Off The Radar: Brotherhood Protectors World (Unknown Identities Book 7)

by Regan Black

  About Off The Radar

  He thrived as a Navy SEAL... Can he survive as a spy?

  Danny Connolly fell off the radar, presumed killed in action during a mission with his SEAL team. No one he trusts knows he was rescued by Unknown Identities, a covert agency that literally remade him to fit their specific agenda.

  Special Agent Chloe Spencer has been tasked with unraveling an intel leak within a company working on cutting edge technology with civilian and military applications. Unfortunately, every minor lead is a dead end.

  Danny’s new skills empowered him to compromise the company undetected, but Chloe's persistence has made her a target. Unable to accept his orders to kill her, he chooses to save her instead, putting them both on the wrong end of a lethal equation.

  Visit ReganBlack.com for a full list of titles, excerpts, and release dates. For early access to new releases, exclusive prizes, and much more, subscribe to her monthly newsletter.

  Off The Radar

  Brotherhood Protectors World

  Regan Black

  With special thanks to Elle James for inviting me to her world of Brotherhood Protectors!

  And to all the men and women of our armed forces who honorably serve every day.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Epilogue

  About Regan Black

  Also by Regan Black

  Original Brotherhood Protectors Series

  About Elle James

  Copyright © 2018 by Twisted Page Press, LLC

  All rights reserved.

  This work was made possible through a special license through Twisted Page Press LLC and has not been reviewed by Twisted Page Press LLC. All scenes, events, plots, characters and related elements appearing in the original Brotherhood Protectors series remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Twisted Page Inc., or there affiliates or licensors.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Brotherhood Protectors

  Original Series by Elle James

  Brotherhood Protector Series

  Montana SEAL (#1)

  Bride Protector SEAL (#2)

  Montana D-Force (#3)

  Cowboy D-Force (#4)

  Montana Ranger (#5)

  Montana Dog Soldier (#6)

  Montana SEAL Daddy (#7)

  Montana Ranger’s Wedding Vow (#8)

  Montana SEAL Undercover Daddy (#9)

  Montana SEAL Friendly Fire (#10)

  Montana SEAL’s Bride (#11)

  Montana Rescue

  Hot SEAL, Salty Dog

  Chapter 1

  “This isn’t a neighborly tea and cookies kind of meeting,” John Noble teased his wife, Amelia. Since they’d settled here on a remote ranch in Eagle Rock, Montana, each day was a new discovery of this more domestic side of her. And each day she grew more beautiful as her pregnancy advanced and they planned for the arrival of their first child.

  At her last ultrasound, they’d learned the baby was a boy. John still couldn’t fathom what kind of father he might become. His current solace was Amelia’s confidence in him. More than that, he trusted she wouldn’t let him screw up fatherhood. He supposed love did that, even to a man with his background.

  Amelia glared at him as she stirred a pitcher of lemonade. “Blame it on nesting,” she said, her lips fighting a losing battle against a grin. Nothing seemed to dim her happy, healthy glow. He counted it as one more bonus of sinking down roots. “And take this tray of cookies into the office.”

  “Yes, dear.” He kissed her cheek as he reached around her for the tray. His hands landed instead on the swell of her burgeoning belly and circled gently. “You two feeling all right?”

  “We’re perfect,” she assured him, covering his hands with hers. “All three of us.”

  His heart swelled. “Would you say life is perfect?”

  “Pretty much.” She dropped her head to his shoulder, relaxing into him. “As soon as the nursery is finished I’ll feel ready and perfect.”

  There was the industrious core of the woman he loved. He nuzzled her neck, inhaling the soft scent that seemed to bloom from just under her rich, red hair. He could stand here, just like this all day. Drawing her closer still, he hugged her and the baby she carried. The miracle of Amelia had been overwhelming enough, to have a child with her surpassed his wildest dreams of a normal life he’d long believed were out of his reach.

  “You’re always perfect and ready for anything,” he said. “Babies included.”

  He remembered the way her smile had lit up the dingy motel room when they’d found out she was pregnant. Beyond the shock of the news, the sheer joy on her face had tipped his world right off its axis. They had to make changes, put an end to their on-the-run life. Unfortunately the covert agency on their tail, Unknown Identities, hadn’t been so willing to let them peacefully ride off into the sunset.

  Through a series of lucky and less-than lucky events, they’d wound up here, on a rugged, beautiful, and remote piece of land nestled against the Crazy Mountains. Here they could see any attacks from UI coming and with new, trustworthy friends in town and on neighboring properties, John felt as though they could safely raise a child without undue stress or worry.

  Nearing the end of her second trimester, Amelia had arranged for their closest friends to come over and help them set up the nursery today, right after their meeting with Hank Patterson.

  A retired Navy SEAL, Hank had returned to his home of Eagle Rock, Montana and opened the Brotherhood Protectors, a professional bodyguard and protection service that employed many of the men and women he’d served with through his career. They offered protective details and support for local clients, which John and Amelia appreciated, as well as clients in other areas.

