A Dead Man’s Pulse
TRIDENT SECURITY – OMEGA TEAM
BOOK 1
BY SAMANTHA A. COLE
A Dead Man’s Pulse
Copyright ©2017 Samantha A. Cole
All Rights Reserved.
A Dead Man’s Pulse is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover designed by Judi Perkins of Concierge Literary Design – http://www.cldesignsky.com
Cover photo by Tammy Nguyen Le – http://www.bookcoverstock.com/
Cover model – Sam Wey
Editing by Eve Arroyo – http://www.evearroyo.com/
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
The story within these pages is completely fictional but the concepts of BDSM are real. If you do choose to participate in the BDSM lifestyle, please research it carefully and take all precautions to protect yourself. Fiction is based on real life but real life is not based on fiction.
Remember-Safe, Sane and Consensual!
The BDSM websites listed in the story as recommended sites are fictional and should not be confused with any real sites of the same name.
Any information regarding persons or places has been used with creative literary license so there may be discrepancies between fiction and reality. The Navy SEALs missions and personal qualities within have been created to enhance the story and, again, may be exaggerated and not coincide with reality. The author has full respect for the members of the United States Military and the varied members of law enforcement, and thanks them for their continuing service to making this country as safe and free as possible.
Dedication
To all the members of the United States military.
For those who fought and never made it home.
For those who fought and came home different than when you left.
Your sacrifices mean more than words can describe and “Thank You” will never be enough.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Who’s Who
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Part II
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
OTHER BOOKS BY SAMANTHA COLE
CONNECT WITH ME
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To Jess, Jules, Brandie, and Kelle—I love you, gals! Thanks for being there day in and day out, supporting me and my characters.
To my beta readers—Allena, Ame, Angi, Cathy, Charla, Debbie, Elizabeth, Felisha, Jen, Joanne, Katie, Olivia, Susan, Tawnya, and Taylr—thank you for dropping everything and speed reading this book. You helped me make my deadline in record time!
To my editor, Eve—I’m glad to have you back. *Hugs*
To my PA, Maria—thanks for taking over when I get overwhelmed!
To Milynn—point it out and I’ll fix it before you even finish your thought! Love ya!
To Terra & Chelle—thanks for double checking my emergency medical treatment.
To the Sexy Six-Pack’s Sirens group—thanks for falling down the rabbit hole with me for every new release. Your continued support means more to me than you’ll ever know!
To my readers—You humble me. Thank you.
W
HO’S WHO AND THE HISTORY OF
TRIDENT SECURITY AND THE COVENANT
***While not every character is in every book, these are the ones with the most mentions throughout the series. This guide will help keep readers straight about who’s who.
Trident Security (TS) is a private investigative and military agency, co-owned by Ian and Devon Sawyer. With governmental and civilian contracts, the company got its start when the brothers and a few of their teammates from SEAL Team Four retired to the private sector. The original six-man team is referred to as the Sexy Six-Pack, as they were dubbed by Kristen Sawyer, née Anders, or the Alpha Team. Trident had since expanded and former members of the military and law enforcement have been added to the staff. The company is located on a guarded compound, which was a former import/export company cover for a drug trafficking operation in Tampa, Florida. Three warehouses on the property were converted into large apartments, the TS offices, gym, and bunkrooms. There is also an obstacle course, a Main Street shooting gallery, a helicopter pad, and more features necessary for training and missions.
In addition to the security business, there is a fourth warehouse that now houses an elite BDSM club, co-owned by Devon, Ian, and their cousin, Mitch Sawyer, who is the manager. A lot of time and money has gone into making The Covenant the most sought after membership in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area and beyond. Members are thoroughly vetted before being granted access to the elegant club.
There are currently over fifty Doms who have been appointed Dungeon Masters (DMs), and they rotate two or three shifts each throughout the month. At least four DMs are on duty at all times at various posts in the pit, playrooms, and the new garden, with one additional one roaming around. Their job is to ensure the safety of all the submissives in the club. They step in if a sub uses their safeword and the Dom in the scene doesn’t hear or heed it, and make sure the equipment used in scenes isn’t harming the subs.
