Brooks (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Gold Team Book 1)

by Riley Edwards

  “Copy that. We’ll be ready,” Declan said, not taking his eyes off Tatiana.

  “I’ll be in touch. Out.”

  Zane disconnected and no one spoke. I think we were all waiting to see what Tatiana would say or do, but when she remained silent, Max stepped in front of her.

  “You should be happy,” he told her.

  “Happy? A man I trusted tried to have me killed.”

  “Yep. He sure did. And he would have if you weren’t good at your job. Better than he’d thought, which makes you dangerous. In this line of work, dangerous is the best thing you can be. It also means fucktards like Brown are gonna be gunnin’ for you. Stay sharp, stay one step ahead, and stay dangerous. Good news for you is, you have the rest of us at your back and a new boss who won’t try and kill you.”

  Max was correct on all accounts and I was happy he’d been the one to point them out to her. Though she didn’t seem to believe him.

  “Go get some rest. We have shit to do in the morning and it’s gonna be a long night tomorrow.” Declan slapped Max on the back as he passed. “Max is right, Tatiana. Leon Brown wouldn’t have tried to kill you if he hadn’t thought you were a threat. The hit proves you’re a damn good investigator and a good operator. You should sleep well tonight knowing your instincts are spot on. Let all the other bullshit roll off.”

  With a chin lift to Max, I tugged Tatiana toward the hall. He’d stay up and take watch until Kyle got up to relieve him. I closed the door behind us and knelt in front of Tatiana, untying her boots and pulling them off. When I stood, she still looked like she was lost in her head. She let me take off her tac vest, her shirt, her pants, and lead her to the bed. Once she was situated under the sheet, I quickly divested my clothes and climbed in next to Tatiana.

  “Doll?” I opened my arms and waited.

  Without hesitation she curled into my side and rested her arm across my stomach. Damn, she felt good wrapped around me.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Just sucks I was so wrong about Leon.” There was nothing to say to that, so I just held her and waited. “Something feels off. I can’t put my finger on it, and it’s driving me crazy. The connection between Lucre and Falcon wasn’t hard to find. It took me all of an hour to discover it. It was easy.”

  “Maybe easy for you. He might’ve thought it was buried deep enough that the connection wouldn’t be found.”

  “No. I’m telling you it was right there. Payments from Lucre to different warehouses that Falcon Holdings own. It wasn’t hidden, anyone could’ve found it.”

  “You don’t give yourself enough credit, Doll. But say it was too easy why would Leon want you to find it?”

  “That’s what’s bothering me. I don’t think it’s the Lucre and Falcon connection that Leon’s worried about. I think it’s Ashaki Maloof.”

  “The agent posing as Matek’s daughter?”

  “Yeah. I mean, all of that was fucked. Nothing makes sense about why he’d pretend she was his daughter. And did he ever really have a daughter?”

  “Do you think Leon was protecting Ashaki?”

  “Yes. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me. I got the kill order as soon as we got back from Nazari’s. Zane’s right, he had eyes and ears on me. He knew what we saw and we’d figured out the woman was not his daughter.”

  “One problem with that, Doll. The man you shot mentioned the prince.”

  “Not if Leon sold us out completely and told Al Issa we were in the area. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Why not let Al Issa do his dirty work?”

  Fuck. That made sense. Especially the part about Leon Brown selling us out to Al Issa.

  “Doll, as much as I want to lie you out and make love to you, I think we need to wake the guys and tell them what you just told me. If Al Issa knows we’re coming for him, we need to shift our mission.”

  “I know.”

  She started to roll away but I held her tight. “One more thing. You make a decision about staying with the team?”

  “I wanna stay. Are you okay with that?”

  “Fuck, yeah. I was trying to come up with ways to make you not wanna leave.”

  “Will Zane be okay with…um…”

  “Us?”

  “Yeah.”

  I let my eyes drift closed for a second, ridiculously happy there was an “us.”

  “He’ll be fine. Jasmin and Linc are on the same team.”

  “But they’re married.”