  Restless, she turned within the circle of his arms, linking her hands behind his neck. “You’re in a mood.”

  He shook his head. “I love you,” he said, laying his lips on hers. He felt her lips curve into a smile as she slowly kissed him back, her fingers playing in his hair.

  “I know,” she said, leaning back to catch her breath. Her expression turned dreamy, her eyes sparkled. Taking his hand, she pressed it to her side. The baby moved beneath his palm.

  “Did you feel him?” she asked in breathless awe.

  John nodded. The miracles kept piling up. A few years ago, John wouldn’t have believed it. With Amelia, he was starting to trust that anything really was possible.

  A knock at the front door had Amelia shifting right back into fussy hostess mode. With a chuckle John stepped aside while she smoothed her fiery hair back from her face.

  “You look fabulous,” he murmured, trailing her to the door. A soft glow on her skin was the only sign that they’d been making out in the kitchen rather than stirring lemonade or plating cookies.

  Of course it was Hank, and they opened the door wide. He clasped John’s hand, then turned to Amelia, managing to give her a light, friendly hug without bumping her belly. A father and honorary uncle himself, the man clearly had plenty of practice with the maneuver.

  “Just you?” John asked. Hank had mentioned discussing this situation with others within his comp
any, specifically those who had served with Daniel ‘Danny Boy’ Connolly, a SEAL they’d believed killed in action four years prior.

  The official records showed Connolly had been shot and subsequently drowned on a mission off the coast of Africa. Recently, Hank had come to John and Amelia with suspicions that the man had survived and was living in Europe.

  Amelia had taken all the intel and background Hank provided and jumped on the search. Both she and John were eager to do anything to help the man who had been instrumental in seeing them safely settled in Eagle Rock.

  Once the three of them were seated in the office and lemonade poured, she passed a folder to Hank. “I’ve documented everything I’ve been able to pin down,” she began. “Most of the photos are grainy enough to leave room for doubt, but odds are good this is the man you lost.”

  “How sure are you?” Hank asked.

  John slipped an arm around her shoulders, encouraging her.

  “Ninety to ninety-five percent,” she said. “Fingerprints or DNA would be a stronger confirmation, though I doubt we’d get a match at this point.”

  “Why not?” Hank asked, studying the documentation.

  “You came to us because you suspected your friend got caught in the Unknown Identities trap,” John said.

  “That’s right.”

  “If UI did pick him up,” Amelia continued, “The first step is altering the records in the military databases so he could operate freely as they needed.”

  “I should’ve tried harder,” Hank said. “That operation…” His voice trailed off.

  “Pear-shaped from the start?” John queried.

  “Pretty much,” Hank muttered, his jaw set.

  “A man with his skills would be a coveted acquisition for UI,” Amelia said, quietly. “John and I have discussed the possibility that his death wasn’t simply bad luck but that he was targeted from the beginning.”

  “That happens?”

  “Yes,” John said, wishing he didn’t have to share the grim news. “It seems to be a frequent approach.” He tipped his head in the direction of the neighboring ranch. “Scott was framed along with two other soldiers, just to get more bodies into the program during the latest attempt to rebuild.”

  “John’s case was similar to Connolly’s,” Amelia continued. “He did everything by the book to no avail. Messenger twisted things around on him, manipulating facts and options.”

  “A codename, but he’s the ringleader publicly and privately as far as we can tell,” John explained. “He showed up at my lowest point with an offer I couldn’t refuse. The recruitment speech varies in the details, but the end result is the same, the man or woman, usually military, is led to believe that UI is the only viable option.”

  “Why would they target Danny?”

  “His skill set.” Amelia tapped her fingers lightly on the edge of the table. “Highly trained and accustomed to a chain of command. Plus, he didn’t have any family,” she said. “That kind of thing is the equivalent of an engraved invitation to Messenger. No one was around to fuss or complain about recovering a body for closure.”

  “I haven’t had any closure in this situation,” Hank grumbled. “He’d been shot, sure, but it shouldn’t have been life-threatening. We’d all had worse.” He rubbed his forehead. “I’ve never stopped seeing him slide under the surf.”

  John gave Hank a moment to collect himself before he said more. “Four years with UI is a long time, Hank. I feel confident we can find him… but when we do, what happens?”

  “Bring him here. His brothers are here.”

  Amelia shifted in her seat. “What John’s saying is he might not, ah, be the man you remember.”

  “Then we’ll remind him who he is and who is on his side.”

  “And if you can’t?” John asked baldly.

  Hank stood up and ran a hand through his hair. “He’s solid,” Hank said. “You don’t find that kind of integrity in everyone.”

  “You have a business with an excellent reputation and a community that counts on you,” Amelia said quietly. “You have a family that would be in jeopardy if we find him, bring him here, and he’s beyond redemption.”

