Text copyright ©2015 by the Author.
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KNIGHT’S SEAL
A Hot SEALs Kindle Worlds Novella
Donna Michaels
About this Book
Navy SEAL Sam Gentrybarely has time to consider his buddy’s job offer to join Guardian Angel Protection Service when a commander from their past, with his own D.C. based agency, asks for help. Owing his life to former Commander Jameson Knight, Sam is eager to help retrieve a mutual friend from a dangerous cartel, until he learns the operative assisting him is Knight’s oldest daughter, Lisa—Sam’s former lover.
Elisabeth Knight has waited over eight months to get into the field, and just her luck, her first mission hits close to home in more ways than one. Not only does it involve rescuing her friend, a former NIO like herself, but her father assigns one of his former SEALs to assist—the one she’d given her body and heart to five years ago. Sam had walked away when he’d realized who her father was, and she let him, not wanting to see the sexy man shot, or worse, assigned to Antarctica…permanently. Completing their current mission isn’t the issue, the danger lies in their inability to fight their resurrected attraction and keeping that failure from her father.
Thanks for reading,
~Donna
www.donnamichaelsauthor.com
Author’s Note
Visit www.donnamichaelsuathor.com for more titles and release dates and to join Donna Michaels’ Newsletter.
Dedication
Thank you to the wonderful Cat Johnson and Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing for the opportunity to write in the Hot SEALs world!
I appreciate the chance to cross my brand new, military, romantic suspense series, Dangerous Curves with this wonderful, hot SEAL world. It was fun, and I hope the readers enjoy, too!♥
Chapter 1
Sam “Excel” Gentry removed his sunglasses and shoved them in his T-shirt pocket while his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the D.C. bar. He’d been a patron for years. The local watering hole was a favorite for many sailors and SEALs alike. And the logical choice for this meeting.
Twenty minutes ago, he’d barely finished filling out his post mission paperwork at the base when he’d received a text to meet two old friends for an early afternoon drink. It had been months since he’d seen the former team members, so he’d immediately agreed and looked forward to catching up.
Besides, he sometimes stayed at Jon’s condo until housing became available on base. It was a long shot, but he was hoping the invitation was still open, even though his buddy had dropped his separation package a few months ago and now had a permanent girlfriend.
Both areas had held his thoughts hostage lately. A lot. Especially the girl part. As in a certain hazel-eyed beauty he hadn’t seen in over half a decade.
“Excel. Over here.”
He turned at the sound of his name, then smiled as he wound his way toward the two familiar, ugly mugs. “Hey, Rick, Jon. Great to see you.” He exchanged back slapping handshakes before joining them at their corner table.
“Great to see you, too, Sammy SEAL.” Rick Mann snickered as he retook his seat.
Years of enduring the stupid nickname some of the guys thought funny had him shaking his head at the walking wall. Rick was as cocky as he was broad, which was very.
Jon Rudnick slid a bottle of beer at him. “Just touch down?”
He nodded to his blue-eyed friend. “Thanks. Yeah, ‘bout two hours ago.” Lifting the bottle to his mouth, he was grateful his buddy had light beer on hand, since Sam was always on standby and could be called back to base at any time. Setting his beer down, he nodded toward Rick’s brew. “Onto the hard stuff now that you’re retired?”
The wall grinned. “Yep. No more light beer for me. I can have regular now, when I’m not working at the power plant.”
Sam frowned and bounced his gaze between his buddies. “You’re not working full time at your new business?”
“Not yet. But once Jon and Zane land some big contracts, I can quit the plant and come on board full time.”
He sat back in his chair and digested that bit of news. The guys certainly had the qualifications to make a go of their security business. “What’s your company called again?”
“G.A.P.S.,” Jon replied, pride filling his voice. “Guardian Angel Protection Service.” The former SEAL’s brainchild. His baby. The guy had a right to be proud.
“We cover the gaps in your security,” Rick spouted before taking another pull of his beer.
Sam nodded. “Nice. I like it.”
“Enough to give us a try?” Jon stared unblinkingly at him.
He raised a brow. “Me?”
“Yep.” Rick nodded. “Always room for Sammy SEAL.”
The GAPS founder leaned closer. “Seriously, Sam. Your contract runs out soon, right?”
“Yeah. It runs out in a little less than four months.” And he’d been thinking of not re-upping.
Sure, he enjoyed the challenges, and comradery and helping the innocent. What he didn’t like was the bureaucratic bullshit that kept him from doing his job.
Like getting left with more paperwork than satisfaction on this last assignment he’d just returned from. An unsuccessful mission. His stomach knotted into a tight ball. Too many filled his damn file lately. It wasn’t because he and the team were unprepared or failed. Hell no. Training for the Navy’s Special Warfare Development Group—DEVGRU—made sure of that.
After completing Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL-BUD/S training and gaining combat experience, he’d tried out for DEVGRU, otherwise known as SEAL Team Six. That’s where he’d met Jon and Rick. They weren’t part of his squad, but they’d still trained and sometimes worked side-by-side on missions. The former SEALs certainly knew the frustration of flying to destinations and stewing on the sidelines. It was getting old. Always on standby, waiting while some big shot behind a cushy desk decided the fate of innocent lives. Usually with bad results.
