Table of Contents
Dedication
About the Book
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Acknowledgments
Other books by Margaret
About Margaret
Margaret on the Web
For the Reader
Text copyright ©2016 by the Author.
This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Stoker Aces Production, LLC. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Special Forces: Operation Alpha remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Stoker Aces Production, LLC, or their affiliates or licensors.
For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds
Cover Art by LeTeisha Newton with Boundless Tales Designs
Formatter: E-Book Builders
Dedication
About the Book
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Acknowledgments
Other books by Margaret
About Margaret
Margaret on the Web
For the Reader
To anyone who’s lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s, or cancer, or any other ugly, ravaging disease. Your love and courage fuel the fire to find a cure.
To all those who wear the uniform of the American military, you have our boundless gratitude.
And to Susan—Thank you so much for welcoming me (and Buck and Melinda) into your Kindle World. It’s so much fun to be part of this wonderful community!
Grady “Buck” McCormick blows shit up for a living as the explosives and demolitions expert on his SEAL team. He grew up on a thoroughbred farm in Kentucky, but he joined the Navy to escape the pain of watching his mom die a long, slow death of cancer. Since then he’s lived with the guilt and dedicated his life to protecting others, carefully guarding his heart along the way.
Melinda Emerson loves chemistry but isn’t so crazy about people. A pharmaceutical chemist with social anxiety, she’ll happily climb through a jungle canopy in search of medicinal plants, but put her in the middle of a party and she passes out. As the only child of older parents, she struggled watching her father fall victim to Alzheimer’s, and is determined to find a cure. Instead, she discovers a cognitive enhancer that has everyone from the CIA to the Russian mafia after her and her new invention.
When Melinda’s social anxiety spikes at a friend’s barbecue, she lands in Buck’s arms. After their one-night stand, Melinda makes a desperate call to Buck for help when her lab is attacked by Russian terrorists intent on kidnapping her and stealing her drug research. He blasts in guns-a-blazing, but under his watch, the relentless Russians manage to kidnap both of them, holding them hostage on board a container ship steaming toward the motherland. Now Buck must protect Melinda, her research, and his heart as he embarks on the mission of his life.
Grady “Buck” McCormick shoveled homemade chips and salsa into his mouth, pausing only to groan in satisfaction.
“Good stuff, huh?” Matthew “Wolf” Steel asked.
“God, yes,” Buck said.
“Neighbor down the street owns a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican place in town. He catered some of the food here today,” Wolf said. “Caroline did the rest.”
“We don’t get authentic Mexican like this in Virginia,” Buck said. “Or back home in Kentucky, either. This is amazing.”
Wolf had invited Buck and his fellow SEAL team member Dante “Chill” Winters to his place for a Saturday barbecue. Buck and Chill had been at Coronado Navy Base outside San Diego along with a bunch of other guys for special advanced demolitions training for the last couple of weeks and Wolf had been generous enough to invite everyone. Buck welcomed the break from work.
“What’s Kentucky like? I’ve never been there,” One of the other guys asked. His nickname was Boomer, but Buck couldn’t remember his real name.
Buck shrugged, swirling a corn chip in the guacamole on his plate. “A lot like the rest of the South, I guess. I grew up on a horse farm in Kentucky. My family breeds and raises thoroughbreds.”
“Like, race horses?” Boomer asked.
“Yeah.”
“That where you got the name Buck?” Another guy named Cookie asked. He and Wolf were teammates.
“You’d think we’d call him Cowboy, right?” Chill said. “Hell no. We figured he couldn’t be all that great with the horses if he left the place. Buck…” Chill said the name long and drawn out with a Southern accent, “seemed like the perfect nickname for a hick from the South who couldn’t stay on a horse.”
“Fuck you, Chill,” Buck said, but he couldn’t help grinning. They really could have given him a worse name. “I can stay on as long as need be.”
“That’s what she said,” Chill said. The rest of the guys busted up laughing.
Chill had a famous reputation on the team for his skill with the ladies, but it was nothing compared to Terrell “Hung” Hull. Hung was the prince among hounds. Buck didn’t suffer for female attention, he was just more selective about who he spent his time with.
“Well, there’s no shortage of pretty ladies here today,” another guy named Ghost said.
“A lot of them are Caroline’s friends, or someone else’s girlfriend or wife,” Wolf said. “So tread carefully, my friend.”
Buck drained the last of his beer, Wolf’s warning to treat the women at the party with respect hanging in the air around them. Buck wouldn’t turn down female companionship if it presented itself, but he wasn’t actively shopping. He didn’t do relationships, and Wolf was right; a barbecue full of friends and fellow SEALs was hardly the place to pick up a woman.
He was just happy to be off the base and able to stuff his face with great food. His plate had groaned under the potato salad, tamales, and barbecue. He’d scarfed it all down, grateful to have it.
“Need a refill?” Chill asked, holding up his empty beer bottle like a question.
“Sure,” Buck said.
