by Vanessa Kier
Ryker had taken a chance inviting Tonelli to tonight’s gathering. The only people in the room not wronged by Tonelli either directly or by hurting someone they loved, were Toby, Faith and Siobahn. Niko still blamed Tonelli for not keeping a closer eye on Jenna during their assignment in Moscow, resulting in Jenna nearly being raped. In addition to his treatment of Jenna and Susana, Tonelli had earned the ire of many of the people around this table when he’d left Rafe bleeding out from a gunshot wound on the tarmac in Cozumel.
Still, tonight everyone had been at least cooly polite to Tonelli. His role in rescuing Toby and stopping the anniversary demonstration had earned him grudging respect.
Toby cleared his throat. “The DOD reports no more mysterious sightings of freaky soldiers. And all reported deaths are now being thoroughly investigated.” He glanced over at his sister. “They believe all the people associated with vetting suitable personnel and funneling them to Jamieson have been accounted for. Including the man who arranged for my kidnapping.” A muscle in Toby’s jaw twitched. The betrayal had cut him deeply.
Faith gave her brother a watery smile. Tonelli put his arm around her shoulders and gave a comforting squeeze. Something Ryker never would have expected from the cold-hearted agent.
“During questioning,” Toby continued, “Captain Devraiz admitted to killing Siobahn’s friend Robert and releasing the gas into the museum’s ventilation system. For that, he acted on his own. However, he accused Senator Wallace of being the mastermind behind the deaths of MacAdam, Jamieson and Kaufmann. He also gave us the names of the DOD employees who’d posed as safe house staff members in order to gain access to MacAdam, Jamieson and Kaufmann.”
“The gas was delivered via their breakfast trays.” Kai, whose specialty was biochemical weapons, picked up the story. “A short lived, directed burst of poison gas was released when the lid was lifted off the hot dish. It killed instantly and then dissipated, so that the guards who found the bodies only reported slightly scratchy throats later on.”
It was incidents like this that made Ryker believe the world would be a better place if no one developed weapons of biochemical origin. At the very least, he hoped tighter security measures and more in-depth personnel screening would reduce the likelihood that another such incident could occur. Since Ryker was a cynical man, though, Kai would soon be heading a newly built SSU lab dedicated to counteracting biochemical weapons.
“So, when are we going to be free to write this story?” Siobahn demanded.
The table fell silent and all eyes turned to Ryker. He wondered what Siobahn was up to, because she knew damn well that the President’s gag order was still in effect.
“Because I swear, if Faith and I have to write one more watered down, milquetoast report,” Siobahn grumbled, “that only hints at the truth, we’re going to grab ourselves some automatic weapons and go join the Rangers. Vow of silence be damned.” She crossed her arms over her chest and gave Ryker a mock glare that put his body on high alert.
“Hooah!” Rafe called out, breaking the tension.
Cheers and jeers echoed off the walls. Ryker grinned and caught Siobahn’s eyes. She looked so damn sexy, with her dark green sweater bringing out the green of her eyes and her red hair catching the light, that his thoughts immediately switched to what he planned on doing to her tonight in their bedroom.
Their bedroom. He liked the sound of that. Since Wallace’s arrest, Ryker had practically moved into her house.
Speaking of which. “If we’ve concluded our wrap-up.” He met each person’s eyes and received a nod of acknowledgment back. “Then I have some good news.”
He glanced over at Siobahn. “Ms. Murphy has done me the great honor of agreeing to become my wife.”
“Despite his overblown name,” Siobahn called out with a teasing smile. “I think he should become Mr. Siobahn Murphy rather than me becoming Mrs. Ryan Broderick Kerrigan the Third. What do you think?”
The women hooted in agreement, while the men booed good-naturedly.
Grinning, Ryker pulled a simple engagement ring out of his pocket. The ring had two small rubies embedded into the gold on either side of a tiny diamond chip. The understated elegance suited Siobahn and the deep red of the rubies reminded him both of her bright hair and her fiery temper. She extended her hand. Ryker slid the ring onto her finger, kissed her to the accompaniment of more hoots, then held her hand up for inspection.
The table erupted in whoops and applause. Chairs were pushed back as his men and their ladies surged to their feet. The men slapped Ryker on the back and kissed Siobahn. The women gave both of them hugs and huge smiles.
“To Siobahn Murphy,” Rafe shouted. “For dragging our workaholic boss out of his office and into the—”
Niko slapped a hand over his brother’s mouth, but his eyes sparkled with laughter.
“You’re sure this is what you want?” Ryker asked, pulling Siobahn close so he could kiss her. “We can be a rowdy group.”
She snuggled closer to him. “You’re a family,” she murmured. “A close-knit family that just happens to kick ass while saving the world.” She looked up at him, eyes brimming with emotion. “What’s not to love?”
“Indeed.” For the first time in a very long time, Ryker felt at peace. For now, this was exactly where he belonged. Doing work he believed in with people he liked and respected and the woman he loved by his side.
