by KL Donn
Explosive Encounter
Task Force 779 Book 2
KL Donn
Copyright 2019 KL Donn
Explosive Encounter
Task Force 779 – Book 2
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication or any part of this series may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions and do not participate or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your respect of the author’s rights is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction. The names of characters, places, brands and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and owners of various products and locations referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication or use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. This book is intended for readers 18 years or older due to bad language, violence, and explicit sex scenes.
Cover Design & Formatting by Sensual Graphic Designs
Photographer – R + M Photography
Model – Guy Michael
Editing by KA Matthews
Created with Vellum
Dedication
For Foster & Everett
Because even fictional characters deserve a happy ending.
Contents
Blurb
Prologue
1. Everett
2. Foster
3. Everett
4. Foster
5. Foster
6. Foster
7. Everett
8. Everett
9. Foster
10. Everett
11. Foster
12. Everett
13. Foster
14. Everett
15. Everett
16. Foster
17. Foster
18. Everett
19. Foster
20. Foster
21. Foster
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by KL Donn
Blurb
Foster Halsey has been burned by life, by love.
Recruited to the Task Force 779 elite team after a nasty divorce, Foster only wants to serve his country. He has no interest in anything except the art of explosives and saving lives. After nearly losing a team mate, and witnessing the pain his family went through, Foster is more determined than ever to remain unattached.
Until a mission sends his team to Mexico to rescue the estranged daughter of a CIA official.
Their attraction is explosive.
But she’s been burned worse than him.
Everett Gaines was searching for answers.
After finishing college, Everett only wanted some R&R after a troubling discovery. She wanted to lay back on the beaches of Puerto Vallarta and enjoy some time alone. Life has a way of kicking her when she’s already down though and soon she becomes the victim of a kidnapping.
Acts so violent and gruesome that she never imagined are forced upon her until a savior explodes through her prison door. After a failed escape, Foster vows to protect her at all costs. With risk to his own life, Everett see’s something in the solitary man.
A longing to be someone’s everything at a time when she needs him most.
One Explosive Encounter leaves them breathless and Foster wants more. But Everett pushes him away. Refusing to hear him out and why they could be more. Foster won’t let go though and when sinister forces come rushing back, Everett is forced to rely on Task Force 779 to keep her safe.
After the pain ends and secrets come to light, will Everett still be alive to make the choice her heart desire’s or will Foster be left an empty shell from a lost love?
Prologue
Foster
Tampa Bay, Florida – 14 years ago
“I can’t believe we’re really doing this!” I watch my soon-to-be wife, Tamara, as we sneak into the chapel to say our vows before I ship out for my first tour as an Army Ranger tomorrow.
Our folks have always been against us being together. Mainly hers against me. They don’t think I’m good enough for her. I come from an Army family, and I’d always had plans to enlist. As soon as I turned eighteen, I did so.
I trained, busted my ass for two years to become a Ranger, and now, it’s finally here. But before I go, I want Mara to be all in. Tied to me for life.
“You’ll be all mine before you know it, baby,” I murmur in her ear, sucking the flesh and causing her to moan.
My childhood minister and our best friends are standing at the altar waiting for us as we rush up the aisle, ready to bind our lives together.
“You ready?” Reverend Barnes asks, and we both nod eagerly. Twenty minutes later and we’re kissing and rushing back out of the church, on our way to a rent-by-the-hour motel room to consummate our marriage.
If I knew then what I know now, things would have been different.
Wilmington, North Carolina – 11 years ago
“Tamara!” I yell at the woman who is supposed to be here holding down the fort while I’ve served our country for the last three years as she throws dishes around the kitchen.
“What, Foster, what!” A plate flies at my head as she spins. I duck just in time for it to crash against the wall behind me.
“You knew this was going to be our future. All through school, you knew I was committing to this for life. I’m Army through and through; this is not news to you.” With my hands held high, I try to get closer to her, but she holds a steak knife up in my face. I’ve been in enough precarious situations to know when it’s time to back off.
“This is supposed to be our time, though! You keep going back. You keep taking on more, and I’m left here alone. All the time, Foster.” Her cheeks heat with anger, and even though I feel guilty about her loneliness, I can’t help but also feel some resentment towards her for being so selfish. Everything I do is for us.
“So, what do you want then? You want me to quit?”
