SEALs Of Honor: Mason Part 9

Tesla laughed and cried and waved at them. "Oh thank heavens you're all safe."

Cooper said, "She's the one who took down Johann's shooter."

Mason shook his head.

Cooper nodded. "And she popped their tire. Honest to G.o.d, she saved my life."

"Ha." Tesla laughed. "You saved mine so we're even."

Hawk came to the open door and held out his arms. Mason snorted as Tesla fell into them. She appeared to like being carried around at times at least.

"Thank you for being so smart, so talented, and so d.a.m.n capable," Hawk said and hugged her hard against his chest.

Then he tossed her to Swede.

Chapter 12.

WITH A SHRIEK she found herself midair then suddenly caught up in Swede's huge arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him back. She was so d.a.m.ned glad they were all here with her. He pa.s.sed her over to Shadow and the process repeated itself until Mason was the only man left who hadn't hugged her. Dane held her out to Mason, only she refused to be tossed. Instead, she reached out and smacked Mason across the face.

Instant silence.

Then she got in his face and snapped, "And that was for sending me off to get shot when you knew I wasn't going to be safe."

"How the h.e.l.l was I to know you weren't going to be safe?" he roared, rubbing his cheek, glaring at her.

"Because you weren't there to look after me," she yelled, her nose inches from his.

She snorted and settled back into Dane's arms. And turned away. Only to realize every last one of them were either laughing or grinning at her.

With a narrow gaze she glared at them. Then turned back to Mason. He was staring at her like he had no idea what to do. She gave him a fat smile. "Time to apologize, Mason."

"Apologize?" He got a thunderous look on his face. "For what?"

"For putting me in danger again," she emphasized.

Swede lost it behind her and backed away guffawing like an idiot. Hawk was bent over and no one dared look at Mason. Well, she had no such qualms. "You don't scare me," she scoffed. "You're a big teddy bear."

That did it, the rest of the men who'd barely held in their laugher cracked up.

Mason s.n.a.t.c.hed her out of Dane's arms. And kissed her. Hard. Hot and long.

She responded enthusiastically. When he finally came up for air, she sagged against him. He said, "At least I've finally found a way to shut you up."

Not knowing where the att.i.tude came from, she smirked and said, "Never."

He rolled his eyes, shifted her in his arms, and said, "I'm sorry for putting you in danger. I thought you'd be safe."

She sniffed.

He glared.

She grinned. "Apology accepted."

He kissed her again.

The others cheered.

d.a.m.n WOMAN. SHE had one job. To stay safe. And what did she do get herself into a gunfight. Then picked up the gun and actively went after the shooter.

And what to do with her now? Cooper was all about getting her to the airstrip. Hawk had tried to contact the helicopter but wasn't raising a response. Dane was currently trying to contact their base.

He gently replaced Tesla on the seat and turned to face Swede. He'd gone back to the flipped vehicle. At his questioning look, Swede shook his head. Well, that was one way to deal with the enemy, wipe them out. Only he knew that they didn't wipe out easy. Every morning he woke up to find they'd multiplied overnight.

Still, he didn't need to let Tesla know she'd killed three men. The accident would be found soon, and they needed to be away. Swede and Shadow had cleaned the house. The Jeep was packed. He didn't ask where it had come from. They all did what they had to do. Hopefully not damaging this one and getting it back to its rightful owners was an option this time.

His team would bring the Jeep. Mason was going to drive the SUV with Tesla and Cooper would ride shotgun. Dane was coming with them. Three men in each.

Cooper held out his communicator to Mason. Still no answer at the helicopter.

d.a.m.n. The landing site had to have been compromised. Still, they had to go check. Swede had a helicopter's pilot license and could fly them out, if it was still there. What they had to do was expect unfriendlies.

At his word, they headed out. The drive was done in complete silence. Mason kept his eye out for any other traffic while Cooper watched for the enemy. Johann's body was in the back, covered with a sheet.

It was Tesla who worried Mason. She hadn't said a word.

After watching the men carry Johann to the back, she'd fallen silent and turned to look out the window. Now she watched the miles drift by but never moved or spoke. Killing wasn't easy for any of them, but they'd adapted out of necessity. For Tesla, this was a first for her and therefore the hardest. She should never have been put into this position. Taking a life was something she'd never forget. And could spend a lifetime adjusting to. Even though her actions had been fully justified...it would hurt for a long time.

The landing site was at an older bushwhacker style landing strip. The trip there was uneventful with the turnoff to their destination nothing but a small dirt road that appeared deserted. But they knew better at this point.

Guns ready, they drove close to the small shack standing at one end and parked. The Jeep hung well back with Swede, Hawk and Dane. Mason explained that they were going to park in the trees and approach the helicopter by foot.

Mason stepped out of the SUV, glanced over at Tesla to see her huge eyes staring at him. Trusting him.

d.a.m.n she was something.

"I'll go look inside." Cooper headed to the doorway and stepped in. He walked out a moment later. "It's empty."

Mason nodded. He'd expected nothing less.

The helicopter sat quiet unattended to the left.

The pilot missing.

Mason took in the long gra.s.s around the airstrip. Lots of places to hide.

Cooper rummaged through the hanger then walked back. "Doesn't look like there's anything of value there."

"Right."

"Do we just go up to the helicopter?" Tesla asked from inside the SUV.

"No," Mason said quietly, his gaze moving steadily around them. His senses were saying something had happened, but there wasn't a sense of immediate danger. As if whatever had happened at this place was over and done with. Had the pilot been taken?

