by Toby Neal
She heard a scramble and a minute later, Freckles appeared with a big grin as he unfolded a lightweight camp stool for her. “Here you go, Dr. Kagawa. Biscuit says food in five in the mess tent. Right over there.” He pointed.
“Thank you. You’re a real gentleman.” She smiled extra big and Freckles grinned back as he reluctantly withdrew. She walked up to the folding table, plunked down her stool, moved her long hair aside so she didn’t sit on it, and opened her laptop.
“General Beauregard, one of my liaisons with the White House, sent over surveillance photos of the compound taken over the last forty-eight hours.” She swiveled the screen into tablet mode and swiped through the photos as they bent close to look. The compound was walled with various buildings inside clustered around a large central structure. “See the people and trucks? It looks like they abandoned ship this morning. The general recommends an infiltration and interview to find out where the main group went.”
“Got it,” Balam confirmed. “We’ll send a small recon team at dawn and then decide our next steps.”
Nani nodded and stood, picking up her laptop. “Very good.” She turned and left. The air outside was hot. But after the sultry, charged heat inside the tent, Nani felt like she could breathe again.
Night was falling quickly, the sky turning midnight blue. Without light pollution, the stars coming out seemed almost alive, like fireflies high above. Shadows from the steep canyon walls darkened their camp, and she could just make out the shape of her small tent as she walked toward it.
Nani sensed heavy footsteps behind her and turned. Luciano loomed out of the shadows. “I hope you’re planning on getting dressed before dinner.” His voice was rough and harsh, instantly rousing her temper. “You can’t walk around like that. It will be a problem for the men.”
This arrogant brute was shirtless, and chastising Nani for her attire? “Then I suggest you set an example, and put on a shirt.” She pulled herself up tall. His teeth flashed in the darkness and his growl raised the hairs on her arms as a potent zing of attraction flushed her body with arousal.
He was close now, up in her personal space. No way was she going to be the one to back down. Carried by a desert breeze she smelled the earthy musk of him, tinged with a hint of gun oil.
No, she was not interested in this hungry wolf; he needed to go find himself another sheep. She’d learned her lesson about military men. Clyde had educated her on the dangers of a handsome man in uniform, even though Cocky Lupo wasn’t wearing one at the moment. Unfortunately.
Nope! Not remotely interested.
But when Luca’s hands spanned her waist and he pulled her hard against him, she didn’t fight. She practically melted, sagging in to savor his strength and heat, wrapping around him and breathing him in.
But only for a moment.
Nani set her free hand on Luca’s hard, bare chest, arching away. His heart pounded under her palm as she felt his hot, smooth muscles and his silky-rough chest hair. He was making her hungry, too. Ravenous, in fact.
“What are you doing?” Her voice was a husky whisper.
“What am I doing? You’re doing this to me. Some kind of spell.” Luca’s voice had dropped to almost a whisper, his breath at her ear. “You’re making me crazy.”
Nani’s gaze lifted to his face. All the anger was gone, replaced by confusion and wonder—his brown eyes were wide, glittering in the darkness. His mouth came down to meet hers as a hand tangled in her hair, the other clenching her against him at the waist.
Nani heard herself moan as she sank into him, her chest tight to his. She was dizzy as the high walls of the canyon engulfed her, Luca’s scent enveloped her, and his touch awakened her. His mouth spoke promises of all he’d make her feel, and hinted at all she made him feel, too.
Nani almost dropped the laptop, the mission forgotten in the heady kiss, the overwhelming, uncontrollable connection. But she didn’t, she clutched it tighter, using the hard edges of the machine to ground herself in reality, to pull herself back from the precipice.
Nani stumbled back, almost falling as she pulled away.
“I’m sorry.” Luca stepped back, running a hand through his short hair. “I swear I didn’t mean to do that.”
“We can’t.”
He stared at her. “But you want to?” His voice was hoarse. “Because I want you. Too much.”
Nani’s throat convulsed—she wanted to scream yes please, right now! but her past kept her from answering.
