Protecting Terra (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)

by Desiree Holt

  “Did they have any idea how many people he’s brought in so far? Is it only the five we know about? I hope? If that’s not bad enough.”

  Hal glanced at the folder in front of him. “Yes. Everything we’ve been told says to date that’s the number. Their arrivals are well spaced and accomplished way under the radar.”

  “But we have no idea how many are in the pipeline or what the final count will be?”

  Hal shook his head. “If we hadn’t had this source out there, we might never have known about this at all. He already had people in place by the time we got the information. The shock is where we now believe that place is.”

  “Griffin’s brows lifted. “And?”

  “We think moving them out of Maine is nothing but camouflage to make us think they end up someplace else. Our sources tell us he and his partners have established a headquarters of sorts right here in Maine, and, believe it or not, close to the inn.”

  “So he can control it,” Terra guessed.

  “You got it,” Hal agreed. “The whole operation’s so smooth our source only stumbled on it by accident. And I can’t stress enough that Washington believes these people are plotting something major. That it will affect the entire country.” He looked back and forth between the two of them. “And I can promise you it’s big and it’s bad.”

  Terra set her mug down. “How come the Massachusetts office isn’t taking ownership of this? They’re closest.”

  “The Secretary wants it controlled from here. Everything about this has to be cleared through his office, and they want ownership of it. We’ll read in the locals if it becomes necessary but, right now, we’re playing everything close to the vest.”

  Terra rose to refill her mug. Griffin’s eyes were drawn to her ass so lovingly encased in those jeans as she moved. When he noticed Hal watching him, he moved over to the coffee machine himself.

  “That looks like a good idea,” he told Terra. “Although I hope I don’t die of caffeine overdose.”

  “That would be unfortunate,” she agreed, but her tone wasn’t humorous, it was flat.

  Not a great sign. If they were going to work together, he had to fix this somehow. He noticed Hal’s eyes track from one of them to the other. He really needed to get his shit together here.

  “You guys doing okay together?” Winters asked, his voice neutral.

  “Fine.”

  “Great.”

  They both spoke at the same time.

  Hal studied them for a long moment then shrugged. “Okay. If you say so. Let’s get back to work.”

  “Are you saying Jennings is running this alone?” Terra shook her head. “I don’t believe that. First of all, it could be too big for one man and, secondly, what’s his end game? Why would a man with the bankroll he has to have, who is used to a position of power, who is still a public figure, risk it all for something like this? Whatever this is?”

  “More money. More power. I’m not so sure he wasn’t involved in things when he was ostensibly an international businessman. We’re pretty sure his operational headquarters for whatever they plan is somewhere near the inn. He’s a man who likes to be close enough to control all aspects of whatever he’s involved in. We have to find out where that is and catch him in the act.

  “Someplace he could hop on a snowmobile and get to without raising any eyebrows.”

  “Exactly,” Hal agreed. “That’s why we need someone on the premises to keep eyes on him.”

  “Owning the inn definitely provides a perfect cover for what he does,” Terra pointed out.

  “Absolutely. To the public he’s an upstanding citizen, well-known in the community. Supports a lot of local events and causes. He covers his little sideline very well. I can’t stress enough how imperative it is to find his headquarters before all hell breaks loose.”

  “Couldn’t your source find out? He…or she…seems to have done very well so far.”

  Hal’s face tightened with rage and sorrow.

  “He missed his last two check-ins and isn’t answering his cell phone. He’s disappeared into thin air!”

  A sour taste flooded Griffin’s mouth. He’d had this happen on missions before. “You think Jennings caught him out and had him disposed of.”

  Hal nodded. “That’s what we believe. Which means going in there could be doubly dangerous.

  Terra agreed. “We have to be very careful. If he discovered the snitch, anyone strange coming in now will be in a brighter spotlight.”

  Griffin tapped his finger against his mug. “When did we first find out about this?”

  “Two months ago, after they already had three high-value targets in place.” Hal spit the words out. “We know Jennings has been bringing in one person a month since June. If he sticks to his schedule, he’ll be handling another one in the next couple of weeks.”

  “That soon?”

  ‘Yes.” A muscle ticked in Hal’s jaw. “We think the disaster at the cabin indicated to them they aren’t invisible any longer, so they’re probably moving up whatever timetable they have.”

  “What about the drunk who showed up? Accident? I’m sure the guy who was ramrodding the two terrorists shared all the details with Jennings. Did they think it was a trick on our parts to flush them out?”

  “They could, but I think it was simply an unbelievable accident. My boss believes the head of this operation, whether it’s Jennings or someone else, sees it as a signal their secrecy is blown so they’ll up their timetable. Plus, they’ll be more on the alert. Extra cautious.”

  Griffin nodded. “You may be right. It certainly will have caught their attention. So, what’s the next move?”

  “As I said before, we have to place someone at the inn to keep an eye on Jennings as well as find a way to search the area for their headquarters. There’s so much uninhabited land around there strangers tromping around will stick out like a sore thumb. And if we fly helicopters over it, that’s sure to send some kind of signal to them. We need to take them by surprise.”

