| |
––––––––
GRAYSON “GHOST” DOUGLASS jumped out of the Humvee and crossed Bagram Airfield, the dust from the Afghani desert kicking up around his combat boots. He swiped the sweat off his forehead, feeling every bit of the 103-degree heat.
“What do you think?” Ethan “Everglades” Flannigan asked, taking a swig of water from his canteen and swinging his rucksack onto his back. The men were decked out in their desert camo fatigues, Kevlar vests and helmets on, rucksacks full as they returned from their reconnaissance mission. They’d landed at the airfield earlier that day and had almost immediately headed out to survey the area after checking in.
“It doesn’t look good,” Grayson said. “We’ll have to go door-to-door looking for him if he’s holed up in that village. Let’s see if Raptor and the others noticed anything on the ride back.”
“Fucking hell,” Ethan muttered. “This asshole is in the wind.”
“Yep. The timing is shit. We flew halfway around the world only to have him disappear within hours of our arrival.”
“Someone could’ve tipped him off.”
“It’s possible. These guys move around a lot though. It looks like we just missed him based on the abandoned camp near that cave. They’re constantly trying to stay one step ahead of the U.S. forces.”
“And they’ve succeeded so far. That’s why we were brought in. You think the villagers will keep quiet if he’s really hiding out there?”
Grayson lifted a shoulder. “Maybe. Maybe not. But everyone’s got a price.”
He frowned, the image of Abdul Sayed flashing through his mind. Wanted for a recent plot that had killed seven servicemen, he was also head of a newly formed ISIS cell in the area. Bringing him down would cripple the new faction. If they could fucking find him.
The other four men on their Navy SEAL team were coming up behind them, sucking down energy gel packs and chugging water from their canteens. The heat out here was brutal, and after several hours of recon to learn the lay of the land, and discovering the abandoned camp, they weren’t a hell of a lot better off than when they’d arrived.
“Let’s debrief and then hit the chow hall,” Blake “Raptor” Reynolds, their SEAL team leader said. “General Murphy is waiting on our update. Our bags should’ve been sent to the barracks after we landed. It sounds like we’ll be here longer than we thought.”
“Too bad we don’t have a damn lot to tell the general,” Troy “T-Rex” Harrison said. “Rather than confirming the location of Sayed and updating him on our pending op, he’s gone.”
“Hell. I’m hoping the general will have an update for us,” Blake ground out.
Grayson caught his eye. “Did you guys notice anything on the ride back?”
“Negative,” Blake said. “I wish like hell we had. Not even the villagers we passed looked suspicious. He could’ve ducked out before we even got here. Then the rest of the camp quickly packed up today.”
“Fucking hell. So much for moving in tonight and grabbing him.”
“It’s clear that the camp was recently abandoned.” Blake continued. “The ashes from the fire were still warm. That makes me wonder if they knew we were coming.”
“A mole?” Grayson asked, doubtfully. “We just landed hours ago. And most people would’ve assumed we were regular Navy arriving at Bagram, not Special Forces. If Sayed moved out earlier today, either by coincidence or after being tipped off by an informant, we should be able to find him.”
“Agreed,” Blake said. “He’s close by. We’ll go through that whole fucking village if we have to. His goal has been to harm U.S. servicemembers. I don’t think he’d go far.”
They walked into the building where the general’s office was housed on base, nodding at a secretary sitting there. The office was staffed with military personnel, civilian DOD employees, and government contractors. The woman at the front desk flushed slightly, looking at the SEALs, and Grayson did a double-take, meeting her gaze.
She was gorgeous, with long auburn hair, full lips, and fair skin. It was those green eyes that did him in though. They widened in surprise at seeing the six huge men on his team walking in and then shyly looked down after he’d exchanged a glance with her.
“Ma’am,” Blake said, leading the rest of the team past her.
She looked up from her work again, avoiding Grayson’s gaze. His lips quirked. It’s not like she could go unnoticed sitting right there in the front. And he sure the hell had noticed her. He was dirty and sweaty and still wearing his combat gear, but damn. The way she’d flushed was appealing as hell. And there wasn’t much he could do about his appearance at the moment. If the general wanted to meet with them immediately, that’s damn well what they’d do.
She hadn’t seemed put off in the least by six men in full gear coming in. Hell. She worked in the general’s building. She probably saw a steady stream of military men and women come through here. At the last second, she looked up at him again, and he smiled as her cheeks pinkened. He nodded but continued after his teammates. It’s not like he could stop and flirt when they were here on official business. He hadn’t arrived in Bagram to pick up women. He was in the middle of a mission.
