Outcast (SEAL Team: Disavowed Book 2) (4 page)

The vehicle’s layout served as a blessing. A high back bench seat hid most of the cargo area from casual view. Jasper used this fact to his advantage, rifling through the stacks of supplies and boxes until he found a large, hard plastic case loaded with weapons—everything from AK-47s to AR rifles to dozens of handguns and even a sweet RPG-7 shoulder rocket launcher. A second case held ammo. What were these guys anticipating? This amount of firepower struck him as serious overkill for overthrowing a scientific station on a continent where weapons of any kind were not allowed.

There were food stores and jugs of water. Vodka and candy wrapped in an unreadable language—German if he had to guess. Sleeping bags, tents and a camp stove. Ice cleats, ropes and climbing gear. Whoever these guys were, they’d packed enough goodies to stay a while. But again—why? If their plan was to take over the station, mission accomplished. Why bring along an arsenal and an entire sporting goods store? Basic survival gear was a must in any situation, but this was overkill. There was even an array of head-mounted LED lights with dozens of back-up batteries.

Jasper glanced at Eden. Her chest rose and fell steadily, but she was still out cold.

The loud rock music blared on and the two goons up front seemed unaware of his movements, so he went on to the last box.

Yahtzee. Not only was it loaded with the motherlode of first aid supplies and pill bottles ranging from antibiotics to painkillers, but there was also a zippered case holding prefilled syringes labeled Etorphine. Otherwise known as M99, it was an illegal opiate strong enough to bring down a freaking elephant. No wonder it had worked so fast on him and Eden.

They were damned lucky they weren’t dead.

Filled with rage for what these idiots had done, Jasper helped himself to a pair of syringes, then belly crawled behind the bench seat. He removed the plastic safety tips, then slowly rose to administer both doses simultaneously.

Fury held his pulse and hands steady as he clenched the twin
weapons
, placing his thumbs on the smooth flat plungers.

“Sweet dreams, assholes . . .” He jabbed the syringes into their necks, then hopped over the seat to open the driver’s door and shove him from the still moving vehicle. After also dispensing with the driver’s friend by pushing him out the passenger-side door, Jasper stopped the rig long enough to kill the pounding music, then climb back over the seat to get to Eden.

“Hey, gorgeous . . .” He slipped his arm beneath her shoulders and gave her a light shake. “I sure could use some company. Mind waking up for me?”

Nothing.

His stomach knotted in fear.

After hefting her limp form over the seat back to rest on the front seat, he found a mummy-style sleeping bag to place over her, then realized they had big trouble. Leo’s goons had chucked them into the snowcat’s cargo hold wearing nothing but T-shirts, jeans and socks. If the vehicle broke down, they’d last mere minutes.

Thankfully, Leo’s men had stashed their white parkas in back, so at least Jasper and Eden had those. He also found hats, face masks and gloves. The gear would swamp Eden, but this was about survival. Not fashion.

Unfortunately, getting boots wouldn’t be so easy. His only option would be taking them from the human popsicles he’d dumped outside.

While foraging through one of the food bins, he remembered seeing protein bars stored in Ziploc bags. He found them, dumped the contents into the bin, and then slipped the bags over his feet. If he failed to locate at least one of the guys in a hurry, he’d be screwed.

He dressed in the available gear, then exited the vehicle out the rear cargo door.

Wind raged against him, making it tough to even stand.

He squinted into the gloom for the men, but visibility was limited to about two feet in front of his face. He’d heard about guys dying in whiteout situations only to be found the next morning a few feet from their shelter. The stories were chilling. The reality provided a much-needed gut check.

He turned back to the cat for rope. He tied one end around his waist. The other end, to the door handle.

By this time, he’d dicked around long enough that his feet stung. A thousand tiny pinpricks made each step agony.

Blowing snow burned his cheeks with cold fire.

He trudged as far as the rope allowed, then fanned out until damn near falling over a body. Beyond relieved, he made fast work of removing the sorry bastard’s boots, then yanking off the plastic bags to shove his own feet into fleece-lined footwear heaven. The Sorel’s were so well-insulated they were still warm.

The fit was snug, but Jasper wasn’t complaining.

He repeated the search pattern on the vehicle’s opposite side until finding the other guy’s boots for Eden.

Considering how many students and scientists these guys shared in killing, Jasper regretted giving them the luxury of meeting death in their sleep.

Back behind the wheel, Jasper checked Eden to find her still out, but her breathing was regular.

Aiming one heater vent at her and the other at his face, he allowed himself a few minutes to thaw. He’d been in a lot of bad spots, but none that he could recall where literally, the air killed. As cold as it was outside, they might as well be on the moon. The climate was that inhospitable.

He needed to push forward, putting more distance between them and Leo’s crew, but where was he supposed to go?

With the cat’s cab silent, wind howled beyond the safety of metal and glass. That safety was an illusion. Who needed bad guys when Mother Nature had turned into a frigid bitch?

He reached for the dash-mounted GPS, but when he punched in McMurdo’s coordinates, all he got was a message reading:
System Error
.

Frustration didn’t begin to cover his dour mood.

He’d come down here expecting to encounter a lovable nerd herd. He’d expected Eden’s cryptic message to be about a petri dish massacre. During hours and hours of travel, he’d fantasized about wild, buck-naked bunkbed, make-up sex. This was supposed to have been a seriously good time, yet so far Antarctica sucked.

For Jasper’s entire military career, he’d been trained to embrace the suck, but honestly? He was tired.

