Broken Battlefield, Mended Hearts by Willow Brooke
Broken Battlefield, Mended Hearts
Breaking Protocol Series
Book Two
by Willow Brooke
© Copyright November 2013 JK Publishing, Inc.
ISBN# 9781310733307
All cover art and logo © Copyright November 2013 by JK Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Edited by Caroline Kirby
Cover Art by Jess Buffett
Published by JK Publishing, Inc.
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Dedication
I want to dedicate this to all of the widows of fallen soldiers left behind. One can't begin to even remotely understand what you have been through. My darkest nightmares do not compete with the heartache you have experienced. For that, you are the strongest people in the world. You are in my prayers every single night, and in my heart always.
To Caroline and Michelle—Thank you for all your hard work. You are what makes this possible!
Table of Contents
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Epilogue
Books by Willow Brooke
Excerpt from Rush Against Time
Excerpt from Out of the Storm
Excerpt from Awakened by a Dream
New Members
SSG Jared Shaver
2LT Mitchel Gram
SGT Robert Weiser
SFC Paul Fredericks
Team
SGM Leland “Rock” Reynolds
CPT Brody “Maverick” Williams
MSG Nick “Kodiak” Hughes
SSG Drake “Joker” Shields
SFC Wesley “Romeo” Newman
SGM Zane “Hulk” Monroe
SFC Alexandria “Vice” Strong
1LT Jeremy “Dom” Jagger
Prologue
Jared hung the phone up, having just spoken with Joker, smiling from ear to ear. Tomorrow morning he would start work with Joker and the crew. He couldn’t believe it. He and Joker had been best friends since high school. The wild teens had joined the Army as the result of a bad night of drinking and poker in which both had lost their ass. They had talked about it over the years, but finally had a reason, no matter how stupid it was to actually sign the papers. When the two of them stepped out of the recruiter’s office, they were on top of the world. The ink hadn't dried on their signatures when the realization had hit them that this was what they were meant to do in life.
During Basic, they lucked out and were put together. Come AIT, they were split up for their advanced training in their individual fields, both graduating at the top of their classes, and somehow ending up stationed together at Ft. Drum, New York, for a couple years. Both Jared and Joker had jumped on any specialty training offered, and soon they were shipped to Kentucky to work with the Special Ops units.
Joker had been there the night Jared had met Bella. One glimpse of her from across the dance floor and he knew she would be his wife, one way or another. Joker had played wingman, getting her friend away long enough for Jared to make his move. He ended up going on all but three dates with them, and had been the best man in their wedding.
Unfortunately over the past few years, they had very few chances to work together or be in the same place at the same time. On the rare occasion they were both home, Joker could be found fighting Heather for her purple dinosaur pillow pet for his bed on the couch or stealing Skyler’s favorite blankie. Joker had all but cried when he missed the kids being born while he was deployed. The second he stepped off the plane, the crazy bastard had shown up with what looked like the entire Toys R Us store crammed in as many sacks as he could hold. He was his brother through and through.
Bella is going to flip! he thought as he walked back in the house. The kids were already passed out, and Bella had fallen asleep on the couch. He contemplated waking her or waiting to tell her in the morning, but the moment he caught sight of his sweet little wife, he couldn’t bring himself to wake her. Her hair was a mess, her mouth hung open with drool most likely dripping out, all while she snored like a freight train. And yet, his heart melted. She was the most beautiful creature on the planet. It was the rare times like these that he treasured. He was the luckiest damn man on earth…which Joker made a point to tell him every time they talked. If he didn’t trust Joker with his life and love him like a brother, he would definitely worry about his connection with Bella. She took care of Joker the same way she did Jared when he was around, from making his dinner plate to doing his laundry. And Joker
was expected to take out the trash and mow the lawn if it needed. It was a normal, big happy family.
The kids were going to be ecstatic. Uncle Joker was the only family they really had that visited, and he was the only one who had shared holidays with them. He had played the Easter Bunny for the past few years, and had made a few Santa appearances to keep them true believers. This was going to be freaking awesome! He was finally going to be back with his best bud, and couldn’t wait to go back to work.
Chapter One
“Who are these people again?” asked Alaina.
