Challenging Love

by KaLyn Cooper

  Grace and Griffin turned and followed his gaze.

  “I thought I saw something,” Alex informed them.

  “It’s probably one of those darn monkeys. They’re everywhere.” Grace walked back to stand beside him and stare into the woods. She started to giggle. “Did Katlin ever tell you about the time the monkeys broke into her bedroom and scattered her panties and bras all over? She blamed Daniel and Rosita’s son until she found monkey poop and realized she’d left the doors and screens open on the jungle side of the room.”

  That made sense. Katlin’s suite ran the length of the building. One set of sliding glass doors opened out onto a balcony that overlooked their private sandy beach and the turquoise Caribbean Sea. The opposite end faced the jungle where brightly colored parrots and tall white toucans fluttered branch to branch breaking up the deep greens of the thick foliage. There was another balcony out that end as well, but he and Kat often enjoyed the ocean view together in the morning while sipping coffee. His woman was a surly cat in the mornings until she’d had at least two cups.

  “I wonder how old she was when that happened?” Alex asked as he turned and headed toward the compound once again.

  “She must’ve been a teenager, and that would put Daniel in college,” Grace explained. “I think Rosita’s son is in the same…group, cell, bunch of outlaws, whatever you want to call them…as Daniel. I didn’t see Santiago at the bar, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he showed up at the compound tonight. He might already be there. He often comes with Daniel.”

  “Is he CIA, too?” Alex thought the agency had a policy about embedding two agents at the time to watch each other’s back.

  Grace shrugged. “I really don’t know.”

  When the three stragglers walked into the living room, everyone else was making themselves comfortable with a drink in hand.

  “Hey, Alex, would you please grab another bottle of white from the refrigerator?” Kat asked.

  “Sure.” He turned toward the kitchen but overheard her conversation with her brother.

  “Alex? I thought his name was Alejandro.” Daniel raised an eyebrow as he poured himself two fingers of twelve-year-old Scotch.

  “When he started Guardian Security Company, he Americanized his name,” Kat explained. “These days, he is Alex Wolf.”

  Returning with several glasses balanced in one hand and a cold bottle of Riesling in the other, Alex started with Kat who sat beside her brother. As he poured her a glass, the inquisition he had been expecting started.

  “A security firm, huh?” Daniel commented.

  Alex moved on to Nita who sat on the other side of Daniel. Her smile was confirmation enough, so he poured her a glass. Before he could answer Daniel’s question, Nita took it upon herself.

  “It’s quite a large business with offices across the United States in all the major cities,” she bragged.

  “So you do residential security? Commercial?” Daniel asked.

  Griffin launched his six-foot two inch body off the door jamb where he’d been leaning. “Daniel, I’m Griffin Mitchell.” He held out his hand and the two men shook before he sat on the arm of Grace’s chair. “I run the Guardian Miami Center. We do a lot of personal protection, everything from CEOs to socialites, movie stars who want to be seen and those who are hiding out. We also protect several warehouses down on the docks with high-tech security measures.”

  Alex could see every testimony impressed Daniel even more. He poured Grace a glass of wine. Since the bottle was almost empty, he headed back to the wine chiller for another.

  “So, are you one of those kind of security agencies that runs shadow ops out the back door?” At Daniel’s question, everyone else in the room found something else to look at other than the two of them.

  Alex stopped in his tracks and turned to face Daniel. “No. We run missions for USSOCOM out the front door, completely aboveboard.”

  Daniel’s eyebrows raised. “So you’re still in the game.”

  Alex didn’t want to mislead the man who he hoped someday would be his brother-in-law. “We have a unique relationship with the United States government. General Lyon allows us to pick and choose our missions.” He glanced at Kat. “Backing up the Ladies of Black Swan is always our first priority. But let me assure you, we don’t interfere in their missions. As I said, we like the role of backup.”

  Katlin jumped in, “And if there happens to be a second mission parallel with ours, Guardian gets the job.”