The Covenant’s security team takes care of everything else that isn’t scene-related, and provide safety for all members and are essentially the bouncers. With the recent addition of the garden, and more private, themed rooms, the owners have expanded their self-imposed limit of 350 members. The fire marshal had approved them for 500 when the warehouse-turned-kink club first opened, but the cousins had intentionally kept that number down to maintain an elite status. Now with more room, they are increasing the membership to 500, still under the new maximum occupancy of 720.
Between Trident Security and The Covenant there’s plenty of romance, suspense, and steamy encounters. Come meet the Sexy Six-Pack, their friends, family, and teammates.
THE SEXY SIX-PACK (ALPHA TEAM) AND THEIR SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
Ian “Boss-man” Sawyer: Devon and Nick’s brother; retired Navy SEAL; co-owner of Trident Security and The Covenant; husband/Dom of Angelina.
Devon “Devil Dog” Sawyer: Ian and Nick’s brother; retired Navy SEAL; co-owner of Trident Security and The Covenant; husband/Dom of Kristen; father of John Devon “JD.”
Ben “Boomer” Michaelson: retired Navy SEAL; explosives and ordinance specialist; husband/Dom of Katerina; son of Rick and Eileen.
Jake “Reverend” Donovan: retired Navy SEAL; temporarily assigned to run the West Coast team; sniper; fiancé/Dom of Nick Sawyer; brother of Mike Donovan; Whip Master at The Covenant.
Brody “Egghead” Evans: retired Navy SEAL; computer specialist; fiancé/Dom of Fancy.
Marco “Polo” DeAngelis: retired Navy SEAL; communications specialist and back up helicopter pilot; husband/Dom of Harper; father to Mara.
Nick “Junior
” Sawyer: Ian and Devon’s brother; current Navy SEAL; fiancé/submissive of Jake Donovan.
Kristen “Ninja-girl” Sawyer: author of romance/suspense novels; wife/submissive of Devon; mother of “JD.”
Angelina “Angie/Angel” Sawyer: graphic artist; wife/submissive of Ian.
Katerina “Kat” Michaelson: dog trainer for law enforcement and private agencies; wife/submissive of Boomer.
Millicent “Harper” DeAngelis: lawyer; wife/submissive of Marco; mother of Mara.
Francine “Fancy” Maguire: baker; fiancée/submissive of Brody.
Beau: Orphaned Lab/Pit mix, rescued by Ian. Now a trained K9 who has more than earned a spot on the Alpha Team.
EXTENDED FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND ASSOCIATES OF THE SEXY SIX-PACK
Mitch Sawyer: Cousin of Ian, Devon, and Nick; co-owner/manager of The Covenant, Dom to Tyler Ellis and Tori Freyja.
T. Carter: US spy and assassin; works for covert agency Deimos; Dom of Jordyn.
Jordyn Alvarez: US spy and assassin; member of covert agency Deimos; submissive of Carter.
Tyler Ellis: Stockbroker; lifestyle switch—Dom to Tori Freyja; submissive to Mitch Sawyer.
Tori Freyja: K9 trainer for veterans in need of assistance/service dogs; submissive to Mitch Sawyer and Tyler Ellis.
Parker Christiansen: owner of New Horizons Construction; husband/Dom of Shelby; adoptive father of Franco and Victor; owner of Spanky, a Bullmastiff with a heart of gold.
Shelby Christiansen: stay-at-home mom; two-time cancer survivor; wife/submissive of Parker; adoptive mother of Franco and Victor.
Curt Bannerman: retired Navy SEAL; owner of Halo Customs, a motorcycle repair and detail shop; husband of Dana; stepfather of Ryan, Taylor, Justin, and Amanda. Lives in Iowa.
Dana Prichard-Bannerman: teacher; widow of retired SEAL Eric Prichard; wife of Curt Bannerman; mother of Ryan, Taylor, Justin, and Amanda. Lives in Iowa.
