Wraith (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)

by Kendra Mei Chailyn

  “Ruined my life for this.” Amelia’s voice cracked. “He got you shot, pulled Beast and Barbie from their lives, take Tex away from time with his woman and have us all stuck in the frozen tundra for this bullshit.”

  Our visitor tried running but Amelia wasn’t having it. Wraith had never seen anyone moved so fast. She grabbed his vacated chair and hurled it into the man’s back. He hit the floor almost like a cartoon character getting hit by a train then rolled over to look up at her.

  “Not today, pal!” Amelia said through gritted teeth. “Now, tell me everything about this painting.”

  The man looked up at her then Beast.

  “Listen,” Beast said. “Word of advice, the whole woman scorned thing? Totally true.”

  When he made no move to answer, Amelia reeled back and brought her foot crashing into his side. Though Wraith wanted to hold her back, he knew her anger. He knew this idiot had it coming. Enough was enough and he knew Amelia was fed up—hell, she had to be downright homicidal.

  Damn, I’m so proud of her!

  “I’m waiting!” Amelia said like a mother about to whoop her child’s ass.

  Silence.

  Once again, she kicked him and he reached for her leg. Instead of freaking out, Amelia merely fell to the ground beside him and brought her other leg down in his chest.

  Wraith had never been prouder of anyone in his life.

  She knelt beside him. “One last time, asshole, because the next time I’m making sure I break something.”

  “Phone…” The man said. “Right pocket.”

  Amelia glanced up at Wraith who nodded at her. She reached into the man’s pocket and pulled out his cell. After he put in his password and scrolled through, he turned the face to him. “I got it from him. He wanted me to sell it and would split the profits. Even at ten percent, I’d be set for life.”

  Amelia lifted the phone, so Wraith could see. It was the same man they’d gotten the party in Moscow information from. Wraith wanted to shoot the fool.

  “He was either lying or somehow managed to get it back,” Barbie said. “It’s not important right now—what is important is we find out—”

  The phone on Aleksei’s desk rang and he grabbed it. The colour drained from his face as he slammed the phone down and turned to the others.

  “We have company,” he said. “They just took out the front security and is on their way up.”

  “Is there another way out of this corridor?” Beast asked.

  “There is another elevator at the far end of the hall.” Aleksei explained. “But you’ll never make it. You can go down the emergency egress through that door. It’ll take you two floors down.”

  “We’re not leaving you here,” Wraith told him. “You’re coming with us.”

  “I can stay here and hold them up.” Aleksei offered.

  “Not on your life.” Beast told him. “Let’s move.”

  Wraith pulled the man on the floor up and they headed toward the door Aleksei showed them. While he entered his access code, Beast, Barbie and Wraith had their guns drawn. Amelia led their captive. Right as the door beeped, assailants barged into the office. Shots rang out, clanging off the steel of the emergency exit, smashing through the computer on the desk and blowing up a fish tank.

  Wraith returned fire then all but dove through the door. It clanged shut and they all darted down the steps. On the other side of the door was a thunderous mess of voices, things falling over and Russian profanities.

  They continued down the stairs until finally, emerging on another floor. The silence of it rattled Wraith but not for very long. Men in black filled both ends of the hallway, trapping them in the middle.

  “How?” Aleksei asked, a tremble in his voice. “No one is supposed to know where the emergency door leads to.”

  “It seems you have a mole.” Barbie grumbled. “We’re getting out of here—even if we have to kill every last one of them.”

  “Usually, I’d say killing isn’t the answer,” Amelia said in a hoarse whisper while pulling out her gun. “But I’m not dying here.”

  “All right, then.” Wraith took aim and was about to fire when the group melted aside and a man he’d known anywhere stepped through.

  Amelia shifted as though to run to him, but Wraith grabbed her.

  “Dad?” Amelia asked. “What’s going on?”

  “You made it this far, huh?” Leonard asked. “You know, I didn’t really believe Wraith would come back to Russia after the last time. But I guess a nice pair of tits and a big ass make a man do crazy things.”