  Daniel’s gaze flitted between Alex and Kat. “So you two work in-theater together?”

  “We have.” That was all Alex was going to admit.

  “My sources tell me all of you have been here for nearly a month.” He pinned his sister with a glare. “What’s going on? I don’t believe all of you would take thirty days of your annual leave together at the same time.”

  Katlin quickly explained about the photographs and the kill or capture contracts.

  Daniel leaned over and pulled his sister to him. With his eyes closed he simply held her. “Christ, little one, what the fuck have you gotten yourself into?”

  Alex wanted to smile at the family term of endearment for Katlin, little one. He knew exactly how Daniel felt. Sometimes Alex was more afraid for Kat’s life than he was for his own. Sure, he knew she was trained as well as he was, probably even better, but he wanted to protect her and most definitely keep her out of danger. But that was her job, and he knew how much she loved it. All he could do was support her decisions, and as often as possible, be there as backup.

  Katlin stared at her brother. “I’m just doing my job.” Alex knew what was coming next. She would get extremely defensive and, depending on how far Daniel wanted to push it, his sister would push back equally as hard.

  Daniel pulled her in for one brief hug before releasing her. “I know. But I don’t have to like it.”

  Alex was impressed with the way her brother had diverted possible disaster.

  She countered, “I don’t have to like what you do, either.”

  “On that subject,” Alex said on his way to retrieve another bottle of wine, “what exactly are you doing?”

  Daniel glanced at each person in the room before he spoke. “I’m pretty sure everyone here has a higher security clearance than me, so I guess it doesn’t matter that I tell you. Salazar Benitez doesn’t like the way the government is run in Nicaragua. Although it’s supposed to be a democracy similar to the United States, it’s somewhere between a socialist republic and the dictatorship that is extremely corrupt. Gangs run the cities and the people who live outside are trying to grow enough food to feed their families. The cartels pass through daily transporting everything from humans trying to escape terrible lives in South America to drugs coming out of Columbia. They keep most of the people afraid and protected at the same time.”

  “So, Benitez thinks he can do a better job?” Nita asked.

  The corner of Daniel’s mouth kicked up. “Yeah. He’s really smart. He was actually educated in Great Britain. The problem is that the United States doesn’t know who it should back. We picked the wrong side in the last three revolutions. The current president is certainly no friend of the U.S.A.”

  “You’ve been under cover for so long, I take it Benitez is in no hurry to overthrow the current government.” Nita sipped her wine.

  “I don’t know,” Daniel admitted. “Sal is working on something big. Even though I’m one of his lieutenants, he hasn’t shared anything about it with me.” He looked at Kat. “Uncle Tom and I have talked about this quite a bit, but he’s not hearing anything, either.”

  Tom Callahan was the deputy director of the CIA as well as beloved uncle to Daniel and Katlin. Their other uncle, Francis, was a Navy captain and a bishop in the Catholic Church. Talk about a power family, but they were all such a down to earth people, never putting on airs. Alex liked each one of them.

  After refilling wine glasses several times, and joining Daniel in a few glasses of Scotch, Alex checked hi
s watch when he caught Kat in another wide yawn.

  She took the hint and stood. “I’m sorry big brother, but I really need to get to bed.”

  Alex stood also. “Daniel, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  The dark-haired man with the same blue on blue eyes as his sister gave him a slightly drunken smile. “Not if I can help it. I fully intend to sleep in my nice soft bed for at least ten hours. I hate that fucking cot I’m forced to sleep on every night.”

  At the top of the stairs, Alex glanced over his shoulder. Everyone had called it a night…except Nita and Daniel.

  Chapter 4

  Katlin was jolted awake by the sound of the “Mission Impossible” theme song, her ring tone for USSOCOM.

  Fuck!

  She rolled over to look at the numbers on the clock. Six thirty in the morning. Well, at least General Lyon had waited until seven thirty his time before calling her. She pulled her phone toward her ear, only to be stopped a foot short of her pillow.

  Fuck. It was still connected to the charging cord.

