Read Online SEALs of Honor: Markus by Dale Mayer - Free Book Online Page B

standing. There were several large thick-branched trees there. He stepped back slightly and studied them. The shot had been downward. So the shooter had been elevated and this was likely where. But was he gone? He narrowed his gaze and studied the land. He could see where the shooter had gone up the second tree from the scuffed bark and broken branch. He quickly checked the other trees to see if he’d gone up more than one. But there was no sign of his passage on any of the others.
    Checking the ground out, he realized one set of tracks came in and a second returned ten feet from the first but in the opposite direction. So he’d been and gone. But why and where had he gone now? Markus quickly climbed the tree to look from the vantage point the shooter had been at. There. He stopped, realizing he had a clear view of where Jake had been standing. Even from here he could see the bright pink of Bree’s sweater sleeve as she reached over her head and stretched her arm out beside the injured man. He couldn’t see much else, but it was clear enough to pinpoint her position. There was nothing else to see from up here, but he spent a careful few minutes studying the geography around them. Markus slid back down the tree and quickly returned to where Bree was lying.
    There were tears rolling down her cheek. She looked up at him and didn’t say anything.
    Ah hell.
    He bent down and reached a finger to Jake’s neck, there was a pulse, but it was faint. Too faint. “He’s still with us.”
    She didn’t say anything for a long moment then she whispered, “He doesn’t look good. He didn’t regain consciousness either.”
    Damn it. Jake, you better make it through this. Bree had seen enough death. Hell, they both had. He stepped back and tried his phone again. No signal. He grabbed the GPS location and sent another text. It looked like the last one had gone through finally. He followed up with a text message warning them of a sniper.
    His job was to get Bree back to safety.
    He had no intention of failing that job. Now he had to get Jake help and fast.
    “Let’s go.” He held out a hand to help her to her feet.
    “We can’t leave him here,” she said in shock.
    “I’m not planning on it.”
    She studied Jake then him. A hesitant look came over her face. “Can you carry him?” When he didn’t answer right away, she added, “If you can’t, I’ll wait here with him.”
    “No you won’t.” Markus bent down and gently lifted Jake’s limp body over his shoulder. Thankfully the old geezer was very thin and not very tall. “Stay on my right,” he instructed. “And let’s move fast.”

Chapter 10

    P oor Jake.
    Good deeds should be rewarded not punished. He was a harmless old man who’d wanted to help. They needed to get back as fast as possible for his sake. She didn’t dare slow them down.
    She didn’t know how to explain to Markus how much it meant to her that he was doing this, but thankfully he didn’t seem to require more from her. Other than to keep up.
    And that’s when she realized with him carrying Jake, he wasn’t going to be able to help her out if she couldn’t keep up with him. She gritted her teeth and determined that shouldn’t make a difference.
    She regretted that decision quickly. The ground was barely showing in the half-light, it was rough and uneven and Markus’s pace was brutal. She might have been able to keep up before she got sick, but there was no way she was up for a several mile hike in the half-light at this pace now.
    She hit her limit a few minutes later and ignored it.
    And lost her footing and fell. She shakily dragged herself back upright and swayed in place. Markus pointed to a stump up ahead. She eased down on the fallen wood, her body shaky and her legs trembling too hard to hold her upright.
    Markus appeared in front of her, that all too knowing look in his eyes as he studied her.
    “The heart is willing,” she confessed. “The spirit is still intact, but I fear my