  “What’s he talking about?” Amelia asked.

  “I’ll tell you later—you were behind this?” Wraith asked. “You made us think Storogenko was doing this—why drag your daughter into it?”

  “Because I wanted the painting back,” Leonard said. “I had no idea where it was and couldn’t figure it out.”

  “So, you make up the bullshit about me being in danger, sent me to Liam knowing he would do everything to make sure I was okay.” Amelia’s voice broke. “Liam’s a soldier, he does what he’s told despite the consequences but I’m your daughter! You would do this to me?”

  “It’s nothing personal,” Leonard said. “And for the record, you’re not my daughter.”

  “Now is not the time for an episode of Maury,” Amelia said.

  “Your mother had a fling on vacation—came back with you.” Leonard explained. “It’s nothing to me what happens to you at this point.”

  “Fine.” Amelia’s voice held a coldness Wraith hadn’t heard before. “If you’re not my father, then I will feel no ways shooting you.”

  Leonard laughed. “You? Shoot me? Child, please. Now, be a good girl and hand over the painting.”

  Wraith hadn’t realized she’d grabbed it before leaving the office. How had he not seen it? Still, he shifted to stand closer to her. Leonard was not getting his hand on the painting—ever.

  But he had no time to tell Amelia what he was thinking. Guns were being cocked and aimed and he wasn’t about to get shot again on the trip.

  Wraith fired, taking out one guy by clocking him between the eyes. Barbie and Beast were busy with the attackers at the back. Igor pulled the other man down out of the way. In the foray, they somehow separated. Wraith didn’t like it and fought through the din to be by her side again. The moment he reached her something heavy crashed against his back. He fell forward into her chest then was dragged backward.

  “Liam!” She screamed.

  “It’s okay!” Wraith called, shoving his elbow back.

  The familiar shape of a gun was pressed to the side of his head and he paused.

  “Give me the painting!” Leonard said from close to Wraith’s ear.

  Amelia seemed to be contemplating the request.

  “Don’t do it, Amelia,” Liam told her.

  “Shut up!” Leonard barked. “The painting!”

  Amelia smiled, a slow, dark curl of her lips that should frightened Wraith but only turned him on. She slowly unfurled the piece of art and pulled a knife from the thin holster strapped around her hips. Wraith assumed she had gotten it from Barbie.

  “What are you doing?” Leonard asked. “I’ll kill him, I swear to god!”

  “I have something you love, father.” Amelia said. “And you have something I love. If he dies, I will carve my name in this bullshit and you won’t even be able to use it as toilet paper.”

  Leonard thought about it and release Wraith who took the first second he got to kick Leonard hard in the chest. He pulled Leonard to his feet and turned him.

  He thought for sure the whole fight was over. Leonard’s men were all dead or running away by this point.

  Amelia walked over and stood in front of Leonard. “What are we going to do with him?” she asked.

  “We could leave him here to deal with Storgencko and Melora when they realize what he’s done. Or we can hand him over to Wolf’s team so they can have him face treason charges back home. For
which the penalty is death.”

  “Treason?” Amelia asked.

  “Yes, colluding with the enemy is treason.” Wraith pointed out. “Burning an operative is treason.”

  “Burning?” She wanted to know.

  “That long story I told you about? It just dawned on me.” Liam replied. “The only people who knew about my mission had bene Wolf’s team and Leonard. I knew Wolf and Tex had my back, so the only person left was…”

  “My father.”

  “Right. He told Melora and his gang who I was and where. He almost got me killed!” Wraith shoved at the back of Leonard’s head.

  “You’re not American!” Leonard explained. “They can’t charge me with treason.”

  Wraith smiled. “I may not be American, but I was an American asset at the time. Do you see the problem now, shit for brains?”

  It was then Leonardo hung his head.

  “All right—on your feet, traitor” Beast growled. “We have to go.”

