Mercy and Mayhem: Men of Mercy Read online

  Table of Contents

  Mercy and Mayhem: Men of Mercy

  Your Free Book is Waiting…

  DOSSIER

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Before you go…

  Also by Lindsay Cross

  Introduction

  Acknowledgments

  Mercy and Mayhem

  Men of Mercy

  Lindsay Cross

  Cypress Bend Publishing, LLC

  Contents

  Mercy and Mayhem: Men of Mercy

  Your Free Book is Waiting…

  DOSSIER

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Before you go…

  Also by Lindsay Cross

  Introduction

  Acknowledgments

  Mercy and Mayhem: Men of Mercy

  He wanted nothing but revenge…until her.

  Mack Grey wants one thing in his life: vengeance for the ex-CIA operative who betrayed his team, Jack Mankel. And he’s finally got the traitor within grasp, all he has to do is catch a hop across the Congo and capture his enemy.

  He had no idea the depths to which Mankel’s evil could reach.

  She never thought she could love again…until him.

  All single-mother air force pilot Marley Mitchell has to do is fly a group of special operators across Africa for a HALO jump and then she can be back home with her baby girl. Then the unexpected happens. Her plane crashes and Marley has to rely on an insanely hot commander to get her out of the jungle alive.

  Deep in the jungle, Mack gives her his heart and soul. He’s willing to lay down his life to protect hers.

  But Marley has a secret.

  A secret that could destroy not only their hope for happiness, but Mack’s entire team.

  With Mankel closing in and guerrilla soldiers on the prowl, their sensual attraction is put to the ultimate test in an action-packed thrill ride of passion so hot it threatens to burn them alive.

  YOUR FREE BOOK IS WAITING:

  Get a FREE copy of the Award Winning Men of Mercy Redemption River when you sign up for my newsletter, tons of exclusive content/excerpts and entry into my monthly $50 gift card drawing. Click here to get your FREE book: Redemption River: Men of Mercy

  Hunter James didn’t want or need redemption.

  Until one mission turns his world upside down.

  He left Mercy to fight for his country and escape a broken heart. Years later, he is hard. Cold. A man without mercy. Part of an elite Task Force, he tracks a brutal terrorist to his home town. And runs into the woman who betrayed him…

  Evangeline Videl was destroyed when Hunter left. Determined to move on, she finds another man, but discovers too late the monster hidden beneath his smooth smile. Struggling to find the conviction to live, Evie finds her life spinning out of control.

  Then Hunter returns…

  Forced to band together to find the terrorist before its too late, Hunter and Evie must learn to forgive or risk losing the promise of redemption and their lives…

  Copyright © 2017 by Lindsay Cross

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  DOSSIER

  TASK FORCE SCORPION (TF-S)

  A branch of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC)

  Ft. Grenada, MS

  MACK GREY: Detachment Commander, Captain

  ♣ Recruited from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, GA

  ♣ Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, interrogations specialist, psychological warfare

  ♣ First in Command. Responsible for ensuring and maintaining operational readiness.

  ♣ Height: 6’

  ♣ Weight: 195lbs

  ♣ Combat Experience: Operation Gothic Serpent, Somalia. Operation Desert Storm, OIF, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Rhino, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Mountain Viper, Operation Eagle Fury, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles

  HUNTER JAMES: Warrant Officer, Detachment Commander

  ♣ Recruited from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, GA

  ♣ Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, psychological warfare

  ♣ Responsible for overseeing all Team ops. Commands in absence of detachment commander.

  ♣ Height: 6’3”

  ♣ Weight: 230lbs

  ♣ Combat Experience: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Mountain Viper

  RANGER JAMES: Team Daddy/Team Sergeant, Master Sgt.

  ♣ Recruited from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, GA

  ♣ Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon

  ♣ Plans, coordinates & directs Team intelligence, analysis and dissemination.

  ♣ Height: 6’4”

  ♣ Weight: 225lbs

  ♣ Combat Experience: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Mountain Viper, Operation Eagle Fury

  JARED CROWE: Weapons Sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class

  ♣ Recruited from Delta Force, Ft. Bragg, NC

  ♣ Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, Sniper

  ♣ Weapons expert. Capable of firing and employing all small arm and crew served weapons

  ♣ Height: 6’0”

  ♣ Weight: 220lbs

  ♣ Combat Experience: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles

  HOYT CROWE: Asst. Weapons Sergeant, Staff Sgt.

