Deadly Risk (Prey Security: Alpha Team Book 1), page 1
Deadly Risk
Jane Blythe
Copyright © 2023 Jane Blythe
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, reverse engineered or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, including photocopying and recording, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented without permission in writing from the publisher.
All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Bear Spots Publications
Melbourne Australia
Cover designed by RBA Designs
I’d like to thank everyone who played a part in bringing this story to life. Particularly my mom who is always there to share her thoughts and opinions with me. My wonderful cover designer Letitia who did an amazing job with this stunning cover! And my fabulous editor Victoria for all the hard work she puts into polishing my work.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Book List
About the Author
Chapter One
September 27th
2:03 A.M.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
Something wasn’t right.
Luca “Bear” Jackson halted his team. The island was too quiet; he’d expected to meet some sort of resistance before now, but so far, they hadn’t encountered anything.
A crash of thunder rumbled through the dark night, quickly followed by a bright flash of lightning arcing across the sky. Raiding a compound belonging to a domestic terrorist who had fled the country after almost being caught in the middle of a thunderstorm wasn’t ideal, but unfortunately, they didn’t have much choice.
When Storm Gallagher had disappeared, he’d gone to Uganda—to Lake Victoria—the place in the world that had the most thunderstorms. Bear was pretty sure that wasn’t a coincidence.
What they knew about the man was that he was delusional; he hated the government and the military, although nobody seemed to know where this hatred had begun; and he had plans to use veterans to try to bankrupt the government, as well as plans to set off multiple explosions.
Storm Gallagher was a dangerous man, but he wasn’t stupid. After his plans to use a former Ranger turned K9 trainer to kick off his campaign of terror were foiled, the man had disappeared—moved here—but Bear doubted he was playing things foolishly.
Storm had hidden out with a bunch of survivalists: vulnerable men and women he had managed to convince to join his cause. Most of them had been either caught or killed when the compound was attacked, but Storm had enough men left to start over.
Here.
On this small island.
Which appeared to have been abandoned.
Only Bear would have bet his one remaining leg that there was no way Storm would just abandon this place. The man had an obsession with storms that he’d taken as far as having a lightning bolt tattooed around one of his eyes and a tornado around the other.
This place meant something to the man, and there was no way he’d give it up without a fight.
And if a fight was what Storm wanted, then it was a fight he was getting, because this was personal to Bear and his team. The K9 trainer he’d targeted was now engaged to Dove Oswald, who was one of six owners of Prey Security, the company Bear and his team worked for. They were more than just boss and employees; they were a family.
The only family Bear had left after his own had disowned him.
There was no way Prey was backing away from this; they would hunt the terrorist to the ends of the earth—as they had—because nobody messed with the Prey family and got away with it.
Storm Gallagher was going down, the easy way or the hard way. All they could hope for now was that he wouldn’t bring anyone else with him.
Another bolt of lightning lit the night, and once it was dark again, Bear gestured for his team to move.
As they crept between the trees, the team split up. Images from the drones they’d used to do recon over the last couple of days showed that the compound was basically one large building in the middle of the island. The building was surrounded by the trees, and those and the water provided the first layer of protection, but Bear expected there to be men hidden in the trees ready to pick them off as they approached.
Attempt to pick them off, because Bear and his team were the best.
All of them might have sustained injuries that ended their military careers, but they were in top physical condition. They trained relentlessly when they weren’t on missions and were as physically fit as when they’d served. They were also highly trained, and thanks to Prey being the most successful private security company in the world, they had the very best equipment to back it up.
But things could still go deathly wrong.
Had gone deathly wrong before.
This time will be different, Bear swore to himself.
According to his night vision goggles, there was no one in the trees as he and his team split up and made their way toward the building in the center of the island. No shots were fired. Nothing moved. The only sound was the rumble of thunder, and while that could mask any other sounds, Bear didn’t get the feeling he was being watched.
Despite that, the hairs on the back of his neck stood at attention.
He continued creeping soundlessly forward, no one would see him unless he wanted to be seen; of that, he was confident. You didn’t spend almost half your life in the military and not know how to make yourself invisible. Not when you worked for the elite Delta Force.
When he reached the building, he found a huge concrete monstrosity: five stories high, with possibly more levels underground. He counted at least six windows on the first story, meaning the building had a minimum of thirty rooms that would all have to be cleared.
Bear hovered under the cover of the trees, wondering if perhaps Storm had decided to rally his men here and hold down the fort. But there were no gunshots fired, and the compound looked quiet and abandoned.
