Not on Her Watch (The Serpent Experiments Book 1) Read online

  Table of Contents

  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

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Epilogue

  Not on Her Watch

  The Serpent Experiments #1

  Nicole Zoltack

  Copyright 2017 by Nicole Zoltack

  Published in the United States of America

  Publish Date: 2017

  Cover Artist: Nicole Zoltack

  Cover Art Copyright 2017

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information retrieval and storage system without permission of the publisher.

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination, or are used in a fictitious situation. Any resemblances to actual events, locations, organizations, incidents or persons – living or dead – are coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

  Created with Vellum

  Not on Her Watch

  Marine Nathaniel Strongarm is more than ready to take on the terrorist group, the Hidden Serpents, on their island Grotto’s Bay. Being captured along with other marines sure wasn’t the plan. Behind enemy’s line is worse than terrible.

  Green Beret Shauna West is devastated to hear that her fiancé was captured. On the team for his Search and Rescue, she’s eager to do her part and save him. Too bad there’s a vicious murderer slaying civilians, a killing machine for the Hidden Serpents. Even worse, that killing machine is a brainwashed Nathaniel.

  Will Shauna fully rescue her love? Have the other marines been brainwashed to? When night comes, who will still be standing?

  To all those who serve or have served in the military. We can never thank you enough.

  Contents

  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

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Epilogue

  Other Books By Nicole Zoltack

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Sergeant Nathaniel Strongarm couldn’t quite loosen his grip on his M16 rifle. This wasn’t his first rodeo, but the battlefield was already slick with blood from yesterday. He’d love to recover and avenge the comrades who fell yesterday.The commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Arnold Padilla, was barking orders.

  Already, Nathaniel’s ears were ringing. He welcomed the sound. It helped him to focus, to ignore distractions such as the date looming of when he would be able to return to Philadelphia. Had his fiancée picked out a dress yet? She could wear a trash bag, and he would still think her beautiful. Long, dark hair, steel gray eyes, tall, slender but curvy…

  “Look alive, Marine,” the Lieutenant Colonel shouted, spitting into his face.

  Nathaniel nodded, ashamed to have been caught unawares. He was better than that. While he wasn’t the sharpest shooter on their squad, he was the one you wanted to watch your six. Those comrades who had died yesterday hadn’t been on his watch, although he did try to cover for everyone as much as possible. In the thick of the fight, though, anything could happen.

  “These punk rebels will not stand the day,” the Lieutenant Colonel said bitterly. His narrowed dark eyes gleamed with hostile anger.

  It was his fault that five had laid to waste. The Colonel had said to be cautious, not to overlook the threat. The Lieutenant Colonel had only seen an island, previously overlooked and ignored. Under the UN’s nose, the island of Grotto’s Bay had manufactured their own atomic weapons. Their stockpile created an arms’ race, and now, other countries wished to invade. Worse, the civilians were used as human shields, tortured and killed in the streets to force the others to fall in line. Some of the practices Nathaniel heard the civilians whimper about after they saved him were enough to give him nightmares. No one deserved to fear for their lives in their hometown. These fiends made ISIS look like a clown, the happy kind, not the killer kind.

  The terrorist group apparently forced the government from a monarchy into a dictatorship back in the eighties. Why they were just outing themselves now, Nathaniel didn’t know. It wasn’t his job to know. He was a Marine. He accepted his orders, and he fought and fought hard.

  Although huge patches of the island were covered in grass, near the beige-colored rock buildings, no grass grew. The heat and the dryness in the air only served to oppress the people and the Marines further. The dirt and sand mixed with blood churned Nathaniel’s stomach. However, it was the festering bodies and the loosed bowels of the dead that truly frustrated him. He rejected nausea. He rejected their ideals. He rejected their chaos and panic. Safety for the civilians was their primary goal. Overthrow the fiends from infecting the government. Nathaniel didn’t care if they reestablished the monarchy or set up a republic democracy. All he wished for was the people to feel safe.

  Everyone deserved to feel safe, respected, and loved. That ideal pushed Nathaniel more than any other.

  The Lieutenant Colonel critically stared down Nathaniel and the other nine Marines. The entire team was hiding behind a tall, half-devastated building. Rubble collected at their feet. Dust and sand coated their uniforms, helping them to be camouflaged with their surroundings.

  "The insurgents cannot be allowed back into the city. We've fought too hard and lost too much as it is," Padilla barked.

