Dad for Charlie & the Sergeant's Temptation & the Alaskan Catch & New Year's Wedding (9781488015687)

by Stewart, Anna J. ; Sasson, Sophia; Carpenter, Beth; Jensen, Muriel

  Luke squeezed the bridge of his nose. That explained why she was so reluctant to tell him anything. “Why didn’t you come to me sooner?”

  “Because I couldn’t figure out what to make of it until you came up with your theory yesterday about someone under orders to spy on the unit and report back.”

  “Maybe it’s because you owe Rodgers.”

  She had the decency not to deny it.

  “Alessa, did you consider that he did you a favor so he could ask for one in return? It’s not the first time a guy’s used that ploy with you.” Fire roared through his veins, making it hard to think.

  Her eyes blazed. “Don’t lash out at me for keeping things from you when you’ve been doing the same.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Boots said he saw Ethan alive.”

  Luke frowned. “Yeah, so?”

  “So why didn’t you tell me about it?”

  “What?”

  “You kept that from me even after I was going on about needing to make sure he was still alive. Why?”

  “It must have slipped my mind. I didn’t keep it from you purposely. It’s not exactly news—all signs pointed to him being here.” He meant it. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t told Alessa about his brother.

  “It must be a relief to know you were right about Ethan.” Something in her tone made him look up.

  “Of course it is…”

  “But Ethan’s return means you are done with the unit. Are you ready for that? Are you still willing to leave the army?”

  He took a sharp breath. Maybe this was why he hadn’t told her. How could he explain what he was thinking without sounding like a complete jerk? It was more than a relief to know that Ethan was alive. Though he’d feel even better once he actually laid eyes on him and confirmed Ethan was okay. But Ethan being alive meant he’d take back command of the unit. Luke had wondered what it would be like to really be the unit commander. To stop focusing on proving himself and finding Ethan and really work on the unit’s goals. He wanted to share all of this Alessa, have an open and honest conversation about how they could make things work between them.

  “If I wanted to stay, would you be willing to leave so we could be together?”

  She stepped back. “That’s not fair!”

  “Why not?”

  “The army is the only thing I’ve ever had,” she said, her voice cracking.

  “Same here.” Luke said in a softer voice.

  She moved closer to him, then stopped, hesitant. He stood and closed the distance between them, taking her in his arms, needing to feel what it was like to be with her, to know that he wasn’t just imagining the greatest love of his life. “What’ll we do?”

  Alarm bells were ringing in his head but he couldn’t think of anything other than feeling her heart beat against his. More than anything, he needed to connect to her soul, to know that she still loved him and that nothing else mattered in this world. In the thick of the mission, it was easy to forget that one day the mission would end. And what would he be left with? What did he want to be left with? His hands were around her waist and he moved them up her back, feeling the sharp intake of her breath against his chest. She fit perfectly against him, as if some cosmic universal force had designed them to fit together. Impossibly, destiny had brought them together, and now it was up to him to make sure he found a way forward for them.

  He was so lost in that it took a gasp from Alessa, and her quick withdrawal from his embrace, for him to realize something was wrong.

  His eyes flew open. Alessa’s hand was on her mouth. He whirled to find Boots standing there gaping at them.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  “I KNOW WHERE Ethan is.” Boots announced quietly. He looked from Alessa to Luke, his lips pressed together. She wanted to explain, to fix the situation. If Boots said something, her army career was over. But it was clear now was not the time.

  Luke went into command mode, getting all the details and issuing orders. Boots had been surveilling one of the locations the team had brainstormed yesterday and happened to see the target. He had then found a high perch and was able to look into some windows and spotted Ethan through a scope.

  Luke called the rest of the team and instructed Alessa to get the packs ready.

  “Rodgers, you stay here and guard Reza and Amine.”

  Rodgers protested but Luke remained firm, refusing to discuss the location or any other details. As she was packing their supplies, Rodgers caught Alessa’s arm. “It’s not fair. I don’t understand why I’m being sidelined. Is it because I said something about you and Luke?” He was referring to the conversation they’d had at the apartment.

  Alessa’s chest tightened. Rodgers had been her friend and Alessa owed it to him. “You’re not coming because we know you’ve been spying on the team.”

  “What?”

  “There’s no time to play the back and forth of denial, Rodgers. We know you’ve been reporting the team’s activities to someone high up in the Pentagon. We think that’s the traitor and your information is why the team hasn’t been able to grab Azizi.” Rodgers staggered backward, clearly surprised. Alessa had never believed he was purposely jeopardizing the team and now she was sure of it. “Think about it—our last two attempts at getting the target? No way he got out just in time through sheer luck. Do us all a favor—don’t report in today and see what happens.”

  The look of horror on Rodgers’s face told her she’d done the right thing in telling him. He hadn’t considered that his contact was the leak.

  Once they were in the jeep, Luke explained the operation to the team. He was efficient with his instructions but covered all the bases. Just the way a commander should be. The men nodded, their understanding, respect and awe clear in their eyes.

