Outcast (SEAL Team: Disavowed Book 2) by Laura Marie Altom Page A

civilian coat. A ladder was tossed out.
    The guy in red hesitated before he was shoved from the hovering craft, forced to climb down at gunpoint.
    “Recognize him?” Jasper shouted above the rhythmic thump.
    “I-I think that’s my father’s friend Dane.”
     
     

7

     
     
    THE CHOPPER’S WAKE sliced Eden’s cheeks like invisible razors. She gladly stepped into Jasper’s outstretched arms, but then realized hiding wouldn’t make the bad guys go away—or rescue Dane.
    “Give me my gun!” she shouted over the chopper’s roar.
    “You don’t know how to shoot!”
    “No time like the present to learn! We have to save him!”
    Jasper dropped the gear to take two menacing handguns from his waistband.
    While the bad guys huddled, then coaxed Dane forward by pressing the barrel of an M-16 into his back, Jasper handed her a weapon. “Hold it like this.” He positioned her right hand around the grip, and her left on top of the slide. “Pull back to chamber the first load, then do the deed.”
    “I’m not sure I can kill anyone.”
    Jasper fired off several rounds before shots pinged off the rock beside her.
    She growled, then spun around with a roar, matching Jasper’s every round. She hadn’t hit anyone yet, but with the chopper gone, the bad guys scattered, dodging behind boulders, only ducking out to take potshots. Her pulse went haywire with terror.
    She’d lost sight of Dane. Had he been hurt?
    “Run for higher ground,” Jasper said beside her. “I’ll cover and look for your dad’s friend.”
    “What about you?”
    “I can take care of myself. Go!”
    Eden ran for all she was worth—terror fueling her legs. She took cover behind the nearest boulder, then fired five times until her gun stopped working.
    “What’s wrong with it?” she asked once Jasper joined her.
    “Probably jammed. Let me have it.” He pulled the slider back, and a bullet casing popped out. He fired, then dropped the cartridge from the handle, counting her remaining ammo before slamming it back in. He returned the gun to her. “See that ridge?” He pointed to a rocky outcropping above them. “Head up and over that spot. You’ll be safe from the line of fire.”
    “Come with me.”
    “I’m good. You’ve got nine shots left, so make them count. I’ll reload you as soon as soon as we meet up.”
    “But—”
    “Quit arguing, and go.” He kissed her forehead, then nudged her in the direction he’d pointed.
    With every shot fired, she flinched. So much for Jasper’s theory about Leo not wanting her hurt. To catch her breath, she ducked behind a towering boulder, only to burst into happy tears.
    Her dad’s business partner, the man who had been like a second father to her ever since her mother died, stood before her, holding out his arms.
    “Dane. You’re okay.” She ran to him, hugging him as tight as her oversized coat allowed.
    “Likewise.” He was out of breath. “Your father and I have been out of our minds worrying about you.”
    “You’ve seen him? He’s okay?”
    “He was this morning. Or was that yesterday morning? Leo and his men have me all confused.”
    “No kidding, right? Leo’s crazy. What happened?”
    “I don’t know, love. He snapped.”
    “Do you know anything about a hidden treasure?”
    He shook his head.
    “Eden, I told you to—oh.” Jasper froze.
    “Jasper.” She pulled him into their shelter. “This is Dane. He saw my dad yesterday.”
    “Where?” Jasper asked.
    “In a sub of all places. Leo has interesting friends. Turns out for years he’s been part of an incredibly well-funded Neo-Nazi group who call themselves the True Reich .”
    “What are you doing here?” Jasper’s gaze narrowed. “Why did they force you from the chopper?”
    Eden didn’t like Jasper’s distrustful tone. “Can’t you tell Leo’s men took him, too? He was trying to run away, weren’t you, Dane?”
    “Yes.” Dane shuddered before working up a faint smile. “Exactly.”
    Jasper’s