Why would Storm run?
And how did he know he needed to?
Bear was contemplating that as he moved, intending to enter the building, when he felt his foot land on something that felt different than the ground.
Something that shouldn’t be there.
Something metal.
He scanned the area, sensing suddenly that he wasn’t alone. When he looked beneath his feet, he registered a heat signature.
Someone was down there.
Is that where Storm and his men were hiding? In underground tunnels and rooms?
Carefully, he dropped to his knees and felt around until his fingers curled around a handle. He tried pulling on the trapdoor, but it didn’t budge, and he found a padlock. If Storm was using a hideout down there, then this wasn’t the entry point, because it was locked from the outside.
After sliding his pack off his back, Bear rifled through it, found what he needed, and cut the padlock off. He put his pack back on, then held his weapon in his hands and carefully eased open the trapdoor.
No one came out. There were no gunshots, no shouts, and nobody moved toward him. In fact, if he couldn’t still see the single heat signature, then he would be positive there was nobody down there.
Keeping his weapon trained at the heat signature that hadn’t moved, he jumped down, finding himself in a small—perhaps six-by-six-foot—hole in the ground.
The smell down here was awful: human waste, sweat, fear.
It was the fear that hit him the hardest.
But he wasn’t going to let his guard down. If there was one thing Bear knew, it was that nobody, no matter who they were, no matter what they said, no matter what they claimed, was trustworthy. People lied, they were selfish, and they cared only about themselves and what they wanted.
“Who are you?” he demanded as he stepped toward the huddled figure. The person was dressed in white, wild dark curls stuck up in all directions, and didn’t respond to his question.
A trap?
Had someone been left down here to provide a distraction? Allow him to be ambushed?
Other than the occasional crash of thunder, Bear couldn’t hear anything else, and he took another step toward the figure.
“Hey, get up, now,” he ordered. “Hands on your head.”
Very slowly, the other person’s head lifted, and a moment later, he was looking into the terrified face of a young woman.
She appeared to be in her mid-twenties and had chocolate-brown skin and huge dark eyes that seemed too big f or her thin face. When her gaze met his, she let out a startled squawk, and he quickly lifted the weapon, aiming it at her head in case she was one of Storm’s brainwashed minions.
At the sight of his weapon, she shrank further in on herself, her scared eyes locked on him as though she suspected he was seconds away from hurting her.
She was right.
If she was a threat, he wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate her. The safety of his team came first. Always.
“Who are you?” he demanded, allowing the growl he was well known for to edge into his voice. The nickname Bear had come because of his large physique and the way he tended to growl at people.
“I’m M-Ma-Mackenzie,” she stammered, wrapping her arms around herself in a gesture of self-comfort.
Given that the woman hadn’t made any move to be aggressive, had been locked away in here for a while if the strength of the smell was anything to go by, and was clearly afraid out of her mind, he had to wonder if she was here by choice.
Had she gotten in over her head when she agreed to join Storm and wound up locked away down here when she said she wanted to leave or did something Storm hadn’t approved of? Or had she been brought to the island against her will?
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“M-my brother k-kidnapped me.”
“Your brother?”
“Y-yes,” she said. “My brother. Storm Gallagher.”
* * * * *
September 27th
2:36 A.M.
Mackenzie was terrified of the huge man pointing the gun at her.
It was dark down in the hole where she’d been thrown when her brother kidnapped her and brought her here. He hadn’t taken her out, and as much as she hated it down here, anything was preferable than being in Storm’s company.
Her brother scared her.
No, he flat-out terrified her.
More than the man with the gun.
Ever since she could remember, Storm had taken great pleasure in tormenting her, from sneaking into her room to watch her while she slept, to breaking her toys, to whispered threats and physical violence. She had no idea why it was exactly that he hated her, but she knew he did, and the fact that he’d abducted her and brought her here proved just how much.
For weeks, she’d been praying for rescue, for someone to find her, but in all her daydreams of that happening, none of them had gone anything like this.
Despite the darkness, she could see the hard lines of his face beneath the black paint, feel the distrust oozing off him, although she had no idea what possible reason he could have for distrusting her. Did he think she’d locked herself down here for fun?
“You’re Storm Gallagher’s sister?” the man growled at her, his weapon never wavering, remaining steadily pointed at her head. She was afraid to move in case he shot her.
“Y-yes.”