  “And? Where is it you think we’re headed?”

  “You wanna marry me?” Her words came out rushed.

  “This keeps going like it has been, then yeah, Doll, I wanna marry you.”

  “I’ve only known you like a minute.”

  A minute, a day, a year, I knew she was the one. The day I’d walked into the UN annex and met this prickly, smart, beautiful, sexy woman, my life had changed. I’d known it then and wasn’t stupid enough to let her go now.

  “And?”

  “You’re crazy.” She laughed.

  “Crazy about you.”

  Her body continued to shake with laughter, and as much as I was enjoying her warm body pressed against my side and her happy, we had to get up. The rock that had been tumbling around in my gut was now a boulder. Tatiana was right, something was off, and nothing about Leon made sense. When all of this was over, we were going someplace tropical, with a beach, fruity drinks, and peace. I wanted her all to myself where we could stay in bed all day without the threat of someone trying to kill her. Right after I convinced her to say, I do.

  Chapter 33

  Unfortunately, we’d gotten out of bed and dressed. I would’ve much rather have stayed where we were but Brooks was right. We needed to talk to the guys. Leon Brown being MIA was a problem. And now that we had confirmation he’d ordered my weapon to be rendered useless, it wasn’t a stretch he’d also sold us out to Al Issa.

  I’d started to open the bedroom door when Brooks stopped me and pulled me close. God, I loved being in his arms. Loved when he wrapped me tight and looked down at me. I felt loved and protected and that was okay because I knew he believed I could take care of myself. For some reason, that made all the difference. Him respecting me as an equal allowed me to lower my guard. It felt good, something I’d never had before. I didn’t have to prove to Brooks I was good enough, he already thought I was.

  His head lowered and his firm lips touched mine. It was a sweet kiss, all too short, the kind that left you begging for more.

  “Later when we get back into bed, I’m gonna show you how much I love you.”

  My world shook. Fireworks sounded. My vision dimmed.

  It took me a moment to realize it wasn’t his declaration of love that had tilted my universe. The house had literally shook. There were no fireworks bursting in my mind, we were taking heavy artillery. My eyes hadn’t clouded over in a haze of joy and happiness, the lights were out and the ceiling was crumbling.

  “Fuck. Stay at my back,” he ordered.

  The only indication he’d opened the door was the creak, it was that pitch-black. I had to shuffle my feet so I wouldn’t trip on the broken pieces of plaster on the floor.

  “SITREP?” Declan shouted.

  “Four out front approaching,” Max answered.

  I collided with Brooks’ back when he came to a halt. “Here.”

  I fumbled with the helmet that was shoved into my chest, barely keeping ahold of the gun in my hand. I shoved my weapon into the waistband of my cargos, happy we’d gotten dressed before the attack, and strapped the helmet on, fumbling in the dark to pull the night vision goggles down.

  It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the green tint and the room to come into focus. Max was standing to the side of the blown-out window, Kyle standing next to him struggling to tie his boots. Declan was coming into the living room strapping on his vest. Thad had AR15s slung over his shoulder. He dropped the load on the couch and took off back toward the bedrooms.

  Decla
n picked an AR and tossed it in Brooks’ direction. He easily snagged the rifle midair and handed it back to me.

  Another burst of gunfire splintered the door, bullets whizzing by us in all directions.

  “Goddammit!” Declan yelled before he returned fire. “You two cover the back.”

  “Roger.” Brooks turned and started back down the hallway we’d just come from.

  Now that I could see the destruction, I was amazed the house hadn’t completely collapsed. Not to say it wouldn’t at any time. Plaster and other debris crunched under my boots, the odor of spent gunpowder thick in the small house told the seriousness of our situation.

  “Take right,” Brooks ordered.

  Wordlessly, I complied, covering our three o’clock as we approached the bullet-ridden back door. Brooks broke left without a moment to spare. The battered door blew in, exploding into hundreds of pieces of deadly flying shrapnel.