  These types of rescue missions were not done on the fly. They often took hours and days of planning, but the team didn’t have that much time. It was possible they were already too late but Alessa could tell from Luke’s energy that he was feeling optimistic. The men could feel it, too. There was intense focus in their eyes, their jaws set in firm lines. When they got to the house, they followed in step with Luke, none of them wavering.

  He was a natural born leader. She hadn’t encountered many of them, but she could see it in Luke’s eyes. He loved every second of this. He wanted this. Now that Boots had caught them, they only had one option. Either Alessa or Luke would have to leave the team. There was no other solution. She had always assumed it would be him. But what if he wanted her to go?

  * * *

  THINGS WERE FINALLY going according to plan. They found the house that Boots had been surveilling. Alessa created a diversion that got most of the security people out onto the road so all they had to contend with were a few guards inside. According to the thermal scan, there were two stationary people inside as well.

  Luke entered first. He quickly dealt with the first guard he encountered, then made a beeline to the room of Stationary One, as they’d dubbed the lone figure. Boots was in charge of Stationary Two. The door was locked, so he used a crowbar to pry it open. The door was stubborn but Luke was high on adrenaline. Ethan was on the other side of that door. He could feel it. He pushed against the bar until he heard the lock give way, then pushed some more and rushed into the room.

  “About time you showed up.”

  His own face looked back at him. Ethan was on a bed, one hand tied to the metal grate on the window. He had a few days’ growth of hair on his face and his eyes were bloodshot but otherwise he looked okay.

  Luke grinned. “You know I had better things to do with my time than rescue your sorry behind.” He got to work freeing Ethan’s hand.

  “I’ve tried loosening the bar, but it won’t budge. The best I could do was get the window open hoping that someone would spot me,” Ethan said
.

  Luke had a small axe strapped to his leg and he took it out now and whacked at the chain that connected Ethan to the window. “You did well.” Ethan still had a handcuff around his wrist, but that could be cut off later. As soon as the chain was off, Ethan was on his feet in a flash. He stumbled and Luke grabbed hold of him.

  “They haven’t let me out for a few days.” Ethan grumbled.

  “I got you,” Luke said and Ethan placed an arm around his brother’s shoulder, squeezing it tightly. The knot that had twisted inside of his stomach ever since he’d heard about Ethan’s death finally loosened.

  Alessa met them at the door. “Stationary Two was Azizi. Boots has him but the guards from the road are coming back. We need to go.”

  They half carried Ethan to the jeep and shoved him in the back. Dan, Dimples and Boots were already inside. The smiles on their faces were the biggest that Luke had ever seen. As Dan careened out into the streets of Peshawar, the guys slapped Ethan on the arms and legs, whatever they could reach, and he did the same.

  This was Ethan’s unit. Always had been. The guys tolerated Luke because he was a shadow of their leader. He’d been crazy to think he could ever command the unit on a permanent basis.

  They all agreed it was better to take Ethan back to the apartment Luke was sharing with Alessa until they dealt with the target. Steele was put in charge of Ethan while the rest of the team secured Azizi. Once they had the name of the army traitor, they’d turn Azizi over to the CIA station chief to deal with.

  When they got Azizi back to the safe house where Rodgers had prepared a room, Luke had Dimples lead the interrogation while he watched. He sent Alessa with Boots and Dan to secure what they needed to return home.

  It took the better part of the night, but Luke managed to get a lot of information out of Azizi. Except the name of his army contact. Near dawn, he went outside to get some fresh air. A rickshaw pulled to the mouth of the driveway and Alessa stepped out. Luke’s heart leapt into his throat at the sight of her. She was wearing the pink salwar kameez he liked. The shade brought out the slight color in her cheeks and the golden undertones of her skin. She looked radiant and her eyes were wide with anticipation. Luke walked toward her and she gave him a smile so brilliant that his knees threatened to buckle beneath him.

  “I hear you did well.” The team had checked in with each other throughout the night. Everyone was in high spirits. They’d accomplished their objective and recovered Ethan. Luke was exhausted and relieved.

  “You know the guys are impressed with your leadership. They plan to tell Ethan how great you are as unit command.”

  “I know.” He smirked. Not that it would make a difference to have the team’s recommendation, but it was still nice to have.

  “Really?” Her eyes sparkled. “What else do you know?”

  “I know more than you think.”

  She raised a brow. “Like what?”

  “I know what the guys call me.” He wiggled his eyebrows and felt his heart flutter at the twinkle in her eyes.

  “What’re you talking about?” she said with a neutral expression.

  He had gotten better at reading her poker face. “I guess I shouldn’t be that insulted. From what I understand, Fabio is the man of many women’s dreams.”

  She put a hand to her mouth and laughed. “Do not say anything to the guys or they’ll think I told you,” she whispered fiercely.

  He leaned over, unable to resist getting closer to her. “You just did.”

  She gasped. “You mean…”

  “I figured it was the nickname they were most likely to give me. That or Ken after Barbie’s boyfriend. It was a toss-up. Glad I guessed right.”

  “You are horrible.”

  “Oh, you don’t know the half of it.” He leaned closer, intending to drop a kiss on her head before he realized where he was and who she was. He straightened and stepped back into the house.