Jon cocked his head and smiled. “I can tell by your silence that you’re considering it.”
He blew out a breath and reached for his beer. “Yeah, not sure I can put up with another ten days of having my hands tied behind my back, let alone ten years.”
“That’s what decided it for me.” His buddy scowled, deep grooves creasing his face as he shook his head. “When my girlfriend, Ali, and Rick’s sister, Darci, were held hostage at a local bank, and we had proof the gunman—armed and wearing a bomb strapped to his chest—was speaking Pashto, and still we were told to let the locals handle it because the location had been cleared to minimize casualties and there were no high profile hostages—”
“No high profile hostages,” Rick cut Jon off, repeating his words with a similar scowl cutting across his brow. “That was my damn sister inside, and Ali. It was bullshit, Sam. Plain bullshit. And then the stupid assault team rushed the building.”
“Jesus…” He shuttered; visions of gunfire and suicide vests and bombs going off flashed through his head. “What happened?”
Jon clenched and unclenched his jaw. “The bomb went off, but thank God the vault was closed, and Ali, Darci, and the other two hostag
es were shielded from the blast.”
Disgust ripped through his insides. His buddies had gone through hell. He couldn’t even imagine standing there watching things unfold with loved ones involved, especially when they were trained for that very situation and could’ve helped, but were told to stand down.
“The assault team wasn’t so lucky,” the wall informed. “Two of them ended up in critical condition.”
So unnecessary.
“That was when I got the idea for GAPS and mentioned it to the others.” His blue-eyed buddy sat back again, his face less troubled as he spent the next few minutes briefly outlining the company’s goals. “Think it’s something you’d be interested in doing?”
He was tempted. Really tempted. “It’s one hell of an argument for getting out. Practicing the same procedures, doing similar work, but without our hands tied.”
“Uh, Jon?” Rick leaned forward. “Maybe you should tell him about Knight. Didn’t he want Sam to call him?”
He reeled back. “The SEAL recruited by the CIA for their elite Special Operations Group? CIA SOG Knight? Our former commander from our Bogotá days?”
“Yeah, that’s right.” His friend nodded. “Sorry. We got talking about Ali and that damn gunman, and I forgot.”
Fully alert, Sam sat up straight and pushed his beer aside. “Is he all right? What did he want?”
The man had saved his life during an ambush, carrying his bleeding ass out of the jungle while fighting off a band of rebels. Whatever Jameson Knight wanted, Sam would deliver, no questions asked.
Jon shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not sure. He didn’t say. Just told me to have you call him when you touched ground.”
“Probably a case,” Rick interjected, setting his bottle on the table. “He has his own special op-type company, too. Been at it for over a year now. The Knight Agency in D.C.”
Commander Knight working for politicians?
Sam could definitely see the former SEAL Team Six member recruited by the CIA for their elite tactical paramilitary operations, running successful black ops for the government, but what he couldn’t see was the no-nonsense man putting up with all the red tape associated with officials. Jameson Knight was not a patient man, nor was he good at taking bullshit orders lying down.
“What’s his number?” He pulled his cell out of his pocket and was about to punch in the one on Jon’s screen when the number magically appeared on his as the phone began to vibrate in his hand. He tapped the screen to accept the call. “Hello, sir. I was just getting your number from Jon. What do you need?”
“Always quick and to the point, Gentry. I like that,” came the authoritative tone he hadn’t heard in years. “Can you meet me for coffee?”
He glanced down at his half-empty beer and grinned. The man always did prefer coffee to alcohol. Sam swore the commander mainlined the stuff in Columbia. “Sure. When and where?”
“Now. I’ll text you the address.”
No sooner had he heard the words when a text binged in his hand. He pulled the phone back, hit the alert, and frowned at the address on his screen. “Sir,” he said, cell back to his ear. “That’s in Georgetown. I can’t travel farther than an hour from base. I’m on standby. You’re over four hours away.”
“Not if you fly.”
He reeled back. “Fly?”
“Yeah. It’s a forty-minute flight. I have a plane landing at the base now. Brooke will fly you up.”
He sent someone down?
“I would’ve flown myself, but I’m heading into a briefing,” the commander continued. “I’ll see you when you get up here.”
A modicum of worry began to pinch his spine. “Okay. See you soon.” He ended the call as he stood. If the commander was going through that much trouble to meet with him, he must have something important to ask.
His chest tightened. He just hoped he didn’t run into her. Considering the hazel-eyed beauty was the commander’s oldest daughter, chances were high Elisabeth—Lisa—would be around.
And he’d be in deep shit.
“I take it you’re on your way to Georgetown?” Rick asked.
He nodded. “Yeah. He sent a plane to the base.”
“Really?” Jon’s brows rose along with their buddy’s. “Jeez, the commander has some reach.”
“I know. I’m surprised he asked you to contact me on his behalf.”
