by Hart, Lea
She handed him the now crinkled package and waited. “I hope you like it.”
He leaned over and kissed her. “Of course I’ll like it.”
“It’s a sweater. I started knitting it a year ago, and I hope it fits. I may need to make it longer, but I can add length if you need it.” She chewed on the tip of her thumb as she waited for him to say something. “Try it on.”
A ball of happiness lodged in his throat, and he was having a difficult time swallowing. He’d been coveting everyone’s cookies and the relationships that his friends had for the last several months. But holding this gift from Jane made him feel like he’d finally found what he was looking for. He had someone to love, and that someone loved him back. She made him a sweater, for Christ’s sake. She really did care about him.
When he gazed into her eyes, for the first time in his life he found what he wanted. Her heart. She was trusting him with her heart. “I love you so fucking much I think my chest is going to explode.” He grabbed her and hauled her onto his lap, kissing her savagely. He had too many feelings running around in his body, and the only way he could handle them was to do it physically. He had to be inside of her so that nothing was separating them and she would always be his. “Please, Jane…let me in.”
Holding his face, she kissed him back and felt her robe glide off her body. In one fluid movement, he lifted her and slid inside her body. Only when they were joined completely did she feel him breathe. She’d never seen such intensity on his face before. Everything between them had been fun and light, but what was happening now was very different. Some dam had broken in him, and his feelings seemed to be swamping him. “Love me, David.”
“Always.” He went slowly at first, his slow measured thrusts completely in check. Then wham, she came. It tripped a switch in his body, and his strokes were no longer gentle. He covered her mouth and slipped his tongue deep inside of her mouth as he moved her up and down his length. There was little control in his movements, which reflected his feelings. He was an animal and operated on instinct. “Oh, God,” David breathed.
His voice sounded shocked and shaky as a shudder passed through him, and he exploded. Grasping her tightly, he continued to rock his hips as he emptied himself. A ribbon of hope unfurled in his muddled brain that somehow he’d sent enough of his seed to make a baby. As he dropped his head to her shoulder, he pictured Jane pregnant with their child, and he couldn’t help but grin. Maybe not this time, but soon. He would make sure of that. “Thank you for the sweater.”
“You’re welcome. I had no idea my knitting would make you want me like that.” Skating her hands down his damp back, she pressed her mouth to his skin. “I guess I’ll get started on another one right away.”
“I just like the idea that you made me something. It means a lot to me.”
“I can tell.” Lifting herself off of him, she kissed his nose. “I’m starving, so I’m going to make you breakfast.” As she kneeled on the bed, she felt a rush of liquid slide down her leg. “I guess I need a shower first.”
He stood, lifted her off the bed, and carried her into the bathroom. “Let me help you with that.” He kicked the door closed with his foot and opened the shower door. “I have to make sure all of your parts are clean.”
“Well, no one ever accused you of not doing a thorough job.”
“Oh, I plan on being very thorough.” Letting her slide down his body, he grinned into her face. “Have I told you how happy you make me and how much I love you?”
“You just did, but I don’t mind hearing it again.” Stepping under the warm water, she pulled him in with her. “I love you, too, David.”
Running his hands down her body, he kissed her hotly. “I don’t know how I’m going to let you go at the end of the week. I don’t want to wait two months for you to be done with the school year. Also, I hate you being there without me.”
“Two months is going to fly by.”
“I could go along as your security detail. You know…keep you safe and warm.”
Patting his chest, she smiled. “Don’t be silly. You have a job here. I’ll be back before you know it.” Turning around, she smiled. “Will you wash my back?”
He spun her around and let his hands drag down her body. “I have to make sure that your front is clean first.” Kneeling before her, he grinned, and then went to work.
“Lord have mercy,” she groaned when his mouth met her body.
Chapter Five
David slammed into Frank’s office and skidded to a halt in front of the desk. “They have her. Someone has taken Jane.” Leaning his hands on his knees, he tried to drag air into his lungs. His system was flooded with cortisol as fear and panic rushed through his body. All those years in combat did nothing to prepare him for the phone call he’d just received. Finally getting enough air, he rose slowly and stared at a man who he’d relied on more times than he could count. “I’m fine now. Ready to roll.”
Frank, waved his hands in the air. “Start from the beginning, so I know what we’re dealing with. Wait. Do you need the plane?”
“Yes, I already requested it. They said they we could be wheels up in two hours. I’m going to Honduras, by the way. Tegucigalpa, to be specific. I need at least one other guy to go with me. Who is available that was a sniper? Make that two men.”
Frank lifted his phone and asked Rachel to come in. “Rach knows who is available and who can be moved around. She’ll be here in a minute.”
Rachel walked quickly through the door with her wild hair flying behind her and a tablet in her hand. “How many, for how long, and what skills do you need?”
“Jane was snatched in Honduras. I just received a call from the director of the school, and he told me that she never returned from town this morning. She has been missing for around two hours. She told the school to call me if she ever went missing.”
“Smart woman,” Frank replied. “Please tell me that you put a locater on her. If you didn’t, this mission is going to be pretty fucking hard.”