  “Where are Reza and Amine?” she asked, following him in.

  “They’re talking, evaluating their options.”

  Alessa touched his arm. “We need to help them.”

  Luke closed his eyes for a second. Alessa was right of course.

  “We can only do so much. I’ll talk to some contacts I have, see what we figure out.”

  She didn’t bother to hide her disappointment. But it wasn’t just about him anymore. Everything he did reflected on the unit, and the guys didn’t deserve to have the team dismantled or get stuck with a lousy commander because he’d gone rogue.

  When the entire team returned, he pulled them together in the living room. They conferenced Boots in on the mobile phone.

  “You want Ethan in on this conversation?” Steele asked.

  Luke hesitated. He had a plan for wrapping up this mission and he didn’t want his brother second-guessing his every move. The one thing that every unit needed without question was clear chain of command.

  “Sure,” Luke said. It was his brother’s unit, after all; he had just been the temporary keeper. He kept his voice low. The team huddled together. While Dan was between him and Alessa, Luke knew where she was, felt a charge of electricity course through him and irrationally wanted to tell Dan to switch places with him. There was no doubt in his mind that he could never treat Alessa as just another soldier. This was exactly why the military had such strict rules about dating.

  He went through his plan for the target and their exit from the country. “It’s dangerous to stay on. I’ve talked to the CIA station chief and he’ll continue Azizi’s interrogation.”

  The guys asked a few questions, then they nodded, a signal that they were okay with the plan.

  “Ethan, do you have any idea who the target might be?”

  His brother’s slightly hoarse voice came through the phone. “It’s someone I’ve worked with. That’s about as far as I got. When I got to the safe house on our last mission, someone ambushed me and knocked me out. Since then I haven’t been able to figure out why they kept me, why they didn’t just kill me or try to ransom me right away. My best guess is I’m valuable to whoever the leak is, and they were using me to keep him in line.”

  Luke’s blood went cold as a thought formed in his mind. Rodgers was refusing to give up his contact until they returned stateside and he could consult with an army lawyer. Luke had taken away his phone and was keeping close tabs on him but had chosen not to tell the rest of the unit about the leak. Alessa had convinced him that Rodgers had not purposely betrayed them and could be trusted to keep quiet until they got back home.

  He went over the final plans for their departure and was met with more silent nods. “What, you guys aren’t going to rip it apart and ask twenty questions?” he joked.

  “It’s a good plan, Luke.” Ethan’s voice came through the speaker phone, surprising him. Whether it was what to eat or where to bury their mother, Ethan had never agreed with Luke on anything. Was his brother just patronizing him? Luke dismissed the thought. Ethan wasn’t like that and while the hard part of the mission was done, there were still plenty of opportunities to get hurt or worse.

  “What about Reza and Amine?” The question came from Alessa.

  Luke sighed involuntarily. “We leave them here with a few weeks’ worth of food and supplies. Tell them they can use the house and the jeep. The rent is paid for two more months.”

  “We need to do more for them,” Alessa countered. He could tell by the fact that none of the guys met his eyes or nodded that they disagreed with her.

  “That’s outside the scope of the mission. We’re not risking ourselves for them anymore. Unless someone else wants to argue Parrino’s position, we’re not discussing it further.”

  Alessa looked around but couldn’t get any of the guys to meet her gaze. She turned to Luke. He thought he’d felt his heart shatter before, but
nothing compared to the sharp pain that pierced through him as he took in her hurt and disappointment. He wanted more than anything to be her knight in shining armor.

  He shook his head slightly. There was a brief flash in her eyes, then the poker face was back.

  “Fine, then,” she said.

  He gave the command to mobilize. He wanted them out of country and back on home ground as soon as possible. The mission had been completed with more success than he had ever hoped for and he should be on cloud nine, but that bland look on Alessa’s face squeezed his heart painfully. He’d let her down.

  “I’ll go tell them,” she said softly.

  “No. It’s my decision and I’ll break it to them.”

  He issued some more orders for the team. “Parrino and I will sanitize this house. The rest of you can take care of the apartment complex.”

  They needed to wipe down every place where they’d spent significant time so that if the target escaped, the authorities wouldn’t come and catalogue their fingerprints or DNA. While it was doubtful the Pakistanis would accuse the US Army of espionage, they didn’t need their information ending up in a database in case they came back in country. Legally or otherwise.

  “Luke, might be better for Parrino to do the apartment. It could be strange having one of us go into your unit.” Boots looked at him meaningfully and Luke felt his ears go hot. That was something he’d deal with stateside. Things were moving too fast here to talk with Boots about what he’d seen.

  “No worries, I’ll do it.” Ethan said.

  “Ethan, you need to rest,” Luke said.

  “I’m fine, it’ll be good to move my muscles, get ready for the trip home.”

  Boots didn’t look happy but Luke wasn’t going to let this become an issue. He issued more orders and they all got to work.

  When he came back into the living room, he and Alessa were alone. Her eyes held a thousand questions.

  “We don’t have time.” He said flinching at his own tone. He stepped past her toward the staircase to go talk to Reza and Amine.