“She’ll understand. You got a pass. Now, my brothers? No pass for them.”
He chuckled and pulled her tight against him. She stood between his spread legs, her arms around his neck. The kiss was long and passionate, and she wanted it to go on for hours. When they finally broke apart, her heart was racing and her knees were rubbery. The man knew how to kiss.
Of course, she reminded herself, he’d practiced on a lot of women. He should be good at this.
And she needed to remember… This was fake. This was temporary. She would not fall for him.
“When do you leave?” she asked.
“Now. Tonight. I’ll go from here to the base.”
“Tonight?”
He sighed. “Yeah. I’ve known since this morning, but I wanted to spend my last night here with you. I’m glad Katie went, too. It was a nice evening.”
“Oh, Ben. You should have said something. We could have done something other than a movie and pizza with my brother and his family.”
He kissed her again. “Tonight was perfect. Exactly what I wanted.”
“You’ll be careful?”
He chuckled. “Always. And you take care of yourself. Make my apologies to Bethany and Lawrence, okay?”
“Sure. No problem.”
“And you’re sure you don’t mind going to that couple party solo?”
“Shoot, Ben. I’ve been doing solo for years. I’ll be fine.”
He took her mouth in another prolonged, deep, wet kiss. Finally, she stepped back.
“You probably should go.”
“Yeah, I should.”
“Come back safe,” she said and walked to her porch.
He waved and drove away.
She waited until he faded from sight before she went inside. Why did this time feel different than the times before?
* * *
Bravo team hadn’t been briefed on this mission yet. They’d only been instructed to be on base and ready for wheels up at one a.m.
Ben rolled onto the base at a little after midnight. He saw that most of his team had already arrived. Rollouts didn’t bother him. Heck, he’d been out of country more times than anyone on his team.
But this one felt different and he couldn’t put his finger on the reason why.
“Got any idea where we’re headed?” Jacob asked as he walked up.
“Yeah, I know, but I’ll let HQ fill you in. I’m not sure why we’re headed where we are. But I can say that I’ve never been there.”
Jacob’s eyebrows rose. “A new country for you? Hell, man, we’re staying on planet, right?”
Benjamin laughed. “No promises.
Evan, aka Cowboy, strode up. “Where we headed this time?”
“He won’t say,” Jacob answered.
“Top secret op,” Benjamin replied. “That much I can tell you.”
“Hmm,” Cowboy said. “My money’s on Canada.”
Benjamin laughed. “Seriously? You think we are invading Canada?”
“Why not? I’ve been wanting to go there.”
Jacob and Benjamin both laughed.
“Yeah, we’re not invading Canada,” Benjamin said.
“Too bad. I hear it’s beautiful in the summer.”
“Let’s go men,” a deep voice boomed from a door in the building beside them.
The CO stood in the entrance checking his watch. The team grabbed their gear and headed in.
“Briefing in the air,” their CO said.
“Load the plane and get settled in. It’s a thirteen-hour flight.”
Benjamin’s team caught a C-30 cargo plane from Camp Pendleton to K16 Air Base in Seongnam, South Korea. They’d all been following the news out of North Korea, particularly the country’s continuing efforts to develop a nuclear weapon capable of reaching the mainland of the United States. To date, their rocket launches had been dismal failures and it was the U.S. Military’s goal to keep it that way.
Once everyone was onboard, the CO called them to the area of the plane that would serve as main command.
“Listen up,” their CO started. “I know you’re used to keeping secrets and on top-secret ops, but this one is seriously need-to-know only. There can be no leaks, not even a whiff of a rumor of where we are or what we’re doing. All cell phones are to be turned off now.” He waited as the team pulled out cell phones and turned them off.
“Ensign Davis,” he barked.
“Yes, sir.” The female junior officer stepped up.
“Pass out the storage bags.”
“Sir, yes, sir.”
Ensign Davis pulled cloth pouches from a box; each bag was labeled with a team member’s name.
“Each of you have been assigned a security bag. You will place your phone, smart watch or any other device that shows your location in this bag, and everything will remain there for the duration of this mission. All calls and communications with loved ones during this mission will be recorded and monitored. Again, nothing, and I mean nothing about this op will be hinted to or in any way discussed with loved ones. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” came the unified reply from the team.
Once all the devices were secured in their bags, each man handed his pouch back to the ensign who placed them all in a secured, locked holding box.
Benjamin had been a SEAL for a long time, as had most of his team. As their CO had said, they were used to secret missions, but these precautions were like nothing he’d experienced before.
“Thank you,” the CO said. “Gentlemen, we’re headed for South Korea. Intel has confirmed that the North Korean government has hired a Russian physicist by the name of Nicholas Popov to bring their nuclear program up to par with China, Russia, and of course the U.S. Obviously we cannot allow this to happen. You will be doing recon along the coast in the area where Popov will be working and also where we’ve heard he’ll be on vacation later.”
“Are we going in?” Benjamin asked.
“Not now. We’re preparing three different SEAL platoons. Each one will spend three weeks on recon while the others are back in California setting up and running through exercises. We’ll have only one chance at Popov and that will be in September. He will be taking a break at a vacation location on a small island for one week. That will be our chance. Expect multiple patrols during that time.”
