by Adams,Claire
"Austin? I'm asking you a question," Emily said as she tugged on my sleeve. "Did you call your mother?"
"I did not," I said as I checked my phone and found several text messages from Bax. "Do you want me to?"
"No silly," she laughed. "We're almost home, so it won't matter now!"
"Sorry, Em," I said sheepishly scanning the messages.
"You're such an absent-minded professor, sometimes," she teased as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed me. I let the messages go and wrapped one arm around her before dipping her slow and low right there in the elevator. She let out a shriek of glee and faux terror as I held her parallel to the floor before kissing her deeply.
"You are crazy, Mr. Morning!" she laughed as she swatted me after I'd set her back on her feet. "You shouldn't do such dangerous things in an elevator!"
"Oh, so I should do safer things?" I said as I slid one hand up her thigh and under her skirt. "Like this?"
"Be careful," she said with a knowing grin. "That's what got us into this mess in the first place."
"Mmmmm," I murmured as I bent to nuzzle her neck my insistent hand inching up just a little further. "I like the mess we're in just fine."
"Yeah, but you're not the one who has to pay the price, now are you?" she laughed as she pressed her pelvis against my hand before the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.
"No, I am certainly not," I agreed. We held hands as we walked down the hall and when we turned the key, I heard my mother's footsteps crossing the foyer. "We're home!" I called.
"Well, now that was quick!" my mother said as she hugged both of us.
"Everything go alright?" Emily asked as she set her purse down and headed to the back bedroom.
"Oh it was just fine," my mother called. "Slept like an angel and didn't make a sound!"
I kissed my mother and asked, "You want me to ride home with you?"
"Don't be foolish," she told me as she hugged me again. "Silas is downstairs waiting for me. He'll make sure I get home safe and sound."
"Alright, well, if you say so," I said eyeing her. "Thank you, Mom."
"Oh, it's entirely my pleasure!" she said as she gathered her purse and headed of the door. "I've always dreamed of being able to do this, I just didn't know it would be like this!" she said as she waved around at the apartment.
"Well, no matter how it is, we're so grateful that you can," I said. "To the moon and back."
"To the moon and back, baby," she called as she stepped out into the hallway and headed for home.
I set my phone down and unloaded my pocket before I joined Emily in the back bedroom. When I entered, I saw her sitting in the rocking chair in the corner near the window that looked out over the city singing a lullaby to our tiny daughter.
"You two make such a beautiful picture," I said.
"Well, it's easy when you have a baby who takes after her father," Emily smiled then cooed, "Isn't it, little Sydney? Do you want to hold her?"
"I will in a minute, I need to take care of some business first," I said as I looked at my wife and my daughter and felt my heart swell with love.
#
"Hey Bax, what's up?" I said as my friend picked up the phone.
"Austin, we need to talk about this Barcelona deal," Bax said in a tired voice. "It's not going smoothly and I'm not sure I can fix the problems from here."
"So, go there," I said matter-of-factly.
"I can't," he reminded me. "Anna is due in the next couple of weeks and if I leave, she'll kill me. Plus, there's rebellion afoot in the IT pool, and I need to deal with that. Unless you want to manage that little skirmish?"
"Oh hell, no," I said. "You know how I hate having to deal with those code-breakers and their nerditry."
"That's what I thought," he laughed. "So, what do you want to do? Go over there?"
"Let me check with Em and see what her flight schedule looks like," I said. "I'll let you know when I can get there."
"Austin, have you ever considered selling the business to someone bigger and letting them deal with these skirmishes?" Bax asked in a very tired voice. He had been run ragged by the Paris-Berlin projects and although we'd gotten rid of Daniel Wentworth by letting him know we were on to his Camorra, the work that had to be done landed squarely on Bax's shoulders.
This wasn't a problem until Anna had pegged him as her Mr. Right and convinced him of this fact. It was truly a match made in some kind of alternate universe – prom queen marries the AV nerd – but for some reason, it worked. Now, they were expecting their own bundle of joy and Anna was in charge of everything. Bax loved it, but it was putting a strain on our ability to do business.
"I have not," I said. "Why, do you think I should?"
"I think it's worth exploring," he said. "I've got someone in mind. Someone who will let us run the company, but who will pick up the slack so we can actually live our lives, you know?"
"Yeah, I do know," I sighed. "Okay, put me in touch with him and I'll see what I can do about a deal."
"I knew you'd see things my way, boss," Bax said. I could hear him smiling into the phone.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said. "Not a word of this to the wives, you hear me?"
"Aye aye, captain," Bax said.
Three nights later, I was sitting across the table from Reginald Harrison Beaufort laughing as his wife, the beautiful Honey, poured us a couple of whiskeys and then told us to take ourselves out on the balcony if we intended to smoke the disgusting cigars Reggie had tucked in his pocket. He gave her a sheepish grin and then ushered me outside.
"I never know how she knows as much as she does about what I intend to do," he drawled. "But I'll tell you one thing, son, it's kept me an honest man for the past thirty years!"
"Oh, how's that, sir?" I asked.