  I turned my back to the blast and crouched, covering my head the best I could. Heat from the discharge waned, I stood and turned in time to see the first man enter, the barrel of his rifle aimed at Brooks’ prone body. Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger and moved to the man behind him, firing a second round. With my night vision goggles askew from the initial attack on the door, I’d missed the third man. The wind was knocked out of me right before hot, searing pain radiated through my left arm. I stumbled back, lost my footing, and landed on my ass with a bone-jarring thud.

  This was it, this was how I died, on the floor of a ramshackle house in the middle of the Saudi desert, never telling Brooks I loved him back. Fuck. This couldn’t be it. This was not how I was going to let our story end. I had to pull my shit together, not fighting would be suicide. With great effort, I lifted my AR. More gunfire exploded. Mine and his. Both bullets tore through flesh, mine pierced his throat, his hit my leg. Red liquid soaked my clothes as blood freely flowed from my gunshot wounds. The pain was near-crippling. Neither would stop me from getting to Brooks.

  It was a miracle I’d gotten to my feet at all, but once I did, I wished I’d crawled. I could’ve moved faster if I’d stayed on my hands and knees. With awkward, jerky strides, I got to Brooks. Blood was covering his face and for a moment I was afraid I was going to throw up. The bitter scent of smoke and blood mingled together into a pungent smell that threatened to take my breath.

  The guys were still taking gunfire from the front of the house. If I didn’t move Brooks to safety we’d both die. At least I hoped he was still alive. He wasn’t moving and there was so much blood pooling around him, I wasn’t sure what was his, the three dead men’s, or mine. It all was mixing together in a brew of demise.

  Balanced the best I could on my good leg, I reached down and found the grab drag handle on the back of Brooks’ tactical vest and prayed to all things holy I had the strength to move him.

  “Come on, Brooks, move.” I yanked as hard as I could and staggered before I caught my balance.

  He’d only moved a fraction of an inch, but it was something. It was going to take an act of God, he was so much bigger than me, and my leg was screaming in pain. The team was engaged in a firefight, I was Brooks only chance. Our only chance. Even if I yelled for help, I doubted the guys would’ve been able to hear me over the barrage of bullets being exchanged.

  Ten feet, I just had to get him back into the hallway. On an exhale, I pulled and he slid. With a strength I hadn’t known I possessed, I continued to pull. We inched our way down the hall. It seemed like it took forever, I was exhausted by the time I felt it safe enough to stop. It wasn’t as far as I’d wanted to take him, but at least we weren’t in the doorway anymore. It may’ve taken minutes, or it may’ve taken an hour. I had no perception of time. I was fucked, completely and totally screwed. My vision was blurring, and I was getting lightheaded. I needed to check Brooks’ injuries, but I knew if I tried to kneel beside him, I’d never get up. The only thing that was keeping me alive was adrenaline and it was quickly waning.

  “I’m so fucking sorry, Brooks!” I screamed in frustration.

  There was nothing left for me to do. I didn’t have enough energy to pull the combat gauze or the WoundStat from my vest. Either of those would at least slow the bleeding in my leg. All I could do was keep my AR trained toward the back door and shoot anyone who tried to enter.

  “I love you,” I whispered.

  A cold chill raced down my spine – what if Brooks was already dead, what if he was waiting for me on the other side? What if I just closed my eyes for a second? What if—

  Chapter 34

  I was in the seventh circle of hell. It had been five hours since I’d lost sight of Tatiana. She had been hanging onto life by the thinnest of hairs as she was rushed into surgery.

  When I’d come to, Max and Thad were working on her injuries and Declan was performing CPR. If she pulled through, it would be because of them. And Tex. Not me. I’d laid there passed out while my woman was bleeding out, slowly dying, as she protected me. Max, Thad, and Declan had saved her life for obvious reasons, and Tex because he’d been watching the area using drone footage and saw the attack. He was able to call in backup and a medivac. If it weren’t for him, she would’ve died right there on the floor of that fucking house. With me watching, too stunned to do a goddamn thing.

  “It’s Tex,” Declan announced, holding his phone out.