Benjamin’s heart sank at the mention of September. He’d promised Holly he’d be there as her date for her brother’s wedding. This could put a big bomb in the middle of those plans, but his first commitment was to his team, and if he was called during that time, he would go. However, he also knew she’d understand without an iota of guilt tossed his way because that’s the type of person she was.
For the next three weeks, the team studied the island retreat, photographed and measured landmarks, recorded the ebbs and flows of the ocean along the coast. Every day, they reviewed the previous night’s findings, refilled SCUBA tanks, and prepared to do it all again that night. They planned INFIL ops, practiced different landing options, developed, and discarded capture plans for the Russian. Every plan showed heavy casualties for the hostage, his North Korean guards, and the team.
As their CO had said, the team’s contacts with loved ones were closely monitored with either the CO or Ensign Davis in the room listening in. Additionally, all calls were recorded.
Benjamin didn’t call Holly. He wanted to. He missed her like crazy. Missed her laugh. Missed her snark. Missed her jabs at what she called his inflated ego. But what he wanted to say to her was for her ears only, nothing he wanted to share with his commanding officer or anyone else.
Time passed at a snail’s pace. He wondered how the latest bachelorette party/ladies’ night out went. He hoped one of her brothers got Holly home safely. He felt certain they did, but there was a part of him that wanted to be the one she looked to when she needed that extra hand.
Finally, they were told to pack up and load up. The next team was coming in and they were on their way out.
They lifted off after midnight. The guys hung hammocks in the C-30 to try to catch some shuteye on the long flight back.
“What’s the date?” Benjamin asked Jacob.
“Umm...around June twenty-fifth, I think. But to honest, I’ve lost track of the days.”
“Me, too.”
“It’s June twenty-sixth,” Cowboy said. “I’ve been marking off the days ’til I get home.”
“Thanks,” Benjamin said.
“Got somewhere you got to be?” Cowboy asked with a laugh.
“Maybe I do,” Benjamin said.
Chapter Ten
Holly had met Bethany McQuiston when her brother brought her for a Friday night family dinner. That’d been a couple of years ago. She’d never seen her brother so love-struck.
Lawrence had been a BMOC—Big Man on Campus—through high school and the years he’d spent in college. Star running back for their high school team, he’d never been without a girl, or girls, hanging onto his every word. He’d been a vain, ego-inflated, hormone-raging teenager. Then he became a vain, ego-inflated man during his twenties. He’d loved the ladies and they’d loved him back. Holly had questioned whether any woman could hold his attention for longer than thirty days.
And then Bethany McQuiston had appeared, and her vain, ego-inflated brother had fallen like a hot air balloon when the fire was extinguished. The way he looked at his fiancée with such a lovesick expression had been hysterical, at first. Now, the family was mostly accustomed to it.
Bethany had fit into their decidedly middle-class family like she’d been with them since birth. Hints over the past couple years suggested she came from money, but she never flaunted it, like tossing around hundred-dollar bills as though they were ones. She drove a current model car, but nothing fancy. Her clothes were always nice, but nothing that appeared to be expensive…more like items from an everyday department store.
And then they’d gotten engaged.
Bethany remained the wonderful, sweet person they’d always known. However, her mother was cut from different cloth. Mrs. McQuiston was determined that her only daughter would have a wedding that would rival British royalty. Part of that determination to mark her daughter’s momentous wedding occasion was tonight’s engagement gala, as Mrs. McQ called it.
Held at the prestigious—and ridiculously expensive—la Spiaggia Country Club, invitations to the party were highly restricted since the club’s event room held only three hundred.
Holly pulled her car into the valet parking circle, almost embarrassed to ask the red-coated valets to park her dusty, used four-door sedan. She was sure the Lotuses, Benzes and Bentleys would be insulted to have her Ford in their midst. However, the man who opened her driver’s door and helped her out treated her as though she were a prized guest and he was there only for her.
Yeah, she liked feeling like a princess for the night.
Of course, tonight’s party had required a new dress, and she’d blown her budget on a long, slinky, satiny black dress with a front that circled the base of her neck but dropped to a daringly low dip in the back. She’d draped a set of long pearls down her back into the opening with a knot tied halfway the necklace’s length. Her hair was swept up into an updo to show off the dress’s features.
As she entered the private club, she felt strong, sexy, and invincible. She honestly was comfortable coming alone, but she would have loved to have seen Ben in tonight’s required tux.
“Honey,” her mother said as Holly approached. “You look lovely.”
“Thanks, Mom, You, too. Where’s Dad? How’d the monkey suit look on him?”
Her mother laughed. “He complained all the way over here, but…” She waggled her eyebrows. “He looks good.”
“James Bond good?” Holly joked.
“Well, you know I always did hold a special place in my heart for Sean Connery.”
Holly laughed.
Patrick and Diana joined them, both in formal cocktail attire.
“You clean up pretty good,” Patrick said to Holly.
“I brushed my teeth and everything,” Holly said.
He chuckled. “There’s someone here I’d like you to meet tonight.”
She groaned. “Not a fix-up, Patrick. You know I’m dating Ben.”