“Darlin’, we have been over this. General Ashburn assigned four soldiers to our team. They are extraction specialists. We have worked with them on a shit ton of missions. All of them are good guys, I promise. A couple of them are even married, I think. You might get to make new friends.”
“I like the friends I have. I don’t need more.” Alaina’s pouty bout of disgruntlement had nothing to do with the meet and greet they were heading to and both Leland and Brody knew it. They were set to leave in less than a week, and she wasn’t taking it well.
The last mission they had been on scared her pretty good. They were sent to do recon on Senator George Nelson’s henchman packs to gather information of future drops, transports, and who they were dealing the shipments of heroin and hash to. The identity of the suicide bomber who was scheduled to hit the U.S. Capitol only a few short months away had still to be identified, and the exact date undetermined. The disgraceful bastard didn’t deserve to be called Senator. He was lowlife scum out for personal gain. George had managed to acquire a large group of goons who more than willingly did his dirty work. When the team stepped in to prevent an attack on yet another small town, they had been trapped in the middle of a rebel gunfight. One of the local radicals hadn’t been fond of the idea of a new thug group moving in on his territory. It was strange how these sick bastards could fight over something as simple as a town—one in which they themselves had plans of killing and maiming in a masochistic elimination. When the team had moved in to stop who they thought was the group responsible, the militants had planned the same time for a surprise attack. They were all caught in the middle, and ridiculously outnumbered. Air support had been fifteen minutes away, leaving them to fend for themselves. Hunkered down, they held the enemy off until the cavalry of Kiowa's came to their rescue. When the familiar chopping sound of the birds came flying toward them, they knew exactly where to duck to avoid the havoc their eyes in the sky were about to wreak. The surrounding buildings were shredded by the .50 cal machine guns like a cheese grater, taking out every one of the dick suckers who had tried to kill them. The moment they walked through the door, Alaina had went nuts. She had babied them all for the first few days, waiting on them hand and foot until they finally forced her to stop. It had taken a long time for her to relax and get back to normal, and now with their next deployment date closing in, Alaina grew more and more irritable.
“We know you do, sweetheart, but these men are going to be a part of our family. That includes their wives or girlfriends. I know you don’t want us to leave, but we have a job to do.” Leland kissed her temple, hoping to settle his little hell cat before they arrived.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. You gotta save the world, blah, blah, blah.” Every word dripped with sarcasm accompanied by the biggest eye roll known in the history of snarkiness.
Both Leland and Brody snickered, finding her grumpy-frump adorable. “No, not the world, baby. Just a few towns in Afghanistan and the United States.” A cocky grin sparkled all the way up to his eyes, flashing speckles of gold through their chocolate depths. Brody's amusement seemed to put her in a worse mood. With Leland driving, it gave him the perfect opportunity to kiss her into submission. By the time they pulled up at the community building on base, her lips were kiss-swollen red and her breaths shallow. “Better?” he asked with a teasing grin.
Alaina was never able to resist either of her two men when they played dirty. And more often than not, they always resorted to sexual persuasion. Then again, all it ever took was a simple flash of ‘fuck me’ eyes and they were putty in her hands. “Yes. Don’t think you are off the hook, Mr. Hot Lips. Tonight I am putting their talents to good use.”
“Now that is a threat I will hold you to, baby.” He leaned down to kiss her again, psyching her out with a nip of her bottom lip. She squealed, hoping to hide the arousal that sparked to life the moment his teeth slid off her pout.
“I hate to interrupt, especially before I get to join in, but we are here and a small audience is beginning to form around the truck.”
With a shocked expression, Alaina glanced out the windows to find General Ashburn and his wife, Claire, along with three of the team members, waiting patiently for them to exit. Her face heated from her neck clear up into her cheeks, watering her eyes in a school-girl-caught-under-the-bleachers kind of way. “Shit,” she said in an almost whisper.
Leland and Brody both snickered, adding to her already unsettling predicament. Claire reminded her of a cookie cutter image of Jackie Kennedy. She hadn’t had the pleasure to talk to her much, but the woman was over the top proper and eloquent. Now, she just did a poster add for how un-proper she really was. Freaktastic.
