by Anna Blakely
Rescuing Gracelynn (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)
Bravo Series Book 1
Anna Blakely
Contents
Foreword
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Anna Blakely
More Special Forces: Operation Alpha World Books
Books by Susan Stoker
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
© 2019 ACES PRESS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this work may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by law.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy.
Cover by Lori Jackson Design
Content Editing by Trenda London
Copy Editing by Tracy Roelle
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the Special Forces: Operation Alpha Fan-Fiction world!
If you are new to this amazing world, in a nutshell the author wrote a story using one or more of my characters in it. Sometimes that character has a major role in the story, and other times they are only mentioned briefly. This is perfectly legal and allowable because they are going through Aces Press to publish the story.
This book is entirely the work of the author who wrote it. While I might have assisted with brainstorming and other ideas about which of my characters to use, I didn’t have any part in the process or writing or editing the story.
I’m proud and excited that so many authors loved my characters enough that they wanted to write them into their own story. Thank you for supporting them, and me!
READ ON!
Xoxo
Susan Stoker
First and foremost, I have to thank the incredibly generous Susan Stoker for allowing me to write in her Special Forces World. To be able to include her amazing characters in my stories is an opportunity I never dreamed I’d be given. I’ve been a huge fan of Susan’s for years, and like so many of you, I fell in love with her characters the instant I met them. So, thank you, Susan. For creating a world with such incredible characters and stories and for allowing me to be a small part of it.
Next, I want to give a shout out to Caitlyn O’Leary and Riley Edwards. From the beginning, you both had more faith in me than I had in myself. You’ve been such good friends throughout this crazy journey of mine, and if it weren’t for the two of you making me believe I could do this, I never would have written in this amazing world. Thank you both…for everything!
Last, but definitely not least, I’d also like to thank each and every one of you, the readers, who took a chance on me. Of all the books you could have chosen, you picked mine, and I can’t even begin to tell you what that means to me. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you!
About the book
HE NEVER BELIEVED IN TRUE LOVE...UNTIL HE MET HER.
Bravo Team’s technical analyst and confirmed bachelor, Nathan Carter, is happy being single and has no intention of falling under the spell of a woman. Ever. Then, he meets Gracelynn. Before he knows it, the sweet, tenacious woman has Nate questioning his long-standing doubts about love, soul mates, and happily ever after.
Gracie McDaniels is happy with her new life and loves her new job. Working closely with the hunky guys on R.I.S.C.’s Bravo Team, including her future brother-in-law’s best friend, doesn’t seem as if it’ll be an issue…until she meets him.
Nate’s smart, funny, and handsome…everything she’s ever wanted in a partner. But just as they start to grow close, an innocent friendship from Gracie’s past comes back to haunt her. When her life is threatened, Gracie instinctively turns to Nate for protection and soon he and the other members of Bravo step up to keep Gracie safe.
With help from Ghost and his friends, the Delta Force and Bravo teams find themselves racing against the clock to save the only woman Nate has ever loved…before it’s too late.
Prologue
“At the risk of sounding like a cheesy American film, I find myself compelled to say it,” Edric Yavuz, the most powerful man in Turkey, remarked. He looked down at his prisoner and smirked. “This will go much easier on you if you simply tell us where it is.”
Using his one good eye, the tortured man glared back at him from the chair to which he was cuffed. With sweat running down his forehead and drops of blood and saliva spewing from his mouth, he muttered, “Fuck…you.”
The comment should have pissed Edric off. This man had the power to singlehandedly destroy everything he had spent years building. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of respect for the former American soldier.
The poor bastard had taken one hell of a beating by Achim—Edric’s enforcer—in an attempt to retrieve the location of the file Edric knew he’d hidden. A broken nose, several cracked ribs, and two amputated digits later and the man still wasn’t talking.
Moving closer, Edric was careful not to step into the pool of blood slowly growing beneath the metal chair. After all, he couldn’t risk the soon-to-be-dead soldier’s DNA being discovered on his expensive, black Oxfords.
“You are much stronger than I gave you credit for, Mr. Wyatt. I had assumed this”—Edric bent over and tapped his prisoner’s metal, prosthetic leg—“would have weakened you long ago. I was wrong. You have been trained better than I anticipated.”
Struggling to talk through the pain, the man took him off guard with a smile. “That was your first…mistake. You should never…underestimate…the strength of…Americans.”
