by Desiree Holt
Protecting Terra (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)
Desiree Holt
Contents
Foreword
A note from Desiree
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Also by Desiree Holt
About the Author
More Special Forces: Operation Alpha World Books
Books by Susan Stoker
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
© 2020 ACES PRESS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this work may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by law.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy.
Editor: Kate Richards
Cover Design: Croco Designs
Beta Reader: Margie Hager
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the Special Forces: Operation Alpha Fan-Fiction world!
If you are new to this amazing world, in a nutshell the author wrote a story using one or more of my characters in it. Sometimes that character has a major role in the story, and other times they are only mentioned briefly. This is perfectly legal and allowable because they are going through Aces Press to publish the story.
This book is entirely the work of the author who wrote it. While I might have assisted with brainstorming and other ideas about which of my characters to use, I didn’t have any part in the process or writing or editing the story.
I’m proud and excited that so many authors loved my characters enough that they wanted to write them into their own story. Thank you for supporting them, and me!
READ ON!
Xoxo
Susan Stoker
About the Book
When Terra Oenning and Griffin Dunne were paid in a Department of Homeland Security Op, neither of them expected the heat that exploded between them like the cabin they were surveilling. Personal relationships have no place in their lives. Ever. Period. That’s it. Except the night the cabin blows up so does their restraint, the sex between them so hot it sets fire to the sheets.
When the trail they are following takes them to the frozen north of Maine, even that isn’t enough to cool them down, but like experienced DHS agents, they never take their eyes off their assignment. Terrorists, computer hackers and the Croatian Mafia are combining to destroy the United States and Terra and must focus on destroying them. No problem. Despite the addictive, off-the-charts sex, they are trained agents who do their job, surveilling key players and helping to set up the takedown.
But when it goes awry and Terra is caught in the crosshairs, it will be up to Griffin to rescue her, a wake-up call for both of them that maybe, just maybe, what they have between them is real.
As always, to former military and current law enforcement Joseph Trainor, for his guidance, wisdom and information
None of this could happen without you
And
To a Desiree’s Darling, Terra Oenning, who won the right to have the heroine named after her; hope we did you proud.
A note from Desiree
Dear Readers.
Writing a book is a labor of love for me. My characters take over my life and I work to make them come alive for all of you. But I could not do it without the help of key people in my life. First and foremost, my wonderful beta reader, Margie Hager, who has a super critical eye and finds all my mistakes. Kate Richards, my fabulous editor and formatting angel. Then there is my incredible son, Steven Horwitz, who despite running a successful business of his own, manages the financial side of mine and is also a marketing guru. Croco Designs, who creates covers that rock, and last but way far from least my incredible Virtual Assistant, Maria Connor, who takes care of everything—and I mean all of it!—so I can devote myself to writing. I am truly blessed.
And finally, there is you, my readers, without whom there would be no Desiree Holt. You enrich my life and inspire me.
You can always reach me at [email protected], and I invite you to join my reader group, where there is always something happening. https://www.facebook.com/groups/DesireeHoltReaderGroup/?epa=SEARCH_BOX
Looking forward to “seeing” you there.
Desiree
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Chapter 1
Terra Oenning pulled back the cuff of her black sweatshirt so she could glance at the luminous dial on her watch. Twelve thirty. In the morning. Damn! The people they were watching had been in the rental cabin since noon with nobody in or out. She and former SEAL Griffin Dunne had tracked them to this place outside this shitty little town in Massachusetts. Now they were waiting, hidden in the trees, to see what happened next. Since their arrival, there had been no action at all.
“Maybe they all fell asleep.” Griffin’s rough voice was soft in her ear.
“I hope not. Otherwise we’ll be camped out here in the trees until the sun comes up, and that’s not good.”
Their stealth depended on the cover of darkness.
“We have no idea how long they stay in the cabin,” Terra whispered to Griffin. “Right?”
“None. Because they fucking disappear even while agents have eyes on the place. That’s why we’re stuck here in the woods.”
“Do not arrest anyone,” they were told. “We want the big cheese, but we also need to find out where the final gathering spot for this vermin is.”
