The other men in parachutes floated around them, apparently all safe. Thank heavens. Just then a huge blast split the skies behind them. A cry escaped as she watched pieces of the helicopter fly through the sky.

That was the first she realized only one big white parachute floated above their heads. She'd had no idea. Somehow she'd seen enough to know Mason would take care of her regardless of the danger to himself. Clipped together, their parachute was carrying twice the weight. So not good. Thankfully she was a lightweight. Still, she had one on her back so maybe that was a precaution only.

"Here we come," he warned. "We're going to come down hard and roll."

She had no chance to decipher what he was saying as the ground came up awfully fast. She screamed as they approached. A hard jolt, a series of tumbling rolls and he was on his feet, again stabilizing her as she struggled to sort out vertical from horizontal.

"Is it over?" she asked, hating the shakiness in her voice, clinging to him, desperate to have the world steady.

"It is." He was busy unclipping, unhooking and undoing straps and clasps until they were separated. And the parachute harnesses were on the ground. He quickly spun around and rolled up the parachute as it slowly floated to the ground behind them. The sky was black. Their new world a myriad of shadows. She crouched down wondering what the h.e.l.l they were going to do from here? The cold was seeping through her. That wind on the way down had been biting. With no coat, she was d.a.m.n near numb. She was dressed in only lightweight jeans, a t-shirt, with a light sweater over top.

Riding double, they'd landed ahead of the other men. She watched as the big white balloons floated down around them, the moonlight easily helping her to spot them. They were all several hundred yards away though. As if timed, they landed one by one and winked out of her sight. How could they find each other in this darkness?

The answer was so obvious she almost laughed. They were SEALs. They could do this blindfolded.

Mason turned to her, his pack already fully stuffed and reached out a hand. "We need to go."

"Go where?" She'd love to go somewhere, but...

"Anywhere but here." He helped her up. "I know you're tired, but whoever shot the helicopter down is looking for survivors."

That guaranteed her cooperation. She ran beside him, her feet shredded by the paper thin flat shoes that had long since done their job. She stumbled over a hillock and would have fallen if it wasn't for his arm. "Easy," he whispered.

She kicked off the broken threads covering her feet, realizing the remnants of her shoes were tripping her up more. Now barefoot, she ran.

At his side, her steps were long and free. With her eyes adjusting to the half light, she forged ahead, strong.

Mason ran beside her. He let out a weird half call. She glanced over at him. But there was no point in asking questions. They'd steal her breath and stop her rhythm. She hoped she didn't have to run all night, but she'd give it her best.

MASON COULDN'T QUITE hide the pride he felt as he watched this woman who'd survived so much, do what he commanded without question and still even after being tossed out of a helicopter, got up and kept on running. Harry, where ever the h.e.l.l you are man, you did good.

But pride or not, there was no way in h.e.l.l he should have kissed her. How completely unlike him and totally unprofessional. And if there was one thing in this world he knew for sure, he was a pro.

But there'd been something about her... There still was.

A hawk called to the left. He cut sideways and she never missed a step. He glanced down and realized she ran in bare feet. Her jeans were frayed and cut but she still ran.

He knew many men who would have given up before now.

Not Tesla. He didn't think she had any give in her.

Directing his path toward the tall stand of trees where Hawk was perched, he listened for the calls from the others as they moved to collect around Hawk. Time was of the essence. Not only did they have enemies on their a.s.s, but he was pretty sure the pilot hadn't made it out alive.

Sliding into the shadows, he pulled Tesla around and into his arms. Against her ear he whispered, "We have to stay quiet and will be using our call signals. We don't want something unfriendly to come in."

She stiffened but true to from, she nodded. He let her lean back against the bark of the closest tree to catch her breath. The scratched and bleeding toes was something he couldn't do anything about right now. After they made camp, then he'd see to it.

The others came in, heads down, bodies low.

Mason counted them as they slid into home base. Swede, Shadow, Dane, Hawk. His mind automatically went to add Cooper but he was back at base.

Good. They were all here. He lifted an arm, and without giving any explanation to Tesla, moved forward at a steady pace deeper into the shadow of the trees. After a few moments, Hawk came up beside him and took the lead. The others fanned out around her. They'd do anything they could to keep her safe.

She was showing her mettle, a character that they could respect and admire, and then there was now the fact that she was Harry's sister. Interesting they hadn't been told that before. Had Harry told the others about the type of work his sister was involved in? The reason the unfriendlies were after her.

If they knew that, they'd worship at her feet.

That almost p.i.s.sed him off. He had no reason to feel this way, but he couldn't stop feeling like those little feet should be his. And that was foolish. He'd planned to stop by and see her sometime in the future. To share stories of her brother, to get to know her. Harry had told him about her since forever. Half of the stories were obviously overstated, but...he looked at her as she ran, tiring but stalwart at his side...maybe not.

She'd been raised by a military man. A former SEAL himself, and although he'd wanted a second son, he'd gotten a daughter. And had raised her to be tough.

Mason had thought she was a marshmallow, but in the world of civilian women, she had showed herself amazingly well suited to handle life's b.i.t.c.hiest moments.

Shots fired through the darkness, splattering bark beside Tesla's head.

She let out a little shriek and collapsed to the ground.

s.h.i.t.

He dropped to her side, his hands already checking to see if she'd been hit. Please let her be okay. There was no blood that he could see.

"My head," she moaned. "Stinging."

He held a tiny flashlight up so he could see the damage. "Splinters from the tree."

"Hurts."

She was gasping for breath, but he wasn't sure if that was from the pain or the shock. Either way it was something she had to control. He plucked out the couple of larger splinters he could easily grab, then tugged her to her feet. "I can't do more right now. The others are small."

He watched her nod in understanding and try to regain control. She swiveled to look around for the others. But they'd melted into the shadows looking for the shooters.

"They are making it safe for us to proceed," he whispered.

Her eyes widened. She gave a clipped nod then in a low voice, she asked, "The pilot?"

He shook his head. He doubted anyone could have survived. The first explosion had ripped the c.o.c.kpit apart. Mason had seen Hawk when the chaos happened but hadn't had a chance to confirm with him. But he wouldn't be with them now if there was a chance to save the pilot too. Not with those waiting on the ground watching, waiting to take out the survivors.

"Ready?" he asked.

He saw the despair in her eyes. Then the grit as determination lit their dark depths.

"That's my girl." He kissed her lightly again. As he pulled his head back, he heard the rustle behind him. "Hawk is here. Let's go."

Hawk took up the front position and led the way.

"How did you know it was him?" she muttered.

"I always know where my men are at all times. It's how we stay safe." It might be, but she was a distraction he could ill afford. What was wrong with him? He couldn't stop kissing her.