by Lynda Filler
Luke showed how much he cared about her and Alice in unconventional ways. He continued adding innovative security features to her home and had his security operatives monitoring their safety at all times. Her life had been less than relaxing for several years, but for the first time ever, she and her four-year-old daughter Alice were beginning to enjoy ‘normal.’
Alice had not left Luke’s lap since he’d arrived in Paris from Seattle, Washington. This was definitely getting on Samaar’s nerves. She couldn’t decide if she liked it or was jealous of the close relationship her father-less daughter had with Luke. Maybe it was time she admitted to wanting to be on Luke’s lap herself.
“A penny for your thoughts?” The tall, lanky gentle man glanced at Samaar while he tickled Alice who was covering his face with chocolate kisses from her croissant.
“Luke thop it!” Luke felt his mind slowing down and his heart beating quickly in his chest. She may not be his biological child, but he loved her and would protect her with everything he had.
“Nothing. Nothing at all. I’m thinking.” Samaar turned away so Luke couldn’t read her mind. They were both masters of deception. Luke had an innate sixth sense, a brilliant mind and the uncanny ability to know her thoughts before she did. She didn’t want to show him her vulnerable side. But he was indeed wearing her down. Damn!
“Look, the plane is ready at Le Bourget. I have a destination in mind. I want to surprise you. Maggs is here, and you know she will take good care of Alice. She already does that on a daily basis. RB will operate from your office while we’re away. Your personal security team is on site. Absolutely nothing will go wrong.”
He could tell she was close to saying yes.
“Alice will be fine for a week without you. It won’t be the first time.”
Samaar, code-named Luci, known for her lethal skills, found it impossible to give up control of her life to another, even someone as capable and qualified as Luke Raven. But Alice had spent time away from her with Lorena in Puerto Vallarta. That had its challenges, like an abduction. But that could have happened even if Samaar was with them. Would the most advanced security, in demand by presidents, kings and queens the world over, ever be good enough where Samaar’s daughter was concerned?
“Don’t overthink it. It’s just some time away.” His eyes pleaded for the chance to show her that they could make this work. Her mind returned to that time in the Las Vegas desert, the hot springs, the water, the incredible connection she’d felt when he touched her. Luke had proven his loyalty, patience, and love over the last couple of years and maybe it was time to move on and let her memories of Alice’s murdered father go.
“What about Zach?”
“He’s been called to Washington. I spoke with him an hour ago. An old friend from his time in the SEALs needs him for a personal matter. But the team will be fine. I asked around, checked into a few matters. All is quiet with the cartel in South America, no queries in the system. It seems someone relieved them of hundreds of millions of dollars a couple of years ago.” Luke hesitated, Samaar looked away.
“They think it was a rival cartel. They’re focused on destroying their competition.”
Samaar nodded.
“The Middle East has accepted what happened in Doha as an accidental death. It’s in their best interest that they perpetuate the myth amongst their brethren. This way they avoid an internal investigation into their incursion into the illegal drug-running business in the Middle East and Europe.”
Samaar didn’t respond.
“There’s no chatter that we can find anywhere about you. Your facial work in South Africa has never shown up in any alerts. We made sure the medical records were expunged from the Doctor’s servers. He’s loyal. We’ve used him before. You can be sure RB would have alerted me to any suspicious chatter. We’re good to go.”
He could see in her eyes that she was almost there.
“With your change of face, we could probably even travel commercial.”
“Hah! Luke Raven travel commercial? You are such a control freak you’d want to pilot the plane!”
“True. Now go pack your bikinis, and we will leave as soon as you’re ready.”
Samaar watched Alice’s little fingers shove chunks of her croissant in Luke’s mouth determined to grab his undivided attention away from her mother.
She made up her mind. Alice deserves a father in her life.
Luke looked up. He had let his sandy prematurely greying hair grow longer than usual. He brushed it back around his ears with slender fingers that had once touched her in ways that made her soul sing and her heart soar.
She continued watching her child and her man. And at that moment, she knew she also craved love. It was time to let go of the past and allow herself to be in love again.
Luke looked up, and his sad grey eyes signaled his longing.
She laughed. “Stop the puppy dog routine!”
RB walked in at that point.
“Will you two leave so Maggs and I can take Alice to Square des Batignolles. That girl rides those mini cars like she was built for NASCAR! You want to go racing Alice?”
“Oui!” The mini version of Samaar struggled down from Luke’s lap and ran towards RB.
“We’ll video call you this evening. Don’t worry.” RB swung Alice by the arms, lifting her into a tight embrace.
They may not have a traditional version of a family, but Alice was loved by many, and that meant everything to Samaar.
Fifteen minutes later, Luci—the agent side of Samaar—had her Glock secure in her holster, her knife in her boot, and a weekend bag in her hand. She blushed thinking about the sexy lingerie she’d added at the last minute. It had been awhile. Did she even remember how?
Samaar returned to Luke.
Luke smiled like a guy on the first date with a woman he felt was way out of his league. Then he laughed.
“Samaar, are you nervous?”
