“You’ll be safer at the ranch, Anya,” Stryker said softly.
“Safer? What do you mean ‘safer’? Benicio is dead. He can’t hurt me anymore.”
“No, he can’t. Just trust me, Anya. Please don’t fight me on this. There are things I need to explain to you. Things about who Benicio was and what we’re really up against.”
Stryker’s eyes looked up at her with concern and something else…something warm that reminded her of their night together before he had left for his mission. Before both of their lives had been impacted so violently. If she could only have that night again… Heaven help me, I still love him.
The realization was like a lightning bolt. She drew a deep breath and slid her hand into his offered one, and she stepped down from the large truck. Much to her surprise, the rest of the team was waiting outside on the porch, their faces anxious. These were Navy SEALs. What did they have to be anxious about?
“Welcome back, Anya,” Brusco said softly as she approached.
“Glad to see you looking so much better,” Buzz said, reaching out and embracing her. “You gave all of us quite the scare.”
“Welcome home,” Santo and Snap said together, both nodding to her in greeting.
“Have you all been drugged?” Anya asked suddenly, feeling as if she were in a surreal experience.
Stryker chuckled behind her and placed his hands around her waist, guiding her into the house. His touch felt incredible. He was the man she had always dreamed of, but had never realized it.
She needed to tell him how she felt. She needed to confess her love to him. She wanted to be alone with him so badly, it was all she could do not to demand his immediate and undivided attention away from the entire house.
He guided her into the living room, a part of the house she hadn’t spent any time in before. She realized he was doing it for her. It would be easier for all of them to sit around the dining room table, but he knew she would be uncomfortable being back at that table after her last experience. Why couldn’t they be alone? She needed to kiss him for everything he was and everything he did with her in mind.
They all took a seat on the large leather couches that wrapped around the room, and Stryker pulled her into a love seat with him, keeping his arm firmly around her waist. She didn’t mind. In fact, she used it as an excuse to nestle up closer to him, to have his body pressed along her side. She could tell that pleased him as he looked down at her with a soft smile and gently pressed her in a hug.
They were all finally seated when they looked at her with expectation. And some looked at her with concern, which made her grab hold of Stryker’s thigh without thinking. He covered her hand with his and squeezed her waist.
“I know who you are. You are all Navy SEALs. You’re undercover here, and you’re going after the bad guys. I won’t tell anybody about y’all. I promise. I didn’t even tell Benicio anything about you.”
The men exchanged glances, then returned their eyes to Stryker. “All right, Anya—Joseph ‘Buzz’ Gomez is an expert in communications and technology,” Stryker informed her.
Anya looked over at Buzz with a slight smile. “Joseph. It suits you. But I still like Buzz better.”
“Enrique ‘Phantom’ Ramirez runs tactical ground patrol and does a damn good job of it. He saved our asses in Mexico. He was training to be a doctor in the navy before they realized his strategic abilities. But, as you’ve seen, we rely on Phantom still for his medical knowledge. Hunter ‘Santo’ Gonzalez is an expert sniper. He’s also one helluva tracker.”
Anya nodded to both of the men, flashing a smile at Phantom. She owed him a lot. Then again, she needed to set him straight. “Phantom, you may be a badass, but you did something really stupid.” He arched an eyebrow at her, his expression unreadable. “You fired my best friend.”
His eyes widened slightly. “Elena,” he said softly, and a slight smile lifted the corners of his lips.
“Yes. She’d be good for you. She’s one of the best horse trainers I’ve ever known.”
“Why do you say she’d be good for me?” His expression became unreadable again.
“Because you could use the influence of a strong woman in your life.” She smiled at him, and the men chuckled at his expense.
Stryker cleared his throat before he continued, temporarily taking Phantom off the hook. “Derek ‘Brusco’ Delgado is our spotter and on-the-ground specialist. He works closely with Santo when taking down a target and evaluating our surroundings for potential threats. And Isaiah ‘Snap’ Flores is our operational and tactical officer. He oversees every piece of our missions.”
Anya swallowed hard. “You all sound very…talented. And lethal.”
“Only when we have to be,” Phantom said quietly, leaning forward with his elbows braced on his legs, his hands clasped loosely in front of him. Anya looked around the room and saw all kind, friendly eyes watching her. It made her feel proud and brave. She could make a difference with these men, and in so doing, make a difference for her country. “Do you only go after drug cartels?”
The men all looked to Stryker, and Anya’s eyes followed theirs. “Several months ago, our admiral reached out to me and told me he was pulling together a special ops task force and he wanted me to head it up. The details for this task force are limited, so it isn’t that I’m keeping information from you; it’s just the way we work.
“I lead the task force, and it was my honor to pick these men. I’ve worked with all of them before, and I trust my life with each one of them. Our assignment is to become part of the community and keep our ears to the ground about activities in Mexico and Central and South America. There are a lot of bad things going down right now, and, I’m sure you know, they’re having repercussions in the U.S. We don’t know how far the corruption goes.”