Grayson and his teammates stashed their rucksacks in an empty office before their debrief with General Murphy. They saluted him as soon as they entered, and then stood around the room as he sat down behind his desk. “I’ve just been briefed on Sayed’s sudden disappearance today. To put it bluntly, this isn’t good.” the general said.
“Negative, sir,” Blake said. “The camp was very recently abandoned. The ashes in the fire were still hot. Our mission was to move in to the camp tonight, but with them already gone, my team and I would like to go door to door searching the village.”
“What makes you think he’s not long gone by now? Evidence suggests if they abandoned the camp that quickly, they could’ve known you were coming.”
“Their goal has been to harm Americans. We don’t believe he’s moved far from Bagram, sir.”
“Do you have intelligence indicating such?”
“We’ve seen the same reports you have, sir,” Grayson said. “The seven servicemembers who were kidnapped and killed were on patrol not far from base. The recent suicide bombings also were intended for the airfield—they just couldn’t get close enough to do damage and blew themselves up instead.”
“Yes. We’ve increased the perimeter our patrols use and ramped up the checkpoints.”
“I think he knew we were coming,” Blake said.
The general nodded. “The timing is no coincidence. The day a Navy SEAL team arrives in country, ready to move in that night, he disappears? I don’t fucking buy it.”
“So there’s an informant. A mole on base.”
“It’s a possibility,” the general said with a frown. “One that I’ll have to further investigate. The mission was highly classified. Only a handful of people are aware of your arrival. Even the men who drove you today weren’t fully briefed on why you were here.”
“They thought we were simply getting the lay of the land,” Ethan agreed. “They didn’t know we were SEALs.”
Blake eyed the general. “The most logical place for him to move, and to maintain control of the area and insurgents near here, is the village.”
“That hasn’t been his modus operandi so far. They’ve been hiding in caves up in the mountains.”
“Yet they’ve been moving closer,” Blake countered. “He doesn’t want to be far away—he wants to see the destruction. We’re requesting permission to search the village and bring him in.”
The general nodded. “Have your team ready to move in tomorrow at oh five hundred. I’ll send two Army Ranger platoons in with you to secure the area. This operation is bigger than your team’s original mission to infiltrate the camp and eliminate the target. There are women and children down there. Innocents.”
“Understood,” Blake said.
“I know you just got in today. Grab some food and get some rest since your original op has changed. You’ll move in at dawn. Dismissed.”
The six SEALs filed out of the office, grabbing their rucksacks before exiting the building. Grayson glanced at the desk where the secretary had been sitting earlier and frowned to see that she wasn’t there. Not that anything could’ve happened while he was here for a short time in Afghanistan on official business, but he wouldn’t have minded finding out her name. He couldn’t tell her that he was a Navy SEAL, obviously, but he’d hoped to at least exchange a pleasantry or two. She’d seemed slightly out of place compared to the other no-nonsense military types around here. A breath of fresh air. He chuckled quietly to himself. Since when was he a fucking poet? The last woman he’d casually dated had been a sexy waitress he met at a country bar. She’d loved to wear short skirts and flirt with all the sailors that came in.
This woman was as opposite from her as could be. She’d seemed shy. And while women working here obviously didn’t wear the sexy clothes the waitresses had, he couldn’t imagine her in that type of outfit anyway. She’d flushed too much to be the type of woman to flaunt her body in that way.
Grayson didn’t have time to meet a beautiful woman on an op though. He was here with his team and had planned to be gone within a matter of days. It’s not like he was a deployed sailor, here for six months or more. The enemy up and leaving had proved their original mission would take longer than planned, but damn. He’d be flying home to San Diego before he knew it.
Grayson had work to do, and he couldn’t let his interest in a random woman get in the way of his mission.
Thirty minutes later, the guys were crossing base to the cafeteria. The team had MREs stashed with their supplies, but since they were now free at dinner time because they weren’t immediately moving in, they’d damn well enjoy it.
They’d reconvene later to go over the specs of the village and detailed plans for tomorrow. But for now? They’d enjoy a hot meal while they had the luxury. There was no telling what the rest of the week had in store for them, or if they’d end up chasing that asshole Sayed up into the mountains after all.
“Hell,” Jackson “K-Bar” Clinefield said. “It’s been a while since we’ve hit a chow hall while on an op.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Ethan said. “But it’s gotta be better than those damn MREs. I’ll take what I can get.”