Rachel tapped her foot impatiently. “I can’t help you unless you help me. How many men do you need?”
David ground his jaw and replied, “I need someone who was a sniper and whoever has the best tracking/hacking skills. I had a GPS tag implanted in her arm two years ago and checked it two months ago when she was here. Laird is working on locating her right now.”
Rachel started going through the spreadsheets on her tablet to try and determine who was available with the right set of skills. “I can pull Alex off a project and send him with you. He can track the device and run the op.” Flipping through screens, she studied the sheet that she kept on each operative in all the offices. “Where are you going?”
“Honduras. Tegucigalpa is the largest city closest to where Jane was teaching. The airport is about thirty kilometers from the campus.”
She listened as she searched through Alex’s history of service. “It looks like Alex might have been stationed at the Soto Cano Air Base when he was with Delta. He also speaks Spanish, so that’s a plus. Why don’t you take Sean as well? He and Alex have worked together in the past, and Sean was a lead sniper at one point. I think it should work.”
“Sounds good to me,” Frank replied. “I’ll make a couple of calls while you guys are en route and see if I can scare up some local support. I may still have a few friends on that side of the world. A long time ago, I was part of the Joint Task Force that was working on counter-narcotics missions in the area. We helped train their military. I can also call Joel in the Florida office and see if any of his guys were on Team Four.”
David tried to stop tapping his foot, but found it nearly impossible. He hated this part of any mission, because it felt like he was wasting time. There wasn’t much he could do, though, because the plane wasn’t going to be ready for another two hours. He was stuck. His experience told him planning was invaluable for a successful mission, but Jane was missing, and he was about to lose his fricking mind if he didn’t do someth
ing soon to help her. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate the support and making all the resources available.”
Frank waved his hand in dismissal. “This is what we do, brother. We find people and bring them home.”
Rachel glanced up from her tablet. “I have confirmation on Sean and Alex. They’ll be here in thirty minutes.”
“Thanks, Rach.” Standing, he put his hand out to Frank. “Hopefully, we will be back in thirty-six hours.” They shook hands, and Frank grinned. “Piece of cake, brother.”
David strode out and stopped by command central to check in with the guys to see if they had located Jane yet. He had given them the info as soon as he got the call. Sticking his head in the door, he called out to Laird. “Hey, man. Any luck yet?”
Fingers flying on the keyboard, he barely glanced up before answering. “It appears like she is traveling slowly out of the town center. She must be on foot. I checked the local news, and there is some kind of demonstration going on. The city center is gridlocked with people. So whoever’s got her can’t move quickly.” He brought another screen up that showed the view from a traffic cam. The demonstrators were in front of a government building, and that’s why they had so many images available. “What does she look like? Any chance she will blend in with the locals?”
“No. She’s blond with bright blue eyes. There is no mistaking that she’s American. She would definitely attract attention if she were being dragged through the streets.”
“That’s the thing about Honduras. Nobody seems to notice anything. It’s the murder capital of the world, and the streets are pretty much owned by whoever has the most power in any given month. Most of the murders are committed by men on motorcycles. They ride up, unload their weapon, and drive away.”
Alex walked up behind him and chimed in. “It’s fucking nuts over there. I was there for about eight months in 2012, and I was never so glad to leave a place. Most of the violence is a spill-over from the ramped up rise in narco-trafficking.” Putting his hand to David, he shook it. “I may have some friends in low places that can help us. I’ll work my contacts when we get in the air.”
David looked down at him and nodded. “Is that the bionic leg you’re wearing today?”
He lifted his prosthesis and grinned. “You know it. I figured the op deserved nothing less than the best. I’m fully operational with this.”
Thumping him on the back, he lifted an eyebrow. “It was never doubted, man. All I ask is that you don’t sing in my mic the whole time. Because if you do, I may have to damage you when we’re done.”
“Now that’s not something that I can promise.” Sean joined the group and put his hands on his hips. “Are we having a fucking tea party? I was told to come down and get packed. We have a girl to save.”
“Wet and ready, brother,” David replied. He led the group over to the equipment room and started to debrief them as they packed their gear for the op. They checked their vests and bags while they filled each other in on what they knew of the country. “Jane is no shrinking violet, and she’s been abroad for years. Before this, she was in Arusha, Tanzania, working at a school. She’s smart, and I’m praying that she will use everything she has to stay alive until we can get to her. She is my best friend and also the one I would like to end up spending my life with. So the only option here is to bring her home.”
“Always,” Sean replied. “Remember that you may have to stand down if shit gets real and you can’t operate. Let Alex run the op, and I’ll handle the extraction.”
Alex nodded in agreement. “No matter how many times you’ve done this and how much bad shit you’ve faced, none of it is going to help you when you are trying to save the one you love. So listen hard and follow my command, so we can bring her home.”
“Got it.” Lifting his bag over his shoulder, he walked out of the room. He knew that what Alex was saying was true. There was a reason that doctors didn’t operate on their family and police officers couldn’t go on a call where an acquaintance was involved. But he had no choice. He was going to do his best to lock everything down and bring Jane home. Then he was going to yell at her for not coming home when he asked. After he was done with that, he was going to hug her and never let her go. Fucking murder capital of the world.