  ♣ Recruited from Delta Force, Ft. Bragg, NC

  ♣ Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, Sniper

/>   ♣ Weapons expert. Capable of firing and employing all small arm and crew served weapons

  ♣ Height: 6’0”

  ♣ Weight: 210lbs

  ♣ Combat Experience: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Crescent Wind, Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles

  AARON SPEIRS: Medical Sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class

  ♣ Recruited from Delta Force, Ft. Bragg, NC

  ♣ Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnaissance, medic

  ♣ The life-saver. Employs the latest field medical technology and limited surgical procedures

  ♣ Height: 6’1”

  ♣ Weight: 195lbs

  ♣ Combat Experience: Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles

  RISER MALLON: Asst. Medical Sergeant, Staff Sgt.

  ♣ Recruited from Delta Force, Ft. Bragg, NC

  ♣ Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, medic

  ♣ The life-saver. Employs the latest field medical technology and limited surgical procedures

  ♣ Height: 6’2”

  ♣ Weight: 215lbs

  ♣ Combat Experience: Operation Anaconda, Operation Jacana, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles,Operation Mountain Viper, Operation Eagle Fury

  MERC: Engineer Sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class

  ♣ Recruited from Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

  ♣ Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, Demolitions, psychological operations

  ♣ Demolition expert. Trained in psychological warfare, conducts field interrogations.

  ♣ Height: 6’5”

  ♣ Weight: 250lbs

  ♣ Combat Experience: Classified

  ETHAN SLADE: Communications

  Sergeant/Commo Guy, Sgt. 1st Class

  ♣ Recruited from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Ft. Benning, GA

  ♣ Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special recon, communications

  ♣ Communications expert. Employ latest FM, multi-channel, and satellite communication devices.

  ♣ Height: 6’0”

  ♣ Weight: 200lbs

  ♣ Combat Experience: Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles

  CORD CARTER: Weapons Sergeant, Staff Sgt.

  ♣ Recruited from the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC), Camp Lejeune, NC

  ♣ Specialized Skills: direct action, unconventional warfare, special reconnoissance, weapons expert/sniper

  ♣ Weapons expert. Capable of firing and employing all small arm and crew served weapons

  ♣ Height: 6’1”

  ♣ Weight: 210lbs

  ♣ Combat Experience: Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Condor, Operation Summit, Operation Volcano, Operation Achilles

  1

  Damn C-130s. Colonel Mack Grey wasn’t a fan of flying under the best of circumstances. Riding in one of these babies was like off-roading in the sky—every air pocket would shake the entire cargo hold like hitting a gigantic pothole in the sky.

  He’d rather sit his tired ass in a smooth commercial jetliner any day.

  But this wasn’t any day.

  This was the day he would finally kill Jack Mankel, aka Mr. J.

  Mack followed his team, Task Force Scorpion, all packing high-tech, top-security-clearance tactical gear, across the tarmac, the Cameroonian sun shining overhead hot enough to cook a damn egg on the cracked concrete under his boots. Secret CIA airports were all the same—in an attempt to make the tiny airport look like an unimportant shithole, they’d gone overboard to the point of nearly unusable.

  Crumbling cracks spilling over with jungle weed fractured the discolored concrete, making the tarmac look more like a patchy stone field than a runway for airplanes. One giant rusted metal hangar held court at the end, pieces of tin peeled back by the latest monsoon and just enough locals working on the joint to keep it from completely falling down.

  The whole place was a picture straight out of Dante’s Inferno, à la military style.

  This location would make a Marine cringe and was the perfect setup to scare off any innocent civilians wandering around. But Mack had circled hell already and come out alive and kicking. He was more than ready to suffer through any hazard to take down Jack Mankel.

  He hefted his HALO, High Altitude Low Opening, parachute pack on his shoulders with a grunt and ascended the grated metal steps leading into the belly of the idling C-130.