A confidential source had managed to get word to DHS that someone was sneaking terrorist assholes over the border from Canada and guiding them to a meeting place in the States. The problem was everything was so meticulously planned no one knew where the final gathering spot was. Three had already made it across before they even learned of it. When DHS managed to get eyes on the next two, they learned the route varied each time. The first handoff was always in the same place, but for the second stop the only commonality was all of them were in New England. And at the second rendezvous stop they’d up and disappeared into thin air.
They’d picked up this handoff at the usual spot in Maine and managed to switch cars twice to avoid being spotted. Where they went from here was the question. Which was why she and Griffin Dunne were hugging trees in the middle of the night. watching the piece-of-shit cabin, and waiting. Since their arrival, there had been nobody i
n or out of the house except the target who they had eyes on and the two men with him.
“We’re convinced something big is in the works,” their boss at Homeland Security, Hal Winters, had told them. “There’s a new jihadist group gaining power in the Middle East. It’s called Abna Allah, the Sons of Allah. With the information our source unearthed, we believe they may be part of it.” He snorted. “Their turn to take a shot at bringing down America, I guess.”
Griffin rubbed his chin. “Not good. Not good at all.”
“No kidding,” Hal agreed. “I can’t stress enough how even though we had eyes on two of them before this, they up and disappeared before our eyes. The agents who trailed them are experienced at this, so there’s something hinky here.”
“Why not pick them up, then?” Griffin had asked.
“Because we want to know where they’re all meeting up and to find out what the fuck is going on. We need you two to follow them and make sure they take the latest one to where they brought the others. Stake out the spot where they wait for the next pickup. That’s where these pieces of trash are somehow disappearing into thin air. I want to know how. And stop it.”
“Who’s bringing them into the country?” Terra had asked. “And where?”
“We have an idea who, and the crossover spot is in Maine. We have to find out where they end up so we can scoop them all up at once.”
“No clue where they might end up?” Terra had asked.
“None, and we’d better find out before they blow up the country, or whatever they’re planning.”
“We’re on it,” she’d assured him, glancing at Griffin, who nodded. “We’ll get it done.”
She intended to keep her word, no matter how long they had to hunker down in the trees.
She and Griffin Dunne had connected yesterday and followed this target and the two men with him to their current location. Now they had to find out where these people were going next so DHS could make its move. It was obvious this was just a stopping-off point, but what were they waiting for? Why didn’t they move along? And how had the others disappeared.
This was the first time she and Griffin Dunne had worked together. Hal had told her he was one of the top agents at DHS, sharp and focused and dedicated. They knew each other slightly from meetings they’d been a part of, but she was still unprepared for the shock of seeing him again. It was a good thing she was a disciplined agent because she’d forgotten her initial impression. Agent Griffin Dunne was the hottest thing to walk into her life in more years than she could count. A former SEAL, he was tough, skilled, disciplined, knowledgeable, and smart. And sexy as hell. He was all rough edges and a hard attitude. His rock-hard abs, his body toned from physical labor rather than gym work, his ragged-cut jet black hair, and the sexy scruff on his face could awaken urges she kept under strict control.
She had a feeling he’d been to hell and back a few times and had the invisible scars to show for it. No problem. A man like that made a good partner in this kind of situation, she told herself, but that was all.
She’d noticed him giving her odd looks now and then. It made her wonder if she’d given herself away at all. Lord, she hoped not. She tried to decipher what was going on in his brain, but he wasn’t easy to read. She hoped she wasn’t either because nothing was going to happen between them. No matter what. No way. This was an assignment. Sex didn’t belong here. She knew that very well.
But damn! What did she tell her hormones that were having a party?
Get your mind out of bed and back in the situation.
“Heads up.” Griffin’s whisper caught her attention. “Someone’s coming.”
She saw dim headlight illuminating the dirt weaving through the trees to the cabin. The vehicle lurched to a stop in the clearing in front, and the driver stumbled out.
Yes, stumbled.
“Griff.” She barely breathed the word into her throat mic.
“I see him. What the fuck?”
What the fuck was right, she thought. The driver, a male, stumbled up the two steps to the porch and banged on the door.
“Fred? Fred, you fucker, I know you’re in there. Open up.” Bang! Bang! “Come on. I need a place to shack up for the night.” Bang! Bang!
“Shit.” Griffin breathed the word into her earbud.