Blake chuckled. “Clarissa was sad when I left, and I offered to leave a few MREs behind at the house to remind her of me.”
“I’m sure that went well,” Troy quipped.
“Nope. But no worries, I had time for a proper goodbye. I left her plenty to remember me by—not that she’d exactly forget.”
Grayson smirked. “Hell, the first time I came home to Shawna after an op, we went at it all night. It was hotter than hell. Of course, that relationship pretty much fizzled out within the week though. She liked the idea of bedding a Navy SEAL, just not actually dating one.”
“Her loss,” Blake said.
“Yeah, well, we all know that wasn’t ever going to be something long term. It probably would’ve only been the one weekend if we hadn’t been sent to Colombia.”
Blake frowned. The men had deployed on a mission earlier that summer to bring in a terrorist who’d recently set up shop near Bogota. They’d found Blake’s now-girlfriend, Clarissa, being held hostage in the middle of the damn camp. None of them had known she was there, and if Blake hadn’t searched the tent she’d been in, she might never have escaped.
Their relationship had been fast, and she was now living with him for the summer. It was surprising to see his SEAL team leader so hung up on a woman, but Grayson knew they were good for each other. He couldn’t fault his buddy for finally finding “the one” after years of dating random women. Not when he could see that Raptor was now happier than hell.
The rest of them were still single as ever though, but after his latest fling with Shawna, Grayson wasn’t so sure he was ready to continue with that. Blake and Clarissa were perfect together. He was protective and possessive toward her, but she grounded him in some ways, too. Grayson wouldn’t mind having a woman to come home to. Having Shawna waiting for him last time was hot. If he found a woman he could be that passionate about forever?
Damn.
Consider him signed up.
As he’d grown older, he’d finally begun to see what he was missing out on. The Navy and his career and country had come first all these years, but Grayson wouldn’t be a SEAL forever. He’d probably become an instructor or possibly even command teams from base.
Maybe he hadn’t wanted a serious relationship or family when he was younger, but now?
He shook his head. It was crazy to even be thinking things like that while here on an op.
The men moved into the cafeteria, lining up behind other military members. It was loud inside, with full tables and the scent of cafeteria food filling the air. It wasn’t exactly five-star dining, but the food would still be better than what they’d packed for themselves. There was nothing wrong with grabbing a hot meal while they could.
Jackson took a tray and got in line first, not saying a word as he stood behind a few women. They looked nervously at him, and Grayson knew Jackson’s intimidating size probably scared them off. While the other guys were joking around, he was always content to stand back and listen. Observe. And his intensity had been known to intimidate more than a few people over the years.
“Hell, I might just enjoy this longer mission,” Logan “Hurricane” Hudson said, glancing over at a table of laughing women. “I know Raptor met a girl on our last op, but hell. I could go for that, too.”
Troy chuckled. “We all know none of us are getting any action while here in an official capacity.”
Logan shrugged. “They’ll come back to the States eventually. I’m sure someone here’s gotta be based out of San Diego.”
“You’ve got a one-track mind, Hurricane,” Ethan joked.
“For women? Absolutely.”
Someone coughed quietly behind them, and Grayson almost did a double-take, spotting the auburn-haired women from earlier standing behind Blake. She hadn’t appeared to notice him ahead of her yet, no doubt because she was shorter than every man on his team. Making a quick decision, he abandoned his spot in line and moved behind her.
Blake eyed him, smirking, knowing exactly why he’d changed places.
“So what’s good here?” Grayson asked her.
She looked up at him, startled.
“Come on, help a guy out,” he teased. “If I pick the wrong thing and its horrible, I might get stuck eating an MRE later on. I don’t know if you’ve tried them, but those things are God awful.”
The other guys turned to watch their conversation, Troy chuckling quietly. Ethan elbowed him in the ribs. “Let the man work.”
She flushed, seeming to realize all the attention was on her. “Just ignore them,” Grayson said. “We may work together, but they’re more like an annoying group of brothers I always have around.”
“Ouch,” Ethan said. “I just stuck up for you.”
“I’m Grayson,” he said, holding out a hand to the woman.
Flustered, she held out her hand and shook his. “Hailey,” she said.
He took her slender hand in his own, loving the way his much larger hand engulfed hers. It was weird, but he instantly felt protective toward her. His SEAL team was hovering behind her, standing in line, and he realized how much smaller she was than most of the people in here.