"I knew that with that sense of smell and her woman's intuition," he said as he cut the ends off of both cigars and handed one to me. "If I ever cheated, she'd know immediately and with her upbringing, I'd be castrated faster than a loose thread in a garment factory!"
I burst out laughing. I'd only known Reggie for a few hours, but already I liked him immensely.
"Son, here's the deal," he said getting serious for a moment. "I'm not going to beat around the bush about this. I want to buy your company, but I want you to keep running it. You'll have free reign to do what you do best, you'll just have my pockets and my muscle to back you up. What do you say?"
"I say we have a deal, sir," I said as I held out my hand and shook his firmly.
"Son, stop with the sir bullshit," he said as he lit the end of his cigar and then offered me the lighter. "It makes me feel older than I am. Just call me Reggie and we'll be fine."
"Yes, si-Reggie!" I said as I flicked the Zippo and lit my cigar. The end burned brightly as I looked out over Central Park and smiled.
"Now, about this mess in Barcelona," he said. "Can you go out there for a few weeks and smooth it over? Hell, take your wife and call it a second honeymoon, for all I care. Just get them to stop threatening to strike!"
"I think I can take care of that for you, Reggie," I said.
"Excellent, that's what I like to hear," he said as he raised his glass and declared, "Here's to productive new partners and the barrels of cash they bring with them!"
"To new partners," I echoed as I clinked my glass against his.
"And cash!" he laughed. "Don't forget about the cash, son!"
Chapter Seventy-Two
Emily
We settled into the cabin of Marks Air's private jet and smiled at each other. I had wanted to take a commercial flight, but Austin had pointed out that if we were traveling with Sydney, we'd be smarter to utilize the privacy of the jet. I couldn't disagree with him, so I'd packed our bags and gotten us ready for the trip to Barcelona.
Austin had told me about the plan to sell Marks Enterprises to Reggie Beaufort, and once I'd met him and Honey, I'd agreed wholeheartedly with the plan. I'd also seen the look of relief on Bax's face and had realized
that the pressures of running the entire show while Austin put out fires around the globe had really taken its toll on him. Anna would be glad to have him home at night for dinner and in town when the baby arrived.
As Austin secured Sydney's carrier in the seat closest to him, I smiled and felt incredibly grateful that fate had thrown us together and that we'd decided to give in and let it do it's magic.
"Are you ready, Mrs. Marks?" he smiled.
"I'm ready, Mr. Marks," I smiled back. "With you, I'm always ready."
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BILLIONAIRE SEAL
By Alexa Davis and Claire Adams
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 Alexa Davis
CHAPTER ONE
Ryan
It's an hour before dawn and I'm laying on my stomach in the dirt behind an outcropping of rock waiting for the signal. I survey the landscape, trying to determine exactly how our SEAL team is going to secure the village below without air support. Our mission is to take the village and find the leader of the rogue gang that is holding fourteen servicemen hostage. We'd parachuted in under the cover of darkness and had been humping across the desolate mountain terrain by night for almost a week. This position had been our destination and now all we could do was wait.
"Opie," I whisper. "What's command saying?"
"Nothing but silence, Pow," he replied. "Not sure what's going on."
"We've got an hour before the sun starts to come up," I said looking at the sky. "I guess we sit tight and wait."
"Badger and Rock just said they saw movement down below," he said. I could hear the faint buzz of the radio signal coming from his direction. "Said we might need to be prepared to attract before light."
"Tell them to fuck off," I said knowing that starting a fight before the helicopters could see us was asking for trouble. "We stay put until the Lieutenant orders us to move."
Opie whispered my order into his headset and waited. Jonathan Michael Morgan had earned the nickname "Opie" because he looked like a young Ron Howard - red hair, freckles and a gap between his teeth that was so wide that we joked about flying a Tomahawk missile through it. He was like my younger brother, but then all the SEALs were my brothers. I just had a soft spot for Opie, and like any younger brother, he did his best to exploit my weakness in order to get what he wanted, which was usually some part of my food. He, and the rest of the team, called me Pow, short for Powell, my last name, as well as for the reputation I'd earned by punching my way out of situations when I'd had one too many to drink. We all had nicknames; it was part of building the brotherhood that kept us alive.
"What'd they say?" I whispered.
"Told you to fuck off, too," he said. I could hear the grin in his voice. It was too dark to see my hand in front of my face, and I was starting to get antsy for the sun to rise. I ran though the mission in my mind's eye again, and tried to pinpoint any potential weak spots. The worst that could happen would be that we all got killed and the warlord executed the prisoners, but since we SEALs had no intention of dying, I knew that could be checked off the list.
I could see the sun beginning to creep up into the eastern horizon and knew that we didn't have long to wait. I watched as people began to emerge from the front of the compound and change guard duties. The two guys in track jackets and Nike's handed their weapons to the two coming on duty. They looked even younger than the other two and that worried me. Young guys tended to panic and make rookie mistakes; they were the most dangerous members of any team no matter how well they'd been trained. I turned and caught a glimpse of Opie as he watched the changing of the guard. He was young, too. A well-trained SEAL, for sure, but still young.