As Chill headed off to grab them both another cold one, Buck scanned the crowd. Lots of people mingled in small groups chatting with each other, or wandered in pairs, or stood in line at the buffet or the coolers for another bottle of beer or some other cold drink. Some of the women shared a table, or clustered together talking. Every now and then laughter filled the air. It was a warm, lazy, pleasant afternoon. His brain and body buzzed with contentment.
One of the guys said something about football, and just as Buck meant to join that conversation, a lone woman caught his attention. She stood under a tree with a glass in her hand, but she looked nervous, like she might bolt at any moment. Her long chestnut hair, slender figure, and simple Bohemian look intrigued him, until he remembered Wolf’s advice. So he turned back to the relative safety of football and put her out of his mind.
***
Melinda Emerson stood in the shade of a tree near the picnic table full of women chattering like a flock of c
lucking hens. Her best friend Jayla had convinced her to come to this barbecue thrown by their coworker, Caroline, and her husband Matthew Steele. Jayla and Caroline had promised scads of hot SEAL men which, in theory sounded like a yummy way to spend an afternoon. But in practice, this many people made Melinda jumpy. She’d rather be in the lab working on her newest formula to treat Alzheimer’s, or better yet climbing trees in a jungle canopy in South America or the South Pacific searching for exotic plants with medicinal potential.
Most of the women at the table drank wine and exuded the effortless beauty and charm of military wives. They laughed and chatted like a group of old friends. Melinda leaned against the tree like the awkward outsider who wanted to join in, but couldn’t quite figure out how to break the ice. Except she didn’t really want in. She wanted to go home.
“Damn you, Jayla,” she muttered. She sipped her iced tea and searched the crowd for her best friend. Unfortunately, the hot pink ponytails were nowhere to be seen.
“Come sit with us, Melinda.”
Caroline’s voice startled her. She hadn’t heard her approach. In her olive green maxi skirt and layered gray and white tank tops, Melinda stood out as the drab pigeon in a flock of pretty hummingbirds. But Caroline’s sweet smile warmed her heart and melted some of her discomfort.
Until she sat at the table and panic set in. Melinda barely heard Caroline introducing the other women. She registered their breezy smiles and words of welcome, but when her social anxiety increased and a wave of claustrophobia threatened to crash over her, Melinda stopped listening and focused on breathing and the meditative techniques she’d learned.
“Are you okay, Melinda?” Caroline’s voice cut through her anxious fog.
“I’m fine. It’s just a little warm. I could use some water. Maybe splash a little on my face. If you could point me in the right direction?”
“Oh dear. You do look a little pale. Will you excuse us ladies?” Caroline stood and took Melinda’s hand.
They only managed a few steps toward the house before being blocked by a knot of big, muscled men.
“Everything okay, Caroline?” A tall man—they were all tall, really varying only by degree—turned from the group and put a gentle hand on Caroline’s shoulder.
“Well, Matthew, Melinda’s not feeling very well. I was going to help her inside to get some water and rest.”
“Really, I’m fine,” Melinda said. The extra attention did nothing to help. She loved Caroline and if it had been only the two of them, Melinda would be okay. But when she took a closer look at the group of men, it was like standing at the edge of a forest of old growth timber. If she stood in the middle of them, she wondered if the sun would even reach her, and at five feet seven she wasn’t short.
They didn’t intimidated her on an intellectual or human level. It was that she didn’t do well in groups of strangers unless she could wrap herself in a cloak of professionalism. Put her at a medical or pharmaceutical conference and she was golden. She could stand on stage and speak about pharmaceutical chemistry for hours because it was the sweet spot where she felt most comfortable. She enjoyed sharing her love of healing chemistry. Or better yet, drop her in the middle of a tropical jungle and she’d consider that heaven. But take her out of her comfort zones and she struggled to blend.
Caroline stood close behind her and with the gaggle of men in front of her, Melinda was boxed in. She needed air, but had difficulty inhaling any. Her throat twitched, forcing her to swallow against the dryness. Little white sparkles floated in her vision as darkness crept in from the periphery
Oh God. I’m going to faint.
She woke up being carried in the strong arms of a man with twinkling sky-blue eyes, a square jaw framing a sexy smile, and military-cut brown hair.
“Hey there, Sunshine,” he said. “Decided to join us again?”
His Southern accent soothed like a smooth velvety syrup on warm Sunday pancakes. Her tangled nerves unraveled just listening to him.
“You can put me down,” she said. Part of her didn’t really want him to. Snuggled against his hard chest and wrapped in his muscled arms felt like a safe haven she wasn’t ready to leave.
“I think I’d rather make sure you’re okay. What if you faint again and I’m not there to catch you? I’d never forgive myself if such a pretty thing got hurt because of me.”
She only barely managed to keep from fanning herself. Holy crap, he oozed charm. And he was damn easy on the eyes.
“Honestly, I’m fine.”
“You keep sayin’ that, and yet if I hadn’t been there when you passed out, your head would have bounced off the patio,” he said.
