Stalked at Rescue Ridge, page 1
STALKED at RESCUE RIDGE
Barb Han
TorJake Publishing
Copyright © 2024 by Barb Han
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Furthermore, no generative AI was used in the making of this book nor can be trained on the copyrighted work.
Editing: Delilah Devlin
Cover Design: Jacob’s Cover Designs
Proofreading: Judicious Revisions
To Brandon, Jacob, and Tori for being the great loves of my life. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have each of you in my life but I know how truly blessed I am. To Babe for being my hero, my best friend, and my place to call home. I love you with all that I am.
Contents
Prologue
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
Epilogue
COMING NEXT
Author’s note
Also by Barb Han
About the Author
Prologue
“After this, I’m getting out.”
With those words, Zeke Akehurst had just cursed the mission.
Kade Sturgess bit back a string of swear words as he wiped sweat from his forehead before more rolled into his eyes, blurring his vision. “Jesus, Zeke, why the hell would you say something like that right now?” Did the man not realize they were about to be in a shit storm? Did he not realize there were snipers on rooftops chomping at the bit to take down an “infidel” like him? Did he not realize the fastest way to leave Kandahar was today, in a body bag?
Zeke knew better. Didn’t he?
“She needs me,” Zeke continued, unfazed by the fact he’d just jinxed the shit out of their mission. “I should be home.”
Kade didn’t want to be reminded of Bree Kyndall’s pregnancy or the fact his best friend was the father of Bree’s child instead of him. Not that Kade wanted kids. An involuntary shiver rocked his body every time he thought about having rug rats of his own running around, causing trouble. But that was just sour grapes. He’d been outdone by his best friend. One minute, Kade and Bree had shared the best weekend of his life, with sex that had raised the bar too high for anyone else to reach, let alone beat it. Then Bree had gone radio silent for weeks after. The next thing Kade knew, Bree was in a relationship with his best friend. The change had happened so fast that Kade’s head was still spinning. The baby news had come a couple of months later. All that head spinning had turned to stomach bile and nausea.
If Kade and Zeke hadn’t been battle buddies since basic training and best friends long before that, Kade would have given the man a piece of his mind. But no one knew about Kade’s brief fling with Bree. “Shut up, would you?”
“Do you have a problem with me?” Zeke asked, offended. “Because you’ve been a pain in my ass for months now.”
“Yeah, I gotta a problem with you,” Kade said through clenched teeth. He would never tell Zeke about the weekend with Bree. Kade wasn’t a jerk. Zeke was under Bree’s spell. He’d said he’d finally found the love of his life. Kade didn’t have it in him to ask why the two hadn’t tied the knot yet. He didn’t want to know. He didn’t want to be asked to be Zeke’s best man. And he sure as hell didn’t want to stand at the altar across from Bree and bear witness to her making the biggest mistake of her life, marrying Zeke and not Kade.
So, no, he hadn’t pried into Zeke’s personal life.
“Right now, my biggest problem is that you’re distracted when you should have a laser focus on the many asshats who are doing their job, staring down the barrels of their AR-15s, ready and waiting for this convoy to parade through town like its Fourth of July and we’re headed to a backyard barbecue,” Kade said, knowing full well the fireworks could begin any moment. “Plus, it’s hotter than Hades out here. I have an awful mix of sweat and sand in my eyes, and I need a shower.”
“Since when have you ever complained about a free exfoliant?” Zeke’s joke and smirk would normally be enough to shake Kade out of one of his dark moods.
“Focus, please,” Kade stated, nodding toward the mounted assault rifle his buddy was manning.
Zeke shot Kade a look that was equivalent to a bullet. “You could have had—”
Before he finished the sentence, the barrage began. Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat. Those were the last sounds Zeke heard before taking multiple hits. Kade could do nothing to stop the onslaught.
Eyes wide, his buddy’s jaw dropped in disbelief. Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat. Several bullets scored hits above and below his Kevlar vest. Blood spurted. So much blood. Kade threw himself on top of his longtime friend, knocking him to the floorboard of the Humvee as blood spewed from Zeke’s mouth and his gaze fixed.
No!
“Don’t you go anywhere on me,” Kade demanded, stuffing down his desperation in order to stay positive-sounding for his best friend. “Stay with me. You hear?”
Zeke’s muscles fell limp.
No!
“You’re going to be all right. You hear?” Kade turned Zeke’s head to the side so he could breathe. “Bree needs you. The baby needs you.” I need you.
The sounds of a chopper flying by overhead quieted the tat-tat-tats.
Blood dripped onto Zeke. It was Kade’s blood. Shock consumed him, but he refused to give up hope. He flipped Zeke around and started plugging bullet holes with his hands.
Seconds ticked by as darkness tugged, threatening to suck Kade under. Fighting the urge to close his eyes, Kade managed to locate his radio and call for help.