Edric threw his head back and laughed. “Ah, yes. There’s the arrogance I have come to recognize from the people of your country. Americans always think they are smarter than everyone else and can do better in all things. You actually believe you are better than the rest of us.” He turned and walked across the dark, musty room. “But, you know…” He faced the man again. “Simply thinking something does not make it so.”
The former Navy SEAL glared up at him but remained silent. With all traces of humor gone, Edric inwardly prayed he would get what he wanted before leaving here.
“I do, however, believe you are a smart man. You wouldn’t have survived this long if you were not. Which means you must understand that you will die today. Here, in this small, pitiful room. Tell me.” He took a step closer. “How much longer are you going to put off the inevitable? How much more pain and suffering is your body able to endure?”
His prisoner narrowed his eyes once more. “Why don’t you…save us both…some time and…kill me now.”
Losing some o
f his tightly-reigned control, Edric fisted his hands at his sides and yelled, “Tell me where it is!”
But the other man simply let out a half-laugh, half-cough, spitting the blood from his mouth onto the floor beside him. He smiled at Edric again. “Like I said…before, Yavuz. Fuck. You.”
In that moment, Edric knew this man was never going to give up the file’s location. With an angry nod, he gave the unspoken order to Achim.
Understanding what his boss wanted, Achim pulled out his knife, its blade already stained with the soldier’s blood.
The once-formidable SEAL steeled himself for what was about to come. Rather than beg and cry for his mother as so many other men had, the American actually sat up taller. Straighter. Then, he lifted his chin and looked Edric square in the eye.
This was a man who was ready to die.
Craig Wyatt was willing to give his life to protect the one thing that would destroy Edric if it were ever discovered. Ironically, it was the same type of loyalty and strength Edric, himself, expected from his own men.
The man’s one good eye remained locked with his. Even when Achim shoved all eight inches of the knife’s blade into his gut.
A loud grunting sound escaped from the back of the wounded man’s throat. Blood began to pour out over his swollen and split lips, streams of it stretching down like thin bands of elastic before breaking off and falling onto his lap.
Achim twisted the knife before shoving it upward, the tearing of flesh and muscle a sound Edric had never quite gotten used to.
Yanking the blade free, Achim stabbed the man again. And again.
Edric spoke calmly as the ill-fated soldier began choking on his own blood. “You’re a fool, Mr. Wyatt. I could have made your death quick. Painless. This”—Edric waved his hands across the man’s shriveling form—“was all for nothing.”
He could tell from the bulging artery in the guy’s neck that his pulse was rapidly decreasing as a result of massive internal bleeding.
“Your death will not stop me. I will find that file.” Edric took a step toward the bloody, broken man. “And now, you will die knowing this is nothing compared to what I will do to the person who has it.”
In a weak, almost indiscernible move, the man’s eyes widened, and he shook his head before choking out what sounded a lot like ‘no’. Wyatt’s chin fell to his chest, the muscles in his neck no longer having the strength to keep it up.
Using his final breath, the American whispered something. It was too low for Edric to make out, but Achim was standing much closer, still hovering over his kill.
“What was that?” Edric asked excitedly. “What did he say?” His cold heart pumped harder, certain it was a clue of some sort. A name, perhaps? Something that would lead him to what he desperately needed.
Achim turned to his boss. “I can’t be certain, but it sounded as though he said ‘forgive me’.”
Edric saw red. Pressure throbbed beneath his skull, and his nostrils flared with pure and utter hatred. Turning, he started for the door but stopped before exiting the room.
He smacked the palm of his hand against the frame’s rough and worn wood as a stream of Turkish curses flew from his mouth. He faced Achim once more.
The other man’s eyes had widened slightly, the emotional outburst clearly taking him by surprise. Filled with rage, Edric at looked down at the dead man.
“We are both as good as dead if we do not find that file.” His twisted mind raced. “Did you see his expression when I told him what would happen to the person who has it? And after, he said ‘forgive me’?”
“Yes. So?”
Edric lifted his gaze to Achim’s. “So, someone he cared about has it. A friend or relative he trusted. Someone he did not want to see get hurt.”
Achim scoffed. “That could be any number of people.”
A moment of thought passed before Edric spoke again. “It would be someone he was close to. We need to look into every aspect of his life. Find out who he saw on a regular basis. Everyone he had contact with.”
“That could take me weeks to do alone. Months, even. I’ll need to bring someone else in to help.”
This made Edric nervous. “Another person means more liability. We cannot afford to take that chance.”