Life couldn’t get any better than this.
***
Keep reading to go back to the very beginning with an excerpt from Undercover, the prequel to the Surgical Strike Unit series. Available now.
Excerpt from Undercover
by Vanessa Kier
“Pardon, Derecha, but the buyer is waiting for an answer.”
Niko stared out the second-story window toward the Pacific Ocean. Outside, the air was crisp and fresh. Bright with sunshine that sparkled on the waves. Inside this former Spanish fort, deals were cut to transport drugs into the United States, guaranteeing the ruin of countless lives.
With Alvarez out of town, Niko, who’d been nicknamed La Mano Derecha by those within the organization, was in charge of okaying the deals. Without turning around, Niko said, “Tell him he can have half of what he’s requested now. Once he’s proven that his money is good and that his organization is professional enough to stay out of trouble with the cops, we’ll talk about the rest.”
“I will give him your decision.” In the reflection within the window he saw the man nod respectfully at Niko’s back before leaving and closing the door behind him. He knew it grated on the man to have to take orders from a twenty-three-year-old. Alvarez’s unprecedented, rapid promotion of Niko had earned him a shitload of enemies.
Not that Niko had entered into this mission with the intent of making friends. Still, after four years in Alvarez’s organization, the loneliness was beginning to get to him.
Despite being alone in the room, Niko didn’t let down his guard. He knew Alvarez kept most of the fortress monitored, and the last thing he wanted was to let the bastard see how close to the edge Niko was.
I don’t know how much longer I can take this without breaking.
As usual, immediately on the heels of that thought came the counter response. I can endure whatever is necessary in order to get Aunt Madalena out of this place. I might feel as if each day I’m losing a piece of my soul, but at least I don’t literally have to share Alvarez’s bed.
Niko’s fingers curled into fists. His aunt’s strength amazed him. She’d survived a year as unwilling mistress to Alvarez, when other women lasted mere weeks.
His sex slave was more like it. The familiar burn of anger twisted through Niko.
On top of that, his aunt had endured watching her husband die. A week after Aunt Madalena’s capture, both Niko and his aunt had been forced to watch Alvarez torture Uncle Tasi to death. Uncle Tasi had died with hatred in his eyes, never realizing how badly Niko wanted to help him. Not understanding that Niko blamed himsel
f for not finding a way to free his uncle.
The guilt would stay with him forever.
Poor Aunt Madalena had grown increasingly hysterical as the abuse of her husband intensified. She’d fought and screamed, doing everything in her power to get Alvarez or his guards to kill her, too. But as Alvarez’s mistress, no one else was allowed to touch her.
Mistress, and victim for Alvarez’s vicious temper.
But tonight, Dios willing, Niko would finally get his aunt out of here. He’d carefully arranged the schedules of the guards to put on duty those who were most sympathetic to Madalena’s plight. And he’d found a member of the staff who agreed to smuggle Madalena off the property. Niko’s DEA contact had arranged for a local cop he trusted to pick up Madalena at a safe distance from the fortress.
Once she was free, Niko wouldn’t have to be so careful around Alvarez, always worrying that the slightest lack of respect on his part would end up with Alvarez taking his anger out on his aunt. Making Niko watch.
Niko closed his eyes and slammed shut the door to the memories that wanted out. His aunt had endure the rapes and beatings with a stoic calm that humbled him. He had to keep his shit together, or he’d screw up the rescue.
He didn’t know how he’d live with himself if he failed his aunt again.
Book List
The Surgical Strike Unit Series
Undercover - Prequel
Vengeance - Book 1
Betrayal - Book 2
Retribution - Book 3
Payback - Book 3.5
Aftermath - Book 4
For more details on these books, visit Vanessa’s Kobo author page
About the Author
Vanessa Kier has been creating stories in her head since childhood. Now she writes romantic thrillers, using her worst-case scenario thinking to put her characters through the emotional wringer. When she’s not writing or listening to music, she writes the occasional Tech Talk column for her local RWA chapter's newsletter, and takes long hikes in the nearby hills.
For more about Vanessa and to sign up for her newsletter, please visit her website www.vanessakier.com.
Acknowledgments
Once again, I need to thank Stacy Finz at the San Francisco Chronicle for her assistance with the journalism aspects of this story, and Valerie Susan Hayward and Angela Pike for applying their editing and proofreading skills to the manuscript. Any remaining mistakes are entirely my fault.
Thanks also to Frauke Spanuth of Croco Designs for creating another awesome cover.
Most of all, my continuing gratitude goes out to all of the readers who have made this series a success. Thank you!
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, brands, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Aftermath copyright © 2014 by Vanessa Kier
ISBN: 978-0-9889147-8-0
Excerpt from Undercover copyright © 2013 by Vanessa Kier
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express permission of Vanessa Kier.
License Notes
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