“Come on,” he begged Zeke. “Don’t you go anywhere on me.”
Kade had no idea how much time passed until rescue arrived. He was lifted off Zeke by hands that felt almost superhuman.
“We can take over from here,” someone said before darkness descended and Kade’s eyes closed.
Bright light made it next to impossible for Kade to open his eyes. He blinked a couple of times through blurred vision. Where the hell was he?
Kade attempted to sit up—and failed.
Bringing his hand up to rub his eyes, he realized there was an IV in his arm.
“Good to see you finally wake up, Sturgess,” a serious female voice said as a figure dressed in blue scrubs moved beside him.
Nurse. Hospital.
“Do you know what day of the week it is?” she asked.
“Zeke,” he said through a frog in his throat. He coughed to ease some of the dryness as he forced his eyes open and made a second attempt to sit up before being guided back down with hands on his shoulders.
“Be still for me, okay?” the nurse said.
He gave a reluctant nod.
“Do you know where you are?” she asked, checking his vitals.
“Hospital,” he said, figuring he better play along if he wanted information.
The female came into focus. He judged her to be in her late twenties. Her hair was in a loose bun piled on top of her head, and she wore wrinkled scrubs. Her nametag read Sharon. Could he beg her to give information about Zeke?
“I need to know about my friend,” he said.
“Sorry,” Sharon said. “It’s against the rules to give information about another patient without consent.”
Could he sweet-talk her into making an exception?
“Hi, Sharon,” he said with a pleading look, pouring on all the Kade charm he could muster despite the fact any movement made him wince and his head felt like it was about to explode.
“Hi, back,” she said, still focused on the machine next to his bed.
“I need to check on my friend,” he said. “But I’m going to need some help from you.”
“Oh, really?”
Was he making progress? “That’s right.”
“How can I help you?” she asked, stopping long enough to put a hand on her hip. She’d likely heard and seen it all based on her semi-amused expression.
“Like I already said, I was brought in with a buddy.” Once again, he flashed his 100-watt smile. “And I need you to do some detective work.”
“Is that all?” Sharon thumped his IV drip.
“His name is Zeke. He was shot.” Kade didn’t mention how many times or the fact Zeke’s gaze had fixed. Modern medicine worked miracles. And despite recent differences, Kade couldn’t imagine going through life without his best bud or accept the fact a child would lose its father before taking its first breath.
“Come at me one more time with the name.”
“Zeke Akehurst.”
Sharon’s features softened. “Okay. I’ll see what I can find out.”
Sunlight cascaded in from a window next to his bed. Usually, he’d be a fan, but his head hurt, and the brightness only made an ache form behind his eyes. Kade exhaled a slow breath, praying like hell she didn’t return with a chaplain. “Thank you.”
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
“You will.”
Sharon’s sympathetic gaze lingered a few seconds longer than Kade
The nurse seemed to catch herself. She gave a small headshake and then said she’d be back as soon as she had news. With that, she turned and exited the small, curtained room.
Kade assessed his own injuries. He wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon with his right leg in traction. He forced himself to lean forward to feel around and check out the damage.
He felt his leg, praying it wasn’t broken. Although his ankle was the size of a grapefruit, he was relieved to see the damage was superficial. He’d probably rolled it when he’d dove on Zeke. Nothing more. A high ankle sprain?
Kade’s hands were fine, and his arms worked okay despite movement making everything hurt. He’d live.
Rolling his shoulders, pain shot down his back on the left side. He moved enough of the paper hospital gown to reveal a bandage the size of his hand where the base of his neck met his shoulder. Shit. That was going to leave a mark.
He needed to get the hell out of here and find his buddy. Zeke had to be in much worse condition and could probably use a friend right now.
Peeling one corner of the medical tape, Kade lifted his shoulder to get a better look. He winced. Any movement shot pain down his back.
From the looks of it, he’d been nicked with a bullet. It wasn’t much more than a scratch. His injuries would heal just fine with a little antibiotic ointment and a few bandages.
He gently tapped on the corner of the medical tape and then leaned his head back on the pillow. His mouth was as dry as hot Texas soil in August. From outside the curtain all around him, he heard groans and moans. No doubt there were half a dozen soldiers, maybe more, in this part of the field hospital.
And then he picked out the nurse’s voice. She spoke in barely more than a whisper, but it was unmistakable that she was walking toward him. There was another voice. Male.
Zeke?
A small hand clenched the curtain before drawing it back enough to reveal Sharon’s companion.
A knot formed in Kade’s chest as his gaze landed hard on Commander Dallas Burns. The commander stood there, his hands clasped in front of him, wearing a solemn expression.
“Lieutenant Sturgess, you’re going home,” Burns said. He’d never been one for idle chit-chat, but he’d cut to the chase in record time.