“Chow time!” Biscuit yelled, from the mess tent.
Luca didn’t take his eyes off her, and Nani felt his gaze like a caress.
“We can’t.” Nani forced herself to turn away—the glow of electric lanterns and the silhouettes of men moving drew her away from Luca.
She wasn’t here to fall for some big, delicious, maddening brute of a soldier. She was here to save the freaking world.
Nani managed to walk a straight line to the mess tent, the laptop clutched to her chest. But with each step her body begged to return to him.
Chapter Eight
Luca
Luca stood with his arms crossed, Peaches at his feet, listening to Freckles’s report. D. Love and Tug stood behind him, scowling. All three men were suited up in flak jackets, armed and bristling with frustration after a recon to the compound, where they had verified the content of the satellite photos.
Luca kept his eyes off the doc. The kiss they’d shared last night had kept him awake—the thoughts in his mind leading to a raging need for confession. The way her long hair cascaded down her back, that white tank top tight against her small, pointy, spectacular breasts, the way her smell wafted up to him as she leaned over her computer pointing out details on the satellite imagery, the moan she made when he kissed her, the way they fit together—all of it was etched in his mind, tattooed on his body. Shit, he’d never met a woman who smelled or tasted that good before in his life.
Maybe it was his grief over Nando, but something very strange was happening to Luca. He didn’t just want pleasure and escape with Nani...he wanted a deeper connection. Luca wasn’t even sure what that meant, but it was scary as hell. It wasn’t just his body; his mind was desperate for her too.
“Only women and children are left in the compound,” Freckles answered, pulling Luca’s attention back into the room, back to the mission. No one liked dealing with a compound full of women and children—too many chances for civilians to get hurt.
“Okay, let’s roll up to the front gate then,” Nani suggested. Jaguar stiffened, but she continued. “I think our best course of action is to try and get the people who are left behind to talk, to trust us. If they’ve abandoned sick women and children, the remainder could be bitter and willing to help us figure out where the leadership went.”
Jaguar nodded. “Worth a try.”
Those who weren’t suited up did so. Nani looked good in combat gear. The bulky vest hid her small waist, but the cargo pants were way too tight, making Luca’s imagination run wild.
They piled into the Humvee. It was a tight squeeze but better than trying to take the supply truck. Peaches was crammed at Luca’s feet in the back seat. If they were going on a mission to make friends, then Peaches was an excellent ally, and if it turned into a fight, she could help then, too.
They drove through a landscape dominated by gentle rolling hills spotted with scrubby trees. The sky was the same bright blue it was most days in Texas in August, but bruise-colored clouds swirled at the horizon and lightning flashed in the dark recesses of the storm. If it blew their way, dumping rain on this parched landscape, it would flood fast—another danger to keep an eye on.
The Great Nation America compound sat on the top of a swell in the landscape. Surrounded by high cement walls with turrets on each corner, it was reminiscent of a prison. The gray cement walls were coated in dust so that it matched the landscape’s yellow-gold coloring.
Tension filled the vehicle as they approached the compound. These men were not u
sed to rolling up to the front gate and introducing themselves. In all the missions that Jaguar and Luca had completed together, not once had they just sauntered up to the front door and said hello. But this mission wasn’t like any other mission.
It was more important and more nuanced.
They did need the survivors to tell them where their leaders had gone. The idea that those left behind would share any information with a group of armed soldiers wearing body armor struck Luca as unlikely, but he was willing to give it a go. Even though Luca preferred more aggressive forms of persuasion.
Jaguar stopped the vehicle about a quarter-mile from the entrance. They were in full view of anyone in those turrets. Looking through binoculars, Jaguar scanned the walls. “There’s one guy in the guardhouse at the front gate. Nobody manning the look-out posts.”
“I’m telling you,” Tug warned, “not many people are in there. Most of them are sick and the rest are kids.”
“Freckles, D. Love. You two get out. Hang back. Come up on foot if we need backup.”