“So you think some of these crimes could be linked back to the U.S. government?” Anya asked, searching his face for answers. The thought was disturbing.
“We aren’t ruling it out.”
“I traced the paper those photos were printed on and it’s common stock,” Buzz spoke up. “But it is most widely used in the United States. Not in Mexico.”
“Why would someone in the U.S. government be spying on all of us?” Phantom mused.
Anya drew in a deep breath. She had fallen in love with a Navy SEAL on a special ops assignment. A question suddenly popped into her head, and, involuntarily, her hand squeezed his leg. All muscle and no give. She nearly lost her train of thought. “H-how long are you going to be here?”
“It’s hard to say. For however long the admiral decides our work is needed. A handful of years at least.”
“Will it always be the six of you?”
Stryker’s jaw worked for a few moments before he finally spoke. “About that—we don’t feel it is safe for you to continue your clinic by yourself.”
“What? Why not? Benicio is dead, isn’t he?”
“Yes, Anya, but ask yourself this—who took those pictures of us here on the ranch?” Santo said in a voice that was like rumbling rocks and gravel tumbled together.
“I… Well, I hadn’t given that much thought. All I’ve been able to think about was Benicio and the horrible things…” Her voice died off and she shuddered.
“Anya, you now know who we are and what we do. Will you please tell us about Benicio and what happened between the two of you? It’s time to get your story out.”
Chapter 30
A light drizzle was falling, typical late-spring weather. Soon, they would be battling the heat of summer and suffering through rolling brownouts of electricity across the city as everyone cranked the AC down into the sixties. The city was a cesspool.
The sound of the drizzle striking the canvas of his two-hundred-dollar Gucci umbrella was beginning to get on his nerves. With the position he held, he never knew when he was being watched. The longer he was
out in public the more attention he could draw to himself. The location he had selected for the meeting was secluded, and he had made certain he wasn’t followed.
Finally, a sleek black Rolls-Royce pulled around the corner and stopped beside him. The driver’s side back door opened, and an elegantly manicured hand gestured for him to get in. For a moment, he almost reached for the handgun he had tucked under his custom jacket in its holster, but realized that would be a telling sign. He knew it was there, and knew he could draw it quickly should he find it necessary.
He slid into the car and carefully closed the door so it wasn’t latched. He wouldn’t take the risk that he would get locked inside, subject to whatever madness his new partner had in mind. “Traffic must have been a bear,” he said, in an attempt to begin a friendly dialogue. His new partner wasn’t interested in chitchat.
“Benicio Davila is dead.”
“We’re well aware that his cousin was killed by the team the navy sent in. But we received communication from Benicio shortly afterwards that he was alive and well.”
“Your intel is out-of-date. He was killed a couple of days ago in the U.S. Whoever this navy team is, they’re savvy enough to take down one of your top men. Whether they have realized you had a fool bumbling around their residence is hard to say. Though it wasn’t very intelligent to send pictures. It only served to complicate matters.”
“I was unaware he had sent pictures.” His blood pressure was going up. He could feel it by the pounding in his ears. He needed to take his medication.
“Are you even aware of their location?”
“Benicio hired someone to take the pictures and never told me the location. Though I held a gun to his head, he still wouldn’t tell me the location.”
“A pity. All I’ve been able to gather is that they’re somewhere in south Texas near the border. But I’ve just begun to dig. Given time, I’m certain I’ll know everything down to the size of their dicks.”
The congressman nearly recoiled at the foul language. He was used to being around politicians all day who watched every single word they said. With reporters lurking around every corner, one never could be too careful. “Let’s hope you won’t need to get into that much detail. But we need to move quickly. They ruined my business with Benicio. I can’t afford to have them get involved in any more of my operations.”
“Do you have an inside man?”
“Where?”
“Good grief, man, how have you functioned? Without an inside man at the navy, you’re practically on a stranded island. You need information, and that is the place to get it.”
“I’ll find someone. It shouldn’t be too hard.”
His partner eyed him skeptically. “Get your shit in order. Once you have better control over the situation, call me. Until then, don’t fucking waste my time.”
His partner reached across him and opened the door, an obvious statement to leave. He ground his teeth together. No one got away with talking to him like that. No one. But at the moment, he was at a significant disadvantage.
He popped his umbrella open and stepped out of the car. He was turning back to make a scathing statement, when the door slammed in his face and the car sped away, spitting pieces of mud up on his designer suit. His jaw clenched and unclenched rapidly. He had just added another person to his list of people who had to die, along with the navy team that was making his life hell. They would all pay. And in the end, he would come out looking like the hero.
* * *
Stryker listened with intensity as Anya explained the way Benicio had forced his way into her clinic, and he wanted to hug her when she told them how she had shot the man. But from there, everything seemed to go downhill. Relief flooded him as she continued on with her story.
The men listened intently, leaning forward with elbows resting on their knees. Their faces were grim, though they never once interrupted her.
Anya had kept her eyes closed the entire time she’d been speaking, as if trying to pull everything from the deepest recesses of her mind. When she finally opened her eyes, she looked at them with apprehension.