The dark head shook. “He didn’t. He called me out of the blue two days ago and simply asked me to contact him when you were back in town.”
He narrowed his gaze. “So, you didn’t give him my number?”
“Nope. I only sent him a text that you were back.” Jon lifted a shoulder. “I’ve no idea how he got my number, either. And I don’t think I want to know.”
Sam laughed as the other two stood. “Thanks for the beer.”
His big buddy smiled and shook his hand. “Anytime.”
“Good luck with GAPS.”
“Thanks, and think about what I said. Offer’s always open.” Jon cupped his shoulder. “Good luck with Knight. Must be something pretty important for him to send a plane.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’d better get going.”
Though a lot of information was just thrown at him that raised some important questions, Sam left the bar with one thought on his mind. He hoped to God Lisa was assigned to a Naval Intelligence office across the globe. Seeing the striking beauty would be great. But just thinking about her sent a rush of heat through his body. Not good. The last thing he needed was to hold a reunion in front of her father.
Elisabeth Knight paced the floor near the round table that centered the large, open area of what her father liked to call Camelot. With a fully equipped, modern kitchen opened to the meeting area, sparing/exercise room off to the right, bathrooms and bunks down the hall, the secured, underground dwelling had all the amenities of home. Except, well, daylight. You had to take the elevator or stairs topside for that luxury.
Several desks butted against each other to the left, her lab was through the door between the elevator and stairs, and a huge computer pit centered the east wall where TJ Lynch, their computer specialist, sat in a chair, clicking away at a keyboard.
An MIT graduate in trouble with the law, TJ was recruited by her father, who’d had the hacker’s Federal prison sentence wiped out. Short and skinny, the ginger had long, coppery hair pulled back and secured with a leather band at the back of his neck.
“Hey, Lisa. You’re going to wear a hole in the floor. What gives?”
Stopping midstride, she sighed. “I don’t know. Just antsy for some reason.”
“Is it the new assignment?”
She shook her head. “No. At least, I don’t think so.” She glanced at the closed door that separated her and her father.
He’d called her in, but hadn’t gotten around to briefing her before he shut himself inside his office. The eight months she’d been working for KA—the Knight Agency—after resigning her commission with Naval Intelligence had taught her Jameson Knight worked to his own tune.
Lisa walked to the refrigerator for a bottle of water. She had no idea what her assignment would be—although, she had a good guess and didn’t like it. Her Naval Intelligence Office file was full of assignments of analyzing network and radio telecommunication data, Satellite and GPS codes. Her KA file held more of the same because her father found her invaluable in the lab dissecting evidence. In other words, he wanted her safe and under his roof.
She wanted the choice. The thrill of puzzling pieces together from evidence always gave her a rush, but lately, she needed more. Something was missing. A few years ago, one of her NIO friends had picked up some top secret work Lisa had suspected involved undercover spy-type stuff. Though, she wasn’t sure, because her friend hadn’t been able to disclose the nature of those assignments. But from Nikki’s form of attire—and weapons—Lisa had gathered her own conclusions. At the time, she thought her friend was crazy.
Now, not so much.
; Maybe the adrenaline rush of field work was exactly what she needed. Of course, getting her father to agree was another story. An impossible one. This assignment, whatever it was, would no doubt have her doing more of the same, stay in the lab at Camelot type of work.
Raising the bottle to her lips, she took a long gulp of water. Her father would fill her in soon enough.
She understood playing it close to the vest. Years of experience had instilled the need-to-know/trust no one rule. Something her younger sister had yet to learn. Mackenzie Knight bent rules until they either drooped or snapped. A trait their father never understood, but Lisa did and often covered for Kenzie. Her sister was four years younger than her and had only been nine when their mother died in a boating accident on vacation in the Caribbean. Where Lisa had withdrawn and become an introvert with her nose always in books, her sister had done the opposite, acting out, rebelling, testing limits until something broke.
Usually their father’s patience.
Kenzie was a quick thinker and excelled at anything physical, which made her a great scout in the National Guard. Much to their Navy father’s dismay. But he was very proud of her sister’s accomplishments, even if Kenzie took too many chances. Her current deployment to Iraq weighed heavy on Lisa’s mind, and her dad’s, although, he’d never show it. Even so, she’d seen him watching the news a hell of a lot more often than not; her own chest tightened whenever there was mention of IEDs—the Improvised Explosive Devices and firefights.
“Any idea what this mission is?” TJ asked, bringing her attention back to the upcoming assignment as he walked into the kitchen toward the refrigerator.
She shook her head. “No. Just that Brooke was flying down to Virginia Beach to pick up a SEAL who’s going to assist.”
Whenever she heard the word SEAL, an image of Sam flittered through her mind. The four months they’d had together were the best of her life. She’d never felt so alive or happy. But all good things come to an end. When her father was given a new command, and they’d realized what role he had in both their lives, they’d agreed to part before Jameson Knight found out. Last thing Lisa had wanted was Sam sent to Antarctica on a permanent mission.
Hot SEALs: Knight's SEAL (Kindle Worlds) (Dangerous Curves Series Book 1) Page 1