Achim glanced down at the dead man, then back to him. “We can’t afford not to. Trust me, Edric. I know a man who will do this for us. For a hefty price of course.”
His employee’s words did nothing to appease Edric’s paranoia. “You’re certain he can be trusted with something of this magnitude?”
“He’s good. Better than good. His reputation for both skill and discretion far exceeds others like him.”
With no other choice, Edric begrudgingly gave Achim a sharp nod. “Fine. I’ll pay whatever it takes as long as this man is swift. I do not have to tell you how imperative it is that this be taken care of as soon as possible.”
“No, you do not.”
More than ready to be away from the stench of blood and death, Edric turned to leave but paused once more to ask, “This man you speak of. He will need to talk to people who knew Craig Wyatt. How do you know he will not stand out and raise suspicion?”
Achim gave him a slow grin. “Because he is American.”
Chapter 1
“So, let me get this straight. You walked away from a sure thing, just because she asked you to spout off some BS line while she sucked you off? Dude, that girl was hot…and naked. What the hell were you thinking?”
Nathan Carter looked at the man sitting to his left as if he’d lost his damn mind. Before becoming Bravo Team’s medic, Matthew Turner had served as a Navy Corpsman, working in the field with both the Navy and Marines during high-risk ops.
Nate had to admit, Matt was a total badass. Though the team had only recently been formed, he was glad the other man was on their side.
When it came to women, however, Turner’s revolving door spun faster than a windmill in a hurricane.
“Fuck, yeah, I walked away,” Nate admitted. “Ain’t no blow job worth falling into that trap.”
“Oh, I doubt you walked.” Kole Jameson, Nate’s best friend and one of Bravo Team’s two snipers, piped in. “I bet you looked like Scooby-Doo trying to outrun a ghost.”
Nate lifted his beer bottle to his lips and took a swig, giving his teammates plenty of time to laugh at his expense. Didn’t bother him in the least.
Waiting until the chuckles died down, Nate tried his best to educate the men around him. “You fuckers think it’s funny, but I’ve seen the kind of trouble those three little words can cause.”
“Man, I’d have told her I loved her in a heartbeat to get a piece of that action.”
“Sorry, Turner,” Nate told Matt. “I guess my standards are a little higher than yours. I’m sure it’s hard for you to understand, but some of us actually look for more than just a pulse when deciding whether or not to sleep with a woman.”
“Fuck you, Carter,” Matt shot back. “You’re just jealous ’cause I can catch more ass in a month than you can in an entire year.”
“I’d be more concerned about what else you’ve caught,” Zade King, the team’s other sniper, muttered. The former Marine didn’t crack a smile, making his comment even more amusing.
The other men laughed, including Turner. “Don’t have to worry about that with me, King. I wrap my shit up tighter than the Pentagon’s secrets. I’m clean as a whistle. Got the test results to prove it.”
“Do what you want”—Nate took another swig— “but there’s no fucking way I’m uttering those words to any woman. Ever.”
Kole slapped a hand to his chest, a feigned look of devastation crossing his face. “This coming from the guy who’s supposed to be my best man in a few weeks?”
Kole and his fiancée, Sarah, were getting married in two months. The couple had just bought their first house, which was why Nate and the others were sitting around Kole’s back yard drinking beer and hanging out. Sarah had invited the tea
m over for a housewarming-slash-belated engagement party.
“What’s the matter, Carter? Not a believer in true love?”
Nate didn’t have to turn around to recognize the deep, gravelly voice coming from behind him. Gabe Dawson was a former SEAL and had been chosen as Bravo Team’s leader.
“For guys like Kole? Sure.” Nate tilted his head back as Gabe walked past him. “For Me? Not a chance.”
“What makes Kole so special?” Gabe asked as he snapped open his camping chair and sat down in the space between Matt and Zade.
The six-four, two hundred sixty pound beast of a man looked as though he was sitting in a kiddie chair.
Putting his free hand to his chin, Nate pretended to ponder the question for a moment. “Kole’s like an Amur leopard, Dawson. They exist, but are critically endangered and very rarely seen in the wild.”
This time everyone laughed, including Kole. “Speaking of rare, I’m going to go find my amazing fiancée and see if the food is ready for the grill.”
As Kole walked past Nate, he tipped the bill of Nate’s ball cap, nearly knocking it off his head. After smacking his friend’s leg and readjusting the hat, Nate took another long draw from his bottle.
They were constantly giving each other shit, but Nate had to admit, Kole was like the brother he never had.