“You did great, bella.” Stryker kissed her on the forehead, wishing he could end the meeting immediately and take her off to his bedroom. His heart skipped a beat as he thought about the conversation he was about to have with her. It could quite possibly change his life forever.
“You said he had a plan to get his team running again quickly, is that right?” Phantom asked.
“Yes. He said he had a group who he’d been training for just such an occasion. But he needed that drive. He made that clear when Stryker got there. That drive was the reason he was so successful.”
Buzz shook his head. “I’ve got my work cut out for me trying to decode this bitch—er, this problem.”
Anya smiled at him. “I have faith in you.”
“Santo, Brusco, do you think you can recap everything from this conversation? The admiral is going to want to see it,” Stryker said softly.
“From what I said? I’m just a veterinarian. Surely he doesn’t want to hear anything from me.”
“Anya, you were the hostage of one of the most notorious drug lords in all of Mexico. Anything you learned about him and his organization is going to be incredibly valuable to the admiral. Hell, it’s valuable to us,” Phantom said with conviction.
Anya nodded slowly. “Well, then, if you don’t need me for anything more…”
“Anya, you can’t go back to your clinic. Not yet. You’re still recovering, and it just isn’t safe. We have a new SEAL starting with us in a few weeks. He’s going to work with you at the clinic and be there as your protection.”
“My…protection.”
Stryker could tell Anya was about to go on overload. The rest of the team must have sensed it as well, because they all began to exit the room. Each one of them nodded to Anya and expressed his gratitude for her bravery in telling her story.
“Come with me,” Stryker said softly against her ear, picked up her hand in his, and began heading back to the large room that belonged to him. He closed the door behind them and watched her walk into the room, taking in the manly décor.
“Your room, I presume,” she said softly, turning back to face him, her hands clenched in front of her to hide her shakes.
“How did you know?” He forced a grin onto his face, moving toward her.
“It smells like you.”
“Oh? And how is that?”
“Earth. And horses. And man.”
He paused directly in front of her, his pulse racing. “I never feel more like a man than when I’m with you, bella.” He finger-combed her hair away from her face. “And I’ve waited too damn long for this.” He lowered his head, his lips hovering over hers to the point that he could feel the heat of her breath blowing against his skin.
And then they were kissing, finally kissing, and she was the sweetest tasting thing in the world. He never wanted to let go of her. He needed her in his life now and always. He slanted his mouth over hers and let his tongue swipe along her lower lip. With a sigh, her mouth parted for him, and he played with her tongue, sliding his alongside hers and gently sucking on it. When they broke apart, they were both breathless.
“Is this safe for you?”
“I’m not hurting you, am I?”
They both laughed, as they had spoken at the same time. It felt so good to see and hear her laugh.
Watching her with hooded eyes, he led her to the bed, where he sat her down, then proceeded to take her boots off for her. His boots quickly followed, and then he moved up to lie beside her, fully clothed, on top of the bed linens.
“This is a bit different than our past,” Anya said, and a teasing but sad smile touched the corner of her mouth.
“Yes. But I need to talk to you.”
Anya rolled onto her side, worry on her face. He w
anted to alleviate all her fears. He didn’t want to make her have even more concern than she already had.
“Anya,” he began softly, lifting his hand and brushing a wayward strand of her dark hair away from her face. Her hazel-and-gold eyes watched him intently, with an anxious expression. He could imagine she had a lot that bothered her lately. But he shouldn’t be like those other worries. He was ready to be the constant in her life. He just had to figure out how to do it.
“I didn’t know what to do when I found out Benicio had taken you. I nearly lost my mind. And I had no idea where to look for you. And what devastated me the most was knowing you were in danger because of me.”
“Stryker, you don’t know that. You don’t know how he came to pick me—”
“No, Anya, I know. I felt him watching me that morning I went to visit you. I didn’t know what it was at the time, but I felt something. Now, I know it was that bastard watching me and planning how to hurt me the most.”
“Oh, Stryker. You can’t blame yourself for this. It wasn’t your fault.”
“Yes, Anya, it was in a roundabout way. He wanted revenge on me, so he took you.” His eyes searched hers, wanting her to understand. “If I step away from you right now, you might be able to go back to your old life, to easier and simpler times. But if I don’t step away from you, your life is going to have to change. And I can promise you there will be days you want to murder me for being so protective of you. But I can’t live through this again.”
“Is that what you want? Do you want to step away from me?” Her gaze was as intense as his.
“Absolutely not. Anya, you’re what got me through those terrible two weeks in Mexico. You’re all I could think about on the drive home. And I became a man obsessed with getting you back when you were taken. Because, in my mind, Anya, you’re mine. You were meant to be mine all along, and I wish it hadn’t taken me this long to find you.”
“Stryker,” she whispered, smiling at him as tears formed in her eyes.
“Don’t cry, Anya,” he whispered in reply. “Please, don’t cry. I only want to see joy on your face from now on.”
A SEAL Never Quits Page 27
