by Jen Talty
Text copyright ©2017 by the Author.
This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Stoker Aces Production, LLC. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Special Forces: Operation Alpha remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Stoker Aces Production, LLC, or their affiliates or licensors.
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Table of Contents
Burning Desire
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
Books by Jen Talty
About the Author
Burning Desire
Special Forces: Operation Alpha Kindle World
Air Force Fire Protection Specialists
book 1
Jen Talty
Dedication
To Casey Hagen. Thanks for being the insanity in all the saneness. Yes, you all read that correctly. It’s how we roll!
To Susan Stoker for inviting me into her the wonderful world of Special Forces: Operation Alpha.
Chapter 1
“MOM, IT’S FINE, really, I don’t mind,” Lexi Aberdean said as she moved over to the left lane to let some asshole who had been riding her bumper for the last three minutes pass her.
“What about your job, dear?”
Lexi swallowed. No way could she tell her mother that she’d quit. Not after she’d made such a fuss five years ago about not wanting to stay and work in the family business and ran off for the hustle and bustle of New York City to be a Chief Risk Officer on Wall Street.
That, and chasing after her boyfriend who turned out to be the biggest asshole that ever lived.
“I told you, I’ve got a few weeks of vacation time built up. I’m happy to come home and help you figure this out.”
“What about Tom? Why isn’t he coming down with you?”
Because you were right about him and he’s a two-timing jerk that I wasted five years of my life on. “He’s got too much going on right now.” She knew she’d eventually have to tell her mother what was going on in her life, but not until after she helped her mother. Of course, Lexi wanted her to sell the place, not take on an investor that seemed a little too good to be anything but a con artist.
“I could have just sent you all the paperwork. I do know how to scan and use email. I’ve even gotten really good at texting on my new smartphone. I’m even doing Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook on it now.”
Her mother had fought technology until the love of her life had died. Lexi had hooked her up with accounts and found many of her old high school friends and family members, giving her mother a way to communicate and something to do other than crying.
Now, Lexi almost wished she’d never helped her mother set all that up because she was always posting, all day long.
“I want to meet this person and discuss the details. Make sure it’s the right decision for you.” Lexi veered toward the exit ramp, her GPS indicating she was fifteen minutes from the marina, which she knew, so why she had the damn thing on, she had no idea.
“I see. Well, you walked away from this marina, and your heritage. I don’t need your permission to bring on a partner,” her mother’s voice took on that tone of indignation that Lexi hated.
“Mom. I’m just trying to help. You do remember what happened to Mrs. Baxter, right?”
“Are you trying to lump me in with that old loon? Not only is she crazy, but she’s not the smartest women either. I would never fall for a scam like that. I’m insulted.”
Of course you are.
“I didn’t mean it that way.” Even if Lexi had said it differently, her mother would have taken it ass backward. She always did. “Besides, I haven’t been home since Daddy died and that was two years ago. I miss you, mom.”
A long sigh echoed over the speaker. “I miss you too, little one. When will you be here? I’ve got fresh cookies with your name on them. Though I do have to save some for that cute Air Force Firefighter. He told me he had a few days off and planned on fishing the entire time. Maybe you’ll finally get to meet him.”
Lexi rolled her eyes. She should tell her mother about her breakup, but not over the phone. It had been six months since she’d told Tom to take his cheating ways somewhere else. For the last six months, he’d sent her a dozen roses every Friday. Every Monday he’d send her Tulips. On Wednesday, he’d call and leave a message.
With every note, voice mail, or text, he’d tell her how sorry he was and how he’d never do it again and how much he loved her.
And every Saturday, someone would snap a picture of her ex-boyfriend with a bimbo on his arm at some club, or kissing one goodnight at the front door of his high-rise in Manhattan. The one time she answered his call, telling him she’d seen him with some girl, his comment had been, “I was fixed up, I didn’t want to go, but babe, if you came back to me, then all of that would stop.”
Yeah, right.
Now she’d have to listen to her mother tell her, “I told you so, and oh, let me fix you up with Joe Schmoozer.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” Lexi said. “Love you, mom.” She tapped the end button on the phone, and cranked up the tunes. Even if she did want to start dating again, it would never be a military man. She’d done that once and she swore she’d never do it again. Not the lifestyle for her.
Then again, she thought New York would be her special place, only she’d hated it the moment she set foot in the city. She loved the idea of it, but living it hadn’t been anything like she had expected and if she’d been honest with herself, neither had being with Tom.
She rolled to a stop at the corner of Garner and Endicott, about five miles from the marina and decided to pull into Mr. O’Grady’s Bait and Tackle shop where you could also get the best damn homemade ice cream known to man.