  Stepping into the shade resulted in an instant ten-degree drop in temperature from 130 down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

  Sweat dripped into his eyes and he wiped a hand over his face. Damn heat.

  The rest of his team already stood in the cargo hold of the plane, not faring much better. Sweat had popped on every single one of their faces.

  “Colonel, you need a walker to get up those steps a little faster?” called out Riser Malone, his medical sergeant and unconventional warfare specialist.

  Although mid-forties wasn’t exactly old in Mack’s book, wisecracks about his age were common in this line of work. A lot of colonels would get their panties up in a bunch at such disrespect and insubordination, but Mack knew his men joked around to loosen up before a mission. And he didn’t need them kissing his ass to know they respected him. Which was probably why he felt comfortable enough to return fire with fire. “Pretty sure this old man was the one who pulled your ass out of that gunfight in the town square yesterday.”

  Even though the team had arrived in country completely incognito, Cameroon wasn’t exactly a resort area. Gunfire was about as common as malaria and both were in high abundance.

  The rest of the team chuckled. Riser’s blond brows dipped into a deep V and he scowled. “The guy was supposed to be selling Snickers bars.”

  “That boy was selling Snickers bars. It was the thug on his heels who pulled the gun on you.” Mack took the three steps down into the plane’s belly, the corrugated metal floors clanking under his boots as he crossed the five feet to his men. They’d set up temporary headquarters around the netted crates of cargo running down the center of the plane. Someone had already laid out a topographic map on one of the crates. Mack set his HALO backpack on the floor next to his feet.

  “Told you that sweet tooth was going to get you killed.” Hunter James, the massive black-haired team leader, typically wore a frown, but nobody could miss out on ribbing a teammate.

  Riser crossed his arms. “Your brother was jonesing for that Snickers just as bad as me.”

  Ranger shrugged good-naturedly. He and Hunter weren’t blood brothers, and they were a study in contrasts—Ranger’s hair as blond as Hunter’s was dark. Nearly the largest men on the team, they had been with Mack the longest, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit he’d developed a special bond with them. It almost felt like they were his sons.

  Especially since his own son couldn’t give two shits about him.

  “Candy bar or not, it’s no excuse to lose your situational awareness. Everyone on this team needs to be operating at 100 percent if we are going to complete this mission and take Mr. J down,” Mack said.

  The joking air in the cargo hold vanished and every face turned to their commander.

  Mack leaned in and grabbed the corners of the waist-high crate in front of him. The rest of the team circled around, pulling in tight. There wasn’t a single man in this plane who hadn’t been personally attacked and nearly killed by Jack Mankel, aka Mr. J. Their ex-CIA liaison had turned traitor to his country and team over two years ago now. He’d been on the run ever since. After their last encounter with the villain, Task Force Scorpion had discovered that Mr. J’s treachery extended much longer and deeper than they’d realized.

  Jack Mankel, along with one of the top four-star genera
ls in the Pentagon, had been secretly funding the development of a serum to create super soldiers. The research was lost twenty-five years ago. Right around the same time, Senator Cotter’s daughter was kidnapped at birth—by Mankel. He’d held the girl, Nightshade, hostage, tricking her into believing she was his own daughter.

  At first Mack had assumed the man’s motivation was a secret crush on the senator’s wife, who’d died giving birth to twin daughters. But that wasn’t even close to the truth. Before going into labor, Sarah Cotter, a scientist, had injected herself with the last dose of the super serum she’d helped create. She’d destroyed the recipe, too, so the only remaining traces of the serum existed in her daughters’ blood.

  Mankel had kidnapped one of the girls so he could try to re-create the formula he’d lost. Nightshade was safe—she and Merc had fallen in love and married—but her twin sister, Caroline, had been kidnapped in her place. Mankel had her now, and Task Force Scorpion wouldn’t rest until she was safe.

  The one man in the craft who was not part of Task Force Scorpion stood a few feet back, hanging in the shadows. Reaper was the result of Mankel’s first trial run, and from the way he stared at the rest of the group with flat eyes, it was obvious Mankel must’ve wiped the man’s emotional capacity clean. What other changes had he made to the serum?