“Nope. Not a fix-up, but he’s the guy who moved here from Colorado and joined the department. He won’t know many people, but Lawrence invited him and I promised him that we’d make sure to include Seth in our circle.”
“Fine. I’ll play nice with your new friend.”
“Good, because that’s him walking in now.”
Patrick whistled and Diana elbowed him. “Please pretend you know how to act in public,” she said. “We do not whistle.”
He threw his arm around his wife and pulled her tightly against him. “Yes, ma’am.”
Holly studied the man as he walked toward them to join their circle. He was about six-foot-tall with brown hair and brown eyes. He was lean, but not muscular lean, just not a lot of meat on the bones. His smile was nice, but didn’t seem to reach his eyes.
“Family,” Patrick said. “This is Seth Garrett. Seth, this is my wife, Diana, my sister, Holly, and my mother, Patricia. Where’s dad?”
Patricia waved her hand. “He went off with Bethany’s dad. I suspect there are cigars and expensive scotch involved.”
“Nice to meet everyone,” Seth said. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Patrick and Lawrence. I appreciate your family including me in tonight’s party.” He glanced around, seeming to take in the crystal rain chandeliers and long tables laden with food. “This place is really something, right?”
Patricia chuckled and leaned forward. “Trust me. The Long family does not party like this on a regular basis.”
“Well, I was beginning to wonder what the department was paying their administration if they can afford this.”
“We’re more the beer and burgers in the backyard crowd,” Holly said.
He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Now, beer, burgers, and backyards are more my speed.”
“Patrick said you just moved here from Colorado,” Holly said.
“That’s right. My wife passed away and I moved back to be closer to my parents and my late wife’s parents. I wanted my two daughters to have more family than just me.”
“Two children,” her mother said. “How nice. Tell me about them.”
He and Holly’s mom got into a conversation about ages and schools. Holly let her attention roam from their conversation to Ben’s mysterious location. She hadn’t heard from him in three weeks. She guessed she shouldn’t be surprised. After all, he was under no requirement to check in with her. Still, she wondered where he was and what he was doing all this time. But mostly, she hoped he was okay.
In many ways, she was glad she and Ben weren’t falling in love and planning a future. If she ever married again, it would not be to a man in uniform. She’d been there, done that, albeit the uniform had been police and not military. For her, uniforms represented a risky life choice. Cop. Fireman. Military. All held the potential for death by career choice.
Lawrence and Bethany floated by to say hello and Holly couldn’t help but grin at them. Their faces practically glowed with joy. Their matching smiles were bright and wide. Bethany’s dress, a white satin sheath, clung to her in all the right places. Holly knew it’d been custom made for tonight’s event. Lawrence wore a white tux with tails. The formal tux was his nod to Mrs. McQuiston’s demands. The tails were a reflection of her brother’s nod to how ridiculous all this was.
“Holly, you look stunning,” Bethany said, placing air kisses on both of Holly’s cheeks. “I knew when we found that dress, it would be perfect. You look hot and sexy.”
Holly laughed. “It’s completely the dress. Nothing to do with woman wearing it.”
“I beg to differ,” Seth said, breaking into the conversation.
“Seth,” Bethany said. “I’m so glad you came.”
“I appreciate the
invite. Hey, old man,” he said to Lawrence, adding a slap to his back. “Not your usual wear for the office.”
Lawrence held out his arms. “What can I say? I look good.”
“And he’s so modest, too,” Bethany said with a laugh. “We have to keep moving or I get the stink-eye from mom. Have fun tonight. Eat a lot. Drink a lot. Make my parents pay big for forcing this on us.”
Holly laughed.
Lawrence and Bethany moved over to speak with Patricia.
“She’s really something,” Seth said.
“She is. I didn’t know you’d met.”
“She fixed me up on a blind date with one of her friends and we doubled with them.”
“Oh? How’d that go? Is the lucky lady here?”
He shook his head. “No. Some college friend who was in town only for the weekend, but she’ll be back for the wedding.”
“Oh, that’s nice.”
As they spoke, she couldn’t resist comparing him to Ben. After all, Seth had been the man her brothers had thought a good match for her.
He wasn’t as tall as Ben’s six-three. Holly was close to six foot. She’d hit her height in high school and had, in fact, been two inches taller than Steve. And yes, that’d been an issue for a while. She’d slumped around trying not to be so tall until her mother had had a long talk with her about being proud and standing tall. Now, she watched her daughter grow taller every day. So far, no slumping, but she had her speech for Katie ready, should it be needed.
One of the nice things—among a lot of nice things—about being in Ben’s arms was his height. Once he’d mentioned how he enjoyed kissing her since he didn’t have to lean over.
Seth’s brown hair was okay, but it didn’t shimmer like the blond and silver in Ben’s hair. She could only imagine how gorgeous Ben’s hair would have looked under these sparkling lights.
And Ben’s crystal-blue eyes would shine when he looked at her. Seth’s chocolate eyes were pretty, but they did nothing for the butterflies in her belly. One glance from Ben, and those butterflies rioted.
“Dance?”
The question jarred her out of her thoughts. “Excuse me?”
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