  She rolled back over and unplugged the cord from the phone as it vibrated and rang in her hand. She was not a morning person. She didn’t even like to face people until after her second cup of coffee and now she had to talk to someone in her boss’s office when her brain wouldn’t even wake up.

  Double checking the ID before she swiped the icon meant she had to open her eyes again. She took a deep breath and forced one eye open. Good enough. Yes, it was definitely USSOCOM calling.

  She inhaled deeply. Her senses were filled with Alex and sex. Knowing it might be their last night in Costa Rica, and maybe the last together for who knew how long, they had made love several times. Katlin wasn’t about to count because math at this hour of the morning was impossible for her.

  “Answer the fucking phone before I do it for you.” Alex’s voice rumbled through her and not in a good way.

  “I’ve got it.” She mumbled then dragged in another deep breath, forcing her heart to pump more oxygen to her brain.

  Opening both eyes and scooting up the bed, she swiped the icon then hit the button on the side to establish a secure line. When the green dot came on, she finally spoke. “Callahan here. Line secure.”

  “I was beginning to wonder whether you were going to answer or not.”

  Oh, fuck. It was General Lyon, not a staffer announcing her commanding officer would be on the line in X many minutes. She sat up straighter in the bed then felt ridiculous for doing so.

  “Good morning, sir.” Her voice was so gravelly she barely recognized it.

  The bed moved as Alex rolled off the other side and padded naked to the bathroom. Damn, he had a nice ass. She admired the rest of his body, too, especially his sizable morning erection. After all the sex they’d had the night before, she was a little surprised that he’d be ready again. On the other hand, Alex always seem to be ready and more than willing to slide into her, rub her clit until her whole body shook with the need to release before he’d allow himself to empty inside her.

  Her ultimate boss chuckled, bringing her back to the present situation. “Did you fall back to sleep on me?”

  She smiled. “No, sir. I was momentarily distracted.”

  The man laughed a deeply. “I’ll talk to Alex and the rest of the team in thirty minutes. Can you be ready by then for a video conference call?”

  “Yes, sir.” She stifled yawn as she stretched. “Thirty minutes.”

  “Lieutenant Callahan, as I’m sure you figured out, we have confirmation on the recent death of Khalid Junyard. I wanted to be the one to give you that good news, but I understand you received a call from Jack Ashworth last night prematurely informing you.”

  Synapses in Katlin’s brain connected. “Yes, sir, and that confirms you have a mole.”

  “Smart woman.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “Twenty-eight minutes and counting down. USSOCOM out.”

  Katlin watched the green button fade away and closed the line on her end. She leaped out of bed and sent a group text to everyone on her way to the bathroom where the shower was already running. Damn it. They really didn’t have time for shower sex this morning. Besides, she desperately needed coffee. She checked the countdown and calculated how many minutes she could stand in the hot shower before she had to get dressed and act like a human being.

  With six minutes to spare, Katlin and Alex trotted down the steps toward the dining room. Lei Lu had already established the secure connection and had several boxes open on the large flat screen. Tori was at the buffet pouring a glass of orange juice while Grace and Griffin chatted quietly at the table. Nita look tired as she stared into her coffee cup, seated across the table in her usual spot.

  Katlin glanced toward the kitchen but already knew Rosita had breakfast well underway. The blessed woman had sent up a carafe of coffee to her room and Katlin had already downed her first large mug of the day. Stimulated by caffeine, and a quickie in the shower, she was ready to face anything.

  “Connecting with General Lyon in thirty seconds,” the tech in the Operations Center of USSOCOM announced.

  “Connecting to deputy director of CIA…now,” Lei Lu stated.

  “Good morning, Uncle Tom,” a chorus of feminine voices rang out. Katlin loved that her teammates had adopted her uncle as their own. He had virtually embraced them as the daughters he’d never had. Starting with their CIA training, which he had personally overseen, and continuing through their years of working together, her friends had grown close to him as a mentor and father figure.

