Harder (The Unit #3) Read online

“That will do you no good,” the man said to her in perfect English as he approached the dresser and placed the heavy vice on top of it. He tightened the vice down to the counter with a bottom metal bar. Next, he started to spin the metal bar that loosened the vice. “We were scheduled to make you pay for putting our money-laundering source in jail, but it appears you grew impatient,” the man said with a smirk. “We’ve been watching you and waiting for the perfect opportunity. It’s a good thing too, because when we saw you on the trail of Martin here, we were eager to get you.”

  She shook her head. She had to focus on the present. “What’s that for?” she asked, hoping to stall the inevitable.

  “Why, this is for you, my dear. We need some information from you, like how you found us and how you knew about Barone’s association with us. We want the names of the people who helped you find us the first time with your news story and now. They need to be taught a lesson.”

  Feeling the rope on her left hand getting tighter, she pulled harder. As she did so, the right side loosened up, and the rope slid over her blood-soaked hand. She used her right hand to remove the rope from her left hand. She was free, now what?

  He left the dresser and stalked toward her. As he bent forward and reached behind her, as if to untie her hands, she closed her bloody fist and swung it at the side of his head with all her might, but before it made contact, the man caught her arm.

  “Thank you for untying yourself, my dear.” A grin split his face as he tightened his grip on her forearm and pulled her to her feet.

  Feeling the full force of gravity taking effect, she immediately felt the need to use the bathroom. “I have to pee.”.

  “Too bad. Guess you’ll just have to go in your pants. Unless, that is, you’re willing to tell me what you know.”

  “I would rather piss myself,” she spat at him.

  “It doesn’t matter to me. I don’t have to clean it up.”

  She dropped to the ground and kicked at his legs, but that didn’t deter him. He grabbed her from behind and dragged her to the dresser. As he pulled her up, she kicked at his legs, managing to get a few good hits in before he had her up. He placed his full weight against her, pinning her to the dresser. He let go of one of her arms and produced a gun.

  “I don’t know anything,” she pleaded uselessly.

  “Save it. We know exactly who you are and who you work for. We even know where your parents live. I suggest you save yourself some unnecessary pain and tell us what we want to know.”

  “Stop. Leave her alone,” Stanley commanded, puffing out his chest.

  “You’re in no position to be giving orders, Mr. Martin,” the man with the gun said, pointing it directly at Stanley’s head.

  “No. Please, don’t,” Jules implored, letting her body go limp against the dresser.

  “Finally,” the man said, taking her hand and placing it in the vice. Putting away his gun, he spun the metal bar and tightened the vice until she thought her bones were going to break.

  “Give me a name.”

  Jules pursed her lips together tight as he tightened the grip until blood trickled down in between the grip and onto the dresser.

  “Give me a name,” he demanded with more authority as he retrieved the pliers from his back pocket. “It’s a shame really. You have such beautiful hands.” He brought the pliers to her index finger, which was stuck straight out from the way the vice was tightened on her hand. “Fine, we’ll do this your way.” Clenching her nail in the pliers, he twisted and tore her fingernail off.

  A gut-wrenching scream pierced her ears, and only when she tasted the salt of her tears did she realize it was her scream. She was close to hysterical from the pain. If he kept this up, she wouldn’t be able to keep silent. She would give up everyone that helped her find Stanley, and their deaths would be on her head. She had to remain strong. The de-nailing wouldn’t kill her, but the guilt of so many dead because of her would.

  Tony followed Tyrrell closely through the three miles of sea water to the Mondo Marine M41 yacht the ATG were on with their captives. They approached from the east side of the ship. Once they got close enough to the portside, they attached the Magswitch Marine tethers to the hull. These tethers were powerful magnets that secured each man’s diver propulsion device. The men swam to the stern under the cloak of darkness.

  Tyrrell was the first to round the ship. He held his hand up in a fist, signaling for the others to tread water. Not a splash was heard. Reaching under the water, Tyrrell pulled out his suppressed MP5 and took aim. After the click of the trigger, the thump of a dead body against the back of the ship could be heard through the lapping of water against the hull.

