“This was fun,” she says after nearly two hours. “Really fun. But I should get going.”
“You got Sunday school in the morning?” I ask her.
She looks away with a shy smile. “No. Just work.”
“I’ll walk you out.”
When we get to the door, I open it and put my hand on the small of her back. She glances at me as she walks through.
When we get to her old Toyota, she stops next to the door and looks up at me.
“I guess since you’re drifting, this is goodbye,” she says.
“It doesn’t have to be.”
I put my hand on her cheek and stroke my thumb over her cheekbone. Her long lashes flutter as she looks up at me. She really is more beautiful than she realizes.
I’m about to go in for a kiss when she takes two handfuls of my shirt and stands up on her tiptoes, pressing her soft lips to mine.
Fuck me. No woman has ever kissed me first, and there’s something about Sarina doing it that sets me on fire for her.
I reach around to her ass and cup it, pulling her body against mine. My tongue meets hers in a hard kiss as I slide my other hand from her cheek around to the back of her neck.
She moans softly and I press her against the side of her car. I kiss her mouth until she pulls away for air, and then graze my lips over her jaw line and down to her neck.
“Ford,” she says in a breathy whisper. “Ohh my gosh. I like that.”
I hum with amusement, because it’s my erection grinding against her that she’s enjoying so much. And this is just the beginning. Once we get our clothes off, I’ll show her what I can really do with it.
“Can I follow you to your place?” I ask in a low tone.
She pulls back and looks up at me. “Um…I don’t know. I mean, I’d like to, but…I’m not really that kind of girl.”
“Woman,” I say with a wink. “You’re twenty-seven years old.”
She smiles at my reference to her earlier comment.
“Right. Woman. But I’m kind of an introverted one. Is there any way I could give you my number and we could go out again? You know, before…?”
I rest my forehead against hers. “I wish. I’d do that if I could, Sarina.”
“You’re leaving town tonight? You can’t stay a couple more days?”
I brush a soft kiss over her lips and meet her eyes. “I’d stay a couple more days if I could, but I’ve…got somewhere to be.”
“Oh.”
“This is literally the only night I can spend with you for a very long time,” I say, going back to her neck and kissing her the way that made her moan before.
“You’re sure?”
I don’t want to do it, but I’m going to have to be honest to seal this deal. “I’m sure. As soon as I laid eyes on you, I hoped you might like me as much as I liked you, because…I’m going to prison tomorrow for a five- to seven-year sentence.”
She pushes away from me, taken aback. “Prison? You’re going to prison? For what?”
I shrug. “Something I’m not sorry for. I punched a guy who was trying to steal a woman’s purse.”
She furrows her brow skeptically. “And that got you five years in prison?”
“It wasn’t my first offense. I was already on probation.”
She takes a deep breath in and out. “I can’t sleep with a felon. You could be a murderer for all I know.”
I smile. “If I was a murderer, I wouldn’t have been honest about the prison thing. I’d never put my hands on a woman unless she wanted me to.”
Sarina eyes me warily. “I guess that’s true.”
“I’ve got what you need, Sarina. I’m a man looking to give you a night of passion that I can fantasize about for the next five years or so.”
“I never do anything impulsive.” She bites her lip and I can tell she’s considering.
“Here’s your chance.”
“You are really attractive.”
I laugh at that. “And you’re incredibly beautiful. I promise to make you feel better than any man ever has.”
The tip of her tongue darts out to moisten her lips. “Could we…get a motel room? I’d feel more comfortable with that than my place.”
“Absolutely.”
“Okay, then,” she says softly.
“Okay? Yeah?”
“I think…yeah, I think so.”
She smiles up at me, the gold in her eyes visible in the moonlight.
It’s in the bag. I can be inside her within an hour. But I can feel her indecision, and it’s bothering me in a way I’ve never felt bothered before.
I really do want to fuck her senseless for several hours before I lose access to women for a very long time starting tomorrow. But something tells me that if I take advantage of this shy, sweet woman, I’m going to spend my time behind bars feeling guilty about it.
Fuck.
“Sarina,” I say, kissing her on the forehead. “I want to. More than you know. But you’re too good for a guy like me.”
She looks up at me in confusion. I take her hand and raise it to my lips, kissing the back of it.
“Goodnight,” I say.
Then I walk over to my car, get inside and drive away, not looking back. I’m probably going to regret this attack of conscience later, but it was the right thing to do.
Guess I’ll be getting a decent night of sleep before I sign myself in to Big River Correctional Center tomorrow. After I jerk off to thoughts of what I could be doing to Sarina, that is.
Chapter 3
Six Months Later - Ford
The chains connecting the cuffs on my ankles rattle as I walk through the doorway to the prison’s intake area.
“You’re being transferred?” a guard says from his position leaning against a concrete block wall. “The fuck’s that about? You’re one of my favorites.”
He winks and I force myself not to respond. Jerry Hale is a Grade A asshole, as are many of the other guards here. My refusal to bend to Hale’s demands for bribes led to a few beatings I’ll one day get revenge for.
A guard wearing the uniform of another prison approaches us with a scowl.