The doc was in the front seat, pressed between Freckles and D. Love. She had to get out when they did. Then she climbed back into the front. Just she and Jaguar were up there now. She kept glancing over at the commander, almost as if she liked what she saw. She’d liked his tattoos last night too, and hardly glanced at Luca but when he kissed her something happened, something electric, almost spiritual.
Luca swallowed, suppressing a stab of jealousy.
Women are danger
Taking all of your control
Summer storms brew close
Jaguar handed the binoculars over to Dr. Distraction. She looked through them, her hands steady. At least she had faith in her own plan. Luca respected a leader with self-confidence.
The wall surrounding the compound was more than ten feet high and pockmarked with wear and tear. The sun and rain of the Texas plains were not friendly to building materials. But with no other settlements for miles in any direction, this was the perfect location for all kinds of crazy to happen.
They rolled up to the high metal gate. A single figure stood in the guard booth. He stepped out, leveled an AK-47 at the Humvee, and fired. Rounds slammed into the front of the vehicle, pinging off the bulletproof metal.
Jaguar threw the Humvee into reverse and backed up, but the kid kept firing, blasting into the ground, the air, only hitting the vehicle occasionally as he used up his ammo.
“Well, shit,” Tug spat out.
“Is that a kid?” Biscuit leaned forward and peered around Nani’s head.
She was still staring through the binoculars, her full lips pinched. “Teen.”
When the gun was empty they approached until they were about twenty feet from the kid. The boy was skinny and tall, like he’d just had a growth spurt. His lanky physique reminded Luca of his brothers. They’d all done that—gone from short pudgy boys one day to gangly young men the next. Nando and Dolf transformed the same week, but Dolf had shot up first while Nando had stayed a chubby little boy longer. Luca’s heart clenched as he watched the boy eject his magazine.
What had happened to this kid that made him think it was okay to fire on his own nation’s army? What twisted worldview made him try to kill, no questions asked?
“I got this.” Luca’s voice was calm. Jaguar nodded.
He opened his door. Peaches tried to jump out. “Stay,” he commanded her.
“What are you doing?” The doc twisted in her seat, eyes wide.
The kid pulled out a new magazine and tried to fit it into the rifle. Luca didn’t have time to answer. He sprinted toward the teen.
The boy had height but was young and an armed behemoth running full speed froze him in place with his mouth ajar.
Luca didn’t feel a thing. No pain from his leg, no doubts—he was pure action. It was a welcome numbness after his restless night, trying to get the image of the doc out of his head. He needed this: this empty-minded, action-driven life. He did not need or want the distraction of Dr. Too Damn Sexy.
Luca barreled into the kid and they rolled together, the AK-47 sandwiched between them.
They came to a stop with Luca on top, his considerable weight crushing the teen. But the kid was scrappy, struggling with all of his strength. Luca ripped the AK from the boy’s grip and hurled it behind him, then struck the kid once on the jaw, just to get him to settle down. The teen’s head whipped to the side, blood spilling from his lip. But he came right back, his eyes bright and wild.
Luca stood up and hauled the boy to his feet, wrenching his skinny arms behind his back. The kid cried out. “Son of a bitch!” His voice cracked. “God will strike you down.”
Jaguar handed Luca a zip tie and he bound the boy’s wrists, forcing him flat on the ground again. The kid kept yelling. “You dirty mongrels! You’re all going to die. You’re all dead.” Dust clung to his sweaty face and the blood on his chin, but he spat toward their boots.
Luca put his knee into the kid’s lower back. “Shut up.”
But the teen kept going like a true radical. “You’re going to hell!”
The team got out of the truck, forming an intimidating semicircle around Luca and the boy. Tug, Biscuit and Big Nate aimed their weapons at the turrets above while Dr. Kagawa and Jaguar stood conferring, their heads close together.
Luca patted the kid down and found a set of keys. “Guess we can let ourselves in.” He held up the keys.