He eased the cat into gear, then turned at a ninety-degree angle from their previous course. In whiteout conditions, it was risky to move at all, yet he didn’t feel comfortable returning to the station. He sure as hell didn’t want to end up facing Leo’s sub, but rolling off a cliff didn’t sound that great, either.

He checked the fuel and found the tank three-quarters full.

A cat this size probably had a range of at least a few hundred miles. What would be helpful to know was the size of the storm. How close were they to the back edge?

With unlimited daylight, Jasper planned to drive at least another hour, then stop to rest and make a proper meal.

The vehicle’s former occupants had been courteous enough to leave an iPhone attached to the stereo, so he slowed to glance through the playlists.

“What sounds good, gorgeous?” A hopeful glance in Eden’s direction netted nothing but disappointment.

Wake up, babe
.
We’ve got a lot of unfinished business to go over.
What we shared was real. You had to have felt it, too, right?

Even if she had, what gave him the right to act on those feelings? He couldn’t hide out in Antarctica forever, and he sure as hell couldn’t live with himself for ignoring his promise. The night his brother lost his wife, Jasper had sworn he’d never allow himself to even think about falling in love.

Shaking his head as if that would help erase the memory of the awful night Mariah had died, Jasper focused on the here and now. Music. Something peaceful to wake Eden.

“Let’s see . . . We have playlists called—and I’m not kidding:
Weight-lifting, Screwing, Driving, Gun Range
, and one far too vile for your tender ears.” Hoping for the best, Jasper picked the second.

Then all hell broke loose to the soothing strains of Marvin Gaye crooning, “
Let’s Get it On
.”

Bam
. The cat struck rock.

The impact jolted Jasper forward and then back. He shot his arm out protectively to brace Eden.

With the vehicle slanted at an unnavigable angle, the tracks lurched, then groaned while gliding back.

The motor chugged, coughed, then died.

Helping himself to what remained of the precious battery power, Marvin kept right on singing above the wind’s eerie howl.

Jasper killed the music.

How long would they have before the bone-chilling temp killed them?

5

EDEN WINCED, CUPPING her gloved hands over her eyes to shield them from the painful glare of sun against snow.

Confused didn’t begin to cover how she felt; her head ached and grogginess left her disoriented, but then she saw Jasper and the nightmare with Leo came roaring back.

“Good morning,” Jasper said from a few feet away. He sat cross-legged alongside a camp stove, stirring what looked and smelled like scrambled eggs. She spied an open package of a freeze-dried breakfast complete with peppers, potatoes and cheese.

Coffee also flavored the frigid air.

“Hey.” Her stomach rumbled. “Mind letting me in on what happened? I mean, I remember the showdown with Leo and his thugs, but—” she shivered despite wearing full outdoor gear and being inside a sleeping bag “—how did we get from there to what I’m guessing is a crashed snowcat?”

“Funny story,” he said with the crooked grin she’d fallen for the first time they’d met at
Tattered Cover
, her favorite Denver bookstore. It had been snowing, and he had been nursing a hot chocolate while searching for the latest Martha Stewart cookbook for his landlord. Here was this big, strong guy oblivious to his adorable whipped cream mustache. She’d fallen fast and hard. She’d helped him find the book, then cancelled that afternoon’s office hours at the small college where she taught English Lit. The rest of the day was spent talking and laughing and kissing and eventually tumbling into bed. She’d never gone that fast with a man—before or since. But Jasper did things to her heart and mind and body that she still didn’t fully understand. And now, thanks to her diagnosis, she never would. “Those two Neanderthals who nailed us? I had the pleasure of returning the favor. I figured from there we were home free. All I had to do was drive a ways before riding out the storm, but then a big pile of rocks attacked us, and
wham
. We’re kinda stuck.”

“The rocks attacked us?” She cocked her right eyebrow.

“It was bad, babe. Glad you weren’t awake to witness the carnage.” He turned off the stove to cross the short distance to kiss her. Lord help her, she let him. His lips were at first cold, but then warmed with their combined heat. She groaned when he offered a sweep of his tongue. “Mmm . . . I missed you. Let’s for sure have more of that in a bit. But first, let’s get this food in you before it gets cold.”

He handed her a fork and they both ate from the pan.

“Almost forgot,” he said between bites. “I made instant coffee.” He reached next to the stove for a tall, stainless steel covered mug. “It’s not exactly a Starbucks, and no cream or sugar, but it’s hot.”

“That works for me. Thanks.” The soothing drink and food heated her from the inside out. They were lucky to have it. “Don’t suppose you’ve seen any pee funnels? Going in the snow is frowned upon.”

He winced. “Afraid not. Leo’s crew wasn’t especially environmentally friendly. Hold on a sec, and I’ll at least make you pee bucket.” He dumped gear from a five-gallon model, and even found her a pack of wet wipes. “I’ll head outside. Knock on the glass when you’re done.”

Never had she wished more for tinted windows.

Finished, she had no choice but to dump it in the snow, which was seriously uncool. She buried it, but still felt awful.

A few minutes later, once they were both back inside, Jasper asked, “Want the good news? Or the bad, or the
really
bad?”

She groaned. “After yesterday, I’m kind of at my bad news max.”

“Ditto.” He leaned in for another kiss she should have pushed away from, but couldn’t. She needed him—his strength. Just for a little while. Then she’d let him go. “But you need to know where things stand. I climbed to the top of the rock pile we ran into, and got the GPS to pick up a signal. As the crow flies, we’re a couple hundred miles from McMurdo. No biggee if the crash hadn’t killed the engine.”