Protecting Terra (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)

by Desiree Holt

  “Neither can I.”

  Griffin sat for a moment, his expression thoughtful.

  “I suppose it’s possible all he wants is to get into your pants, but I think he’d go about it differently. In any event, we need to let Hal know. He can check the calls to your ‘references’ and see if anything else was triggered. Meanwhile, our slogan is be on your toes.”

  “No kidding. Okay, we can call Hal, but first tell me about his phone call. What’s going on?”

  Putting his coffee down, he unzipped his jacket and shrugged it off. Then he told her about Hal’s phone call, bringing her up to date on everything they’d discussed.

  “I don’t know if they would have blown up the cabin,” he said, “if that drunk hadn’t shown up and made them nervous.”

  Terra shrugged. “When they killed him, they had to obliterate any trace they were there because they weren’t sure who the guy might have been, who he told where he was going, or who might have followed him.”

  Griffin nodded. “Right. We need to keep eyes on Jennings now more than ever. That visitor he had makes me edgy. Now I’m thinking about our discussion regarding Jennings’ snowmobile rides.”

  “You mean, like we said earlier, the fact he’s never gone long enough to get to the border and back in the time he’s away? And that sometimes he has one of the guests he’s friendly with go with him.”

  “Uh huh.” Griffin thought for a moment. “I had some thoughts after I talked with Hal this morning. What if that whole routine is nothing more than some kind of smoke screen? What if every few weeks when he takes one of these trips a different person comes back with him? Zipped up in those snowmobile suits with the full masks it’s hard to tell who anyone is.”

  “You mean he swaps the person who went with him for whoever came over the border? Hides him at the inn and then smuggles him away from there. Now that you mention it, yeah, it would be tricky, but he could pull it off. You think he’s really doing that?”

  Griffin took another swallow of coffee. “I don’t know, but we need to figure out how to find out.” He set his mug down. “Listen, I don’t know how comfortable you’d feel with this, but I’d like to connect with Sam Alvarez. He—”

  “The SEAL?” Her eyebrows nearly hit her hairline. “What on earth for?”

  “In case things get out of control for some reason and we can’t wait for people even as close as Bangor.”

  “But that’s only twenty-five minutes from here.”

  “If there’s no traffic,” he pointed out. “Terra, we have no idea how things have changed since that cabin got blown up. That might not have had anything to do with us, but Jennings will be examining all options. His people will have told him what happened, but what if he thinks we staged the whole thing? Since they found our snitch and got rid of him, you can bet they’re on guard.”

  “Won’t they wonder why DHS didn’t go ahead and arrest the guys in the cabin?”

  Griffin shook his head.

  “They know we want the whole thing,” he reminded her, “not just one piece. Plus, we don’t know how many more people they plan to bring in. Washington has someone else working on the Novak Tech angle, but we know nothing’s going to happen until everyone is in place.”

  “Still, I have the feeling things are going to heat up very soon very fast.” She swallowed the last of her coffee. “Sam thought there was something hinky about Dalton Jennings, anyway. Let’s see what Hal finds out about the SEAL and—”

  Griffin’s phone buzzed, interrupting her, and he thumbed the screen.

  “It’s Hal. Hold on. I’ll put it on speaker.” He set the phone on the table between them. “Yeah, Hal. Terra’s here with me, and you’re on speaker.”

  “Good. Then you can both hear this at the same time. This project now has a name—Operation Takedown.”

  “Very appropriate,” Terra told him.

  “Got it,” Griffin agreed.

  “Next up,” Hal continued. “Sam Alvarez, your SEAL? He has an outstanding service record, including two medals. The only reason he left the Teams was he was medically discharged, his injuries preventing him from serving. They say he’s a top instructor at Coronado. And FYI, when he was at Castile the first time recovering from his injuries, he took down a good-sized international drug smuggling ring. And get this? His fiancée, as well as the woman who owns the bakery there and her husband, helped him.”

  Terra stared across the table at Griffin, who spoke first. “Are you shitting me?”