A birdcall from behind the helicopter had him searching the area. Finally, Hawk gave the all clear sign and the death call. As it wasn't one of the team, it was for the pilot. "Come on. We're heading to the helicopter now."

"Is the pilot there?"

Mason shook his head. Well, he was likely dead in the back of the helicopter. Hawk would have moved him back out of sight if he could.

Gun at the ready, he approached the machine, Tesla behind him on Cooper's arm and Dane keeping her safe between them. Shadow popped up at the pilot's seat. "She's completely empty."

"Where's the pilot?" Swede growled. "This thing didn't fly in on itself."

"Is it even yours?" asked Tesla in a tart voice. "Did you consider that it might belong to someone else? You can't just take anything anytime, you know."

Mason rolled his eyes. Dane just grinned. Cooper tried to explain. "This is a government helicopter. It's one of ours and this is a tiny airfield meant for small planes not helicopters."

As he finished, Mason glanced over at Tesla. She didn't look like she believed him but was allowing Cooper to help her up into a seat. He could see the pale color of her skin. She was determined to do the right thing. Even if that meant climbing back into the helicopter.

Only her fingers were locked together so tight her knuckles were white. She was terrified. Out of consideration, he snagged one of the parachutes packed into the locker and dropped it beside her.

She stared at it like it was going to bite her.

"Would you rather have one in case or have the case to need it but not have one."

She s.n.a.t.c.hed it up and held it tight to her chest but shot him a menacing glance. "I'd better not need one."

Swede turned to glance at her from the pilot seat. "I've never lost a machine yet."

At that she smiled. "Thanks, Swede."

"What, he gets a thanks and I give you something that could save your life and I get threats," Mason mocked, happy to see her relaxing. Swede had told the truth but that didn't mean he hadn't flown a heavily bullet riddled machine back a time or two. But Mason would keep that information to himself.

Chapter 13.

TESLA COULDN'T BELIEVE where she was. She was really back in a helicopter and again with unfriendlies around them. They'd taken off ten minutes ago. With Swede flying the machine. Why the original pilot had been killed she had no idea. It must mean the unfriendlies thought they'd be grounded or maybe they had their own pilot. Or h.e.l.l, maybe they had another way to get what they wanted away from here. She didn't know. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd killed the pilot who'd planned to fly this machine with her as his captive.

It was hard to feel sorry for what she'd done. They'd been trying to kill her or at least Cooper. And they'd killed Johann. She'd done what she'd had to. But she wished she hadn't been in a position where that had been the best answer. All she wanted was to get home.

In the background she heard the men talking.

"We have contact with the commander. He wants us to fly straight to the base. Deal with the rest from there."

Made sense to her. She'd like nothing better than to be on base right now.

She'd be safe there.

But what would happen to Mason if she were there. Sent off on another mission? To rescue some other damsel in distress. Did he connect with all of them? Or just her? She hoped with none of them.

Hawk sat down beside her. She glanced over, saw his grin and smiled back. Nice guys. All of them.

"We've got about forty minutes then we should be there."

She nodded and shifted the parachute in her lap. Forty minutes was a long time. She'd hang onto it just in case. At this point she just wanted this over.

Her feet were killing her. She needed to get them up to ease the booming throb, but there was no place. She couldn't stop moving them restlessly though, and she was starting to feel lightheaded. When had she eaten last? Forty minutes was starting to sound like a really long time. She glanced behind her where Mason was talking to Cooper. They were sitting on the floor. If she lay down, she could rest her feet on the pack she was clutching. But that would mean getting up, so she'd sit. She shifted her feet again.

Hawk got up and went to the back. Seconds later Mason took his place. He reached down and grabbed her feet and pivoted her so she was sideways in the seat, but her feet were slightly elevated onto his lap. She had to wiggle into a better position to support herself, but the easing of the pain was such a relief she was happy to ignore his highhanded actions. Modern day warriors were still throwbacks to another age.

When she sagged against the side of the helicopter, he asked, "Better?"

She nodded. "Yes, thank you."

He held her feet until Swede called him to the front. She opened her eyes, wondering if she'd been sleeping but figured she'd likely just been in that lovely half awake state.

She could see buildings below. They were arriving. Excitement brightened her spirits.

The helicopter set down carefully. Within minutes they were overrun with people. Why? Medics first and she was checked over then picked up and transported onto a stretcher. "I don't need a stretcher," she snapped, horrified at the spectacle they were making of her. "I'm not an invalid. And neither am I that badly hurt. You need the stretchers for the two fallen men."

At her words the two men who were moving her to an ambulance looked at each other, then down at her. "We'll deal with them in a moment. We take care of the living first."

She was still spluttering when they popped a strap across her hips and chest. And she lost it.

Then she started screaming. "Mason!"

The men bundled her into the ambulance as she fought the straps and them. Now she was fighting in earnest and screaming. "Let me go. Get this off me."

In her mind she didn't know if the men were there to help her or hurt her, but they hadn't been vetted by Mason so who the h.e.l.l knew?

Suddenly Mason was there. He stood over her. "Easy, Tesla. Take it easy."

She clutched at him, her fingers digging into his arm. "Who are these men? What do they want with me?"

Swede arrived at her other side. Hawk and the others surrounded the stretcher. Hawk immediately unclipped her buckles while Mason lit into the poor men about their callous behavior.