Operation Bayou Angel

by Margaret Kay

  Sloan laughed. “That would be appropriate. Okay, I’ll ask Kaylee what she thinks of the idea.”

  “Tonight,” Sherman pressed. “You ask her tonight.”

  “Okay, okay,” Sloan agreed as the sound of the garage door opening was heard. “Sounds like the girls are back.”

  A few minutes later Kaylee and Brielle came into the room. Both of them carried at least six shopping bags each. The corners of Sherman’s lips tipped up. “Looks like a successful shopping trip.”

  Brielle set her bags near the front door and then approached him, placing a kiss on his lips. “Very. I’m officially done with my Christmas shopping.”

  “And we looked at some baby stuff,” Kaylee added. She rummaged through one of her bags. She pulled a tiny sleeper in camouflage colors from it. “I bought you your first baby thing.” She had a big smile on her face.

  Sherman laughed. “Oh man,” he remarked taking the newborn sized sleeper from her. “It is so small.” He examined it closely. “I love it. Thanks Kaylee.”

  “You’re welcome. You have to know that Gary and I are so happy for you both,” Kaylee said, her arm wrapped around Sloan.

  Just then, Both Sherman and Sloan’s phones sounded with the alert tone. That tone meant only one thing, and their team wasn’t even on an active standby, Charlie Team was. Sherman and Sloan both checked their displays.

  “This can’t be good,” Sherman remarked.

  “What is it?” Kaylee asked.

  “We just got scrambled, have to report to HQ immediately,” Sloan said.

  Brielle checked her phone. Nothing.

  “It’s not a DEA Mission if Brielle didn’t get the alert,” Sherman said.

  “I thought Charlie Team was on standby this weekend?” Brielle asked.

  “They are, so this means it’s big enough that both teams are getting launched,” Sherman said. He downed his beer. Then he pulled his car keys from his pocket. He hit the button, popping his trunk. He’d have to grab his go-bag. Then he handed his car keys to Brielle. “I’ll catch a ride to the office with Sloan.”

  Brielle wrapped her arms around Brian and held him tightly. “I love you. Be safe,” she whispered in his ear.

  Sherman held the back of her neck and kissed her like he’d never kissed anyone. He heard the sound of kisses from behind him, where Sloan and Kaylee stood. “I love you too. You also be safe. I’ll be in touch when I can.”

  Brielle heard a similar conversation taking place between Kaylee and Gary. Then the men grabbed their bags and were gone. She watched Kaylee finish Gary’s beer and then she stared at her engagement ring. “I guess we’re eating the pizza by ourselves.”

  Brielle wrapped Kaylee in a hug. “They’re going to be fine. This team is the best. And this is what we signed up for, being with them.”

  Kaylee nodded her head. “I know. And I wouldn’t be anywhere but here, with Gary.”

  Brielle smiled. She felt exactly the same way. Even though she had to live with the uncertainty of Brian’s job, she wouldn’t change a thing. Her life was perfect in every way. She loved Brian with a ferocity she didn’t know existed. Shopping for baby things that afternoon had amped up her excitement over the pregnancy. She couldn’t wait to meet their baby. She had a job writing articles that mattered, what she’d wanted for as long as she could remember, and Bobby, her best friend was with them and he was happy. He’d make an amazing uncle and was just as thrilled about the baby as they were.

  On the drive to HQ, Sherman glanced out the window. Flurries were just starting to fall. His thoughts jumped from the white snowflakes to Brielle in a white gown. They’d be married as soon as possible, not that he needed a ceremony or a piece of paper to validate their relationship. He’d committed his heart to her before the first time he’d made love to her, but he couldn’t wait to see her walk down the aisle in a long, flowing wedding dress. She’d be stunning in it.

  His momma had once told him that when he met the girl who would forever hold his heart, he’d know it. A smile cracked his lips as he recalled his feisty woman refusing to come out from the storage panel where she hid on his boat just a few months earlier. His momma hadn’t been wrong. She was unlike any woman he’d ever met, and she intrigued him from that first moment, made him want a forever with her, children with her, things he’d never wanted with any other woman. She understood and accepted his job. She was a perfect fit in his life. He was one lucky man.

  Sloan interrupted his thoughts. “All of Alpha Team got scrambled too. This can’t be good.”

  Sherman’s thoughts immediately snapped into work mode, mentally reviewing the gear he’d be packing up very soon. Three teams meant they’d be flying out on the C-9 from the cargo hangar at O’Hare. Their destination could be any hot zone in the world. He and his brothers would do what they did best. They would protect the innocent and eradicate the evil, be it domestically or in some third world shithole.

  He glanced at Sloan’s profile. He and his partner would handle this together as they always did. Yeah, they absolutely would have to marry their girls together when they got back. Nothing in his life for the last decade had been done without Sloan by his side. His marriage to Brielle would be no different.

  “You and Kaylee will be Godparents to our kid, won’t you?”

  He watched a smile curve over Sloan’s face. “It’s about time you asked.” Then he chuckled. “And Kaylee and I put an offer in on that unit three down from the one you and Brielle bought. Kaylee wants to try to get pregnant in May, when the school year is almost over. That way she’ll have the summer off during her first trimester in case the morning sickness is bad.”