Although there were certainly many women in the military, fewer than twenty percent made up each branch. And this woman was a civilian. The majority of people filling the loud cafeteria tonight were men, and Grayson instantly felt like he should look out for her. It was a strange feeling—she’d clearly been in country longer than him. They weren’t in some sort of immediate danger. He was here with his team for a few days, not stationed at Bagram. But something about her made him stand up and take notice.
Her green eyes met his, and he reluctantly released her hand, instantly disappointed at the loss of her touch. She barely came up to his shoulder, but when he looked down at her, he swore he could feel the sparks and chemistry between them. Her lips had parted slightly as they shook hands, and he kept his gaze on her face, not the tempting swells of her breasts.
She was slender and much smaller than him, but he could tell she was curvy in exactly the right places. And he detected the faintest vanilla scent as he stood close to her. It was arousing as hell, and a part of him wanted to duck down and see if it was her hair or some sort of lotion or perfume.
She was beautiful. Maybe a little bit flustered by his sudden attention, but damn. The last thing he expected today was to see a woman who sent his heart racing. He was on an op with his buddies for God’s sake. Yet here she was, in the middle of a base in Afghanistan. With her auburn hair and green eyes, she was a knock-out. And the way she flushed slightly at his attention was as appealing as hell.
“It’s nice to meet you, Hailey. That’s Blake right next to you, and Logan, Ethan, Troy, and Jackson,” he said, naming each member of his team. Why he felt the need to introduce her and make her feel more comfortable, he wasn’t quite sure.
She glanced back at the others, and they nodded hello but went about grabbing their food. Hailey looked back at him.
“I didn’t mean to surprise you, but I saw you standing behind Blake in line and wanted to come over and introduce myself.”
“I saw you guys earlier,” she said.
“Yep. I saw you, too.”
She flushed slightly, and he grinned. “You’re hard to miss around all the military guys here. And you were definitely the prettiest person in the general’s office.”
“There were only a few women in there,” she said wryly. “I work for the Defense Department.”
“I figured as much. You’re not in uniform.”
“Right,” she said lightly. The line moved forward, and Hailey reached for a plate of lasagna. He noticed a few bracelets dangling on her delicate wrist and wondered if she had any other jewelry on. He didn’t normally notice little details like that on a woman, but for some reason with her, he was fascinated.
As she brushed her hair back behind one ear, he smiled. She had two earrings—a modest diamond stud and another understated earring right above it. He liked that she was simple and relatively classic—the last woman he’d dated had been flashy and loved getting attention. It was fun for a few dates, but that had quickly fizzled out. She’d flaunted her body and loved male attention, but after they’d slept together a few times, that was it. All the excitement had worn off, and they didn’t have much in common.
Besides, Hailey was naturally beautiful. She didn’t need revealing clothes or tons of make-up like Shawna had. The camisole she had on beneath her shirt revealed just a hint of her creamy skin. Strangely enough, he was more intrigued by her than women who flaunted their bodies.
“Good choice,” he said as she set her plate of lasagna on her tray, not concerned in the slightest that she’d never really answered his question about what food he should order. “I’ll have that as well,” he told the young woman working there. She handed him a plate, and Grayson stuck it on his tray, keeping beside Hailey as they moved through the line.
“So, do you have a boyfriend?” he asked. “I figure I better ask before embarrassing myself further.”
Blake chuckled in front of her, turning around. “Subtle, he’s not. You need me to tell this guy to leave you alone?” He raised an eyebrow, and Hailey looked startled at the serious expression on his face.
“Thanks, but it’s fine.”
Blake nodded, glancing between the two of them. “Gray’s a good guy.”
With that he took his tray and followed the rest of his team over toward a table, leaving the two of them standing alone. There was a slight lull in the line, with another group just walking in the cafeteria doors. Grayson only had a moment or two. She was about to take her tray and walk off somewhere, and then he’d be stuck making googly eyes at her from across the cafeteria while his buddies ribbed him for getting shot down.
“How long are you here for?” he asked.
“Just until I finish my dinner,” she joked, and his lips quirked. “One more month. How about you?”
“Not sure. Probably no more than a week.” She nodded, some sort of understanding flashing in her eyes. Grayson wondered if she suspected he was Special Forces given that he wasn’t here long and had already met with the general. He could’ve been at Bagram for any number of reasons, but Grayson got the idea that she knew more than she let on. “I’d love to get to know you while I am here though. What do you say? Join me for dinner?”
She paused, and just as Grayson was ready to say something else to convince her, a siren suddenly sounded on base, and chaos erupted in the cafeteria.
