Two Cowboys in Her Crosshairs [Hellfire Ranch] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read Online Free Page B

to his ever-present assistant. “Weathers, get everyone geared up. Quickly, man.”
    Weathers saluted. “Yes, sir.”
    Reed motioned impatiently, and Jake shook the final vestiges of not-enough-sleep from his fuzzy head. “Right behind you, Colonel.”
    They made their way across camp and into Reed’s small, well-lit office in silence. A radio crackled with low murmurs, and Reed switched it off. A map of the area was spread on his desk with two large areas circled in red.
    “We’ve had word two separate groups of insurgents are on the move.” Reed shoved an unlit cigar into his mouth and stabbed at the map. “The data we have is sketchy, but sources indicate one of them has information vital to our mission here.”
    “What kind of information?” Jake asked.
    Reed sighed. “Unfortunately we don’t know. Hell, this could be nothing but a wild-goose chase, but it’s something we need to track down.”
    “Right now?” Jake studied the map. “If they’re holed up, wouldn’t it make more sense to wait until daylight and send out a recon?”
    Reed nodded. “Ordinarily I would agree. But our informant tells us they’ve got hostages. A group of engineers from the UK. They’re using them to gain safe passage, but you and I both know they’ll kill them without a second thought.”
    “Damn,” Jake whispered. The colonel was right.
    “Jake, you and your squads take this section. I’ll send Carruthers and the other two squads here. We’ll see what we can rile up.” He handed him a smaller version of the map. “Your mission is to regain those hostages and whatever sensitive data the insurgents might have.”
    “Casualties?” He hated asking.
    “Be cautious, but be prudent. We’ve got plenty of room for prisoners.”
    “Yes, sir.” Jake saluted and did an about-face.
    He ran from the office back to the barracks to find his squads all ready to go. He slid into his flak jacket, buckled on his helmet and grabbed his weapon. He gathered them around and gave a terse recap of his discussion with Reed.
    “Mission understood?” He gave Fischer a particularly meaningful look. To his mind, the little man enjoyed killing the enemy a bit too much. “We need prisoners, not bodies.”
    “Sir, yes, sir,” they responded in unison.
    They piled from the barracks and into a half-ton truck that purred like a big cat in the night. Soon they were dropped at a rendezvous point Jake had selected. Far enough away the noise of their arrival would not be detected but close enough that anyone trying to run would be caught.
    They were at the bottom of a shallow canyon. The walls stretched up at least twenty feet and would afford some kind of protection from any unexpected rear attack. The front was open and wound lower into the landscape but long and winding sides held numerous black caves. They could easily hide threats. Sweat beaded Jake’s brow. The holes looked more like a giant and deadly game of Whac-A-Mole. If they were all filled with insurgents, his team would be outnumbered.
    “I don’t like it,” he muttered.
    “Me either,” Tag said. “What are we going to do?”
    Jake ordered Olivia up one side of the ridge for an eagle’s view and Gideon Masters up the other. With their scopes and accurate aims they should be able to keep any potential threats to a minimum.
    “We need to fan out and look for signs of habitation.” He quickly sketched out a plan of cautious attack then sent the teams in. Six teams of two made their forays as he and Doc Mayers watched.
    “Stay on the com, but don’t do anything stupid,” Jake told Doc. “We’ll call if we need you.”
    Mayers rolled his eyes. “I’m just as well-trained with a weapon as you are, Jake.”
    “Yeah, but none of us can put someone back together.”
    He grinned at Doc’s look of disgust then flipped his night-vision goggles down and crept forward.
    He’d only taken three steps when a shrill whistle rent the air and the ground next to him exploded. He