  The yacht was a little over one hundred and thirty feet long, and the best part was its low diving platform the men could easily pull themselves onto.

  Tyrrell hoisted himself onto the platform and provided cover for the remaining members of the Unit. One at a time, Tony, Michael, Rob, and Steve made their way onto the platform. When everyone was ready, they moved stealthily up the stairs to the second floor of the yacht, taking care to secure the perimeter. They moved cautiously around the outside of the main cabin, crouching under the windows.

  When they came upon the second man guarding the perimeter, Tony approached him from behind. With one swift motion, he turned the man’s head so quickly, he snapped his neck, causing the body to fall to the ground. Tony caught him before any noise could be made and laid the dead body onto the floor.

  It was at that exact moment that he heard it: a bloodcurdling scream coming from somewhere on the yacht. He turned to look behind him for confirmation of the sound from his teammates. They stood motionless for a second, trying to gauge where the noise had come from. Tony pointed his finger down. The sound had come from the lower deck, which was under water. Tony indicated for Michael and Steve to follow him while Rob and Tyrrell secured the rest of the boat. The men split up.

  Michael and Steve followed a fast-moving Tony to the stairs at the stern of the yacht. Taking the stairs two at a time, he found a long, narrow hallway. They would have to clear each stateroom on this level. Gun drawn, he quietly opened the first door and quickly swept the room from side to side. With a hand gesture, he indicated the room was clear. Steve took the next room and entered in the same manner as Tony before indicating the all-clear.

  They stopped dead in their tracks when another scream ripped through the air. Jules. Tony stepped up his game and cleared the next room more quickly. Michael opened the door quietly to the fourth stateroom, but this time, he found what they were looking for. On the opposite side of the room, a weak and bloody Jules was propped up against the dresser with her hand still in the vice.

  Michael moved in with Tony on his heels, weapons drawn. Tony motioned to Stanley, who was seated on the floor, to be quiet. “Move away from the girl,” Tony demanded.

  The Iraqi man turned and wedged himself behind Jules. “Drop your weapons, or I will shoot,” the man said as he pressed his gun to Jules’s temple.

  Tony quickly raised his hands in surrender. His eyes met Jules for the first time in years. She looked even more beautiful than he remembered, but he had to keep his head. He couldn’t afford to let his emotions get in the way, or he would get everyone killed. Slowly bending forward, he placed his gun on the floor. Jules’s amber eyes appeared liquid as they overflowed with tears. It pulled at Tony’s heart strings, but not wanting to give anything away, he broke eye contact with Jules.

  Michael followed suit and placed his gun on the floor as well.

  “I expected we would have visitors trying to help Mr. Martin. What took you so long?” the man goaded. Tony couldn’t keep from lunging for the man, but Michael, in anticipation of his friend’s move, held him back by the arm. They still had Steve who had yet to show himself. “Get back,” the man spat as he pressed the gun harder in to Jules’s temple, causing her to cry out. This only angered Tony further.

  “If you harm her any further, I will rip you a
part with my bare hands,” Tony vowed as every muscle tensed, readying for a fight. Michael held tighter, imprinting his fingermarks on Tony’s bicep.

  “I’m afraid she is going to suffer greatly. She has information we need.”

  “Get down,” Steve yelled, rounding into the room. The men ducked in time as the shot rang out. They looked up to see the Iraqi man smiling.

  “I was trained by the best, the Green Berets,” the man boasted as he looked directly into Tony’s eyes.

  The men whipped their heads around and saw Steve grabbing at his chest. Michael rushed to Steve’s side and applied pressure to the chest wound. “We’ll get you out of here. Just hang on, buddy.”

  Tony looked back to the terrorist, noting his gun was again pointed at Jules’s temple.

  “How is he?” he asked, approaching the terrorist ever so slowly so he didn’t appear to be moving at all.

  “We have to move him. We have to finish this now,” Michael exclaimed.