  “Not even a little,” Hal told him. “Go ahead and reach out to him. He’d probably be glad for a little real action after all this time.”

  “Or maybe not,” Terra pointed out. “Maybe he’s glad to be out of it.”

  “You won’t know until you ask. Do you know how to get hold of him?”

  “Only through Margie at Rolling in Dough Bakery,” she told him.

  “”Like I said, give him a call,” Hal said. “DEA said they’re good people and can keep their mouths shut. They investigated them thoroughly when the drug bust went down. And keep me in the loop.”

  Griffin glanced at Terra, skepticism obvious on his face. “If you say so,” he said at last. “We’ll let you know what happens.”

  “Do it, Griff. And call with an update.” Then he was gone.

  Terra looked at Griffin, brows raised. “Is he serious about this?”

  “As a heart attack.” He pulled his regular cell out of the pocket he’d zipped it into and placed it on the table between them. “I’m sure you don’t have a phone number for Sam or the woman with him, but how about Margie?”

  Terra shook her head. “I’ve never called her at home. I can see if she’s at the bakery this late. But she usually lets someone else close up. We should check online. Her husband’s name is Bruce.”

  “Go ahead. You’re the one who knows them.”

  “I feel so awkward doing this, though. We never involve citizens in our work. Or hardly ever.”

  “They’ve already been players in a previous one.” He tapped the phone. “This is an unusual circumstance, so let’s see if we can get hold of everyone.”

  Margie was a little stunned when Terra told her Griffin would also be joining them and asked if they would also invite Sam and Cassie.

  “I’m not sure what their plans are,” Margie told Terra. “I can give Cassie a call. They managed to rent the cabin they stayed in before that lucky for them was open.” There was a pause. “Terra, you want to give me a hint what this is about?”

  “Um, it’s better if I explain in person.” She cleared her throat. “Also, could we please pick up takeout and get together at your place? This is better done away from prying eyes and ears.”

  There was a moment of silence before Margie answered. “Okay, now I’m really intrigued, but sure. I’ll text you my address.”

  “Let me call Cassie right away.” Another pause. “Is there something special I should tell her?”

  Terra grinned. “Yes. Tell her I thought her vacation might be too boring. Can you call me back and confirm they’re available, too? And Bruce is okay with this?”

  “Sure. He actually enjoyed the last adventure we dragged him into, so I’m sure he’s in for this one.”

  “Okay, then. Let me know. Call me back at this number.”

  Griffin tapped the phone to disconnect the call. “Think she’ll do it? Think they’ll do it?”

  Terra shrugged. “I have no way of knowing. I’ve only known her for less than two weeks. Of course, it shocked the hell out of me to find out they’d all been involved in helping to take down a drug dealer. In this tiny town, of all places.”

  “Listen.” He leaned forward on the table. “You and I both know crime can happen in any location. It isn’t any more outrageous to think of Castile as a center for drug distribution than it was to think the owner of Inn on the Hill was masterminding a terrorist plot and smuggling people into the country to execute it. Right?”

  She sighed. “
I guess. Want some more coffee while we’re waiting?”

  Griffin shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m actually trying to cut back.”

  “Then I’m going to freshen up while we wait.”

  Terra carried both mugs to the sinks and rinsed them out. Then she ducked into the bathroom to brush her hair, wash off the grease-based makeup she used on the slopes, and slap on some fresh. As she walked back into the living room, Griffin’s phone rang.

  “It’s Margie. You get it,” he told Terra. “She doesn’t know me from Adam.”

  She punched the icon to accept the call. “Hey, Margie. What’s the answer?”

  “Everyone’s in, and they’re very curious about this.”

  “Good. Any preference for food? We’ll bring it.”

  “Oh,” Margie protested, “I can whip something up real quick. No problem”

  “No way. We called this meeting. We’ll bring the grub. See you in thirty.”