“What? No! But I bet you thought I’d change my mind. Well, I can use a vacation too, you know.”
“I have a question for you.” Luke tried to hide his own excitement.
“What?”
“Do you really need to carry your weapons with you on vacation?”
She gave Luke a strange look.
“Luke, ‘Luci’ is who I am. Nothing can ever take that part of my life away from me. I will always be ready to protect myself and those I love. Get used to it.”
Luke nodded and opened the door for Samaar to go ahead of him. Then closed the door behind them.
3
Paris, France
S amaar stared out the window of the armored Mercedes. So much had happened since she returned to her beloved Paris. For the first time ever, she had friends. The agent, Luci, never had time for friendships. Her life had been controlled from the time she joined the Mossad. She’d never had a choice after her parents had been killed by a suicide bomber in Israel. She was still in University in London when it happened. She made a decision and hardened then she set out for revenge.
The Mossad taught her everything she needed to know. And for a time, they owned her. But it was her anger and her persistence that took her to levels that outworked and out-skilled seasoned operatives in the elite Israeli intelligence agency. She surpassed even the Navy SEALs she trained with in Tel Aviv. Her Krav Maga killing skills were legendary. It was during her most intense periods that she met Zach and Raven in cross-training exercises with the United States in a secret location near Eilat.
And then an Arab journalist stole her heart.
She stared out the window of her vehicle. The minute they crossed over the city limits the highway cement underpasses were graffiti-strewn, the new-normal art form for major urban cities around the world. Burgeoning camps and run-down third world shacks lined the Paris urban perimeter. They harbored refugees and displaced persons who for the most part was destitute and had left their countries in fear. Paris-proper streets had been cleaned out of tents that had popped up over the
warm-air vents of the metro, but the teardown of these temporary structures only created tent cities along Paris’ outskirts. Poverty bred dissension and radicalism—the twentieth-century disease—worldwide.
Samaar's mind wandered back to Israel. She both blessed and cursed her history. She often mourned the death of her parents. She remembered sitting Shiva for seven days. Her parents were devout Jews. Each day Samaar planned how she would get even with the suicide bomber. She would join the Mossad, hunt down the source of her parents’ murder, and help Israel destroy their network. It was a naive thought because there will always be violence among men. And when one organization dies, another fills the void. But at least she could feel that she had revenged their death.
Without her life in the Mossad, she wouldn’t have met her Arab journalist who became her lover and died before he knew she was pregnant with their daughter Alice. The City of Love had once been that place where they had celebrated their frowned upon relationship, so it would always bring out long-buried memories. One day she would tell Alice about her father. For now, she was too young to understand.
“Why so serious?” Luke studied the emotions on Samaar’s face.
“Reminiscing. The last few years on the run have been horrific for Alice. Unfortunately for her, it became the norm. I’m grateful that you’ve given us a new life. Without your protection, we’d never have made it.” She reached for his hand, an entirely rare gesture for Samaar.
“We both have our tragedies, our history, and our combined memories.”
She could see in Luke’s eyes that he was reliving the murder of his wife and daughter several years ago in the Bahamas.
“Maybe it is time to let the past go for both of us, Luke.” She could feel his body relax and his hand grip her tighter.
David listened to the deep conversation between Luke and Samaar. Zach, his adopted brother, had told him about how Luke’s wife and daughter were murdered while diving, in what was labeled an accident. Zach needed David to understand that when he left the SEALs and joined Raven, he was no longer in a working environment. This was not a group you opted out of or retired from with a gold watch. The Raven Group were a family with a higher life purpose. Luke would do anything for his family of warriors and misfits.
And most important to Raven was the safety of the United States of America. He was a Patriot in every sense of the word.
David, a skilled pilot for the elite SEAL teams, was ready to change the course of his life. Actually, he needed to have a life. When Zach spoke to him after he did a favor for the Raven Group, he told his brothers “There’s this girl. Her name is Sophie.” David was ready to leave the military life. And within months he had resigned and was flying Luke’s planes, visiting Paris, and making the occasional trip to Puerto Vallarta to spend time with Sophie. Life was good. Almost too good. But he did miss the action.
“We’ll be at Le Bourget in ten minutes.”
THANK YOU! I hope you continue reading SILK ROAD on Amazon.
About the Author
Lynda Filler makes her home in sexy, sultry Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and writes both novellas and fiction. She's been accused of writing autobiographical stories, but so far, no can get her to admit it! When she is not in Mexico, she travels to the Pacific Northwest or Paris, France to visit her children. She can currently be found somewhere in the East, possibly Israel, Turkey or maybe Thailand.
She loves to hear from her fans on Face Book where you can find book news, crazy fun quotes, and photographs of both Mexico and Lynda's travels.
Thank you for reading REBORN. If this is your first Code Raven Series story you might enjoy the others. You can find them all on Amazon.
Code Raven Prequel
XPOSED
ABDUCTED
ULTIMATUM
DISPLACED
REBORN
SILK ROAD
Find Lynda on her blog www.Lyndafiller.com , or Amazon at Lynda Filler Author.