by Gennita Low
***
Damn, he didn’t want to stop. He’d kissed her to reassure himself. The sight of her in danger had given him a jolt of fear he’d never felt before. And then she’d gone and taken care of her attacker with an efficiency that would make his SEAL brothers proud.
No babbling incoherently. Not his Rebecca.
Just a quick kiss, he’d told himself. But her tongue and her hands tempted him to continue. She was kissing him with that sexy passion which always made him want to take her then and there. How many times in the past months had he fantasized having her in his arms again? Naked. Sweaty. With hours of . . . heat gathered where it shouldn’t. Man. The timing sucked.
With great reluctance, Zone curled his hands around the sweet curve of her hips and put her away from him. “We’ve got to get back on deck to make sure the others have been taken down,” he told her softly. He gave her a fleeting caress on the side of her face. “Later. You’re mine later.”
He grinned when she made a face at him. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears and he’d wanted to distract her from her fear.
“I don’t understand. How did you get to be here?”
“My team and I swam. Then we climbed on board.”
She touched his arm. “You make it sound so easy when I know it’s not.”
He squeezed her fingers briefly. No mission was easy, but this one had gone smoothly. He’d done recon extractions more times than he cared to count and some had been a lot bloodier, but he was pretty sure she wouldn’t want to know how he and his team had taken down the hostiles.
“Come on,” he told her. “Follow close and keep quiet, just in case there’s another lurking close by.”
She nodded.
He activated the receiver in his belt. “Zone reporting in. Miss Powers is with me. Two hostiles are down on my end. Over.”
“Bad news. The enemy has the ambassador,” his commander told him through his ear mic. “He communicated with the satellite phone again.”
That explained the emergency lights coming on. The head pirate must have activated it after capturing the ambassador. He didn’t need his people to grope around in the dark now.
“How many?” Zone asked.
“One, as far as we know. He’s heading to the deck. He has asked for a lifeboat for him and his men. He doesn’t know all his men on deck are down.”
“He’ll want to contact his ship to pick him up,” Zone said. He shook his head at Rebecca’s questioning gaze. “Are we negotiating?”
“We’re almost to their main ship. We’ll be jamming any contact from our end. Can you take out the lone pirate?”
“I’ve to go on deck and find a suitable location.”
“Do it if you can. But the ambassador’s safety comes first. Joker’s listening in. You coordinate with him. Copy that? Over.”
“Yes, sir, copy. Over.”
***
The look on Zone’s face had changed from teasing to serious as he talked to the person on the other end. The conversation made her fear for the worst.
“Zone?” she whispered when he finished. “Is it Da…the Ambassador?”
He nodded. “He’s been taken. Let’s go up.”
Rebecca shook her head. Something about this didn’t seem right. “Wait. We were down two levels when the lights went off. Someone tried to grab me but I got away and ran up here. I heard Dad calling my name but we got separated. No one has come up here. I’ve moved around but not far from the stairs.”
Zone frowned. “The lights went off and you were attacked immediately?”
“Yes.”
“When did your security detail order you to come down?”
“When the pirates started firing at the ship and managed to come close enough to board.” It was her turn to frown. “They shouldn’t be on us so quickly, right? And the lights shouldn’t have gone off that fast either.”
“Right.” Zone clicked on his belt again. “Joker, count the security personnel. Ask for who’s missing. Any chance you can kill the emergency lights from up there? ASAP. Suspicion of breach in the ambassador’s security detail. Stay at position one. Over.” He pointed to the stack of boxes where she’d been hiding. “Rebecca, get back there now and stay out of sight.”
“Be careful,” she mouthed.
She followed his order, squeezing behind a few disarrayed cartons. Peering between them, she watched Zone kneel down in front of her attacker. His hand struck downwards, fast like a snake coming at its prey, and the tied man’s head dropped sideways. She’d barely processed what Zone had done when the lights gave a strange hum, dimmed, and went out, and she was back in darkness once again.
This time, she wasn’t as afraid. Zone was here, even though she couldn’t see or hear him. She pinched herself. Ow. Okay, she hadn’t fallen asleep and dreamed him up. He was really, really here. Her eyes tried to pierce the veil of darkness.
“Copy.” His voice floated to her.
It was just the merest whisper but it was reassuring to know he was close by. He must still be communicating with members of his team. What was his plan? She was worried about her father. Was he injured? Zone hadn’t said he was, just that he was coming up with the pirate. No, not pirate. Zone’s questions had planted the suspicion whoever had her father was one of their own. The idea of someone close having betrayed them explained the coincidence of the pirates’ appearance just after most of the media had left and before the Navy ship’s arrival to pick them up. Only a few key people would know the precise timetable. She tried to remember who had been with them as they rushed down. Johnson? No, he was still on deck, instructing the other men. Sandow? No.
Panfilo. Rebecca bit her lip. Panfilo had been her personal guard for a few months now, accompanying her as she traveled back and forth from the States. He was a big man and was hired for his fighting skills. She needed to warn Zone.