She parked her car between two pickups. Tom would have had a cow, all worried her doors would get dented. Actually, as much as she hated to admit it, sitting between the white truck and a dark blue one, she sort of worried about her compact car getting a nick or two.
The store hadn’t change one bit over the years. Same white sign that read: Welcome to O’Grady’s Bait and Tackle, hung proudly over the front door, which sported that gross pastel blue color that stuck out like a sore thumb. The bell over the door dinged as she entered. To the left was the tackle shop and to the right, the entry way to pure fat heaven.
“Well lookey what the manatee dragged in,” Shea O’Grady said. She’d been a year younger than Lexi, but they bonded over having to work for their family business’s. They’d discussed leaving town many nights over a cold Corona, swearing they’d never take over for their parents.
“Long time no see.” Lexi took her old friend in a warm embrace, holding each other for a good minute. “So, you running this place?”
“I’m trying.” Shea let out a short laugh. “I own this place, but they won’t retire nor will they stop telling me what to do.”
“Hence the blue and orange décor.”
“Oh, that is changing in two weeks when they go visit my uncle. When they come back, this place will lo
ok entirely different.”
“Thank God.”
“What brings you back to town?” Shea asked as she moved behind the counter, opening the lid on the ice cream cabinet, pointing to the double chocolate chip.
Lexi nodded, her mouthwatering. “Some guy by the name of Hudson Nally wants to become partners with my mother.”
“I’ve heard of him.” Shea piled the ice cream into a sugar cone. “He’s making offers like that up and down the shore line.”
“What do you think about him?”
Shea shrugged. “He came in here and I didn’t let him give me his pitch, so I have no opinion, but Lester Holt, I think, is taking him up on his offer.”
“Mother’s is still in business?” Everyone in this area avoided Mother’s. Besides attracting undesirables of all kinds, the food was horrible and the service even worse. Of course, there had always been rumors that the back room was used for sex for hire by the waitresses. To her knowledge, no one had ever been busted.
“I think they are on the verge bankruptcy, so I have no idea why anyone would want to invest in them.”
Lexi could think of a few reasons, but opted to keep her thoughts to herself.
“Hey, do you mind,” a male voice boomed across the room. “I’m in a hurry here.”
“I’ll be right with you.” Shea handed Lexi the ice cream cone and leaned in. “This guy always comes here pissed off, but don’t you think he’s kind of hot?”
Lexi glanced over her shoulder. The man was a tad older with a bad haircut, but not horrible looking.
“I’m going to ask him out one of these days,” Shea whispered.
“I’m a paying customer, not some old suck-face girlfriend.”
Lexi leaned against the counter, enjoying the calories that would go straight to her hips, watching Shea deal with the angry customer with a smile. With long blonde hair, almond-colored eyes, a body that looked like it belonged on the cover of a surfer magazine, Shea turned most heads. But this guy just seemed to be immune to the woman’s charm.
The man said thank you and headed out the door just as another gentlemen stepped up to the counter.
Lexi could only see his back side and oh, did this one have a nice ass, with his jean shorts hanging loose and low on his hips.
“I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you later.” Lexi waved, trying not to eye the man candy at the counter with his short dark hair and tanned complexion, who looked at her, catching her gaze for a long moment before staring at the fishing lure he had in his hands. While she didn’t want a man in her life right now, she’d allow herself to look.
Once out of the parking lot she headed back down Endicott, following the unpleasant customer. A lightness had come over her the second she’d walked into O’Grady’s and seen Shea. The four years she’d spent in college, she really didn’t miss home, simply because she came home every holiday and for the summers. However, she’d been home sick for the last few years.
She tapped her breaks, noting the red light in front of her, but the second it turned green, the truck in front of her, squealed its tires and took off into the intersection. Shaking her head, she gradually gave her little car a bit more gas, pushing forward.
Glancing toward the left, she saw the hood of another car just as it slammed into her door, jerking her body. A sharp pain ripped through her head as something smacked her face and the world faded to black…
***
The only thing better than having a few days off work was spending that time alone, on a boat, fishing.
Crew Chief Alec Charles Enders, A.K.A. Ace, pulled out of Cape Canaveral Air Force Base with a smile as wide as the state of Texas. He’d been stationed at the base for the last six years and he loved his job as a Fire Protection Specialist more than anything.
But fishing came in a close second.
Something his ex-wife too offense too.
The clock on the dash flashed 12:34. Plenty of time to take out Ol’ Bess for a few hours and then three more days of nothing but him, his boat, the ocean, the salty air, a case of beer, a bag of chips, and hopefully a few fish.
He smiled as he blasted Credence Clearwater Revival, knowing that Mrs. Aberdean would have a batch of fresh baked cookies sitting at the counter of the Aberdean Marina. How the older woman managed to run that place was nothing short of a miracle.