Jenn “Baby-girl” Mullins: college student; goddaughter of Ian; “niece” of Devon, Brody, Jake, Boomer, and Marco; father was a Navy SEAL; parents murdered.
Mike Donovan: owner of the Irish pub, Donovan’s; brother of Jake.
Travis “Tiny” Daultry: former professional football player; head of security at The Covenant and Trident compound; occasional bodyguard for TS.
Doug “Bullseye” Henderson: retired Marine; head of the Personal Protection Division of TS.
Rick and Eileen Michaelson: Boomer’s parents; guardians of Alyssa Wagner. Rick is a retired Navy SEAL.
Charles “Chuck” and Marie Sawyer: Ian, Devon, and Nick’s parents. Charles is a self-made real estate billionaire. Marie is a plastic surgeon involved with Project Smile.
Dr. Roxanne and Kayla London: pediatrician and social worker, respectively. Domme and submissive, respectively. Mistress Roxy is a Whip Master at The Covenant.
Charlotte “Mistress China” Roth: Parole officer; Domme and Whip Master at The Covenant.
Grayson and Remington Mann: twins; owners of Black Diamond Records; Doms/fiancés of Abigail Turner; members of The Covenant.
Abigail Turner: personal assistant at Black Diamond Records; submissive/fiancée of Gray and Remi.
Chase Dixon: retired Army Ranger; owner of Blackhawk Security; associate of TS.
Reggie Helm: lawyer for TS and The Covenant; Dom/husband of Colleen McKinley.
Alyssa Wagner: teenager saved by Jake from an abusive father; lives with Rick and Eileen Michaelson.
Carl Talbot: college professor; Dom and Whip Master at The Covenant.
THE NEW OMEGA TEAM
Cain “Shades” Foster: retired Secret Service agent.
Tristan “Duracell” McCabe: retired Army Special Forces
Logan “Cowboy” Reese: retired Marine Special Forces; former prisoner of war.
Valentino “Romeo” Mancini: retired Army Special Forces; former FBI Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) member.
Darius “Batman” Knight: retired Navy SEAL.
Kip “Skipper” Morrison: retired Army; former LAPD SWAT sniper.
Lindsey “Costello” Abbott: retired Marine; sniper.
TRIDENT SUPPORT STAFF
Colleen McKinley Helm: office manager of TS; wife/submissive of Reggie Helm.
Tempest “Babs” Van Buren: retired Air Force helicopter pilot; TS mechanic.
Russell Adams: retired Navy; assistant TS mechanic.
Nathan Cook: former computer specialist with the National Security Agency (NSA).
MEMBERS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
Larry Keon: Assistant Director of the FBI.
Frank Stonewall: Special Agent in Charge of the Tampa FBI.
Calvin Watts: Leader of the FBI HRT in Tampa.
Colt Parrish: Major Case Specialist, Behavioral Analysis Unit.
Part I
C
HAPTER 1
First Sergeant Logan “Cowboy” Reese slammed his eyes shut so he didn’t have to see his friend’s face . . . his dead friend’s face. Danny “Clutch” Coleman had been bull whipped for over two hours by the fuckers holding Logan’s team hostage, but it’d seemed longer. Much longer. An eternity. Coleman’s screams of unimaginable pain had been impossible to evade in the adobe building the two remaining teammates were imprisoned in. When the cries eventually died down, and had been replaced by celebratory gunfire and shouts of praise and worship to Allah, Logan had known what would be coming next. It was the same thing that had happened after the other members of his MARSOC (United States Marine Corps Special Operations Command) Raider team had been tortured—they were beheaded. Then one of those fucking murdering bastards would bring in the dead man’s head and taunt the remaining prisoners with it.
Out of the original seven Marines who’d survived an ISIS ambush, which had them out-numbered about nine to one, and left five teammates dead, Logan and Joe “Stash” Moretti were the last two left alive. One of them would probably be inhumanely brutalized and slaughtered sometime tomorrow, and the last man would likely be dead within forty-eight hours—unless a miracle happened. But Logan had stopped believing in miracles two or three days ago.