“I want…” Her shoulders slump with defeat as she sits in a chair. “I want to be something more than an Army wife.”
Columbia, Maryland – 8 years ago
Eight to ten months is typically the longest mission for my team, but this time, it took a year. An entire year of limited communication with my wife, my family, anything familiar. I miss home more than I ever have before.
Coming up on my twenty-sixth birthday and more than five near-death experiences, I have to wonder if now is the right time to retire. It's close to reenlistment again, and Tamara has been so adamant about me staying home. I’m going to have to give it some serious consideration soon.
As I walk up to our small bungalow at nearly three in the morning, I try to remain quiet as I enter, using only my penlight for illumination. Placing my duffle bag on the floor just inside the den that's just off the front door, I slip my boots off and make my way down the hallway to our room.
Expecting to find Tamara in bed sleeping, I shut off the lights and begin to strip my clothes off until I hear a masculine moan coming from the room.
Startled by the strange sound, I stop to listen again.
“
Oh, Markus.” I hear my wife’s voice, and shock morphs into anger.
“What the fuck?” I shout as I slam my hand over the light switch, showcasing two naked bodies in my bed when there should only be one. “Tamara?” She looks just as shell-shocked as I was moments ago.
“Foster!” Tears develop in her eyes, and my rage grows.
“Who the fuck are you?” I snap at the mystery man.
Standing with the sheet covering his junk, I eye the asshole up and down and calculate, with my training, that I can kick his ass inside a minute and not break a sweat.
“I said, who the fuck are you, and why are you fucking my wife?”
“Wife?” he squeaks, glaring at her. “I didn’t know she was married, man.”
I gaze down at her left hand, and I can see why. She isn’t wearing her fucking ring. Pulling the chain from my neck where I keep mine while I’m away, I tear it off and throw it at her.
“Get the hell out of my house and don’t fucking come back.” I turn my back and walk out of the room. I knew shit was difficult for her. I tried to make sure she had everything she needed, and just before my most recent deployment, we even spoke about kids. I can’t believe I was so fucking snowed over by her.
“Foster, wait!” I hear her feet padding down the hallway, but I have no interest in staying. I’m fucking done. I can handle and forgive a lot but not cheating.
“I want you gone tomorrow, Tamara.”
“Where am I supposed to go?” I’m not swayed by her teary voice.
“I don’t care. Go back to Tampa for all I care, but we’re done.” I slam the front door behind me and walk back to the car I just exited.
“Foster Halsey?” A voice calls from across the street.
“Who are you?” I try to get a read on the person, but he’s too far away from any streetlights to see properly.
“Nix Bishop. I’d like to talk to you about Task Force 779.” The man steps into the light, and he is one big son of a bitch.
“Never heard of it.” My gaze narrows. I bet he’s a spook.
“Precisely. Do you have five minutes to talk?”
“It’s three in the morning, man.”
“Yeah, and?”
Looking back at my house, I realize… “I’ve got all the time in the world.”
The White House – 6 years ago
“And you're certain these are the men you want?” The President stares at Commander Nix Bishop and me as we hand him the files we've compilated over the last eight months. Task Force 779 is much more complicated than I'd anticipated.
“Yes, sir, we are,” Nix responds to him in a firm tone. The men we've hand-picked are top in their fields and some of the best warriors this country has ever seen.
“Theo Burkhart, Ryder Morrison, and Weston Green are your choices?” We both nod once. “Approach them, do whatever you must to bring them aboard. Task Force 779 wants them. I want them. Make it happen, gentlemen.”
Leaving the Oval Office is surreal, but now that we’ve found our men, it’s time to gather and create the most elite team of operatives the United States has ever known.
1
Everett
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – 3 months ago
Life is funny. It has a way of lifting you up or dragging you down. A girl can do the right things, make the perfect choices, and be following her dreams when instantly, there’s a brick wall in her path and nowhere to go.
That happened to me three months ago. I graduated top of my class from the University of Phoenix with an accounting degree; had several prospective job offers even. Until it happened.
I found a birth certificate that showed my father isn’t… my father.
Which is why my whole life makes so much more sense, as well as incredibly sad. Van Gaines has never been around much. In the last ten years, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen him, and I have to wonder if he knows who he's not, and that’s why he’s been so distant from me.
