Cord SEAL Team Seven (Book 5)

by Jordan Silver

We’ve also had to deal with the women and their meddling. Something happened at Law’s that had unleashed their annoyance gene and only seemed to get worst since our return from Lyon’s. Where before it was easy to just tell them to stay put and they’d listen, or at least pretend to, now they weren’t so easy to placate. There’ve even been instances of outright mutiny. Which is no small cause for concern.

  I know my little hellcat is the worse of the bunch, she questions everything, wants to know all. Since I started taming her I’ve broken her out of most of that shit though. She knows to be my woman, there’s only one-way, mine. And though she had a hard time of it in the beginning, she’s been coming along just fine thank fuck. My dick couldn’t survive much longer if I had to wait for her to toe the line.

  I heard Tyler throwing around ideas as to who Mancini could be. The man himself had not been too forthcoming in that one meeting we had, but we knew enough to know that he was well trained and very well connected. “Maybe he’s a mobster, he did say he was Mallory’s cousin.”

  “I doubt it, he might have those connections as well, but that guy is deep under. Whoever he works for has him well insulated. I thought we were ghost, this fucker is a phantom.” The admiration in Logan’s voice was evident, and that was a hard thing to come by.

  If this guy is half of what we suspect, then we’d really stepped in it now. We’d made some inquiries on the down low after deciding that it might be best to keep our association with him in the dark for now. The very essence of the way he’d presented himself told us that the man wanted to remain hidden. But we hadn’t come up with shit.

  Meanwhile he’d only added salt to an already festering wound with his assumptions, which seemed more like fact coming from him. The discovery that some of our nation’s most trusted denizens were behind this shit didn’t sit well with men who’d put their lives on the line to serve and protect.

  It wouldn’t be so damn frustrating if we could get a bead on exactly what it was we were dealing with, but there seemed to be more than one fire burning out of control at once and the shit all seemed to be geared at us.

  It was anybody’s guess what else was gonna fall into our laps next. The thought pissed me the fuck off. This wasn’t supposed to happen, we had put it all behind us or so we thought. This was supposed to be our golden escape after putting in the time.

  When we first settled here we thought ‘this is it’. Finally a little piece of heaven! A place where we could relax and put all the bullshit behind us. The CO had gone above and beyond in his generosity when he left us everything. Which brings me to another thought, why did he leave us everything if he had the slightest suspicion that Susie and Davey might be his, unless he didn’t know? And how the fuck does that work?

  If they were twins that could be doable I guess, but they’re at least three years apart. How could the man I knew and loved be so thick that he didn’t know they were his? There was a story there that we were yet to uncover, but we had to put it on hold for now while we dealt with the more pressing horror of child trafficking and whatever else these fucks had up their sleeves. Not to mention watching our six and keeping our growing family safe.

  In the beginning we’d thought we were merely dealing with drugs. That was a danger in itself; right here in our own backyard in the town of about three thousand. But after the shit we’d dealt with drugs were a minor nuisance. Then in the last few weeks with the help of our new friends, we’d uncovered something much worse.

  Now it seemed we were all very intimately involved in something we had not been anticipating. I guess it was wishful thinking on our part to believe that we could get away clean.

  This shit would’ve been dealt with in a whole different way if not for the fact that we had the women. It didn’t help that so far these fuckers had only gone after them and not us. So far Susie had been spared any direct contact and it better stay that way or all bets are off. The fact that she’s in that book for whatever reason was already a death sentence for who the fuck ever was in charge.

  I was keeping my cool as best I could while we waited for all the information we needed before making a move, but in the last few weeks that shit has been getting harder and harder. I didn’t much like feeling like I had a target on my back, or having to stay close to home just to keep things safe.

  Our whole lives have been impacted and for the first time since I made it out of the hell I’d escaped as a kid, someone else was pulling the strings. It wasn’t the same as when I was in the service, there you expect to take orders, but I’m fucked if I’m gonna play this game on my own fucking time.

  We’d made strides to clean shit up on our return from Law’s place. Stockton’s operation had been dismantled, and his men dispersed. But we knew it didn’t end there because there were some major players involved and it went much deeper than we’d thought. It was because of that that our hands were tied in a sense. We have to tread carefully if we want to destroy the network completely, which is no easy feat. And it would help if we knew what the fuck we were dealing with.

  Now this Mancini guy had hinted at something even more disturbing in the works and I was inclined to agree. When it comes to the Fox, I won’t put anything past that fuck. But the fact that he seemed to know so much about our lives here, didn’t sit too well with me. I mean how did he even know that Susie existed when we hadn’t? The commander had never mentioned her or her brother. And the question remained, why her?

  I was at the point where I was ready to go on a rampage to get some answers. Seeing her name in that fucking book had killed any give I had in me. Pretty soon the streets are gonna be littered with bodies if something doesn’t give. The strain was getting to me and I can only imagine what it must be doing to her having to curtail her daily life.

  I imagine the others were at their breaking point as well, I know I was. Not only because the shit was like the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads, but also because it was keeping me from her.