  Tony met Jules’s eyes. This time he saw determination reflected back. He nodded. She elbowed the terrorist as hard as she could in the side, which was just enough to move his hand from her temple. Tony took the opportunity for what it was. Charging, he grabbed the man’s gun hand and pushed it above his head. Tony, being six foot two, had a definite advantage over the smaller man, almost a whole foot advantage, but the terrorist was strong and was able to wrestle with Tony for a brief moment. Eventually, Tony gained the upper hand and bent the man’s hand back against his wrist, forcing him to drop the gun to the floor.

  Unfortunately, the gun the terrorist used was not suppressed, which meant all his buddies heard the shot and would be coming to see what had happened. They needed more time. How were they going to gain the upper hand? Tony had no idea how many men were on board. Their intel had said six to eight, but his gut told him it was double that amount. He also didn’t know how many men Michael and Rob were able to take out. Tony placed his hands around the man’s neck. Sure, there were quicker ways to kill a man, but none more satisfying than watching the life leave his body as he squeezed his hands tighter and tighter around his throat. It wasn’t long before the light went out in his eyes. He let the man drop to the floor and immediately went to work on Jules’s hand. It was badly damaged. The terrorist had already ripped off three of her nails. Man, she’s tough.

  “Thanks for that,” Tony said as he motioned to the dead man lying on the floor.

  “Anytime,” she responded sarcastically.

  “What’s with the attitude? I just saved your life.”

  “You haven’t saved it yet,” she countered as Tony spun the metal bar, loosening her hand from the vice. As soon as it was free, she cradled her injured hand with her other.

  “We have to get out of here. Now,” Michael impressed. “He isn’t going to make it. We can’t lose him.”

  “We’re coming.” Tony dropped to his knees to remove his knife to free Martin.

  “They’re coming. I hear at least three of them. We have to move. Now.” Michael reached down and hoisted Steve over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. Tony replaced his knife and removed his gun instead.

  “We’re going to get you off this ship,” Tony assured Jules. “You are our number one priority.”

  “What about Stanley? We can’t just leave him here.” She rushed to Stanley’s side, but Tony reached down and pulled her up by her arm.

  “We can and we are. We’ll come back for him. I promise.” She glared at him, causing goose bumps to form all over his body. “Let’s go.” He dragged her from the room and followed Michael up the stairs to find their brothers.

  “You, stay with me.” He looked again at Jules and wasn’t prepared for how breathtakingly beautiful she had become. He would make sure she was okay.

  “And how do you suppose we’re getting out of this?” she questioned, never breaking eye contact. The contempt was back in her voice.

  “Why, the same way we got here, darlin’,” Tony quipped, giving her his most panty-dropping smile, the one that showed his right dimple and his perfect white teeth.

  “I don’t think so. I can’t go in the water. You know that, Tony.”

  “You don’t have a choice. It’s either that or stay here with the terrorists.”

  “I’ll take my chances here, thank you.”

  Tony grabbed her arm before she was able to walk away, and the electricity that arced between them shocked him. Their eyes met, and for the briefest of moments, he was transported to that night years ago. She shook her head.

  “Jesus, Jules, what is your problem? I’m the good guy, remember?”

  “I don’t remember it that way, Tony.” She looked him squarely in the eye without a hint of smile playing on her lips. She was dead serious.

  “What are you talking about? Never mind. You can answer that question later. We don’t have time for it now. We have to get you off this ship.”

  As Rob and Tyrrell came into view Tony cautiously rushed forward, hauling a very pissed off and hurt Jules in tow.

  “Steve’s been shot. I don’t think he’s gonna make it. We have to get off this ship now. How many left?” Tony questioned, but most of his concentration was on the squirming five-foot-nine woman in his grasp.

  “We took out three, but our initial calculations were wrong. There are at least sixteen on this ship,” Rob informed his brother as they moved sternward, retracing their steps.

  “What about Stanley?” Jules asked the other men.

  “We’ll come back and get him. We have a man down and you. We have to get off this ship,” Tyrrell said as he reached the diving platform, taking the cover position while the others got onto the platform.