  Nathaniel nodded. Sweat ran down the side of his head. The helmet and all of his gear only served to weight him down with worry and dismay. The heat of the sun certainly didn't
help matters. Of course, the sun was shining right into their eyes instead of into their enemies'.

  The insurgents were known as the Hidden Serpents, and hiding was their second best trick, the first being killing others, of course. Their agenda? To grow in power. To form an army. To take over the world. The Hidden Serpents had geniuses in their ranks. Somehow, they had hacked into worldwide channels and broadcasted footage in which they introduced themselves to the world. They had kidnapped a man or woman from ten different nations and executed them for all to bear witness. Then, they stipulated that this was only the beginning and that they intended to have a grander empire than the Roman Empire.

  The Hidden Serpents were ambitious, but they had the firearms and the nukes to back it up. Already, they had launched one. At least China had helped to intercept the incoming missile. No lives were lost, which was miraculous, but the Hidden Serpents remained a genuine threat. Not only did they proclaim to have more nukes, but they also showed them to the world in another broadcast. Naturally, they moved the nukes constantly. Another group of SEALs had the thankless task of locating those nukes.

  "The city must remain in our hands. If it falls, thousands of people will die," Padilla continued.

  Grotto's Bay wasn't a small island. Not every single island in the world was noticed, and somehow, it had been overlooked for centuries. The people who lived there hated this fact. They despised the entire world. Well, not all of them. The civilians were innocent.

  "You with us, Strongarm?" the Lieutenant Colonel growled.

  Nathaniel nodded. "Yes, sir."

  He tilted his head to the side and stepped slightly away from the men. Nathaniel followed, but it wasn't as if they had a measure of privacy.

  "Yesterday's events won't affect you today, will they?" Padilla asked. The Hispanic was known for his tough manner. He only ever accepted the best from his units.

  "Of course not." Nathaniel swallowed hard.

  Yesterday, they had been in another war-ravaged part of the city. They had been trying to secure civilians and transport them to safer areas. One of the civilians, a kind, older woman with curly white hair and hazel eyes, nearly knifed Nathaniel in the back. She hadn't been a civilian at all, but one of the Hidden Serpents. In the resulting chaos, the woman had escaped.

  More than being concerned for himself, Nathaniel had been frightened and worried for the true civilians. They lived with fear and dismay all day long. They had accepted that. None had access to ships or boats or planes to leave this wretched place.

  And wretched it was. Most of the city was in such a state of disrepair that no parts were suitable for living long-term. The Marines had taken to living in caves as had most of the civilians. Hiding was the name of the game at night. If you were sought and found, you lost more than just the game. You lost your life, quickly if you were lucky.

  Padilla narrowed his eyes, pursed his thin lips, and then ran his fingers over his pencil-like mustache. The Lieutenant Colonel had a habit of doing that whenever he was deciding something.

  "I'm good and ready," Nathaniel said forcefully. More than anything, he did not want to be relegated to the front lines.

  Padilla cleared his throat and readied his rifle. "You better be. I swear I will leave your ass behind if your head isn't on straight, and you can't keep up with us."

  "He's more liable to leave us in the dust," Leon Barker said, elbowing Jacob Sullivan.

  Nathaniel grinned. "You got that right."

  Sierra Putman rolled her eyes. She was a hard ass, that one. Barely tall enough to be in the military but somehow still able to best them in a ring. She used her size to her advantage. Everyone underestimated her even if she’d knocked them out already. She was so swift. It wasn’t about having the strongest punch. Most everyone, men and women, had strength on her, but she always managed to land an unexpected punch. That kind, the unexpected blows, were the ones that would knock you out. She hadn’t always been a Marine. She’d first been a Navy doctor, but now, she was a Marine doctor. As such, she tolerated even less than the Lieutenant Colonel did.

  Beside her, Evelyn McBride laughed. "At least Nathaniel’s right. He can outrace you, little Leon, but I can beat you both!"

  Leon chucked loudly. "That's because I let you win."

  "You let Nathaniel win too?" Evelyn asked sweetly.

  Nathaniel covered his mouth. Leon and Evelyn flirted all the time. Eventually, they would get together. He and Jacob had put bets down on it already. Only a matter of time.

  "Actually," Nathaniel said, "I really do let you win, Evelyn. Don’t want to hurt your frail ego."

  Evelyn punched him hard in the arm as the others laughed.