At first blush, Kade thought the good nurse had reported him for inappropriate behavior, but he hadn’t done anything wrong except try to shmooze her into giving him information.
Kade cocked his head to one side, ignoring the pain. “Excuse me, sir?”
“Someone will be around to pick you up in a few minutes,” his commanding officer said.
“What do you mean? I got to get back out there and get those bastards,” Kade argued. No way was he going back to Saddle Junction. His injuries couldn’t be that severe. Not enough to end his career.
“You don’t understand,” Burns said, dropping his gaze for a second.
Kade motioned toward his leg. “Just a couple of scrapes and bruises. The swelling will be down in no time, and I’ll be ready for—”
“It’s your father,” Burns said.
Kade bit his tongue before he said, What father?
“I’m sorry to tell you this, son. But your father died this morning.” Burns lowered his hands like you would standing graveside in a show of respect.
Normally, hearing news of your parent’s death would be a cause for sadness. As far as Kade was concerned, his old man could go to hell. That was probably where he was headed anyway. Kade was more concerned about Zeke. “I’m not going anywhere except out of this hospital and back to the field.”
“You’ve been named executor of the will, so your family needs you back in Texas,” Burns said. Kade was from a small ranch community in North Texas. Burns was from San Antonio, which had spurred a lot of jokes once Kade’s buddies had found out why the man’s first name was Dallas. Rumor had it he was named after the city where he’d been conceived. No son wanted a daily reminder of his mother’s sex life. The jokes had written themselves. Kade knew better. No one made fun of the commander to his face or anywhere in his vicinity, and Kade was smart enough not to take a chance behind Burns’ back, either. He figured a person had no say in who their parents were and shouldn’t be punished for their mistakes, or Kade wouldn’t just go to hell; he’d be the one driving the bus. Then again, being named after the place your mother had sex didn’t classify as child abuse like the things Kade had endured at the hands of his father.
“As far as I’m concerned, all the family I need is right here, sir.” Kade had a soft spot for his sister, twin brothers, and younger brothers. He loved them even though he’d skipped his high school graduation to join the military. All told, there were six Sturgess children, with Kade being the oldest. It made sense that his no-good father would name Kade as executor based on his seniority and the fact he had sperm. Beaumont Sturgess believed a woman’s place was in the kitchen or the bed, serving her husband. What an asshat!
Taking the helm of the family business wasn’t a job Kade could stomach. He’d die before he went back to take his “rightful” place at the family ranch. His father might have grown the Sturgess empire, but the tradition of the oldest male heir taking over the business had died with Beaumont. Period.
“I thought you might say that.” Burns studied Kade before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a folded-up piece of paper. He smoothed it out before holding it out.
Kade tensed, looking at the note like it was a bomb about to explode. Had Beaumont believed a note would undo all the years of physical and mental abuse?
“Go ahead and take it,” Burns urged, reaching out his arm to bring it closer. Kade must have withdrawn because Burns added, “It’s a message from your sister.”
Kade forced relaxation into his shoulders as he took the offering and read the note.
We need you, Kade. Please, come home. Please. Chloe
There wasn’t much Kade wouldn’t do for Chloe. Could he do this? Could he go home? Face Bree?
All he really had to do was go home and have a conversation with his siblings about selling Sturgess Ranch. Considering the fact not one of them lived on or worked the ranch, there wouldn’t likely be much debate about the sale. An annoying voice in the back of his head picked that moment to remind him that he was in no condition to head back out into the field. His injuries needed time to heal. Going back home to Saddle Junction for a couple of weeks should give him enough time.
Dammit. Was he actually considering going back to the town he’d sworn off at eighteen and after he’d renewed that promise after his fling with Bree?
Kade bit back a curse. He lifted his gaze to Burns. “What about Zeke? I’m not leaving here without him.”
Commander Burns dropped his gaze and gave a little head shake. “I’m sorry, son.”
Those words were the equivalent of a sword being thrust deep into the center of Kade’s chest. All the air was suddenly sucked out of the room, and he couldn’t breathe. His chest ached with the kind of hurt and loss that created a massive crater. One that could never be refilled.
“Bucket,” he managed to get out before the first heave.
Guilt wrapped long tentacles around him and squeezed. Kade’s irritation and lack of focus had cost his best friend’s life. Jesus. No. Zeke couldn’t be dead. He was about to be a father. And it was one hundred percent on Kade that a child had lost its father before taking its first breath.
How the hell was he supposed to live with that?
1
Breanne Kyndall, called Bree by everyone who knew her, could barely breathe. The little bean growing in her stomach had wedged itself underneath Bree’s ribcage and decided to test its soccer skills. She rolled off the side of bed, catching herself before she plopped onto the floor. Nearing her due date, every body part felt swollen. How was that even possible?