“Shit is right. Maybe if they don’t open the door for him, he’ll go away.”
“Fred? You can’t hide from me. There’s a car out here. And who the hell’s car is it, anyway? Not yours. You got a woman in there with you?” Bang! Bang! “Come on. How about sharing?”
Seconds passed before the door to the cabin was yanked open. A tall, lean man stood there outlined by the inside light.
The drunk stared at him. “You’re not Fred.”
“That’s right. You made a big mistake coming out here tonight.”
Two popping sounds spit out before she knew what was happening. The stranger collapsed on the two steps and fell backward onto the dirt. The man in the doorway was too backlit for Terra to get a good look at him.
“Hold your place.” Griffin’s voice was barely audible in her ear. “We have an assignment here. That’s what counts.”
“I know,” she whispered. “I just wanted…”
“Me, too, but we have to ignore it.”
Another man came to the door and looked at the body on the ground.
“We have to get rid of this. We can’t leave anything here, including it.”
“I know. Help me get him into his car. You know what to do.”
It was hard, but Terra, like Griffin, held in place while the dead man was wrestled into his vehicle. The man who had shot him drove off, telling his partner he’d see him before long.
After that, there was no activity for a long time. No other cars in or out, no people, nothing, not even the man who had driven off with the body. Thirty minutes went by. Terra shifted her body carefully to ease the strain on her legs then checked her watch again.
“Griff. It’s been forty-five minutes. Where the hell did he take that car and body to dump them? And why isn’t he back? How is he getting back?”
“Hold your position. I’m going to take a look.”
“Wait!”
“Can’t. You have to hold.”
Damn it, Griff.
But she stayed where she was, watching him through binoculars, following him as much as she could as he circled the cabin.
“Motherfucker.”
The word jolted her.
“What? What’s wrong?”
“The damn place is empty. There’s no one in there.”
“What are you saying?”
Terra moved out of her hiding place and made her way carefully to the little building. Griffin came around and met her at the front.
“It’s empty,” he repeated. “I looked in the windows. The bedroom doors are open, so you can see inside. These fuckers have disappeared into thin air.”
Terra’s brow pinched. “But how? We’ve had eyes on this placethe entire time. Did they vaporize? What the hell happened to them? We need to go in and take a look.”
“Wait. Stop, Terra.” She had a foot on the second step when he grabbed her arm and dragged her back.
“What?”
“Hold on.”
He looked around the area where he was standing, found a large rock, and rolled it onto the porch. Two seconds later, the place exploded, the force of the blast knocking them back.
“Fucking shit!” Griff stared at the site where the cabin had stood, now engulfed in a blaze.
Terra was shaking. She was an experienced agent, but being two seconds from getting blown to hell would unsettle anyone. “Did you expect that? What tipped you off?”
“The whole thing with the one guy disappearing, driving off with the man he killed, and then no one in the little house? They had some shit planned for eventualities. And I learned in the SEALs to expect anything and everything and use extreme caution.” He shook his head. “But you can be
t they didn’t intend to blow themselves up. Something’s not right here. I’m calling the fire department then Hal.”
Terra stood off to the side, far enough away from the blaze it didn’t reach her, stunned by what had happened. Where had the two men disappeared to? She watched as Griff walked the perimeter of the blast area then pulled out his cell and punched in a number. By the time he reached where she was standing again, he’d finished his call.
“Hal is sending someone from the Boston office to help evaluate the scene. Here.” He guided her to a tree stump well outside the blast area. “Hang out here. You can sit, and you’ll be safe.”
She wanted to argue with him, tell him she was fine, but her knees were still shaking. They’d come damn close to being consumed by the fire or, worse yet, being blown to bits. Still, it irritated her that she, a seasoned agent, was so shaken by this.
“What are you going to be doing?”
“I want to check the entire area. See if there are any more booby traps, for one thing, before the others get here.”
Terra drew in a breath to steady herself. “Wait. I’ll walk with you. Two sets of eyes are better than one.”
He turned back to her. “That’s okay. Have a seat. This is a danger area.”
Her shakiness disappeared in a puff as irritation surged through her body.
“What the hell? I’m an experienced DHS agent, Dunne. I don’t need to be coddled.”