  "All right, then, wise ass, light your ass on fire.” The Lieutenant Colonel did not appear amused in the slightest. “I’ll go first. Stick to my six. The rest of you, fan out."

  Nathaniel followed the Lieutenant Colonel around the side of the devastated building to a large pile of rubble. Down the street, the sunlight glinted from scopes high on the few roofs still standing.

  "Should I pick them off?" Nathaniel asked.

  The Lieutenant Colonel considered skeptically and shook his head. "I want us to get closer before they know we're here."

  Slower than a slug, they crept forward. From the rubble to the overturned, half-burnt truck. From the truck to an alley. From the alley to more rubble.

  It was when they hid behind the second mound of rubble that the fire started. Smoke, sand, and dirt kicked up in a huge cloud, rendering it nearly impossible to see. The cries and gunshots exploding all around Nathaniel gave way to the faint ringing in his ears. He lined up a shot and pulled the trigger. A man let out a death shrill and toppled from the roof. It didn't matter. Another man took his place, or was it a woman? Nathaniel wasn't certain, but this time, he aimed for the weapon instead and missed.

  Beneath his gloves, Nathaniel could feel his palms dampen with sweat. His watch shifted up and down his arm. He had a tendency to lean out when he was deployed, and the band of his watch needed to be adjusted. The watch was one of his most prized possessions. His fiancée had given it to him shortly before he'd been deployed this round.

  The Lieutenant Colonel was pressing forward, and Nathaniel moved to flank him. The others were still all there, right? Nathaniel hadn't recognized any of the cries from those injured, but the ringing was getting louder. He couldn't be certain of anything except for taking one more step, aiming, firing, moving, living.

  No. Not living. Surviving. Surviving for just one more minute, one more second, one more moment.

  The Marines were guarding the south entrance to the city. Razun lay in the center of the island. Fortifying it would go a long way to recovering the entire island. However, it had taken them months to get here, and only weeks for the insurgents to already lay waste to it. Most likely, they figured that if they could not lay claim to it, no one should.

  "This island isn't as big as Florida," the Lieutenant Colonel had said before they arrived. "It shouldn't be too hard to find the missiles and deal with the imbeciles."

  But he'd underestimated the Hidden Serpents.

  We all did.

  The Lieutenant Colonel and the Marines were pressing the advantage. Together, they moved to another overturned truck.

  Nathaniel smelled it first. The horrific stench seared his nostrils. "Get back," he yelled, yanking on the Lieutenant Colonel's arm.

  The truck exploded. Flaming pieces of metal flew everywhere. Hell, Nathaniel and Leon flew through the air. Nathaniel landed awkwardly. The ringing in his ears hurt for once. He managed to help Leon to his feet when gunfire peppered the ground by their feet. Nathaniel shoved Leon forward, whirled around, and fired some shots. The cloud from the explosion hadn't settled enough for him to see. That didn't stop him from trying to give his fellow men protection. Everything was happening too quickly for him to panic or worry.

  Suddenly, through the haze of the smoke cloud, the butt of a rifle came clear through. It bu
sted Nathaniel’s lip then his temple. Finally, it knocked the weapon from his hands. Another blow to the side of his face had Nathaniel reeling. He struggled to seize the weapon from his assailant's hands. No dice. The Hidden Serpent snaked out his foot and swept out Nathaniel’s legs from under him. He went down like he'd been shot. Sand gritted his teeth. He only had time to spit it out before a blow to the back of his head rendered him nearly unconscious.

  His last thought before it all went black was that he hoped the Lieutenant Colonel had meant his threat. Leave me behind. Save yourselves. Fight again another day.

  Chapter 2

  Green Beret Shauna West rubbed her eyes. It had been a long day and now it was going to be an even longer night.

  "Ground operations within Grotto's Bay have been frustrating," Captain Caleb Jones spat out. A tall man who inspired both fear and respect, he created quite the intimidating figure as he paced around the rectangular table.

  "Here we go again," Alejandro Fernandez whispered to Shauna.

  "Shut it," she muttered without moving her lips. Jones wasn't in the mood for backtalk or antics.

  Alejandro rolled his eyes. A fellow Engineer Sergeant, he was the most laid-back operator Shauna had ever met. He was constantly poking fun and lightening the mood. Honestly, he was probably the most important person in any squad because of that lightheartedness. The heaviness of their missions tended to weigh on them all. That Alejandro could brush it off not only his shoulders but also others was a blessing.