  ***

  My mind went back to that first meet, the first time I ever laid eyes on her. The day my world changed and some of the grey edges drifted away to let in the light. After years of knowing that my life was destined to be a lonely one, in one moment she’d given me a glimpse into what could be and the beast had popped his leash.

  I didn’t know that it would happen like this, wasn’t even sure that it would ever happen. And then one look, that’s all it took as banal as that sounds. But she came through the gate looking for her little brother, a mere nuisance I thought at first. We didn’t have time for this shit. Things were heating up around here and my brothers and I, were hip deep in some fuck that we still had no answers to. We were swinging in the wind, a feeling that has never sat well with me. I like to be in control, have to be in control.

  So when the young girl had flown through the gate like an avenging angel I wasn’t in the mood. But then she opened that mouth of hers and turned those eyes, spitting fire on me, and the bottom dropped out. I knew in that split second when I turned to her and her breath caught and she stumbled just a little, that I was going to take her on a journey. One that I always thought I’d walk alone.

  I saw it in her then too before she pulled herself together; saw that flash of interest before she went back to spitting fire at me. I wonder if she knew that I could see right through her? If she knew that she had given so much away in that one unguarded moment?

  She was the first woman to stop me in my tracks. As far as I was concerned, up until then, pussy was pussy, some better than others, but nothing to lose my head over. Then I took her in from head to toe and felt it.

  I didn’t give anything away as I studied her. But after that little telltale sign from her, I was hooked. I held my silence for a hot minute, just taking her in, taking it all in. I wanted to remember everything about the moment my life changed. As Tyler would say, that was bitch made moment number one.

  After the ringing in my ears had calmed down, and the haze had cleared from my sight, the
need to separate her from the herd, to keep her scent away from the others had been strong. It was the first time in my life I’d reacted that way to a woman, and I was sure it would be the last.

  I wasn’t sure if it was love at first sight, I know fuck all about that shit. But I knew there was very strong interest and attraction on my part. For me, at the time, that was more than enough. Only time will tell if she could hold my interest, if she could fit into that slot that I had pushed way back in the recesses of my mind when I’d given up on such things ever happening for me.

  I walked into her space, moving her back and away from the men. Brothers or not the situation could become dangerous. It was my first show of ownership, of my intent. My brothers would understand what that gesture meant. I felt the shift in their moods behind me but didn’t turn around. They knew better than to approach.

  “You need to calm down.” I crowded her as my brothers watched from afar. I took in the differences in our statures acutely, which only seemed to feed the flames of my awakening lust. She was so small, so vulnerable, though she didn’t know it. Everything about her made the blood sing in my veins.

  I folded my fists to keep myself from reaching out for her. Not yet. She’d probably run screaming if I put hands on her. But even then I promised myself that it won’t be long before I filled that need to test the softness of her skin. I ate her up with my eyes, recording everything about her to take out later when I was in my bed alone.

  “What are you staring at?” She flung the words in my face in her mini rage. I saw her over my knee, her ass bared, my hands raised for a spanking, before a good hard fuck. The vision was so real I could almost feel the heat of her flesh beneath my hand. Once again, I reined it in.

  I knew, somehow I knew that she was going to be so much more than something to play with. I felt it in my gut and the flaring of her nostrils, the reddening cheeks and flustered breathing told me she felt it too.

  I held my hand up for silence when one of my brothers started to speak; this was mine to do. “Where’s my brother?” Her voice had lost some of its heat, now there was a heat of a different kind flowing between us. I spoke to her in soft calming tones. The way you would a wild thing you planned to tame, until she settled down.

  “He’s in no danger here but you are.” Her eyes flew open wide as she stared up at me. “What do you mean?” Yeah, the slight tremble in her voice was a dead giveaway. I kept my eyes trained on the pulse in her throat before moving them to her lips. Innocence; lucky for her it came off her in waves. It also meant that I had my work cut out for me. All that innocence hiding beneath that fire meant she was going to fight me every step of the way, even as I make her burn.

  The wait might kill me, especially if she kept mouthing off at me like this. But little girl lost had no idea what she’d just walked into. “Come.” I held my hand out to her and waited until she came willingly without question. The journey had just begun.

  ***

  That night I kept her close, getting her scent and getting her use to mine. I saw the looks from my brothers and could easily read behind their questioning stares. They wouldn’t have missed my proprietary actions, the way I kept all of them from getting too close to her.

  I was more interested in the way she seemed to instinctively stay next to me. As if she too had felt the current in the air, that invisible force that was already pulling us towards each other.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing brother, she’s young.”

  “Leave it Con.” I wanted to tell him then and there that she was mine and to back the fuck off. But my control kicked in and I held myself in check. Only I knew what I felt and what that feeling meant. Only I understood what the fact that she made my dick stay hard the whole time she was anywhere near meant, or the fact that for the first time in my life someone made me want.

  I pushed the memories aside as we headed out into the night. Though we’d taken care of Stockton, there was still whoever had been working with him on the local base. The tunnel we’d found that ran from his place to the water was too sophisticated for them to just put it out of commission. And since we had no idea when they would strike next, we had to patrol every night in the hopes of catching them in the act.