  Chapter 18

  Amelia never thought in a million years she’d ever be in Germany. There were so many things she wanted to see. But she would leave all of them to have some time with Liam. She’d asked him to make love to her one last time before he went away. She’d soak in as much of him as she could for when the time came, she knew her heart would be shattered into a million little pieces.

  She snuggled into his chest in the backseat of the large SUV. One of Beast’s guys, Mouth had picked them up at the private airstrip the morning they landed. The atmosphere in the vehicle was quiet, almost serene.

  Amelia tried not thinking of the end. She tried not thinking about the super expensive painting sitting in the bottom of her duffle bag. She focused on Wraith and the blinding fury she’d felt when she looked up and saw her father—Leonard—with a gun to Wraith’s head.

  Even then, as they were away from the danger and the frigid temperatures of Russia, her blood boiled. She had been angrier at Liam in danger than hearing Leonard wasn’t her father. She shifted and Wraith rewarded her with a kiss at the top of her head.

  She lifted her mouth to his ear.

  Mouth pulled up in front of a large house close to the water and turned off the ignition.

  “Where’s here?” Wraith asked.

  “This is my house,” Beast said. “Miracle is inside. You two need a little peace.”

  “Beast, we can’t ask you to do this,” Amelia said. “I mean, you’ve already done so much. We can get a hotel room…”

  “Hotel?” Mouth asked. “You’re family now. This is what we do.”

  Amelia laughed softly. She leaned between the seats to kiss Beast’s cheek before falling back to her bum. “Thank you. I mean it.”

  Beast grinned, a look that lit up his handsome face. “Come on. Fleur is dying to meet you.”

  The front door opened and a woman stepped out. Amelia couldn’t help thinking how beautiful she was. Her curves made her even sexier than Amelia could have imagined. Amelia waved.

  “Welcome!” Miracle Jones said. “Come on in.”

  She kissed Beast deeply making Amelia blush.

  “I’m heading back to HQ,” Mouth said. “It was nice meeting you guys. Get some rest before the rest of the crazy team descends on you. Let us know when you’re ready.”

  Wraith laughed and shook Mouth’s hand. “Thank you.”

  Inside the house was beautiful, but Amelia was exhausted. All she wanted was a nice plate of hot food, a shower and a bed with Wraith. Beast gave Wraith the lay of the land while Amelia followed Fleur.

  “How are you doing?” Fleur asked.

  “A little shook,” Amelia replied. “It’s not every day I get shot at, you know?”

  Fleur nodded. “I know. It was a little jarring for me too. Who am I kidding? It was a lot jarring for me. But I got through it. I think it would have been worse if I didn’t have the guys—if I didn’t have Beast.”

  They were in the bedroom by then. Together, they sat on the side of the bed. “You know how these women are saying they love being independent women and they don’t need a man?”

  Fleur nodded.

  “I only partially understand that. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t need a man to take care of me or to save me.” Amelia inhaled deeply, held the breath then exhaled loudly. “But there is something about the way Liam holds me, the way he looks at me—especially when we’re…”

  “In bed?” Fleur asked then giggled. “Don’t worry. Zero judgements here. Listen to me. I know you barely know me. But I can honestly say I get it. I never came here to stay. Beast and his team were assigned by Tex to protect me and somehow along the way I looked at Beast as something other than a soldier. All it took was seeing him as a man—a good man—and I was hooked. Here I am, living on the other side of the world. And I regret nothing.”

  “Can I ask you something really personal?”

  Fleur smiled. “Sure.”

  “Does he make you want to do things with him—dirty things—things you wouldn’t have done with any other man?”

  “All the time.” Fleur admitted. “And at first, I was ashamed of myself, of my thoughts. When Beast found out what I was thinking be sat me down and explained there was nothing wrong with being a slut in his bed.”

  Amelia’s cheeks heated.

  “And there isn’t. Here was a man who enjoyed my body—even though it wasn’t perfect. I mean, I have my little more rolls than most women and some added junk in my trunk.”

  Amelia laughed out loud. “Junk in your trunk, eh?”