  “Well look at you, all ready to buy a bigger place and become a daddy. You know what that means, don’t you? You have to marry Kaylee when I marry Brielle.”

  Sloan laughed. He turned into the Shepherd Security Garage and followed the long line of cars deep into the second subbasement level. In the side mirror, Sherman saw Mother’s pickup truck behind them. Lambchop’s car was two in front of them. One of the Shepherd Security SUVs was between them. He couldn’t tell who was driving it. He suspected it was Cooper.

  The vehicles parked in the private area and the team members all exited their vehicles. “Coop, you know what this is about?” Sherman yelled to Cooper as he pulled himself from behind the wheel of the SUV.

  Cooper shook his head. “No, but all three teams got scrambled. It’s big.”

  Yeah, tell him something he didn’t know. Sherman grabbed his backpack and followed his brothers into the stairwell. It was time to go to work.

  The End

  The Shepherd Security Series

  Book 1: Operation Protected Angel

  Book 2: Operation Recruited Angel

  Book 3: Operation Dark Angel

  Book 4: Operation Fallen Angel

  Book 5: Operation Departed Angel

  Book 6: Operation Bayou Angel

  Book 7: Operation Unknown Angel

  Acknowledgements

  I truly say thank you, to you, the reader, for choosing this book. If you enjoyed it, would you please leave a review, so others might find this book to enjoy, as well? As an Independent Author, without a publishing house to help advertise my work, I rely on reviews from readers such as you and followers on social media to promote me. Thank you! I would greatly appreciate it.

  Thank you to my sisters, RK Cary and Charlie Roberts, who are writing their own Romance books. RK has finished up her Destined & Redeemed series and has several other Science Fiction/Fantasy stories in the works. Charlie is working on a contemporary romance series, the Stevens Street Gym Series. Both have been wonderful friends with the honesty and encouragement that only a sister can give. Check out their work on Amazon! Links directly to all our books on Amazon can be found on our website. The link is below.

  Thank you to my wonderful and supportive husband for his patience and love while I spend hours upon hours to research and write this story. Also, for advising me on a
ny parts of this story requiring knowledge of the military or weapons that I did not have.

  Thank you to my mother who shared with me her love of books. As a child, the wonderful example my mother set for me as an avid reader led my sisters and me to write our stories. She has encouraged me to publish and I thank her for her support.

  My friend, photographer, and graphic artist, Harry R., shot all the covers for this series. Thank you, Harry!

  A big thank you to my girlfriends who have encouraged me and made me feel that I could do this at the times I felt insecure in my ability to accomplish this. You know who you are ladies! You hold a special place in my heart.

  Thank you to my editors, a special callout to Evelin, who gave of her time selflessly to help me with the grammar, not my strongpoint.

  The models for this cover, are husband and wife. Thank you Gina and Kirby for posing for this cover!

  About the Author

  Hello! I am Margaret Kay. They say being a Military wife is the toughest job in the Armed Forces even though there is no MOS for the position. As the veteran of more than a few deployments, I have to agree. My husband proudly served eight years in the United States Navy in the 80s. That was before cell phones and the internet.

  For anyone who’s never had a loved one who’s served, being associated with the military is being part of a special community of people who support each other, who understand what the day to day is like when your loved one is deployed half-way around the world.

  Saying goodbye to your loved one as they leave on a lengthy deployment is unlike saying goodbye to someone for any other reason. It’s not like dropping a son or daughter at college or hugging an aging parent after a visit. Your military member is being deployed, part of a mission. You cannot go visit when you miss them too much. You know it’s different. You plan for it differently. They may be getting deployed into harm’s way. And even if they are not, you know what their purpose is and that they could be in harm’s way at any time.

  The emotions you feel when you stand with other families, when the unit, boat, or flight returns after many months of separation cannot be described in words that bring adequate justice to it, but I will try. There is a level of excitement equaled only by a child’s wonder on Christmas morning. A pride in your country, in the unit, and in your loved one that surges through your vein’s as you, your children, and all around you hold American flags and signs welcoming them home, waiting all together sometimes for hours before they appear and make their way towards you. As a spouse, you’re hungering for your partner’s touch, for their lips to meet yours, and for the reunion that will occur later, when you’re alone. With that excitement also comes nervousness because it has been so long since you’ve been together as a couple, sharing your bed.

  My husband honorably separated from the Navy and easily transitioned to civilian life, but I never forgot what it was like while he served. Many of our returning servicemen and women have not had it so easy. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they recover from physical and emotional injuries. Many struggle to find employment. If you have the ability in your work to encourage the hiring of a Vet, please do.

  Our military members are special! I honor all past, present, and future members of our military with my stories. Salute the flag, stand for the national anthem, and thank a Vet for their service. Freedom is not free, a lot of people sacrificed for the freedoms we enjoy.

  Don’t ever forget!

  Margaret

  Please stay in touch. I have more books in the Shepherd Security series in process plus two more, separate stories I think you will enjoy. And remember to check out my sister’s books. You can be kept abreast of my sister’s work and mine at our website:

  Visit our website at: www.sistersromance.com

  Email me at: MargaretKay@sistersromance.com

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