Instead of confronting my parents about it, I got the keys to Van’s Mexican villa and decided to go on vacation before I make a decision about my future and where I’m going to accept a job offer from.
Or if I’m even going to.
Maybe this isn’t what I want out of my life anymore. Maybe I’m meant to be doing something else. I’ve always been the good girl; this could be the time I spread my wings and go a little wild.
Laying on the private beach, I know the house staff has gone home for the evening, and I’m left to ponder my situation alone as the sun sets. The warm sand is soft between my toes as I bury my feet in the tiny grains. The sound of the water lapping at the shore is soothing while I try to clear my head.
I want to spend the next three weeks doing nothing but relaxing. I don’t want to think about what happens when I get home or where I’ll go and what I'll do. I want to just enjoy this one moment of absolute freedom.
Understanding how dangerous Mexico can be for a woman alone, I recognize I should head back inside. I’m reluctant to leave the calming waves, however, so I take my time wiping my butt and thighs off as I stand.
With a soft sigh, I head back up to the house, wishing I had taken more time on the walk back.
As soon as I enter the yard, I can see lights glowing that I know I left off. I hear voices that appear too close to be neighbors. A loud crash startles me into freezing where I stand in the spotlight of the porch light as I see multiple men tossing the furniture around the living room.
“Oh god.” I don’t need to be immersed in the underworld to realize these men are up to no good. The villa has been breached, and everything I would need to call for help is inside. If I keep standing here, I’ll be a sitting duck.
Crouching behind a large grouping of palm trees, I close my eyes and concentrate on what they’re saying. My Spanish is rusty, and I’m not sure, but I don’t think it’s a native dialect. They sound southern, but I haven’t a clue from where.
“Think, Evie, think.” My heart is pounding out of my chest as I listen but can’t discern what they’re saying. It’s not until I hear the name Van Gaines that I know I’m in more trouble than I've realized. I have to get out of here. I need to run for help.
Looking around me, my options are limited. The beach leaves me exposed, but it’s the quickest route to the neighbors. The road would inevitably allow the men to see me, and I wouldn’t be able to hide because of the brick walls all along the stretch of road.
After a quick look back at the house, I make a run for it. The intruders must see me because I can hear them outside, and soon, I can feel hot breath on my neck. Not chancing a glance behind me, I push myself faster, harder, wishing I hadn’t dropped track and field in order to study more.
“No, no, no!” I scream when I feel a hand brush through my long blonde hair as it flies behind me.
“Gotcha!” A heavily accented voice follows me into the sand as I’m tackled from behind. The man's weight is so heavy that the breath is knocked from me, and I struggle to fight. Kicking and punching anywhere I can reach as I’m rolled over. The baseball-sized fist is unexpected as it lands a blow to my temple, and my body goes limp.
Mom warned me not to come here; she said it was dangerous. That there were bad men lurking everywhere. I insisted I would be fine.
How wrong I was.
Somewhere in the Colima Jungle, Mexico – 3 days later
I fight. With every breath, every ounce of strength. I fight with everything I am because if they think they’re going to get anything from me with ease, they’re mistaken. My father might not have been around much, but he did teach me self defense. He instilled in me that should I ever be taken, I must fight until I’m rescued or dead.
At this point, it's looking more and more likely that death is my only option. I don’t know how long it’s been or where I am, if help is on the way, or if I’m on my own. I do know that I can’t take another beating, another… violation.
I can’t.
My body i
s weak; my mind is tired. My will has lost its drive. I've always thought of myself as strong, but now? Now, I’m at my lowest point, and death is a welcome entity. I can only pray that my mother knows how much I love her and that my father has a moment of regret for what our relationship could have been. But most of all, I hope my mother never has to see my dead body.
BOOM!
I shake at the shocking vibration. An explosion. Could that mean?
No. It’s best not to get my hopes up as I shiver in the nude on the dirt floor of this shack. Those monsters stripped me bare moments before tossing me in here, and I’ve been shaking ever since.
A subtle noise outside alerts me to visitors, and I try to make myself as small as possible in the corner as the door flies open soundlessly, and two shadows stand in the moonlight. They close the door quietly as one moves closer to me.
“Fuck,” he hisses when he sees my battered body.
“Times ticking,” the other says.
“This isn’t pretty, man,” the first man replies.
“Please don’t hurt me again.” I whimper, shrinking away from his reach.