  All the living quarters had takeout menus. Terra plucked one for pizza off the kitchen counter and called it in. Griffin punched the address of the pizza restaurant as well as the one for Margie into his GPS app. Forty minutes later they were sitting at the Hagers’ large dining table, scarfing down food.

  When they’d taken the edge off their appetites, Sam, who had been sitting on high alert, looked directly at Terra. “Since this is your party, you want to tell us what this is about?”

  “Sam!” Cassie gave him a gentle elbow nudge. “Be polite.”

  The grin he gave her relaxed his face and temporarily wiped away the grim look. “You know that’s not my style.” But then the hard expression was back.

  Griffin looked at Terra. Since she already knew everyone and he was the unknown quantity, they’d decided she should start the dialogue.

  “Alright. To begin with, this is Griffin Dunne. I’m sure you remember seeing him in the bakery this morning.”

  “You said he works at the inn,” Margie reminded her.

  “He does, but that’s not his real job.” She drew in a breath and let it out slowly, forcing herself to relax. When she spoke, it was so low they had to strain to hear her. “He’s also an agent with the Department of Homeland Security. We both are.”

  Four pairs of eyes stared at her. Sam’s face was the only one that didn’t look shocked. It held no expression at all, although something swirled in his eyes.

  “Homeland Security,” he repeated.

  Terra nodded. “We’re actually here in Castile on a critical assignment. We have some, uh, call them challenges, and when we mentioned you to our supervisor, he ran a full report on all of you.”

  Terra saw the flash of anger in Sam’s eyes before he blinked and cleared it away. He and Griffin certainly had something in common. As former SEALS, they’d been trained not to react to shocking news and to show no emotion.

  “A full report,” he said slowly.

  “We had a reason,” she hurried on, pitching her voice low. “We had an…incident…a couple of weeks ago, and since then DHS has received very disturbing information. The case we’re here on might ramp up in a hurry before they can bring in more people as support. You were a SEAL, like Griffin, so we thought…” She flapped her hands. “Anyway, we have permission to read you in just in case.”

  “It was my suggestion,” Griffin told him, “after Terra told me who you were. “We have something that could explode any minute, and DHS might not be able to get support to us fast enough. They have people waiting in Bangor, but as you know yourself, anything at all can come up to cause a delay.”

  A heavy silence dropped over the table for a long moment.

  “Does this approval cover all of us?” Cassie asked.

  Griffin nodded. “You guys may not know it, but that drug bust got you gold stars with DHS.”

  Terra saw a faint blush creep over Margie’s face, but then she frowned.

  “I don’t know if Bruce and I should even be here. This sounds like very high-level stuff. Maybe we should leave before you say what this is about.”

  Terra reached across the table and took Margie’s hand.

  “I can promise you, if DHS thought that, you wouldn’t be sitting here.”

  Margie glanced at Bruce, who nodded, then looked back at Terra.

  “I only hope we can be of help.”

  “Griff?” Terra looked across the table at Griffin. “It’s your show.”

  “Okay, here it is.” As he spoke, any hint of humor left the faces of Cassie, Bruce, and Margie. By the time he was finished, nobody wanted to smile at anything. They were all business.

  She also noticed that throughout Griffin’s explanation of what they were doing and how they got to this point, the signs of skepticism faded from Sam’s eyes, and he paid careful attention to every word. Griff finished, and silence dropped on the table.

  Bruce spoke first. “Holy shit.”

  “Exactly.” Griffin nodded then looked over at Sam. “What do you think? Are you in?”

  He didn’t even hesitate. “I am. I didn’t spend all those years fighting in the sandbox and the jungle to come home and have the same pieces of shit destroy our country. Lay it out for us.”

  “All of us are in,” Cassie added. “Whatever you think the rest of us can do.”

  “And by the way,” Sam added, “I still say I recognize Jennings from someplace. I’ll keep working my brain on it. So how about reading us into all the details?”

  Margie made sure everyone’s drinks were refilled and then Griffin and Terra filled them in on what happened recently, starting with the discovery Dalton Jennings was probably in an unholy partnership with two very dangerous men.