“Can you ladies hurry the fuck up? We’ve got work to do.”
The Big River guards are momentarily stunned at being spoken to that way.
“Who died and made him king?” Hale grumbles.
“How long?” the guard demands.
“Uh…paperwork’s all done,” the guard at the intake window says. “We just need to uncuff him.”
The guard who walked me out reaches for the keys on a ring at his waist. Hale just stares as my wrist and ankle cuffs are removed.
“Hope we see you again someday, pretty boy,” Hale says to me.
I meet his eyes in challenge. “Oh, you will. But it won’t be here.”
“You threatenin’ me?” Hale steps closer.
“Get back to the wall, you fat fucker,” the guard from the new prison says, taking me by the arm.
“Aren’t you gonna cuff him?” the guard at the window asks.
“I’ll do it when we get out to the vehicle.” He gestures at the guard. “Personal belongings?”
A manila envelope is passed through the window and we walk in silence out the prison’s front doors.
Once we’re sitting across from each other in the white, marked van with tinted windows, I glare at the guard, who takes off his baseball hat with a prison insignia and tosses it onto the seat next to him.
“I want an investigation opened into that asshole, Matt,” I say. “His name’s Jerry Hale.”
Matt glares back. “Ford, you know I can’t do that. You were working undercover in there and we can’t have any attention drawn to you.”
“Figure out how to get it done. I’m not giving up the intel unless you tell me he’ll be investigated. A real investigation, not some phony bullshit.”
“Come on.”
I shake my head. “I’m dead serious. I saw him break an inmate’s wrist.”
“Did the inmate file a report?”
I scoff. “Yeah, right. He told the nurse he fell down the stairs.”
Matt sighs heavily. “We need this intel badly, Ford.”
“Say the words, then.”
There’s a moment of silence as we stare each other down.
“All right,” he says warily. “I’ll get it done. A DOJ investigation. Are you satisfied with that?”
I nod. “Carner had that witness killed. He’s buried in the woods somewhere.”
“Fuck.” Matt punches the seat next to him in disgust.
“There’s more.”
He arches his brows hopefully.
“There’s a guy who comes to visit Carner every Tuesday. Tall guy with dark hair and a cross tattooed on his left forearm. Carner calls him Lucky. He’s the go-between for Carner and the guy who’s running things in his absence. They call that guy Tolino.”
Matt’s scrawling in a notebook. “Tolino?”
“Put a tail on this Lucky guy next Tuesday, because he reports to Tolino as soon as he leaves Carner.”
“I don’t think we’ve tailed him yet. Carner gets lots of visitors.”
“That’s why, man. He knows you guys can’t tail all of ‘em. He just talks baseball with most of the guys who visit him.”
“Did you get anything on the diamond he stole? Where it’s at now, I mean?”
“I’ve got a pretty good idea on that. It’ll all be in my report.”
Matt’s shoulders sink with relief. He hands me a small bag.
“Your phone’s in there, I charged it for you. And your wallet and keys, too.”
“Thanks.”
“Thanks for going in there, Ford. I know it was a long haul. No one else has been able to crack Carner.”
I shrug. “I was his cellmate. That helped.”
“Yeah, but still…the work you did will save lives.”
“Fringe benefit,” I say dismissively. “I took the job for the money.”
“Your payment has been deposited into your account.”
“Thanks.”
He gives me a skeptical look. “I hope the bad guys don’t offer you more money than the government can, because we really don’t want your skillset on their side of the fence.”
I shake my head as I turn my phone on. “I was a SEAL, Matt. You know I’ve got integrity. I was just saying I wouldn’t live in a hellhole like Big River unless it paid well.”
“Pays more than I make in five years,” he cracks.
“And it should. The place is bad enough, but when you can’t draw attention to yourself by fighting back, it’s a hell of a lot worse.”
“Did you get…you know…?” Matt looks at me with open curiosity.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Hell no. I wouldn’t put up with ass rape for any amount of money. Being on Carner’s good side kept most of the guys from even speaking to me.”
“Are you ready for another job? Or do you need a break?”
I scroll through emails on my phone. “I need to meet up with a friend, but I’ll be ready in a day or two.”
“Good. We’ve got someone in need of full-time security. A scientist who’s being watched by a terrorist organization.”
“Okay.”
“The file will be uploaded by the end of day.” He reaches into his messenger bag. “And I got you a room at a hotel nearby so you can clean up. Stay until you’re ready to start the job. I have a couple guys doing a part-time security detail on the scientist now.”
A few minutes later, the driver of the van pulls up to a hotel and I look over at Matt. “I’ll upload my report by the end of the day.”
He nods. “Alright, man. Good work. You’ve become our go-to guy for black ops.”
“I’ll be in touch.” I get out of the van and sling my bag over my shoulder.
When I get to my room, the first thing I do is log on to my bank account on my phone. The money’s all there, just as Matt said it would be.
I then log on to my email and see that even after being out of the loop for six months, I only have a handful of messages from former SEAL buddies. The social schedule of a loner is pretty damn easy to manage, I think with a wry smile.