  “Well, yeah. A little more jelly.” Fleur giggled. “And he loves every inch of me. He wants to see my body, to touch it. He saw no shame. I knew then, this man adored me no matter what I looked like. Do you feel that with Wraith?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then, nothing to worry about.”

  Amelia nodded. “Um…can I ask a favour?”

  “Sure.”

  “I need to find a lingerie store.”

  Fleur laughed. “I don’t know why—Wraith looks like the kind of man who will tear it to pieces anyway.”

  “The freaky little sluts inside me likes the sound of that.”

  Fleur doubled over laughing. “Bad girl!” Fleur teased. “Bad girl.”

  It took some time to get settled but soon Amelia was heading out the door with Barbie and Fleur. Liam didn’t seem to want to let her go. She kissed him and left with her new friends. Fleur drove a black Dodge Charger, a seriously kickass car which roared like Wraith as he climaxed.

  Amelia blushed.

  “You know what that was, right?” Fleur asked.

  Amelia looked up. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Wraith not wanting you to go,” Barbie said from the backseat. “Wraith not wanting you to leave just now?”

  “Um…”

  “He’s still high on the adrenaline of what has happened,” Barbie said. “He’s still afraid of the world hurting you. It’s going to take a little while for him to relax the death grip. Try not to be angry with him.”

  “Do you hold on to Crash like that?” Amelia asked.

  “Yes. Even though he’s now a member of CIRO. It scares me and I know he gets terrified every time I have to suit up.”

  “These men of ours are rare,” Fleur said. “They hold on a little tighter because they know the evils out there. But they understand we like having our independence, to move around as we see fit and will not tolerate anything overbearing.”

  Amelia nodded. “What you’re saying is I should cut Liam some slack?”

  “Precisely.” Barbie and Fleur chorused.

  Amelia thought through their words. Even as they made their way through a mall, a few stores and then stopped to get food. By the time they turned toward Fleur’s home again, Amelia was nervous. Fleur and Barbie hugged her, gave her words of encouragement then reunited with Beast. Barbie headed inside but only to grab a black helmet. Amelia watched as the sniper went into Beast’s garage and rolled out a motorcycle. />
  She’s bad ass and rides a Harley – of course she rides a Harley!

  “Okay, we’re going,” Fleur said while Beast stacked their suitcase in the back of his truck. She handed the keys of her Dodge to Wraith. “Take care of my baby.”

  “I will. Thank you.”

  “I’m gonna head home to Crash and the girls,” Barbie said.

  “Our numbers are on the fridge,” Beast said. “If you need anything, call.”

  “We will,” Amelia replied. She reached across to hug Beast then Barbie. “Thank you for this.”

  “Don’t mention it.” Fleur said.

  Finally alone, Wraith escorted her back inside and kissed her deeply. Amelia sighed and tangled her arms around his neck. She leaned into the smooch, moaning at the heat and taste of it.

  “Hold that thought,” Amelia said and peeled her body from his arms.

  “We have to talk, Hummingbird.”

  Those words stopped her cold. After an eternity, she picked up a red and black bag but didn’t turn to face him. “You promised.”

  “Hummingbird.”

  “No!” Amelia faced him. “You promised—one last time.”

  “Hummingbird, what are you talking about?”

  “We need to talk is the kiss of death, Liam. Everyone knows this.” She lifted her chin. “Give me tonight. You don’t even have to stay afterward. I only want to feel you again, to remember how you feel against me with nothing between us. Please—don’t go back on your word now.”

  Liam nodded but he didn’t stop her from walking away. She hurried into the bathroom and stripped down. She shaved her legs, groomed herself then climbed into the shower. Though she had no idea what to do with her hair, she would worry after she was out of the tub.

  When she was finally forced to face the facts, her hair had been ruined from the cold, lack of taking care of it—she had a ways to go with it before it looked presentable. Hoping Fleur wouldn’t mind, she found some hair products, then blow dried her hair. She braided it down the top of her head and exhaled.

  She dressed slowly, being careful to ensure everything was on the way it was supposed to. Once she was done, she walked out of the bathroom and stood by the bed.