  Terra frowned. “What about registering as guests?”

  “That might not give us the access we need. Plus, at the moment, there are no vacancies. They’re full up for the next four weeks.”

  Griffin agreed with him. “So, what’s the answer?”

  “Getting you both on staff, which would have been very sticky, but luck was with us in a big way. Employees can go places guests don’t have access to. We’ve got a perfect cover for both of you. We couldn’t figure out how to do it until this fell into our laps. I’ve had people searching for any opportunity and then, yesterday, an ad popped up. The ski instructor at the inn broke his leg, so they were looking everywhere for a replacement. They were desperate because right now, before Christmas, is one of their busiest times.”

  “Christmas? Already?” Terra shook her head. “Holy shit! I need to figure out how to get a life.”

  Hal sighed. “Don’t we all. Anyway, the broken leg might be bad for him, but it’s lucky for us. This is even better than we hoped for, and tailor-made for you.”

  She gave him a tiny grin. “Because I’ve been downhill and cross-country skiing most of my life?”

  “Exactly. You’re ideal for this.”

  “Little problem, though. I’d have to be certified and have an employment history. They may be desperate, but they aren’t going to take some stranger off the street without vetting him or her first.”

  “Already taken care of.” He raised his hand and ticked off items on his fingers. “A bio of you plus an employment history and recommendations are already in the system. If the inn’s human resources, or even Jennings himself checks you out, which you know they will, everything is there in black and white. I ordered all of it sent to your tablet. After this meeting, be sure to pull it up and memorize it.”

  She had trouble believing it would be that easy, although DHS—or any government agency, for that matter—could make that happen.

  “And you think Jennings will go for this? I�
�d think especially now he’d be extra suspicious of any new employee.”

  Hal nodded. “But we made it work. You already applied and did a phone interview.”

  Her eyebrows nearly reached her hairline. “I did? So fast?”

  “Terra, the Director wants you for this. You have a real knack for analyzing and getting close to people. And after twelve years with Homeland Security, your success rate is off the charts.” He paused. “Like I said, perfect.”

  “Yeah, perfect.”

  “Hey. When I saw that ad it was like an answer to a prayer.” Hal paused. “You’ll be right there where you’ll have eyes on Jennings almost all the time and can track what he does. He has a habit of taking a run on a snowmobile almost every day, often taking a special guest with him, but he’s never gone for more than half a day. He established this pattern early on so people would accept it as part of his routine. Not enough time to get to the border and back, that’s for sure, but he could be meeting someone. ”

  “And if he has a guest with him?”

  “I think he chooses carefully.”

  “Think he’s making a switch?” Griffin asked.

  “We think it’s a real possibility that this is the way he does it. His passenger from the inn is always covered head to toe in snowmobile gear. That way you can’t tell if it’s the same person who rode out with him. Check it out.”

  “Okay.”

  “Yes.”

  Griffin and Terra spoke at the same time.

  “See who rides with him,” Hal went on. “And immerse yourself in the town. Try to scrounge up any gossip about Jennings.”

  “Anything that might be a lead as to when, where, and how. Right?”

  He nodded. “We need to get on top of this ASAP, Terra. I believe we’re running out of time.”

  Griffin watched her while she let her gaze slide from Hal to him and back again.

  “You have the job. You arrive this afternoon.”

  Griffin took another swallow of his rapidly-cooling coffee. Okay, so Terra was in, but had they found a spot for him?

  “And what about me? Were you able to find a way for me to be on the premises?”

  “We were. You have a job with the equipment supervisor. The inn has been running an ad continuously for people to work on the equipment. You had a similar job when we brought down the threat in Iowa. We called on your behalf, and you start tomorrow morning. You need to get your ass there this afternoon, fill out the papers with Human Resources and get yourself settled. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  So. He’d be working every day with Terra. He thanked god for his SEAL discipline because he was disgusted to realize being near her made his hungry dick stand up and beg.

  Damn! He was going to find it tough to walk around with a tent in his fly.

  “You’ll both be watching for any signs and signals,” Hal went on. “Anything at all. Terra, you’ll be the one out front watching Jennings. The more visible part of the team. The most vulnerable. You’ll both be keeping eyes on him, but Griffin is also your backup and protection.”

  “I don’t—”

  “No argument here, please. If he suspects you at all I’m not leaving you hanging out in the cold. Since it’s likely he’ll make a move again in the next two to three weeks, I’ll be sending more agents into the area, probably setting them up in Bangor. Our plan is to do more than catch him in the act. We want to have eyes on the handoff and follow the trail to where the rest of them are gathered. And hopefully grab whoever is running this, too. Meanwhile, I’m concerned for your safety.”

  “My safety.”

  Griffin could tell she was angry and doing her best not to show it.

  “Of course. You two might be a team on this assignment, but you’re in the most vulnerable position. You’re the one Jennings will have the most contact with. He watches everyone like a hawk, and we want to make sure you have support. The Director himself insisted on it. You two already have a rhythm, and we don’t have to read anyone else in. No sense making changes midstream. Besides…” He shifted his gaze to Griffin. “You have skills as a former SEAL that could come in very handy here.” His mouth twisted in a lopsided grin. “And you know at least ten ways to kill someone without leaving evidence.”