The stairs doorway creaked. She froze, holding her breath, her eyes straining, trying to see. The footsteps sounded hesitant, as if the owner was unsure. A thud.
“Keep moving,” a voice commanded. Then she heard her father’s gasp of pain.
Rebecca put a fist over her mouth. Panfilo. And the first set of footsteps, the one she heard stumbling, must be her father’s.
The other stairway was through another door just around the corner. She hadn’t dared climb them when she was alone, afraid the noise of treading the metal steps would attract the other pirates. Zone would know they were heading that way.
There hadn’t been time to ask what his plan was but she had a feeling Zone wasn’t going to allow Panfilo and her father to get to a lighted area. She recalled the lessons about studying an attacker’s mentality—how and when he might approach. As the classes were mostly filled with women, their main concerns were situations like being robbed or assaulted, say, in a parking lot. An attacker always chose a dark area or picked the victim with her hands full. The element of surprise would give him the advantage. Zone had repeated the mantra often: Easy target, surprise attack, quick subjugation, complete defeat. Odd how she finally grasped those lessons in the belly of ship.
It was surreal to be figuring out Zone’s next move. He was playing the role of the aggressor here, waiting for his victim, who was walking in the dark with his hands full. Prime for an attack.
She stared into the darkness, in the direction of the oncoming men. The wait was agonizing. A thousand what-ifs flew through her mind, making her even more jittery. How could Zone do this day in and day out? She would be a nervous wreck in no time.
Everything happened at once.
She heard Zone’s crisply worded “Now.” The lights came back on. Up the passage, she saw her father and Panfilo both looking up, eyes squinting in surprise. Zone was already there, reaching in, snapping Panfino’s arm back, and everything became a blur of motion. She bit down on her knuckles as she watched the men struggle. Panfino still had his weapon but his hold on her father had loosened as he fended off Zone’s hits. Someone pushed h
er father out of the way.
Panfilo kicked out. To her relief, Zone avoided it while still managing to hold on to Panfilo. Then Zone swung the other man’s arm sideways and she heard a crack. The weapon dropped to the ground. Panfilo didn’t make a sound as he fought back with a vicious side punch that connected. He bent down to retrieve the gun but was slammed hard into the wall. He retaliated with another kick.
She had only seen beautifully choreographed exhibition fights, never like this, with life-or-death consequences. Zone had placed himself between her father and Panfilo, giving her father a chance to escape. Panfilo took the moment to dive for the gun on the floor. Zone fell on top of him and they rolled around, each trying to gain the upper hand.
When Panfilo’s hand covered Zone’s face, trying to push his fingers into his eyes, Rebecca couldn’t take it any more. She pushed the boxes aside, forgetting about everything except the urgency to help her man. She ignored her father’s calling her name, her gaze riveted on the deadly struggle. Zone had somehow pried the man’s hand away from his face. He head-butted Panfilo and with a grunt, rolled on top of him. She could see Panfilo’s hand at Zone’s throat, squeezing and pushing. To her relief, Zone managed an uppercut that left his opponent dazed for a second.
Not long enough to be subdued, though. Panfilo blocked the next punch. Reached for the nearby gun again. Zone made a grab for it too.
It was a tight passageway, not meant for two bodies to roll around on the floor. Panfilo’s head connected with the wall with a horrible crack. But he still managed to strike out as they both tumbled like drunks trying to find their footing. Half-sitting, half leaning, arms and legs tangling. Down again.
It was horrifying to watch. The men’s breathing was heavy. The walls echoed the grunts and growls, making it sound like a dozen men were fighting instead of two.
Move countered move. Another roll. Another. Her heart stopped as a gunshot rang out. Zone’s body slumped and stopped moving for a long moment.
No! No, no, no, please God, no!
Rebecca choked out the strangled sobs stuck in her throat. Her feet felt like lead as she tried to run forward. Then she saw Zone sit up. His hand moved to his belt.
“Hostile down. Ambassador and Miss Powers safe. Is all clear to go up on deck? Over.”
“Zone,” she breathed out, relief making her knees weak. She fell into her father’s arms. All she could say was, “Dad. Zone.”
“Becky!” Her father’s voice sounded far away.
She tried to focus. Her limbs felt like jello, refusing to cooperate. Her brain kept repeating “he’s okay, he’s okay” even as the whole violent scene replayed over and over in her head.
“With your permission, sir.”
“Yes, yes, of course.”
Suddenly it was Zone carrying her. She looked up, his face smeared with red, green and black, and never had he looked so good. She said his name again and felt like an idiot for having broken off with him because of a stupid argument. He wasn’t a killer; he’d put her and her father’s lives before his. She almost lost him.
“It’s all right,” he reassured her. “Your father’s safe and you’re going to be okay.”
“I didn’t faint. I can walk,” she said.
“I much prefer this.”
He held her against his chest and it felt so good to hear his strong heartbeat. She reached up and touched his face. “I’m sorry about our argument. I was wrong.”
He smiled that sinfully sexy smile, making her forget the rest of her planned apology. He shook his head, mouthing “okay” before setting her on her feet at the stairwell.