But first he had to stop at O’Grady’s for some lures, ice, and beer.
Thankfully the traffic hadn’t been too bad and he’d made it to the bait and tackle store in under twenty minutes. He knew the exact lure he wanted, as it was the same one that the fish who got away took it with him the last time he’d been fishing.
Standing at the counter, he wanted to give the asshole in front of him a good tongue lashing for not noticing a beautiful woman hitting on him, but what business was it of his?
Ace’s phone vibrated. He pulled it out and frowned at a text from an old buddy from his hometown in Texas.
Tex: The trail went cold.
Ace: How cold?
Tex: Freezing. But I’ll keep looking.
Ace: Thanks.
“I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you later,” a female voice said.
Ace glanced over his shoulder at the sexy lady saying good-bye to Shea.
His breath left him like a vacuum sucking up crumbs, deflating his lungs. Her eyes were the color of dark chocolate. He’d never seen such richness before. Her long dark hair flowed over her naturally tanned skin. He couldn’t pinpoint her ethnicity, but whatever it was, she was certainly the most intoxicating woman he’d ever seen.
He quickly averted his eyes. One dead girlfriend and one ex-wife had been more than enough misery for him.
“Thirty-two ninety-nine,” Shea said. He looked up at her. Pretty enough.
But damn, nothing like the woman who just walked out of the store.
Didn’t matter. He had no time for a woman in his life and if he was going to make time for anything it would be a dog, but with his work schedule and deployments, he’d have to settle for taking Mrs. Aberdean’s lab fishing with him.
He handed Shea thirty-three dollars.
“Need help with the ice?”
“I’m good.” He picked up his beer, chips, and lure and headed out the door, eyeing the sexy woman as she backed her car from the parking spot. He’d seen many good-looking women over the years, but none had taken his breath away like she had.
He sighed, tossing the ice into the cooler. He’d deal with the beer when he got to the marina. Punching the gas a little harder than necessary, he pulled out onto the street, telling himself he wasn’t trying to catch up to the woman in the little car. Why would he do that? What was he going to do? Follow her?
He laughed.
Besides, the light ahead had turned green and no way would he make it through with how far away she was, not even if he gunned his engine. He tossed his hand over the head rest of the passenger seat when the sound of tires squealing caught his attention.
Crash!
“Fuck,” he muttered, gunning his vehicle, gripping the steering wheel with both hands.
The compact car spun out of control as a four-door sedan smashed into the driver’s side. The only thing that stopped the car had been a tree at the corner of the intersection and the second it hit the wood, the engine ignited.
“Siri, call 9-1-1,” he said calmly, though his heart thumped like a jack hammer in his chest. He needed to get the girl out of the car before it exploded.
The sedan raced off down the street. Another truck about a half mile in front of the accident did a quick U-turn, putting a flashing light on the dash.
Ace gave the emergency operator his military information along with the location of the accident just as he slammed his vehicle into park.
Mr. Not-So-Nice came to a quick stop, holding out what appeared to be a police badge.
“I’m a military fireman,” Ace yelled, grabbing the fire extinguisher out of the back of his truck.
&
nbsp; “Local policeman. I called it in and the local fire trucks are five minutes out. Ten tops. I’m going after that asshole.”
Ace nodded as he approached the car. Thus far the fire was contained to the hood, but if it got anywhere near the gas line, the car would go up like an IED.
He engaged the extinguisher, giving the front of the car a good dousing before racing to the driver side, which had been mangled and pushed in a good foot.
He cringed, seeing the woman’s body slumped over, the seat belt catching her body.
“Ma’am,” he called through the broken glass. He reached in, carefully touching the side of her neck in search of a pulse. His fingers immediately found a strong one.
Thank God.
But there was no way he was getting her out of the car through this door. He leaned in. “Ma’am,” he repeated as he assessed the situation. Blood dripped down her legs, but the bigger problem was the smell of gas. He glanced to the rear of the car and saw the liquid pooling on the pavement.
He doused the front of the car and the leak, then jogged around the to the passenger side, yanking the door open. The metal screeched and only opened a few inches. He gritted his teeth and yanked again, this time the door kicked all the way open. He leaned in, feeling her legs, making sure that nothing sharp had jabbed into her, which would prevent him from pulling her from the vehicle.
Next, he felt his way up her body and arms, checking for broken bones, or any other injuries he could detect from the outside.
A spark on the hood of the car flashed, shooting a small flame in the air.
“Ma’am?” Can you hear me?”
A faint moan, but that was it.
Another crackle of flames.
He lifted his head, straining to hear sirens, but got nothing.
“I’ve got to get you out of this car,” he said as he undid the seat belt, holding her body upright. He needed to do this with as little movement to her current body position as possible, just in case her injuries were more serious than they appeared.