Chapter Six
The team arrived at the airfield and started loading their gear onto the plane as Garret stood next to the stairs and watched them. “I thought we were flying for a snatch and grab, not blowing up half the country.”
David sneered as he passed him. “You can never be too prepared. It’s not like I can make a quick phone call and get some extra rounds if we run out. I don’t like to go anywhere without a little C4. It can solve more problems than you can imagine.”
“That’s what I like to hear from a guy who I’m about to spend the next several days with,” Garret replied.
Sean smirked as he passed a bag to David to put on the plane. “Just another day at the office, man. I thought you flew C-5s for the Air Force. You should be used to flying a plane that’s filled with things that can go boom.”
“Oh, I am,” Garret answered. “Did you hear about the last op that went slightly south? We just had the plane interior re-done, because apparently, blood is really hard to get rid of.”
“I heard that Max charged the client for the overhaul. Something about it being his fault.” Alex cackled. “Chris stands by his story that it was the perp’s fault for resisting and, had he followed directions, none of it would have happened. The client paid for the overhaul, no questions asked, so Chris must’ve been right.”
“No good deed goes unpunished,” Sean said, as he closed the back of the truck. “I’m going to run this over to the hangar, and I’ll be back in five minutes.”
“That will work,” Garret responded. “They won’t let us on the runway for another fifteen minutes. It’s going to take us at least nine hours to get there unless we get lucky. With a tail wind, I can possibly get us there in eight.”
“Thanks, man,” David responded. “She’s been missing for at least four hours now, so there is no time to waste.” He climbed onto the plane and sat at the table. Dropping his bag, he pulled out maps, his tablet, and the picture of Jane that he’d taken on their birthday. Looking at her sweet face made his gut clench. He raked his fingers through his hair and let out a long breath. There was going to be no room for doubt over the next couple of days. He was going to operate like he always did…with certainty of success. SEALs were trained to be resourceful problem solvers and that is exactly what he was going to do. Find her and bring her home. Done!
Alex sat across from David and unloaded his gear on the table. “Let’s see if she’s been relocated.” Powering up his tablet, he checked his phone and opened the app that was tracking her locater. “How did you get her to agree to a GPS tab?”
“We’ve been best friends since we were twelve, and I told her it was important that I be able to find her if something happened.”
“That’s it?”
“Pretty much. I had it put in almost two years ago. When she told me that she had signed up with an NGO in Honduras, I went a little crazy. I was still on the Teams, and there wasn’t much I could do to make sure she was safe, so I asked her to do it so I wouldn’t lose my mind, and she agreed.”
Alex studied his phone and noticed that she hadn’t moved in over an hour. “Okay, they’ve stopped somewhere. I can look at the map in a second and see where they’re holding her. If we get lucky, they are going to ask for money in exchange for her return. That will hopefully give us the time we need to go in and get her out. I haven’t heard from any of my old associates in the area yet, so let’s hope that Frank had some luck with Joel in the Miami office. He probably has a guy who was on Team Four, so he’ll have some connections if mine don’t work out.”
“I never operated in Central America, so I’ve got nothing to offer.”
Sean boarded the plane, dumped his bag in one of the chairs, and slumped into another as he
rested his head. “I’m going to have to grab a couple of hours of sleep so I can be operational when we land. Izzy and I took care of the twins last night, so I caught about three hours of sleep.”
“They haven’t budged in about an hour. I’m going to have an image of where they’re keeping her in another minute. My tablet is linking up with the airplane’s system,” Alex replied. He leaned forward and grabbed the picture of Jane that David had pulled out. “Damn, man. This is the woman you’re going to marry?”
David grabbed the picture back and gave him a dirty look. “Yes.”
“You are a lucky son of a bitch. How in the hell did you talk her into that?”
“Are you twelve? You don’t ask a grown man questions like that.”
Alex put his hands up and sat back. “Message received.” He glanced over at Sean and noticed that he’d passed out. “Why the hell does he get to spend the night with Izzy?”
Lifting his shoulder in a half-shrug, he responded, “How the hell should I know? They’re the kids’ aunt and uncle…it’s not like they like each other.” He saw Alex’s pained expression and realized that he must be harboring feelings for Rory’s sister. “You know she broke up with her boyfriend a while ago, so she might go out with you if you asked.”
“It’s only been a couple of months. I’m not going to be that asshole that jumps on a girl the minute she’s available. Jeez…give me some credit.”
“Whatever, man. You know she may like the idea of going out with a man who has his own calendar and models in his spare time.”
“Fuck you. You know all the money goes toward my foundation.”
“Hey, man, it’s not my business. You should be proud of the fact that you’re a hot commodity. Not every man can come home from war missing half his leg and turn it around into what you have. You’ve shown that it’s possible to be operational no matter what happens. That, my friend, is what a warrior is, and you are that every day. Even if you model underwear and have girls throwing themselves at you whenever we go out.”