"Pow, command says we should get into position and prepare to engage," Opie whispered. "The copters are within range and the sun will be up in ten."
"Pass it on," I replied and listened as Opie repeated command's orders to Badger and Rock. I watched as the sun edged its way up toward the line that divided night from day giving us just enough light to check our weapons and ammunition. With any luck we wouldn't need to go in shooting since the copters were scheduled to drop bombs on the outer rim of the compound and create a diversion as well as taking out a few of the captors. If their coordinates were right the bombing would be precise and leave few survivors that we'd have to fight. If they were wrong, we'd have one hell of a firefight on our hands.
"Five minutes," Opie whispered. I nodded and ran though the plan one last time. Coppers bomb, we rush the compound, secure the building where our soldiers were being held, prepare for extraction and then get them to the copters that would be waiting just outside of the compound before the SEAL team would slip back into the mountainous terrain. There wouldn't be enough room in the copters for us, so we'd have to hike fifteen miles to the pick up spot. If all went according to plan, we'd be back at the base drinking bear and exerting our bragging rights by dinner.
"Two minutes," Opie whispered. I grabbed my rifle and focused on the activity down at the base of the hill. It looked like the kids guarding the perimeter were carrying semi-automatics. They scanned the hills above the compound and then finding nothing, they kept moving.
"Thirty-seconds," Opie said as we heard the first sound of approaching helicopters. I knew we were on target so I waited for the copters to drop their bombs and prepped myself to head straight down the hill toward the compound entry.
A whooshing sound filled the air and I watched as a missile flew through the air moving in the wrong direction. It cut through the air so quickly that in the second it took Opie and I to turn and follow it's trajectory it hit its mark. The copter exploded in mid-air raining metal down onto the mountainside.
"Anti-aircraft! Anti-aircraft!" Opie shouted into his headset.
"Son of a bitch!" I yelled as I turned and began firing at the men gathered at the front of the compound. Our fire hit its mark and took out several of our opponents, then was quickly returned as the rest retreated back behind the walls. I watched as the second copter veered off course and narrowly missed a missile that had been fired in its direction. No bombs had been dropped on the compound.
"What now, Pow?" Opie hollered over the sound of weapons firing.
"We save our guys!" I shouted. "That's what the hell we do!"
"Command says back off and wait!" he shouted back. "They are sending another copter, it'll be here in ten!"
"Bullshit!" I yelled. "Where are Badger and Rock?"
"Other side of the ridge!"
"Tell them to haul their lazy asses down to the back and blow a hole in the wall while we cover!" I yelled.
Opie radioed the other two SEALs and told them my plan. I knew it was a big risk, but I also knew that if we didn't take control of the situation these guys would kill us and then execute the prisoners. There was no way we were going to let that happen.
I trained my rifle on the front gate and fired at anything that moved. Next to me, Opie was doing the same. The adrenaline was pumping through my veins as I worked to draw enemy fire and give the guys a chance to blow the backside. I could feel the rhythmic stream of bullets leaving my weapon and found their mark.
I was so focused on the task at hand that when the explosives were detonated the noise pulled my attention away briefly. I heard the bullet whizz by my left ear as I ducked and reloaded. The familiar roar of a Blackhawk filled the air seconds before I heard the swoosh of a missile fly straight into the center of the compound, sending dirt and concrete flying into the air. I ducked to avoid he debris and then quickly poked my head up over the rock we were covered by to make sure the missile h
ad hit its mark.
"We're clear! We're clear!" Opie shouted as the Blackhawk banked and headed toward its landing spot to await the freed soldiers.
"Let's get 'em!" I yelled over my shoulder as I headed down the hill. Opie followed me, shooting at anything that moved. I was fairly certain that the missile had caught most of the compound’s inhabitants unaware, but I didn't bank on it. I kept an eye out for movement as I plotted our path straight to the building where the prisoners were being held. As we rounded a corner, the two young guys who'd taken over guard duty were frantically trying to dig a third man out from under the rubble. When they saw us, they dropped their weapons and raised their hands over their heads in surrender, as they repeated over and over, “No shoot No shoot!"
Opie and I aimed our rifles at them as we moved forward and kicked their weapons out of reach, and then we motioned for them to lay face down on the ground so we could secure their arms behind their backs. If we had enough room in the copter, we'd bring these two along for the commander to interrogate. For that happen it would mean not all of our soldiers would be coming home alive.
We rounded the corner of the building where our guys were being held with weapons aimed and ready to fire at the slightest threat. I signaled to Opie to cover me as I quickly navigated my way around chunks of concrete and dirt looking for a way into the building. I found a door on the backside and quickly shot the padlock off of the frame before kicking it in. Inside on the cement floor laid ten of the fourteen missing men. They were hungry and dehydrated, but they were alive. I signaled to Opie to get the commander on the radio and order a copter for evacuation.
"Where are the rest of the guys?" I asked as I squatted next to a soldier propped up against the wall. He grimaced and shook his head. I said, "Bring 'em home?"
He shook his head and closed his eyes, as I fought to keep my anger at bay. There was no worse feeling than having to leave a man behind.
