Cover of Darkness Read Online Free PDF

hour."
    Declan nodded, adrenaline already circulating through his body. "Aye, aye, sir."
    They planned the preliminary operation, determined insertion and extraction points. The SEALs would go in and extract the hostages while Hutchinson and his operatives would go after the tangos.
    "Good enough for now," Dec said.
    It all looked great on paper, but out there in the field in real time, it meant fuck-all. Any operation, whether hostage rescue or target elimination, never went off as planned. That was why an essential part of his training had been to teach him how to think outside the box, to change on the fly and 37

    Cover of Darkness
    by Kaylea Cross
    adapt to the fluidity of battle. Either that, or you and your men died horrible deaths and then your family was told you'd been killed in an unfortunate training accident.
    He finished the briefing and went out to tell the rest of the team what the score was. Spencer, the medic, raised a sandy brow at him.
    "Let's saddle up, gentlemen. Once we get the word, we're wheels up within the hour."
    Day 2, Syrian village
    Nightfall
    The dimming light seeping through the crack around the trap door told her nightfall was approaching. Bryn sagged against the dirt wall on her knees, forcing hot, stale air in and out of her dry lungs. In, out. In, out. She drew on all her mental strength, focused on the words like a mantra. If she thought of anything but her next breath, she would have lost what little control she had over her terror.
    Her body was almost depleted of moisture. Her skin and clothing, soaked with sweat just a few hours ago, were now dry and stiff with salt from her perspiration. Her tongue was swollen, pressing against the gag and almost choking her as she gasped those wheezing breaths in and out. No one had come for them.
    For hours she'd tried to somehow get loose, contorting her body into unimaginable positions to reach the tape holding her limbs prisoner, though she'd only managed to exhaust herself and sweat out more precious water. But she was still alive. Her father had stirred a few times, but was either too hurt or too weak to make any attempt at communication.
    38

    Cover of Darkness
    by Kaylea Cross
    Bryn started to shiver, ironic considering she'd almost died of heatstroke that afternoon. And even if she didn't spike a sudden fever that signaled her brain and internal organs were about to shut down from dehydration, she knew she couldn't live much longer in these conditions. If the lack of water didn't kill her overnight, the plummeting temperatures would.
    Depending on where they were, it could dip below freezing.
    With no water to help regulate their body temperatures, she and her father could very well end up succumbing to hypothermia.
    A hysterical laugh bubbled up her throat. Hypothermia, after all this.
    She'd never imagined being subjected to this kind of torture, let alone withstanding it. And that's what it was—
    torture. The mere thought of a glass of water almost maddened her. She was already weak, so weak. Even if someone did get to them in time and free them, would she be able to run for it? Unlikely at this point.
    Every muscle trembled from exhaustion and dehydration.
    When she spared the energy to look around, the room blurred. She looked at her father, and sometimes saw two of him lying there in the dirt. Not a good sign. This was an awful death. Far worse than anything she'd imagined. And no one even knew where she was. Her mother would probably never know what happened to her.
    Which might be for the best, Bryn reflected tiredly, having long since accepted the possibility that she might not come out of this alive. She hoped someone would lie to her mother, tell her yes, your daughter was in fact killed outright in the 39

    Cover of Darkness
    by Kaylea Cross
    explosion. Not only would that put the question of her suffering to rest, it would also explain why there was no body to bury.
    She might have cried some more, but there wasn't enough