“You can put her in here, Grady.” Melinda recognized Caroline’s voice guiding the man into one of the bedrooms. “I’ll fetch some water.”
While Caroline hurried off on her errand, the man laid Melinda on the bed, careful to be sure the pillows supported her head and neck. She scrambled to sit up with some grace and lean against the wall rather than lay flat like an invalid. “Thank you—Grady is it?”
“Yes, ma’am. But you can call me Buck.”
“Did you just ma’am me? I’m not old enough to be a ma’am, despite the fainting.”
He chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s the Southern manners. We’re taught at a young age to call women ma’am and men sir. I can’t help myself.”
“How about you call me Melinda instead? That way I won’t feel like an old lady.”
“How about Mindy, for short? That’s definitely not an old lady name.”
Nobody had ever called her Mindy. She’d always been Melinda—serious, intelligent, determined, ambitious, clever. Mindy sounded lighthearted, social, easygoing, and popular among both men and women. Definitely not her.
Caroline returned with a glass of water, Jayla trailing behind her.
“Hey, Nerd,” Jayla said. “Caroline said you passed out. What happened?”
Jayla plopped onto the bed next to Melinda. Having her best friend nearby eased her jangled nerves.
“Too many people and too much pressure to interact. I told you coming here was a bad idea.”
Jayla took Melinda’s hand in hers and patted it. “Well, let’s go home then.”
That was the best idea she’d heard all day. Jayla hopped off the bed and Melinda scooted to the edge, but the room spun around and her head got all floaty again.
“Hold on there, sweetheart,” Buck said. “I don’t think you’re ready to go anywhere.”
Although he was right, she didn’t want to admit it. She wanted to get out of there and go home, not prolong her humiliation. The longer she stayed, laid out like a Victorian maiden with the vapors, the more everyone would pity poor weak Melinda. She was not a weak woman. She just didn’t do well in big groups of strangers.
“I need to take a deep breath,” she said.
“I don’t know,” Caroline said. “Maybe you should rest for a while. Matthew can take you home.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Caroline. We came together, I’ll stay with her until she’s ready to go,” Jayla said.
“It would be great if everyone would stop fussing over me,” Melinda said. If they didn’t quit hovering and hand wringing soon, she might scream. Or worse yet, pass out again.
“I’ll take her home,” Buck offered.
“No,” Melinda said, shutting that down.
But Jayla looked at him as if noticing him for the first time, and the smile that bloomed on her lips didn’t bode well for Melinda. She’d seen that smile before. It meant Jayla had a plan.
“Who’s this?” Her sly interest put Melinda on guard.
“I’m Buck McCormick, ma’am,” he said, offering his hand to shake.
Jayla propped her fists on the waist of her leather mini and tapped the toe of one Doc Marten, sizing him up as she did. “Do I look like a ma’am to you?”
“Never mind, Jayla,” Melinda said. “The point is, Mr. McCormick doesn’t need to take me home.
I’ll go with you.”
“What if you pass out again on the way home?” Buck asked. “Jayla is it?”
Jayla nodded.
“Jayla’s a little bit of a thing, and I doubt if you passed out she’d be able to haul you out of the car and into your house.”
“I’m not going to pass out again.” Melinda had a feeling where this conversation was going and wanted to head it off.
Jayla stepped for the door as if she’d made a decision and was eager to be off. “He’s right, Nerd. If you swoon again, I’m too tiny to be of any help. You need a big muscly man to sweep you off your feet and carry you around. Mr. Ma’am here seems capable enough.”
“I’m coming with you,” Melinda said.
“Nope.” Jayla brought her hand up and jingled Melinda’s keys, a triumphant smile on her face. She’d picked Melinda’s pocket. “Besides, I met someone and if you come along it’ll be awkward.”
Melinda glared at her. She couldn’t tell if Jayla really had met someone, or if she was pulling her leg. If Jayla had some ulterior motive to match her up with Buck, Melinda hoped Jayla had at least really met someone. She was a brilliant toxicologist, but she avoided relationships as much as Melinda did.
“We talked about that pickpocketing thing,” Melinda said.
“Buh-bye,” Jayla said, ignoring Melinda. “Take care of her, McCormick. If you don’t, I’ll mess you up.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Buck said.
Jayla nodded, then left, abandoning Melinda in the custody of a man she’d just met. Melinda vowed Jayla would pay for that.
Sure, Buck was easy on the eyes and yes, his voice soothed her anxious mind. Against her better judgment, he convinced her to trust him without saying a word, attracting her with his easy charm.
Caroline handed her the water she’d brought. “Drink this and rest a bit, then Buck can take you home.”
Melinda bit her tongue to keep from complaining about everyone buzzing around her. Caroline was worried and trying to help, and so was Buck. So, like a good girl, Melinda drank the water. It did help alleviate the dizziness, and when she thought about it, Melinda realized she hadn’t eaten anything for a while could add to her light-headedness.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Bang for the Buck (Kindle Worlds Novella) (SWAK Series Book 1) Page 1