  His returning smile was warm and genuine. “Good morning, ladies. I’m looking forward to seeing you back here in D.C. very soon.”

  “General Lyon live in three…two…one,” the tech counted down.

  The man in his mid-fifties with gray temples and very short salt-and-pepper hair worked his square jaw as his eyes darted corner to corner of his screen. “Where the fuck is the director of operations from Homeland Security?”

  “He was unavailable for this call do to a prior appointment,” the USSOCOM tech informed everyone.

  “No great loss,” the general mumbled. The senior military man’s dislike for Jack Ashworth was no secret to anyone on that call. Katlin hid her smile by sipping her second cup of coffee.

  With a nod, the man in uniform with stars on his collar jumped in. “I’m sure you all know by now the real Khalid Junyard is dead. With the source of the contracts now gone, I’m obligated to bring you ladies back into the active rotation.” His chair squeaked loudly over the surround sound speakers. Everyone in the dining room cringed. “That doesn’t mean you’re out of danger, though. We may live in a high-tech world, but I’m sure there are some crazy mercenaries out there who would like to collect that money and haven’t gotten the memo yet about Junyard’s recent demise. Promise me that you will all stay vigilant.”

  “Yes, sir,” filled the high-ceilinged dining room.

  Movement in Katlin’s peripheral vision momentarily forced her gaze that direction. Daniel stood at the bottom of the staircase out of camera view. He slid into the living room, sitting where Alex had the night before when Jack had videoed in.

  “Enjoy your last day in the heat of the tropics. As soon as it’s dark, I want that big black jet of yours in the sky headed to Quantico. Starting tomorrow morning, your assignments are as follows: Nita and Lei Lu, you are scheduled for three days in language school so you can brush up on your Korean. Katlin, Deputy Director Callahan and I will meet you at your briefing at Section 7.”

  Internally, Katlin gave a sigh of relief knowing that her uncle and the general would be there with her.

  “Grace and Tori,” the man on the screen continued, “you are to report to Lieutenant Harper Tambini at the ATF for special explosives training. Katlin, Harper will be joining you on this mission. You will all get a two day refresher course in cold weather operations with the SEALs in Alaska on your way to South Korea. Good luck, ladies.”

  The general sa
t back in his chair and an earsplitting shriek reverberated through the dining room. He took a deep breath. “Alex, I have a mission in the Middle East if you are interested, or a rescue in South Africa if you want to head south.”

  Alex grinned. “No thank you, sir. I have a business that I’ve been away from for far too long.”

  Katlin felt his warm hand on her back.

  “Now, if the Ladies of Black Swan need backup, I better be your first call.” This time Alex smiled. “We’d need to be issued some cold weather gear if that becomes the case.”

  “Should we have need of your services, of course we’ll provide you with the necessary gear.” The edges of the general’s mouth curled up. “And training. As a former Marine SpecOps, your winter training was in the Rockies. It’s a little bit different in Alaska.”

  “Something to look forward to,” Alex countered.

  The general leaned forward and everyone around the table prepared for the squeal. They weren’t disappointed. “Very well. USSOCOM out.”

  When the general disappeared from the large screen, Tom Callahan’s picture replaced it. “Ladies, I want you all to be very careful when you get back here. No one goes anywhere alone. Alex, can you arrange car service to get them to and from their assignments, please?”

  “Of course, sir.” Alex shifted in the seat beside Katlin. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  Tom Callahan grinned. “Stay alive. You and Griffin were in those pictures, too. Someone else, like those first mercenaries who shot it all of you while jogging through the park, may think you’re the target.”

  “Trust me, sir, I have no intention on dying anytime soon,” Alex reassured everyone in the room.

  The thought of Alex, dead, made shivers run through Katlin’s body. She wasn’t sure she could survive such a loss. She instantly felt better as his hand rubbed up and down her spine.

  “Supper at my house in three days,” Tom Callahan announced. “Alex and Griffin, if you’re still in town, I expect to see you there as well.”