“I am game if you want to put on a little show for them, sugar. I didn’t bring the crop and cuffs though. We will have to improvise,” laughed Brody.
“Funny. Let’s go before things get worse.” She nudged Brody out the door, following immediately behind him. With a once-over to smooth her clothing and hair, she straightened her posture and plastered on a smile. Brody offered his arm while Leland clasped his fingers together with hers, leading her over to the General and his wife.
“Good afternoon, General, Mrs. Ashburn,” Leland said. Both he and Brody nodded a show of chivalry to Claire, smiling.
“Afternoon, gentlemen. It is good to see you again, Alaina. Let’s head inside, shall we?”
The group migrated inside, with Claire falling back to greet her. “Hello, Alaina. It is a pleasure to see you. How have you been?”
“Fine, and you?”
“Busy. I have been swamped with the Christmas drive for this year. With all of the new families that recently arrived, and most of them being lower enlisted, it is going to take a Christmas miracle to acquire enough gifts.”
“Wow, I had no idea they offered that. That is great.”
“Yes, I just love organizing them each and every year. In the past the program hasn’t exactly been all it said it was. I made it my goal to turn it around and make it better. So far, we have had two car washes and three bake sales with all of the profits going toward gifts. Donations are slowly beginning to trickle in, so hopefully within the next month we will be on our way. Enough about me, I hear there is a wedding coming sometime in the future?” The older woman’s smile reached her eyes.
“Yes, ma’am…I just don’t know when. It is hard to plan with the psychotic schedule those two keep. I have some of the basics started, but am lost when it comes to the rest.”
“Oh, darling, don’t I know. George has been home a total of six hours this week. He has been staying at headquarters dealing with this, that, and the other. I would be glad to help if you ever need a hand. Weddings are my specialty,” Claire said with a genuine smile. About that time, General Ashburn spoke up.
“Can I have your attention please.” The room hushed immediately. “I want to thank you all for coming out today. As you all know, we have a long road of hard work ahead of us. My main concern is for the safety of my men. With the numbers growing against us, it is in my opinion that our numbers need to increase to help even the odds. Now, this does not mean I am not fully confident in your abilities, but the contrary. I want to make the odds in our favor. You have all worked with the gentlemen to my right, and now I want you to welcome them to the team. The newest members of our covert unit: SSG Jared Shaver; 2LT Mitchel Gram; SGT Robert Weiser; and SFC Paul Fredericks. These men have been through the same train
ing as all of you, and specialize in extraction. Each carries a skilled trade that will be an asset to us as a group.” The room applauded, welcoming their new members. While the General was making his speech, Alaina took the opportunity to scope out the wives and girlfriends. It was always a nerve wracking event to meet new people, and from the horror stories she had heard about the Army wives, it made it even more frightening. Standing next to the one introduced as SSG Shaver was a beautiful blonde. She was petite, with the palest corn silk hair she had ever seen. The image of the 1980s corn silk hair Cabbage Patch dolls came to mind. Her eyes sparkled a crystal blue, eyeing the group with a look of uncertainty. She was dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a pale pink blouse, showing a happy balance of comfort and classiness. The poor thing looked as lost as she felt. Her husband was about six foot even, weighing around 210. He had dark brown hair from what she could tell from the short military haircut and dark eyes shaped like cats eyes. His features were strong, with a squared chin and defined lines and angles. His nose seemed to be a bit pointy, but fit well with his geometric features. Maybe these ladies would be friendly after all…
The next woman leaned against SGT Weiser in a drunk bitch at a bar type way. If she wasn’t intoxicated, something was wrong. Her spandex hot pink leopard dress and neck breaking clear plastic platforms was a costume most strippers would envy. With big bouffant, bottle dyed black hair and enough makeup to be seen from the space shuttles that passed by, this little doozie was something. Alaina wasn’t ever one to judge, but by the public display she put on in front of the crowd was disrespectful and wasn’t going unnoticed by the team. When her hand wandered down his chest toward his belt, SGT Weiser finally put a stop to it. He clasped her hand tight and whispered in her ear, bringing her collagen pumped lips into a bigger duck face than normal.
Broken Battlefield, Mended Hearts (Breaking Protocol Series Book 2) Page 1