The tango was yelling something at them, and although the words were in a local dialect he wasn’t familiar with, Logan was pretty sure the bastard called them fucking pussies. Well, if being human enough to mourn the loss of his friends made him a fucking pussy, then so be it. At least he had a conscience and a soul, something he doubted the men partying it up outside had ever heard of.
When the wooden door slammed shut again, Logan dared to raise his eyelids. He blinked away the tears in his eyes and heaved a sigh of relief. This time, they hadn’t left the decapitated head sitting on a shelf for him to stare at. But the metallic smell and taste of blood still hung in the air. It mingled with the stench of urine and feces. Each cell had a hole in the ground that would make even the worst porta potty seem like it was in a five-star hotel. There was just enough slack in the shackles and chains for him to be able to use it. The one-hundred-plus heat of the day was making every smell and sensation ten times worse than it probably was.
Clutch’s screams, and the crack of the whip as it sliced the air and human flesh still resonated in Logan’s mind. His buddy had screamed and cursed the bastards who’d tortured him, but never once had he begged for death like they’d wanted him to. Logan hoped when it was his turn, he’d be able to draw on his teammate’s courage and grit. Part of their training to become Raiders had been how to withstand being tortured and resist giving the enemy anything beyond your name, rank, service number, and date of birth. But until one experienced the worst an enemy could do to them, no one could fully comprehend what their breaking point was. Although there had been many questions asked about the US military, what their plans were, and where their troops currently were, the main objective had been to inflict as much pain as possible before killing them.
Shifting on the dirt floor, he swallowed hard and glanced between the steel bars at Moretti in the cell next to him. The Marine was unconscious, having succ
umbed to the effects of the fever he’d been running the past thirty-six hours or so. His skin was still flushed and covered with a sheen of perspiration—he had to be burning up. Logan had no idea what had caused it, but in this hell-hole, it could have been from anything—an infection from a wound, a virus, or a reaction to the swill and foul water they’d been given for sustenance. Maybe it would be better if Moretti never woke up. At least, then he wouldn’t suffer as the others had.
At first, they’d refused to eat anything that had been thrown at them, but their Gunnery Sergeant had ordered them to ingest what they could, no matter how nasty it was. They would need to be hydrated and strong enough to escape if the opportunity arose. Unfortunately, Brent “Gunny” Sherwood hadn’t made it past the second day. He’d managed to yank his restraints from the wall, and then jimmied the lock on his cell door with one of the crooked nails that had fallen loose. He’d just gotten out of the cell when two tangos came in and peppered his legs with bullets from an assault rifle, ripping them to shreds. Sherwood was then dragged outside, tortured, and killed the same way Kevin “Moonshine” Mooney had been the day before.
The day after Gunny was murdered, Gavin “Flipper” Pruitt was the next to be slaughtered like no other animal on earth, followed by Phillip “Kandy” Kane. Five good men . . . good Marines had died at the hands of these psychotic terrorists, and although their families would be told they’d been killed in action, no other details would be given. While it might sound cruel to leave them guessing, in this case they were better off not knowing. Logan didn’t want his parents or sister to ever know how he’d met his maker if this was where he died.
Logan pulled on the chain that went from the shackles on his wrists to the wall behind him. After Sherwood had gotten free, the tangos had added several more spikes through chain links into the adobe, ensuring no one else could get loose. Maybe Logan should have fought the assholes when they’d come into his cell, despite the threat of the three guns pointed at him. A death caused by a hail of bullets would have been preferable over what waited for him on the other side of that door when his time came. But a part of him had held onto a sliver of hope that a rescue would come. Now as each hour passed, that sliver got smaller and smaller. Even if a rescue came, he was a dead man. He would never recover from this nightmare—maybe physically, since he hadn’t really been injured up to that point, but definitely not mentally or emotionally. Each time one of his buddies’ heads had been brought in, another part of his heart and soul had died.
A Dead Man's Pulse Page 1