  We had the small waiting room at the North Armed Forces Trauma Center all to ourselves. The food Kyle had gone out to get remained untouched on the small table. The team was surviving on coffee and energy drinks.

  “Go ahead. You’re on speaker.”

  “First, I wanted to tell you I dialed into the hospital’s database. There're no updates, but I’ll keep checking.” That was a nice way of saying he’d hacked into the hospital records. “There’s a Delta team ready and waiting for my go-ahead. Shit time to ask, but I have to know. Should I give Ghost the green light or are you going back in?”

  His question was a punch to the gut. Another reminder we’d failed our mission. Al Issa was still breathing, even if the small army he’d sent to take us out weren’t. I’d never forgive myself for letting my team down. While they’d been battling for their lives, I was of no help. Truth be told, I was the weak link. I could’ve gotten them all killed. Tatiana had covered the rear of the building, only finally laying her gun down when the last man was dead.

  The team had told me when they came into the hallway, she was standing over me; sheet white, panting, arm shaking, holding her AR. But she’d not given up. It wasn’t until Declan told her they were clear that she had dropped. Literally, like a ton of bricks, she just collapsed.

  She was a motherfucking warrior queen. A hero. And I hated myself that she’d had to be one because my pansy ass was asleep.

  Fuck.

  Now another team was on standby to finish a job we should have completed. No, Tatiana should have the pleasure of doing. She deserved the honor of removing Al Issa from the face of the earth. He’d wronged her.

  But she’d never get that option.

  “Send in Ghost’s team,” Declan instructed Tex.

  “What?” I turned from the window I’d been mindlessly staring out to face Dec.

  “This is ours,” I reminded him. Suddenly an irrational thirst for blood rose up. The need to maim and kill was overwhelming.

  “Being here is more important. Tatiana is more important.”

  “Taking out the man who put her here is important,” I returned.

  Declan leveled me with a stare that could only be described as demonic. It looked like the devil himself had graced us with his presence.

  “Al Issa will be put down like the pig he is. It just won’t be us who sends him to hell. You’re needed here, we all are. I’m not leaving my teammate, not even to avenge her. You feel like you gotta be the one to take him out, I won’t stop you. I’m sure Ghost would have no problem with you joining him and his team. But I’m gonna warn you right now, that fire you feel in your bell
y, that desire to kill for pleasure is a dangerous path to go down. It’s a stain that never goes away. You have two options, but there is only one right choice.”

  “I already got hashmarks on my soul. What’s—”

  “Bullshit. Don’t dishonor what we do. We protect. We serve. We are selfless, not self-fulfilling. You go out there right now and take him out, it will be for one reason only. And it will not be for the betterment of humanity. That’s all we have, brother. In our line of work, we take the hashmarks but we do so with a clear mind and a clear heart. Morally sound. Once you take that shot in hate, you’re no better than them.” Declan stopped and took a deep breath and shared. “I know because I live with it every day.”

  That was the most personal information Declan had ever shared. I stood eyeing my friend and wondered what he’d been through, and if I could live with myself if I wasn’t the one to dole out retribution. But the one thing I did know was, if Tatiana woke up and I wasn’t here with her, that would be unforgivable. She’d sacrificed herself to keep me safe. My place was by her side.

  “Send in Ghost,” I told Tex.

  “Good call. I’ll let them know and keep you updated.”

  “Thanks.” Declan’s voice was still gruff. He was locked away in some memory I was sure he wished he could forget.

  “And, Brooks?”

  “Yeah?”

  “There’s one thing I know about Tatiana Jones. She’s as tough as they come. She’s gonna pull through this. I’m just sorry I couldn’t get anyone there faster.”

  “You saved her life. The guys were keepin’ her breathin’ the best they could but she was gone when the medevac got there. Dec couldn’t get her back. Not without the AED. If she lives through this, it will be because you were watching. Thanks isn’t enough.” I was barely choking out the words, remembering Declan trying to get her heart to beat.

  “Never need to thank me for having your back. I gotta make some calls. Out.”