SEALs Honor by Elle James Read Free Book Online Page B

slightly. He waited
before entering, gauging whether or not the men in the back room had heard.
When the Afghan's voice droned on, Tuck crossed the threshold and slipped past
darkened rooms. Women and children slept inside some of them. He pulled doors
closed and moved on, determined to make this extraction as quick and painless
as possible. Where the hallway split at a T-junction, he sent Reaper to the
right and he and Gator took the left, toward the sound of talking men.
    As
he reached the room, a scuffle at the end of the hallway behind him made him
stop short, weapon at the ready. He shot a glance over his shoulder. A man had
emerged from the room at the end of the hallway, adjusting his robes with one
hand, carrying a gun in the other. When he spotted Reaper, he raised his
weapon. Reaper swung the butt of his M4A1, catching the man on the chin so
hard, a loud crack echoed against the dried mud walls. He slid to the floor.
    A
shout sounded from the men in the room in front of Tuck. Before the men inside
made it to the door, Tuck dove through the opening, weapon ready.
    Armed
with AK47s, and handguns, five of the eight men in the room opened fire.
    Tuck
nailed two of the shooters.
    Gator
popped two others.
    The
last armed man flattened himself on the floor behind one of his dead buddies
and fired wildly at Tuck and Gator.
    One
bullet hit Tuck in the chest, his flak vest protecting him, but the force of
the bullet knocked back against the wall. By the time he steadied himself,
another round nicked his left shoulder. He dropped to the prone position,
aimed, and shot the man between the eyes.
    Two
of the other men grabbed the weapons of their dead compatriots. Before they
could pull the triggers, Tuck and Gator fired, dropping them where they stood, leaving
the last man alive. He stood tall, his black beard and mustache shaggy,
unkempt, his head swathed in a black turban. He spat on Tuck and cursed him in
Pashto. The man looked like the one in the photos from his mission briefing.
They'd found Muttaqi.
    More
shouting out in the hallway pushed Tuck to action. Their team didn't have time
to waste before the entire village descended on this location. When Gator
grabbed the man's arm, Muttaqi fought back.
    Tuck
hit the Amir in the temple with the butt of his weapon.
    The
man fell to his knees, then flat on his face.
    Digging
a zip-tie out of his pocket, Tuck secured the man's wrists behind his back.
    Gator
slapped duct tape over his mouth, then flung him over his shoulder in a
fireman's carry.
    Tuck
emerged into the hallway to spot Reaper cornered by two men, a third man in the
process of pulling the pin on a grenade.
    He
lobbed the grenade at Reaper and dove into a room.
    Tuck
couldn't get to him fast enough and watched in horror as Reaper grabbed the
grenade and flung it into the room after the retreating man. With no time to
spare, Reaper dropped to his belly and shaded his eyes.
    Tuck
and Gator only had time to fling their arms over their eyes.
    The
grenade exploded.
    The
force of the explosion knocked Tuck and Gator backward, Muttaqi's body landing
on top of them, the concussion making Tuck's ears ring and his head spin. As he
pushed his way out from beneath their prisoner and sat up, his vision blurred,
then came back into focus and his heart skipped several beats.
    The
entire wall where Reaper had been standing had crumbled onto Reaper and the
three Taliban members. Dust choked the air.
    Tuck
staggered to his feet, off balance, a sense of urgency hard to grapple with
when he could barely stand. He grabbed Gator's hand and pulled the man to his
feet. They teetered together until they could stand on their own.
    Muttaqi
groaned through the tape on his mouth, thankfully still alive for interrogation
later.
    Tuck
helped Gator load the man over his shoulder and shoved him toward the exit.
    Dustman
met them at the door, took Gator's load, and ran to the back wall of the
compound, shoving Muttaqi over the top.
    With
Muttaqi out of