  “We can’t seem to kill those fuckers fast enough.” Sam spat the words out like they were ground glass. “Do you need help keeping eyes on this asshole?”

  Griffin nodded. “I do. Let’s figure out the best way to do this. Margie, does he ever come into the bakery?”

  “Rarely. He hasn’t been there in weeks. We provide the pastries for breakfast at the inn, but he has someone pick them up, of course.”

  “I thought I tasted your special touch.” Terra’s lips curved in a hint of a smile. “I’ll have to pay better attention to what’s on the table.”

  “We need to figure out how to hang out at the inn more often,” Cassie suggested. “I mean, without sticking out like a sore thumb. Like I told you at the bakery, neither of us ski. What else is available for non-guests. They do have activities for people who want nothing more than to come out for the day, right?”

  “Yes. The other popular activities are skating and snowmobiling. They have dozens of snowmobiles for day rentals. It’s a tad more expensive if you’re not a registered guest, but I can—”

  Cassie waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. We can handle it.”

  “It would probably serve a dual purpose,” Sam added. “It would give us a logical reason for being there.”

  “Plus,” Cassie added, “if Jennings goes for a little snowmobile ride, we might be able to check out where he goes.”

  Griffin started to say something, and Sam held up a hand.

  “You don’t even need to mention it. I know. Don’t look obvious.”

  Griffin actually laughed, a sound Terra rarely heard from him. “Sorry.” He shook his head. “I don’t need to tell that to another SEAL. Alright, let’s go over everything we’ve got in detail.”

  Margie pushed her chair back and stood up. “Let me clear away what’s left of dinner and fix more coffee for everyone. Then I’m sending Bruce to the bakery for dessert.”

  Terra sighed. “You are a goddess. You will definitely be rewarded.”

  Bruce started to rise, also, but Griffin put a hand on his arm.

  “Not so fast. You did such a great job backing Sam and Cassie up last time, we want you to be ready in case something happens. Better all around for you to be read in on this.”

  “Sure thing.” His lips curved in a fleeting grin. “I’ll be sure to chec
k my rifle.”

  For the next hours they discussed all the details as they knew them. The big question was if Babic had shown up to bring Jennings bad news or tell him to piss off because he, Babic, was taking charge. Terra had seen that happen too many times. Everyone wanted to be in charge.

  At last, Griffin leaned back in his chair. “I think we’ve got it for now. I’ll call my supervisor and tell him everyone’s in. Sam and Cassie, we’ll start your snowmobile recreation tomorrow afternoon. I think we have a very small window before Jennings fetches the next person.”

  “What time do you think we should get there?” Sam asked.

  “Come out for lunch and then the ride. Jennings never hits the trails until around two or later. Oh, and one of you give me a bank account number. DHS will wire some money into it for expenses.”

  Sam held up his hand. “Forget it. I spent most of my adult life fighting garbage like this. I may not be on active duty, but I’m still a SEAL We’ve got it.”

  Cassie nodded her agreement.

  “Okay. Thank you.” Griffin shook hands with both of them. “See you tomorrow.”

  Chapter 7

  Griffin was right next to Terra when she reached the door to her apartment and unlocked it.

  I’m not letting him in tonight. We are not having sex tonight. We will not get naked tonight.

  Okay, then.

  She never got one word out. Griffin pushed the door open and moved her inside, slamming the door before grabbing her by the arms and crashing his lips against hers. Startled, when she opened her mouth to say something, he thrust his tongue deep inside. Her breath left her in a whoosh, and she had to grab his shoulders to balance herself. His tongue was so hot it nearly scorched hers, and every part of her body sprang to attention.

  And it wasn’t just her.

  Even through the layers of their jackets she could feel the hard, swollen thickness of his cock pressing against her. As he continued the ravenous kiss, her own body responded, nipples hardening and tingling, an instant throbbing setting up in her hungry sex. Holy god! What was the matter with her? Where was the control she prided herself on?