The doc walked over. “We need to make these people trust us. Beating the crap out of someone’s kid is not a great first step. Letting ourselves in without an invitation won’t exactly endear us to them, either.” Nani’s eyes glittered under her helmet and her lush mouth was set into a straight line. God, she looked like she wanted to kick his ass, and it was hot. Way too hot.
Luca forced a laugh. “He fired on us! I don’t think we’re going to get an engraved invitation based on the AK-47 welcome committee.” He stood up as Tug took charge of the kid. Nani approached until they were only a few feet apart, and Luca’s nostrils flared.
“Clearly, you’re not great at making friends. But we are trying to gain trust.” Nani looked at the boy, eyes softening. “Poor kid’s just doing what he’s been taught.”
What the hell? “This is a military operation, Doctor Dangerous. We have protocols for an armed attack.”
“What did you call me?” Her voice was so quiet and low that it sent a chill up Luca’s spine. He didn’t answer, and she went on. “He’s just a scared kid.”
“I’m not scared. I’m the hand of God. You’re impure, a mixed breed mutt, and you will die for your sins!” the kid railed.
“Doesn’t sound scared to me.”
“You don’t get to decide this.” Nani got closer and he caught her subtle scent. Oh shit. “You’re not running this mission, Luciano.” Her voice was silky, slithering inside him, making him want to obey. “We’ve got to infiltrate this base and get them to tell us where their leadership went—so we can stop this disease that is ravaging our nation. I thought you agreed with that plan.”
“They are not going to talk to us voluntarily. It’s just a bunch of women and children in there: the sick, dying and the useless. We shouldn’t risk any of our men getting shot so that you can have your fantasy about a deep conversation with the dregs the terrorists left behind.”
The doc’s cheeks flushed. Good. She should be having a reaction. He certainly was.
She stepped up and gave him a chest poke. “The dregs. That’s what you think of women and children? A woman birthed you, you big lug. Women are powerful, and can be plenty dangerous.”
“They can also be sneaky as hell. I know to watch my back around women. I just don’t want to kill any of them.”
“That’s enough,” Jaguar broke in. They both turned to Balam, his eyes hidden by sunglasses. “Okay boys and girls, play nice. We’re gonna try this the doc’s way. We need info, and she’s proved that she knows how to sweet talk.”
Jaguar brushed past
them and knocked on the metal gate. Luca was still standing too close to Dr. Delicious. Her nearness made his body flush hotter than the recent takedown.
How could Jaguar agree with her?
The man was levelheaded and Luca trusted him with his life, and he agreed with the doc? Luca glanced at the kid on the ground who was still yelling about his and God’s intimate relationship. There was no way anyone related to this kid was just gonna open that door and let them in, no matter how sweet Nani talked...or smelled or tasted.
The creaking of the hinges snapped his head around.
Luca raised his weapon.
“Wait,” Nani barked at him. “We just want to talk!” She moved toward the opening. Luca gripped his rifle hard to avoid grabbing Nani and throwing her behind him for her own protection. “We’re from the US government. We need your help, and we can offer assistance in return. We have a doctor with us, and it appears you’ve got sick people inside.”
The door opened further revealing a young woman wearing an ankle-length stained white dress with long sleeves and a high collar. Her blonde hair was in pigtails and her pregnant belly distended the dress.
Great. Just great.
Nani stepped forward, her hands up. “We just want to talk.”
Dr. Dangerous was going to get them all killed.
Chapter Nine
Haunani
Nani approached the pregnant woman, hands held aloft at chest height. “My name is Dr. Kagawa, and I’m here with a medic to see if anyone needs assistance.”
“That’s not what you’re here for, black bitch,” the woman spat. “With your Humvee and your soldiers.”
Nani bristled inwardly at the insult but continued. “We’re here under direction of the US government. Do you need help?”
“We don’t need shit from the likes of you.”
Luciano loomed at Nani’s elbow like a protective dragon. “We can still do this the hard way,” he stared the woman down.