“Incoming!” someone shouted. They heard an explosion outside, and Grayson instantly pushed Hailey to the ground, his large body covering hers. She cried out in surprise but didn’t fight him, just curled up beneath him while he shielded her with his body, their trays of food knocked to the floor.
Grayson glanced up as chaos erupted around them. Chairs were knocked over from where people had dove for cover, food and drinks were spilled on the floor. He noticed Blake and the other guys had taken cover with the group of female soldiers they’d spotted earlier, no doubt also trying to shield them from harm.
He braced, wondering if there was another bomb or potential rocket attack. Had that been it, or was it a distraction from something else?
His large hand smoothed over Hailey’s hair, trying to soothe her. She was trembling beneath him, frightened, and he didn’t know if he should haul her out of there or get her under a table for more cover.
“You’re safe,” he said gruffly, inhaling a whiff of her vanilla scent as he covered her with his body.
She would be safe. No matter what the hell happened next, he’d protect her. Shield her with his body, carry her the hell out of there if she was injured. The problem was, they didn’t know what else was coming. His gaze swept the cafeteria, searching for any threats. The siren was still wailing outside, but a beat later, it abruptly stopped.
Just then, a soldier came running into the chow hall. “There was a suicide bomber at the checkpoint! Multiple injuries!”
“Shit,” Grayson muttered. He exchanged a glance with Blake across the cafeteria, wondering if his SEAL team leader was thinking the same thing. Sayed was probably close by. He wanted to see the carnage of his destruction. He’d abandoned the camp they’d been surveilling, perhaps, but he was probably hiding in the village like they’d suspected.
There’d been the seven servicemembers killed earlier in the week and now this. He was attacking them. Killing and injuring Americans. And this was just the type of fucking thing he’d pull.
Suddenly, the fire alarm sounded in the building, and Grayson stood, pulling Hailey to her feet. “Are you okay?” he asked, looking down at her as she wobbled slightly in his arms.
She nodded, but her voice shook. “Yeah, I’m fine. Wow.”
“We have to get out of here,” he said. “This is a large building and could be a potential target. They’ll lockdown the base after that explosion, but we don’t know what else is going on. Why don’t I get you back to your housing? You’ll be safer there than in here where it’s just a large open room.”
His SEAL team came moving toward them, all of their faces tense. “I’m going to walk Hailey back,” Grayson told the others.
Blake nodded. “We’re going to see if we can assist at the gate. I have a feeling the general might want a word, too.” His gaze landed on Hailey, and Grayson knew he didn’t want to say too much in front of her. But if this was indeed Sayed’s work, it would make their op in the morning all the more important. They didn’t know if anyone had been killed in the explosion, aside from the suicide bomber, but there most certainly had been injuries.
“I’ll meet you there as soon as I escort Hailey back,” Grayson said.
“Let’s move out then,” Jackson said, his voice deadly.
“Are you sure we should go outside?” Hailey asked, looking worried. People were rushing by them, dinners long abandoned and forgotten. His SEAL team probably made an imposing sight standing there close to the doors. They might have been wearing the same camo as everyone else, but they were big. Muscular. Intimidating. And right now, each of the men looked like they’d harm anyone who got in their way.
Grayson’s gaze softened. “The patrols will be ramped up after this. The base is on complete lockdown. I know you’re scared, but you’re safe with me, sweetheart. Let me get you back to your room.”
Sweetheart.
He’d just met this woman moments ago.
Somehow it fit though. She was trembling slightly beside him, and he needed to get her somewhere safe before he got to work with his team. He wasn’t about to leave her standing alone here scared and frightened. For some reason he felt protective toward this woman. Responsible for her. It was strange as hell since he hadn’t even laid eyes on her before this afternoon, but something in his body responded to her on a primal level.
“Okay,” she said quietly, her voice barely audible above the fire alarm. But it was the look of trust in her eyes that slayed him. She was trusting him to get her out of there safely, to get her back to her own building. She didn’t know him either but apparently felt safe with him. Trusted him to protect her. Grayson felt male pride swell within his chest when she looked at him that way.
He rescued people all the damn time with his SEAL team, from situations far more precarious than this. It felt imperative that he get her back though, that he protect her from any other danger. He could handle anything that happened to himself, but knowing that she could be in danger?
There was no fucking way he’d leave her in here alone.
Dinner would have to wait until later tonight, too. First his team would help at the gate, possibly brief again with the general—and then it sounded like they’d be eating those damn MREs after all.