  “You recovered.” Hank aimed a hard look at John. “Scott’s fine. Danny deserves better than to live as a puppet in some black-ops freak show.”

  “Didn’t Duke tell you what happened when they went looking for Owen, the operative who crossed paths with the photographer on the Crow Reservation?” John asked.

  “I debriefed him myself,” Hank replied. “Your men were exceptional during that incident from what I heard.”

  “Thanks.” John pinched the bridge of his nose. Hank was deliberately missing the point. Not that he could blame him. It had never been easy for him to leave a man behind, on a military-sanctioned mission or on UI orders. “You might have noticed Owen isn’t here. He chose not to join our less-structured team.”

  “Danny is a SEAL. It’s different.”

  Of course it was, John thought bitterly. The SEALs were trained to be the best. But they were also accustomed to standing apart and working within their secure, elite, closed-circuit system. In some ways UI might feel the same to Hank’s former brother-in-arms. The agency Messenger had built, and was apparently rebuilding, was cut off from all other systems. They operated outside the law according to Messenger’s agenda, which worked for and against the operatives. There were rules of the world and rules within UI. As an operative under Messenger, John knew firsthand the rules within UI trumped all others.

  “Four years with that asshat is a long time,” said a voice without a body from the direction of the corner.

  “Ben,” Amelia scolded lightly. “We’ve talked about eavesdropping. Be polite.”

  Slowly, the man UI had managed to turn into a chameleon, rendering him invisible whenever he chose to be, came into view for Hank’s sake. They’d met before, but Ben’s enhancement was perpetually unsettling.

  “Ben’s a prime example,” John stated. “And he’s been a double agent longer than he was in the program exclusively.”

  There was no way to explain what happened to a person under Messenger’s influence. Manipulation was only the start. Adding in the isolation, brainwashing, possible drug addiction, and sheer hopelessness of fighting an ingrained will to survive and you had big issues on your hands. The bottom line was not everyone could be saved.

  Hank planted his hands on his lean hips, his gaze tracking to each of them in turn. John saw the reluctant compromise soften the man’s expression. “Find him. Evaluate him. If there’s doubt in your mind, promise me you’ll let me see him before you do anything… final.”

  “Agreed.” John stood and extended a hand. The men shook hands and Hank left almost immediately.

  “I scared him off?” Ben asked.

  “No,” Amelia assured him. “Though we’d all appreciate it if you would become visible first, then speak.”

  “Right.” Ben’s voice was strong, but he was already translucent again. “I’ll work on it.” They were gaining ground with him since settling in Montana, but it seemed somewhere along the line he’d grown more comfortable with his altered state than his original form. “I picked up another quart of Rocky Road ice cream. It’s in the freezer,” he said.

  Amelia’s smile lit up the room. “You’re the best, Ben!” She sobered quickly. “You paid for it, right?”

  “I asked the girl at the counter to put it on the account,” Ben replied. “Along with these.”

  He revealed a bag of dill-flavored potato chips. Amelia squealed with delight and rushed over to hug him.

  John smothered a laugh that she preferred the pickle-flavored chips over the actual pickles. The woman was carrying his son after all. He’d do anything within his power to keep her happy and safe.

  “I’ll leave you two to work out the details,” she said. “All my notes are there for you.”

  John heard the desk chair squeak, watched it swivel and rock forward as Ben sat down. A
moment later the papers moved as Ben reviewed the report Amelia had compiled on Daniel Connolly.

  “When’s Scott getting here?”

  “He’s not.” John took the chair nearest the computer to check on still more details Amelia had found. “I figure this one is for you and me.”

  “Bullshit.” Ben suddenly appeared and there was nothing blurred or translucent about the scowl on his face. “Scott and I should handle this.”

  “The man’s been in for four years,” John argued. What was Ben thinking? It was possible Connolly didn’t even want a way out of UI. How would he break that news to Hank? “Scott’s not ready to go up against that.” The kid wasn’t even enhanced.

  “Why not?”

  “He’s…” John didn’t know how best to finish that sentence, but Ben filled in the blanks.

  “Smart. Strong. Determined,” Ben ticked off the attributes on his fingertips. “He knows he had a narrow escape, but he wasn’t a slouch or Messenger would never have targeted him. He’s a soldier, boss. To the bone. And he has just as much to protect, to lose, as any of the rest of us.”

  John gaped at his friend, stunned, but the longest speech in the history of their acquaintance wasn’t yet done.

  “You have to decide if you trust us to go out there and recover operatives who want out of UI,” Ben continued. “You’re in a different role now.”

  “I’ve always led from the front lines,” John said. That was the role he’d known and embraced as a soldier and within the UI structure.

  “Not anymore. You have what we all want. Family and home. Peace.” Ben made the word sound nearly unattainable. “You found the priceless gift UI stole from us. You have a life, hope and a future. If you leave the dream to go back to the front lines what the hell is the point?”