Protecting Cheyenne (SEAL of Protection Book 5) Read Free Page A

women were perfect for them.
    The men were startled when the sound of Wolf’s cell phone pealed. They watched as he answered it and they all sat up straighter when they saw his muscles get tight. A phone call could mean nothing more than a telemarketer had somehow gotten a hold of Wolf’s unlisted number, or it could mean they were about to be shipped out to an undisclosed location.
    Dude watched as the four women around them also tensed, waiting to hear what the news was.
    “Right, yeah, I’ll get him on it. Thanks.” Wolf hung up the phone and turned to Dude. Not beating around the bush he stated urgently, “Possible bomb threat inside the grocery store on Main Street here in Riverton. They’re asking for an ordinance expert.”
    “I’m on it.” Dude stood up quickly, already thinking about what he might find. The local police department would sometimes call on the military when they needed extra help. Their commander had no qualms in reaching out to the team when he knew they’d be able to help.
    “Let us know if you need anything.”
    Dude raised his hand in acknowledgement of Wolf’s words, then he was gone.
     
    * * *
    Cheyenne had never been so scared in her life. She’d seen movies and read books where the heroines were brave and smart-mouthed the bad guys. Somehow it had always worked out for them though. Cheyenne didn’t think smart-mouthing back to these scary men would help her, or anyone else around her, in any way shape or form. They were mean, and somehow Cheyenne knew they wouldn’t hesitate to pull the trigger and kill any one of them.
    Apparently they wanted to rob the pharmacy in the back of the grocery store of their drugs, but unfortunately, their plan had failed. Three SPs, Naval Shore Patrols, happened to have been in the store at the time they tried to rob it. Guns were drawn and a stand-off ensued. Cheyenne had been trapped in the store, along with two other women, and the five gunmen. They’d hauled them all to the back corner of the store.
    The SPs had managed to get all of the other customers out of harm’s way and out of the building in the chaos that had ensued once the gunmen had pulled out their weapons. It seemed like forever had passed since they’d taken over the store, when in actuality it had only been about an hour and a half. The gunmen were mad and desperate. Cheyenne could tell they were getting more and more anxious as time went on. Occasionally she’d hear mumblings of a loudspeaker outside the building.
    The two women trapped with her were hysterical. They were both pretty young, maybe in their early twenties. Each time one of the gunmen would look their way, they would plead with them to let them go, that they had families, that they had children, that they were married…whatever they thought would sway the gunmen into showing mercy and letting them go. When that didn’t work, they just sat huddled together and cried.
    While Cheyenne was also scared to death, she didn’t figure that crying would do much good. These guys were obviously high on some kind of drug and they only cared about getting away. Since there were five of them, Cheyenne knew there was no way she and the other women would be able to “make a break for it,” anyway. They were stuck until this standoff was over, however “over” occured. 
    She thought about her coworkers. Had anyone called 911? Had one of her coworkers answered the call and sent out for more help? Cheyenne wished with all her heart she’d never stepped foot in the grocery store that day. That’s what wanting to eat got her. What she’d give to be sitting in the control room at work and organizing the rescue from the outside. She’d never thought much about being a victim herself. She was always the one helping others, she never considered that she’d be the one needing help.
    Cheyenne was brought back to her present situation when one of the gunmen, the biggest and meanest looking, stalked over to their corner and