Leya woke up in a daze and cringed at her stiff and aching body. She remembered fighting off a man as he forced a cloth over her mouth and nose. She took a deep breath. I remember not being able to breathe. I must have passed out.

She stared at her bound ankles. The cloth placed in her mouth gagged her. Her arms ached from being tied behind her. The five men stood around the room, speaking Spanish.

They don't seem concerned that Task Force 385 is looking for me. I wonder why. Maybe during my kidnapping they killed Steven. He was asleep beside my bed. If Steven was dead, I would feel it in my heart. Steven's alive.

Maybe there's an ambush set up around the cabin. If the team tries to rescue me, they'll walk into a trap. I need to warn Steven. Silly, there's no way to warn him, I'm in a chair tied up. All I can do is pray he finds this cabin.

That night Leya was too worried, hungry, and thirsty to sleep. There was only one door to the cabin and she stared at it praying Steven would soon enter. As the sun rose, she heard a man state Carlos was on his way. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

*****
From the way the sun entered the only window, Leya knew it had to be late morning or early afternoon. A barrage of gunfire rattled. Shocked, she turned toward the window. Glass exploded as the bullets came in. Leya cringed. It's Steven's team. Soon they'll rescue me.

Two of the men pushed her chair to a corner and surrounded her with M4's pointed toward the door. Three men hurried outside and were quickly engaged in rapid gunfire.

*****
When the men walked out of the cabin, Ralph looked at Michael. "You said there were only four inside. You lied. There were five. There's still two in there."

Michael raised his Barrett M107 sniper rifle, aimed and shot one of the men. "Now there's only four. Anything else I can do for you?"

"Be careful shooting toward the cabin. Leya's inside." He pointed toward it.

"How often do I miss what I'm aiming at?"

"You're young and cocky. Mistakes can happen. Just be sure of what you're aiming at." After a sigh, Ralph continued, "How are we going to get inside that cabin?"

Michael glanced toward Matt and teased, "That's his call. I'm only a sniper and part-time undercover drug agent."

Steven crept up to the two-team members. "Have either of you seen Leya? Or Carlos?"

They shook their heads.

Steven motioned for Bob to come closer before he said, "You and Michael need to cover me. I'm going after Leya."

"No!" shouted Ralph. "You're not going in by yourself!" He counted the men outside. "There's still three left and we're not sure how many are inside."

"We do know she's inside." Steven glared at him.

Matt walked up behind Steven. "We'll go in together. Michael and Bob, you're paid to be snipers. Do your jobs."

Bob aimed his sniper rifle and a crack could be heard as he pulled the trigger. "There are now two outside."

Matt stared toward the cabin. "Michael, when we go through the door, we'll leave it open. Take whatever clear shots you have."

He nodded in acknowledgement. Matt motioned for Steven to follow. When they were halfway to the cabin, they recognized the whiz of a sniper rifle through the volley of gunfire. A few seconds later, Bob said into his communication device, "Only one left."

As Matt and Steven reached the door, Geoff said into his headset, "Carlos just arrived with what looks like an entourage of at least ten men."

Derek, Jim, Geoff, and Eric had stayed back to make sure no one escaped.

Matt yelled, "DAMN!" before he answered Geoff, "Don't let anyone get close to the cabin, especially Carlos."

*****
As Matt and Steven reached the door, they heard another sniper rifle and understood the outside was clear. They only needed to worry about who was on the inside.

Matt stood on the left side of the wooden slated door and Steven stood on the right. They stared at each other waiting for the exact time to enter. They each took a deep breath and nodded to one another. Steven kicked opened the door and entered with Matt following behind. Matt made certain they cleared the doorway.

In the back corner of the cabin, two men stood in front, but to each side of Leya with their M4's pointed toward Steven and Matt. Steven noticed immediately Leya wasn't hurt. He glanced toward Matt wondering about their next move. As of now, they were at a stand off. Four men pointed weapons at each other.

Suddenly the man standing on the right front of Leya went down. As the man on the left moved to look at his partner, he went down.

Michael boasted into the headset, "Inside's clear."

Matt released a slow deep breath. "Thank you, but if you would've been six inches lower on either shot, you would've hit Leya."

Steven ran to Leya. He removed the gag in her mouth and kissed her. Bending down, he took the knife from the back of his jeans and cut her ankles loose. "You hurt?"

"No, but Carlos is on his way."

"He's already here. The team's taking care of him."

The sounds of repetitious gunfire had gotten louder. Matt watched Steven cut her loose. When she was free, Matt stated, "We're not through, yet. It sounds like some of Carlos's men are getting closer." He scanned the room. "There's no place to hide her." He said into the headset, "Ralph, Geoff, if there's any way you can get inside the cabin, we need help in here."

Bob answered, "Matt, do you need a sniper inside shooting out?"

"Wouldn't hurt." He paused. "Do we have any idea how many men are between us and getting out of here?"

Eric answered, "A rough estimate would be four, including Carlos. He's within striking distance of the cabin. You know it's not easy shooting someone with a tree in the way."

"Hurry. We're sitting ducks."

*****
Leya trembled. Steven put an arm around her, but kept his attention on what could be coming through the door. He heard loud footsteps running toward the door and pushed her behind him, hoping to protect her as much as possible.

Carlos filled the door frame. His cold black eyes fixed on Steven protecting Leya. "You're the man who married my wife?" His English was perfect.

"Yes. We're legally married, and she's not going with you. Call off your men. Leave quietly, and no more lives will be lost."

Carlos' Heckler & Koch submachine gun pointed toward Steven. "I'll give you one chance to hand her over." The red crosshairs could be seen aimed at Steven's heart.

Steven aimed his SIG Sauer 9mm at Carlos. "I want to solve this peacefully."

"Leya, do you want to stay with this gringo, or come back to Colombia where you belong?"

She trembled, as did her voice. "I'm in love with Steven. I could never love you," she said, barely getting the words out. She released a deep breath. "Would you let Steven live if I ...."

"Matt, I got a clear shot, do you want me to take it?" Bob asked through his communication device.

"Yes," whispered Matt.

*****
"Your American husband will die." Carlos fired into the wall, just missing Steven.

Leya fell on Steven. "Steven!"

Steven held her. "I'm fine, but Carlos isn't doing too well." He glanced at the body lying on the wooden floor.

Blood pooled around the wound in his back. Matt bent down to check for a pulse. "Leya, you won't need to be afraid of him any longer."

Ralph, Bob, and Geoff stormed into the house.

Matt shook his head. "You were needed about five minutes ago."

Derek said through his headset, "One man's left."

They heard the sound of a sniper rifle. Michael spoke through his headset. "It's over."

*****
Steven faced Leya, put his arms around her, and drew her closer as he kissed her. "I love you, Leya."

His hand accidentally slipped inside the hospital gown and touched bare back.

Leya moved back, yanking the sides of the gown together.

He grinned and again pulled her against his body as he whispered into her ear. "What's wrong? I've already kissed every inch of your beautiful body."

"But we're separated."

He kissed her, stared into her tantalizing eyes, and then tightly held her. "We'll never be separated again. I can guarantee that." He moved both hands through the opening of her gown and caressed her bare back. "Let's go home."

She stared back into his eyes. "I'm ready."



THE END