  The two old guys who had been the first to sound the alarm months ago assured us that things had been quiet when we were gone, even though we’d told them to stay out of it. Apparently they’d spread the word that we weren’t the gang of cutthroats the town had believed us to be when we first moved here, because there was a warmer reception whenever my brothers and I went into town these days. That could also have something to do with the fact that we’d settled down with four of their women.

  The night was still with a slight chill as we made our way to the water’s edge. There was a smattering of stars in the night sky that made me wish for something as simple as a walk on the boardwalk with my girl. That’s what we were fighting for wasn’t it, a future void of all the bullshit?

  “I think these humps got the message. I don’t see them using this place now since they know we know about it. Not unless they’re beyond fuck stupid.”

  “I don’t know Dev, this operation is too put together for them to give it up that easily. They might move down the beach some but I think that tunnel is there for a reason. That shit took time and planning. Whatever they’re up to, I think they might still need it.”

  “We’ve checked the tapes and there haven’t been any movement down here in a while Cord. I’m thinking those boys came up with another plan.” We should be so fucking lucky.

  I could hear the same exasperation I felt coming through loud and clear in my brother’s voice. But we both knew that’s not how Lo works. That fucker is like a dog with a bone. Until we know for sure that this place is no longer in use, he’s gonna keep coming back here.

  Ty and Zak wanted to dynamite the tunnel but it was decided to leave it alone for now to avoid another headache. If they moved the operation from here, where would they take it? And how the fuck would we keep an eye on things? It was a catch twenty-two.

  So every night give or take we make the rounds, hang around for a little bit, and look for signs of any activity. So far we haven’t had any since the night we grabbed the two assholes, but that didn’t mean anything. And now with the rumor that The Fox might be coming here, we had to be even more vigilant.

  We spent a couple hours down there, resetting traps and making sure the little toys we’d left behind were still there and still in working order, before heading back to the compound and our women. I didn’t like leaving her alone for too long at night, even with all the security we had on the place, and I knew my brothers felt the same.

  I didn’t breathe easy until I climbed into bed with her and pulled her over into my arms with her head on my chest. Time to count fucking sheep again.

  CHAPTER 4

  SUSIE

  ***

  These women are going to get me in trouble; again. I peeped through the curtains and looked out across the way to the big house, where the men have been disappearing for the past couple days since we came back from our little holiday trip. “Hurry up Gaby, you know my brother is Cord’s little spy and he’s not over there with them, he could show up any second.”

  “No worries Susie Q almost done. So Kat you haven’t found anything yet?” Now they’ve gone and involved that poor woman in their craziness, like the five of us weren’t enough. I hope she knows what she’s doing. That Colton guy does not look like he’s playing around, and I’m pretty sure like Cord, he’d told her to stay away from this mess. Of course my new sisters didn’t understand the word no, and were hell bent on getting my ass beat and poor Kat strangled.

  Cord is gonna have my ass if he finds out that we’re trying to figure this thing out after telling me implicitly to ‘keep my little ass out of it’. Ha, he thinks because he’s hot and has turned my own body against me that I lost all my faculties. Though I wouldn’t dare risk his wrath, I knew just how far to
go without tripping over the limit. Unlike some people I know.

  It never fails. To look at them you wouldn’t guess the shit they can get up to. I thought I was strong-headed, thought for sure I would leave these women in the shade. What with the way they all seemed to toe the line whenever their men laid down the law. Boy was I ever wrong. They put new meaning in the saying ‘when the cat’s away the mice will play’.

  Gaby as usual was leading the pack, though I sometimes get the feeling Nessa is just humoring her. She usually reins her in when she goes too far on one of her escapades. I know one thing, as bad as they think they are, the threat of their men finding out what they’re up to can bring them to a full stop like nobody’s business.

  I glared across the room at the four of them and rolled my eyes. They think they have it hard; they have no idea. What, Connor growls at Danielle, Logan roars at Gabriella, Zak gives Vanessa smoldering glares that promise retribution, and Tyler the big softie cajoles Victoria-Lyn when they misbehave. Me, I get my ass spanked and half the time I’m the innocent one, just following behind them and their hair brained schemes.

  But does Cord see it that way? Hell no, according to him as long as he tells me not to do something that should be enough. He has no idea of the pressure I’m under to be a part of whatever it is they’re building here, to fit in. How out of my element I am. So I go along most of the time so as not to be the odd man out, and ninety-five percent of the time my ass pays the price. As far as he’s concerned, as long as Cord says it, it shall be so; he’s so bossy.

  I guess I shouldn’t complain because boy have I been reaping the benefits of that bossiness. All he has to do is give me that look and my whole body goes on alert. I never knew the prospect of a spanking could be so…invigorating. I think sometimes I do things just to get a rise out of him. Heaven help me if he ever figures that one out. The man can be a beast.

  Which brings me back to this bunch and their penchant for getting my ass in trouble whether I want to be a part of it or not. They too have a creed of their own. Since our men are practically joined at the hip, we’re supposed to follow suit I guess. And most often than not, Gaby is our fearless leader.