“Storm kidnapped you, brought you with him when he fled the country, and then locked you away down here?” The disbelief was evident in his tone, but she didn’t know what she could possibly say to convince him.
Yes, her brother had broken into her house and kidnapped her.
Not before beating her unconscious.
When she’d awakened, they’d been on a plane. Then there had been a car ride, a boat ride, and a hike across the island until they got to the house. There, she’d been viciously beaten again and thrown down here. She hadn’t been let out since, and it had to have been five, maybe six weeks.
“Yes,” she said softly. Whether the scary man believed her or not it didn’t change the facts.
“Why?”
“Because Storm h-hates me.” Maybe it was because his mother had remarried after his father’s death, that she’d had both her parents while his father had almost gotten him killed. She didn’t know, and right now she didn’t care. She just wanted to go home.
“Stand up,” he ordered.
Even though it had been weeks since she’d received the two beatings so close together, her body was still achy and weak, no doubt because she hadn’t been given any medical treatment and had been kept in this hole in the ground, fed nothing but scraps of food.
Still, there was no way she was going to disobey a clear order from the man with the gun, so she braced her hands on the wall and used it to help her get to her feet.
As soon as she was standing, her weak body swayed, and the familiar twinge in her ribs had her muffling a moan. The last thing she wanted was to do anything to make the man shoot her, and she had a feeling it wouldn’t take much.
“Turn around.” The next order was delivered with the same authority. An authority that clearly communicated he was used to being obeyed and if she even thought about refusing, she wouldn’t like the consequences.
“W-why?” she asked. What was he going to do with her? Was he one of Storm’s men? Things had gotten quiet a couple of hours ago; she had no idea why or what was going on. It wasn’t like anybody bothered to keep the prisoner informed. Had some of his men come back to collect her?
“I’m going to cuff you until we get out of here, you’ve been interviewed, and it’s ascertained that you aren’t working with your brother.”
Working with Storm?
With the brother who had tormented her her entire life?
Who scared her even more than this man did?
Who had kidnapped her, beaten her, and kept her locked away with plans to do who knew what with her?
Yeah, right.
The man was insane.
Working with Storm wasn’t something she’d do in a million years, not even if there was a gun pointed at her head. Which reminded her that at this moment, there was indeed a gun pointed at her head.
“D-do you w-work for Storm?” she asked. She had to know. If he did, she’d rather he just shot her now and got it over and done with, because she knew whatever her brother had planned for her would be worse.
“Work for Storm?” He sounded offended at the idea. Well good, he’d said the same thing about her, and she’d taken it as an insult too.
“How did you find this place? Why did you come? Are you going to arrest Storm? I think he has plans to do something awful.” Hysteria was starting to bubble inside her. So far, she’d managed to hold it together fairly well, although she had no idea how, but now she felt dangerously close to falling apart.
“Turn around, Mackenzie. Now.” His tone brokered no argument and allowed no room for disobedience, and she decided she may as well comply. At least he would be getting her out of here, away from her brother, and she was sure she could clear everything up once they were someplace safe.
“You’re sure we’re leaving here?” she asked.
“Positive.”
“And y-you won’t let Storm hurt m-me?”
“No. I won’t let him hurt you.” His voice softened somehow as he said that. It was still growly, still intimidating, but she got the feeling he was starting to believe she was, in fact, terrified of her brother and not part of whatever Storm had planned.
“Okay.” All out of fight and convinced that this man would get her back home even if it was only so she could be interrogated about Storm, she turned and moved her hands behind her back. The position tugged on her ribs; she was sure several of them had been broken when Storm had had her beaten.
Large hands circled her wrists, and she realized in that moment what a terrible tactical error she might have made. This man was so much bigger than she was, he could crush her in a second if he wanted to. He tightened his hold, pushing both her wrists together, and she couldn’t quite hide her wince of pain.
He loosened his grip immediately. “What’s wrong? Are you injured?”
“Storm had me beaten the night he kidnapped me and again when we got here. He’s not big on offering medical attention to his prisoners. I’m mostly healed, but my ribs are still bothering me a little. When you pulled my arms like that, it just twinged them.” Mackenzie straightened her spine. She’d done nothing wrong and saw no reason why she should cower at this man’s feet. “Don’t worry, I can take it.”
He grunted. She had no idea what that meant, but then he released her and turned her around, bringing her hands together in front of her instead. He still bound them with a plastic zip tie, but his apparent concern over her being in pain calmed her a little.