My fingers are slow moving over the touch keypad on my phone after not using one for so long. It takes me a few extra seconds to type out a message to the one and only person I plan to see before starting my next mission.
Hey man. Free for a beer tonight?
The response comes just a few seconds later.
Wolf: Of course. Text me a time and place and I’ll be there.
I feel a sense of relief. Even though Wolf’s been one of few constants in my life since my dad died in the line of duty almost fifteen years ago, it’s always good to be reminded his support is unconditional. My dad’s SEAL buddies were like family to him, and being close to Wolf keeps him with me in a way.
I write back.
Renting a car to come to you. I’ll text when I get into town this afternoon.
Setting the phone on the bed, I head for the bathroom, needing to get out of the orange jumpsuit I’m wearing. The guy at the hotel’s front desk didn’t even blink when he saw it—not exactly a ringing endorsement of the place.
But when I step into the hot shower, I’m good, because this is all I want from life at this moment. I just stand there enjoying the decent water pressure for a good ten minutes before I use a bar of soap to wash away the prison grime. It’s nice to be alone here and not have a guard yelling at me to hurry up.
Matt packed my clothes in the bag he brought, and I dress in jeans and a black T-shirt before leaving the hotel to take a cab to a rental car place.
It takes me all day to drive from western Arizona to Riverton, California, where Wolf lives, but after six months of not driving, I don’t even mind. I wish I had my Harley, but it’s parked in my sister’s garage in Des Moines, Iowa. The bike and a few mementos from my military days are my only worldly possessions besides the clothes and toiletries in my bag.
I’ve always lived a simple life, so it doesn’t bother me that I’m technically homeless, other than a cabin I’ve got in rural Iowa. I could afford to buy a place, but since I go from job to job, I really don’t need one. My priority is to keep building up my bank account, which is healthier than I ever thought it would be.
Though I wanted to spend a longer career as a SEAL, I’m now retired from the military at age thirty-one. Leaving was hard in some ways, but easy in the most important way of all.
My younger sister Tanya, my only remaining family member, other than her two boys, got seriously ill two years ago and had no health insurance. She’d been in need of a kidney transplant that seemed impossible as the medical bills piled up. The boys’ father had already split by then.
Off-the-books black ops work had been my chance to help her. SEALs make decent money, but not the hundreds of thousands I needed quick access to.
Tanya’s medical bills are all paid, and now I work to secure a good future for her and my two nephews. Soon, we’ll break ground on a new house for them, and I’ve got college funds going for both boys.
Life’s good, other than the fact that I haven’t gotten laid in nearly seven months. I’d thought of Sarina many times while staring at the dark ceiling of my cell at Big River at night. Imagining her shy smile never failed to make me hard.
I’d texted Wolf to meet me at a bar, and he’s sitting on one side of a booth when I walk in. He stands up and gives me a one-armed hug.
“How was the pen?” he asks with a grin.
I shrug, not surprised he was aware of my latest assignment. Wolf’s got connections, and he always keeps an eye on me.
“I survived,” I say, sliding into the other side of the booth. “How you been, man? How’s Caroline?”
His smile widens. “She’s great. You’ll see her when you come over later to stay the night at our place.”
“Nah, I’ll grab a motel room. Tell her I said hi and that I’
m impressed she’s still putting up with your ass.”
He arches his brows, the grin still in place. “You’re staying with us, kid. And I don’t deny I got the better end of the deal when I married my wife.”
“So what’s new? Have you been doing lots of missions?”
“My team’s been home for about three weeks now.”
“Good.”
“I think we’ll be shipping out in a week or so,” he says.
Our waitress approaches and we both order a beer and a burger.
“What about you?” Wolf asks as the waitress departs. “You gonna go spend some time with your sister and her kids?”
“I’ve got another job to do.”
“Don’t work yourself into the ground, kid. I know the money’s good, but you can’t take it with you.”
“Yeah. I’ll go see Tanya and the boys after this one. Maybe take a trip somewhere on my bike.”
“You miss being part of a team?”
I nod. Wolf’s perceptive by nature, and he’s also known me a long time.
“Sometimes I do, yeah,” I admit. “But I work well on my own, too.”
“I’m sure. But request backup if you need it. Sometimes you need people on your six, you know?”
“Yeah, I do. My next job’s just a security detail for a scientist. I’m guessing it’ll be a cakewalk.”
“Never know,” Wolf says. “Keep your guard up.”
“Always.”
The waitress delivers our beers and we continue catching up. We eat and talk for a couple hours, and then he insists I stay the night at his place before driving back to Arizona in the morning.
I’ve only met Caroline a couple times, but she greets me with a warm hug when Wolf and I walk into their home. When he kisses her, she smiles up at him lovingly. The two of them have the real deal. It’s not something a moody loner like me will ever find, but it’s nice to see two good people so happy together.
“The basement is ready for you,” Caroline says. “Anything else I can get you?”
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”
I leave my bag in the basement, which has the clean smell and look of a female touch. It’s a hell of a lot nicer than the hotel room I cleaned up at. Then I catch up with Caroline, who is easy to talk to. She knows how to put people at ease and she understands my work, being the wife of a SEAL team leader.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Sarina (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 2