  Terra looked at him over the rim of her coffee mug. “I guess we all have our specialties.”

  Was that a snarky remark? Great. He didn’t need resentment between them on top of everything else.

  He’d better fix the situation between them, so it didn’t affect the assignment. He could do it. He had to.

  Hal’s eyes narrowed. “Is there a problem?”

  Problem? Of course not. As long as he could keep his hormones under lock and key.

  “No. No problem. We’ll be fine.”

  Hal looked at his notes again. “If Jennings sticks to his schedule, that means we’re due for another illegal being smuggled in pretty soon. And again, we have to find out where they’re being taken. This operation is so well organized it hasn’t come anywhere near our radar, and wouldn’t have, without our source.”

  Griffin cleared his throat. “I’ll get it done, Hal. You know me. I always find ways.”

  Hal nodded. “I do. That’s why we picked you. Both of you. Terra, I know you came off a heavy assignment a few days before you got pulled into this, but you’re dialed into the whole thing, and our best bet to get eyes on Jennings.”

  “Not a problem,” she told him. “I’m good to go. Besides, I’m really pissed off we lost those guys last night. I want a chance to take care of that.”

  “Fine. But…be careful.”

  “Always.”

  Griffin watched her, appreciating her dedication to the job and wishing his dick didn’t pay so much attention to her body.

  Chapter 3

  Terra pulled into the empty parking space, thankful she’d managed to score one so close to Rolling in Dough. Turning off the car, she sat for a moment. She really needed this break. Her calendar was free for a couple of hours, so she hurried into town. Somehow, she was screwing up her life without even trying. Maybe Margie Hager’s heavenly pastries could straighten her out. The mouthwatering goodies at Rolling in Dough Bakery always reached out their siren call to her.

  She’d loved Castile from the day she arrived. The tiny jewel of a town with its eclectic mix of residents, tourists, sports enthusiasts, and fishermen was warm and welcoming. Its architectural blend of saltbox and Cape Cod houses, and businesses with hand-painted signs looked like something out of a tourist handbook. And now, with Christmas approaching, the entire town seemed to be trying to outdo itself with appropriate decorations.

  A strange place to be looking for a connection to international terrorists.

  She’d been busy every day since her arrival. Just as Hal said, the inn was filled to capacity. In addition, Jennings advertised in the local newspapers and heavily promoted the use of the facilities with daily passes by local residents. She had a lot of people who signed up with her for both downhill and cross-country skiing.

  Juggling her classes and keeping an eye on Jennings without being obvious certainly filled her days. When she had breaks, she did some cross-country skiing of her own. Her priority at the moment, besides watching Jennings, was looking for a place where he could take the handoff of his human cargo. A place where the top brass was now sure the terrorists—for that’s what they believed these people were—had established their headquarters.

  It had to be off the usual trails, somewhere the public wouldn’t have eyes on them. The second night she was at the inn, after work, she pulled up Google Earth on her laptop and did a search for isolated buildings about a hundred miles from the inn. She ignored the area toward Bangor. Already too built up for what she wanted. No, it had to be as they got farther into the woods and the countryside. She also didn’t know if transportation from the border would be another snowmobile or something like a van, so she had to think about that.

  Jennings was usua
lly gone for about four hours when he took out his snowmobile. Checking the stats on the snowmobile he used, she learned he could go a little over two hundred miles without refueling. Of course, he could take extra fuel with him, but that might look suspicious. So, someplace within a hundred miles of the inn or with fuel to refill the machine’s tank. Okay, then.

  She discovered this area of Maine had a lot of uninhabited land punctuated by large older homes with barns attached or near them. Ideal for an operation like this. She painstakingly created a map with mileage and access roads and sent it to her phone. She’d been trying to get eyes on those that fit the distance and, while there weren’t a lot, there were enough she was still checking them out. She hoped he’d be taking one of his runs. Time was running out, so she needed to find the place damn quick.

  And then, of course, there was the situation with Griffin. The man who pushed all her buttons to fast forward. Who managed to invade her dreams with memories of the most erotic sex she’d ever had. There had been no repeat of that one night together, and she didn’t know if she was glad or mad. He treated her with the utmost respect both as a woman and a partner.

  She should be happy about that. Right? She knew the danger of getting involved in any way with a partner, but damn! It was the best sex she’d ever had in her entire life. Maybe when this was all over…

  No!

  It was a good thing there’d been no repeat. The best thing for both of them would be to simply walk away from this. She gave herself a mental shake and climbed out of the car. A visit to Rolling in Dough might not fix her problem, but it could sure make her forget it, at least for the moment.

  Today Castile was its usual busy self, filled with tourists shopping and strolling the streets, even in cold weather. She’d been lucky to find a parking place right across the street from Rolling in Dough Bakery, her new favorite place in the whole world. She’d discovered it her first week in town and quickly become addicted. Margie Hager, the owner, created exquisite treats that melted in your mouth and was a woman extraordinaire. She couldn’t seem to stay away from it.