  “I’m not getting in the water. I’m not,” Jules said, actually stomping her foot.

  “Sweetheart, it’s the only way off this ship,” Tony tried cajoling her.

  Four men came at them from the second deck at all angles. Tyrrell took out one as he sprayed cover fire to allow Michael to get Steve to a safe place before he and Rob made it up the stairs to the second deck so they could attack from behind as the terrorists took positions of cover behind the bar located in the great room. Michael and Rob made it to the stairs and took up cover behind the metal steps.

  Steve was propped up on the end of the diving deck in a seated position, holding his chest. His entire weight leaned against the hull, as he was unable to even hold up his head.

  Tony and Jules were crouching down on the platform when, out of nowhere, a man jumped down on Tony from above, causing the three of them to plunge into the water. Tony wasted no time. Quickly grabbing the man around the waist, he swam down as far as he could into the black water. Tony was able to control his breath while the man struggled against the hold Tony had on him, which in turn prevented him from controlling his own breath. Before long, the man opened his mouth and took a gasp full of water. The man’s body went limp as his lungs filled with the sea. Once Tony was sure the man was dead, he let go of him and quickly swam back to the top. His lungs had started to burn; he had to reach the top and get air quickly or he would be dead soon himself.

  Tony broke through the ceiling of water and gulped a deep lungful of air. As he took another deep breath, he searched for Jules. He caught sight of her flailing her arms, splashing the seawater around her, but before he could get to her, they stopped flailing. Not a good sign. Tony knew she never learned how to swim because she was deathly afraid of water. In her panic, she began to sink. He had to reach her.

  Without missing a beat, Tony swam to Jules, reaching her just as her fingertips went under water. Tony dove down, eyes open, hoping he could find her in the dark water. There she was, four feet from him. He swam faster. Reaching her, he placed a firm grip around her lifeless body and brought her back up to the surface. With his arm wrapped around her upper torso, under her armpits, he swam as hard as he could the fifteen feet to the diving deck. He hooked her right arm onto the ladder before climbing up quickly. Grabbing ahold of
her limp body, he pulled her onto the diving deck and lay her down, kneeling at her side. Tilting her head back, he brought her bottom jaw down, opening her mouth. He pinched her nose and sealed his lips around hers.

  As his lips touched hers, it all came rushing back to him—the night he spent making sweet love to her. He had worked so hard to keep his emotions turned off. He had become a callous man, but with one touch of her lips, his emotions for her came flooding back into his system. The fierce urge to protect her rose up within him; he hadn’t felt that in a long time.

  Getting his bearings, he gave her five slow, purposeful breaths before pulling his lips away. Nothing could happen to her. She was his everything. He had to save her. The thought of losing her overwhelmed his system. All the love he felt that night years ago came back like no time had passed between them at all.

  Turning his head, he placed his cheek next to her mouth. Nothing. No breath. Her chest wasn’t moving. He sealed his lips over hers again. This time he remembered the way her long, dark hair felt in his hands, silky and soft. He loved stroking it. He remembered the way she gave herself to him for her first time. Had she been with anyone else? Of course she had. He couldn’t be so naïve, but still, the thought of her with another man sent a wave of pure rage coursing through his body. She was his. She had worn his dog tag for years. She had to still feel something for him. He just had to make her remember.

  But he had to save her first.

  He blew another long, purposeful breath into her lungs. Another. Another. On the third breath, her body convulsed. When she began gagging and coughing, he rolled her onto her left side. Hearing her indrawn breath brought an immense sense of relief to his heart.

  Jules coughed up all the water from her lungs. Tony had saved her, and he vowed to never let her be put in danger's path again, even if he had to tie her up to prove his point. Now that his feelings were back, he didn’t know how to handle them. They were so intense. He was at her side, stroking her hair as she struggled to breathe normally. When she was done, he helped her sit up. Tony was surprised when she flung herself into his arms. She wrapped her arms tight around his neck and hung on for dear life.