“Thank you,” her father said, “for coming here in time. I never realized anything was wrong and let Panfilo into the safe room when he said it was him. It’s Zonovich, isn’t it? I barely recognize you without that bandanna.”
“Yes, it’s me, sir.”
“All clear.” Someone said from above. “We’re escorting the Ambassador to our ship ASAP. His security detail will have to be verified.”
It made sense the SEALs weren’t going to trust anyone right now. They went out on deck and Rebecca watched as the ambassador shook hands with the men garbed exactly like Zone. Only four of them against all the pirates? She knew about the SEALs’ training, of course, but reading about their skills and watching them in action—okay, just one, but at close quarters—were two different things.
Contrast to the suffocating silence while she was hiding, there was now a frenzy of activity on deck. Those who had accompanied her father. The crew. The rest of the security detail. The only group not moving were the four SEALs, who stood and kept their attention on the Ambassador. She listened to their quiet exchange while her father went over to talk to Johnson, his security chief.
“All hostiles accounted for. All the security detail,” one of them said. “The media’s flying in. Let’s hope we get off before they arrive.”
“Yeah. At least we have our best make up on for their cameras.”
“Damn, Cumber, we should’ve brought our Hollywood shades, man.”
“Unlike you guys, I look great with or without them. Nice first shots there, three for three.” The tallest of them thumbed toward the far end of the deck. “What happened to your face, Zone? Pirate got you?”
“Small resistance,” Zone replied. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“He was busy talking, I bet.”
“Busy something-something, I bet.”
“Can’t blame him. I heard he and the Ambassador’s daughter were…acquainted.”
“Dude, he practically begged Hawk to let him come with us. Bet you they’re more than—”
She tugged at Zone’s belt. He took a step back and lowered his head so her words were for him alone.
“You’d better text me your next shore leave. We need to talk,” she murmured. “After today, I definitely prefer you as the pirate.”
His smile was slow and hot, the kind that promised more than talking. Instead of being in shock or hugging her father, she was standing in her bare feet, grinning foolishly like some infatuated teenager. So much to say, and so little time. She really should stop staring. But his smile . . . and that mouth . . . she went on tiptoe and kissed his chin. If there weren’t three other SEALs looking at them with interested smirks, she’d have jumped back into his arms and kissed him silly. His head turned. His lips brushed against her ear.
“Arrrrr,” he said.
EPILOGUE
Despite their best efforts, the media never got close to the SEALs. Rebecca saw a newspaper article detailing the incident at sea. There was a photo of the Ambassador and her. There were pictures of uniformed personnel escorting them to the boat that took them to the Navy ship. The four SEALs with the camouflaged faces weren’t there. One moment, when she’d turned after joining her father, she saw them still standing watch in the shadows. Next, they were gone.
It was like a dream.
She remembered all that had happened with vivid detail—the sudden shouts, the frantic rush to get to the safe room, hiding in the dark by herself, and especially the hero who came to her rescue.
She couldn’t forget the violent fight. What was Zone doing now? How many more of that kind of fights had he been in?
The media had tried to get Rebecca to talk more about the rescue, especially about the SEALs they’d been informed were involved, but she’d kept most of the details out of her story. It was just too personal. The ship’s crew had filled in the story, though, and many of them had gone on TV to give an account of the brave men who had snuck on board and took down the pirates.
In the weeks after that, she’d had a long talk with her father to clear the air about Zone and her. It had been a secret relationship but she didn’t want that any more. She wished for more and hopefully, Zone wanted the same too. His emails hadn’t been exactly communicative about his feelings. That man just wasn’t good with words and so she’d waited to see him in person. She’d missed him so much, counting th
e days until he was on leave again.
The man climbing off the motorcycle to meet her was more of a fantasy, though. Her heart fluttered at the sight of his familiar figure in leather jacket and jeans. He took the jacket off, hooked it over his shoulder, and headed her way. He didn’t look as scary without the camouflage smears and big weaponry, but now she understood why she had been drawn to him when they met. It wasn’t just the undercurrent of danger and the hint of darkness behind that devastating smile. It was the way he walked—was walking now—that sure confident stride that never hesitated when he first saw her. He had headed straight to her and her heart had melted at the look in his eyes. He was giving her the same look now.
She smiled. The way those legs filled out the worn jeans wasn’t half bad either.
He stopped in front of her. She wrapped her arms around his waist, lifting her head for his kiss. Warm. Tender. A lover’s embrace.
It felt so wonderful to have him back where he belonged. She lost herself in the taste of him, the feel of his tongue sliding against her own, slow and possessive, instantly jacking up her heart rate and temperature. He slanted his head and took the kiss deeper. She responded with equal fervor.
“Hey,” Zone said, when he finally broke the kiss. His voice was husky.
“Hey. Miss you.” And she didn’t just mean since the hijack at sea.
“I love your emails. Sorry I’m not good at writing back.”
“I didn’t expect you to reply all of them.” She figured a SEAL was busy all the time doing dangerous stuff. They started walking towards her apartment building . “I’ve been reading a lot about what you guys do.”
“Is that right.” It was more a statement than a question.