Tony
Alvarez Security Series
By
Maryann Jordan
Tony (Alvarez Security Series)
Copyright © 2015 Maryann Jordan
Kindle Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design by: Andrea Michelle, Artistry in Design
Editor: Shannon Brandee Eversoll
Format: Paul Salvette, BB Ebooks
ISBN: 978-0-9864004-4-5
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Acknowledgements
Author Information
Dedication
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
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
More books by Maryann Jordan
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I have to thank my husband, Michael. Always believing in me and wanting me to pursue my dreams, this book would not be possible without his support. To my daughters, MaryBeth and Nicole, I taught you to follow your dreams and now it is time for me to take my own advice. You two are my inspiration.
My best friend, Tammie, who for nineteen years has been with me through thick and thin. You’ve filled the role of confidant, supporter, and sister.
My dear friend, Myckel Anne, who keeps me on track, keeps me grounded, and most of all – keeps my secrets. Thank you for not only being my proofreader, but my friend. Our friendship has grown and changed and you mean more to me than you can imagine. And yes, my cat is huge!
Going from blogger to author has allowed me to have the friendships and advice of several wonderful authors who always answered my questions, helped me over rough spots, and cheered me on. To Kristine Raymond, you gave me the green light when I wondered if I was crazy and you never let me give up. MJ Nightingale and Andrea Michelle – you two have made a huge impact on my life. Anna Mychals, EJ Shorthall, Victoria Brock, Jen Andrews, Andrea Long, A.d. Ellis, ML Steinbrunn, Sandra Love, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
My beta readers kept me sane, cheered me on, found all my silly errors, and often helped me understand my characters through their eyes. A huge thank you to Denise VanPlew, Sandi Laubhan, Barbara Martoncik, Jennifer Alumbaugh, Anna Mychals, Danielle Petersen, Shannon Brandee, Stracey Charran, Leeann Wright, Lynn Smith, Kelly Williams and Tracey Markin for being my beta girls who love alphas!
Shannon Brandee Eversoll has been my editor for the past five books and what she brings to my writing has been amazing. She has gone from editor to friends – a transition that I love! She and Myckel Anne Phillips as my proofreader gave their time and talents to making Gabe as well written as it can be.
My street team, Jordan Jewels, you are amazing! You volunteer your time to promote my books and I cannot thank you enough! I hope you will stay with me, because I have lots more stories inside, just waiting to be written!
My Personal Assistant, Barbara Martoncik, is the woman that keeps me going when I feel overwhelmed and I am so grateful for not only her assistance, but her friendship.
The cover was created by my dear friend, Andrea Michelle with Artistry in Design, and her talent is evident in every detail. Thank you for working with me, planning with me, laughing with me, and understanding me.
As the owner of the blog, Lost in Romance Books, I know the selflessness of bloggers. We promote indie authors on our own time because we believe fully in the indie author community. I want to thank the many bloggers that I have served with, and who are assisting in promoting my series.
Most importantly, thank you readers. You allow me into your home for a few hours as you disappear into my characters and you support me as I follow my indie author dreams.
If you read my books and enjoy them, please leave a review on Amazon. It does not have to be long or detailed…just that you enjoyed the book. Reviews are essential to indie authors!
Author Information
Maryann Jordan
I am an avid reader of romance novels, often joking that I cut my teeth on the old bodice rippers. I have been reading and reviewing for years. In 2013, I created a blog, Lost in Romance Books, to promote and showcase indie authors. In 2014, I finally gave in to the characters in my head, screaming for their story to be told. From these musings, my first novel, Emma’s Home, The Fairfield Series was born.
I am a high school counselor having worked in education for thirty years. I live in Virginia, having also lived in four states and two foreign countries. I have been married to a wonderfully patient man for thirty-three years and am the mother to two adult daughters. When writing, my dog or one of my four cats can generally be found in the same room if not on my lap.
Please take the time to leave a review of this book (on Goodreads, Amazon). Reviews are the lifeline for indie authors.
Feel free to contact me, especially if you enjoyed my book. I love to hear from readers!
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Dedication
As a high school counselor, I have worked with thousands of teenagers over my long career. The pressures and problems that teens face today can seem insurmountable to them. I have had the wonderful experience of working with some amazing therapeutic foster parents, social workers, and Court Appointed Special Advocates – all working to make the lives of children better. This book is dedicated to all those who work with young people, helping to chart their course toward success.
Prologue
The flight was long…it never seemed short and this time was even longer. He could not complain though. The U.S. Army had allowed him to go home to see his wife and newborn daughter. For a Special Forces Captain, that was a miracle in and of itself, but his squad was between missions and with the slight downtime, he squeezed in a week stateside.
Pulling out the picture that he carried in his pocket, he ran his fingers over the face of his tiny daughter. Dark hair. Just like both he and his wife. His eyes were brown while his wife’s were green. What color would Sofia’s be?
The plane was descending as he tucked the picture back into his pocket. Moving through the airstrip, he made his way over to the chopper that would take him to his squad’s base. Just in time fo
r a briefing, a planning and another mission.
Tony Alvarez loved the Army. Loved Special Forces. Loved his men. But the trip home reminded him that one day there would be an end to his military career and waiting for him back in Virginia was his wife, Marla, and their daughter. Smiling to himself, he looked forward to that day.
Finally arriving at the base, he was greeted with the handshakes, salutes, and back-patting that goes with a returning comrade. Gabe and Vinny Malloy, twins in his squad, handed him a cigar and then passed them out to the other men.
“Come on, let’s see it. We know you’ve got it right on you,” Gabe prodded.
Laughing, he pulled the photograph out of his pocket and his cell phone as well. “Okay, scroll down through these, but this one is getting framed.”
“Jesus, fuck, Captain. She’s beautiful, even at three days old,” Jobe said. He looked at Tony and laughed. “I got three younger sisters. All gorgeous. You’re gonna have your hands full when she gets older. When I get married, I’m telling my wife to only make me boys.”
Vinny quipped, “Oh, don’t worry. She’ll have all of us as honorary uncles. She won’t have a chance to date. Ever.”
One of the other men looked over at Vinny and said, “You’d better hope she doesn’t ever meet anyone like yourself.”
“She’d better not try to go out with anyone like me,” he said. “I’d have to cut the guy’s dick off.”
Tony chuckled, adding, “You’re just lucky someone’s dad hasn’t chased you down and cut yours off.”
Vinny jumped in, bragging about his dick’s ability to withstand anyone’s attempt to cut it off. Tony nodded toward the group and headed to his room. It was small, but as the squad leader and officer, he got his own little private space. At least for now.
Lying down, willing his mind to rest before the briefing tomorrow, he turned on his side to stare at the picture now on his nightstand. Marla and he, with Sofia in their arms. They were the perfect couple and now the perfect family. Closing his eyes, he allowed sleep to take over and for tonight his dreams carried him out of the war zone and back to Virginia.
*
One week later, Tony found himself lying in the dirt; the memories of his bed with his wife were in the far distance. Fuck, this feels like a suicide mission. The planning had taken longer than usual, because the man they were supposed to rescue was being held in the middle of a compound in a village. A fuckin’ village. Filled with fuckin’ men, women, and children. Gabe had recently seen a child killed in another mission and Tony had watched how it affected him. And now that I’ve got a baby? Jesus, what would I do if anything happened to her? Fuck, I’d just stop livin’.
Crawling through the dirt and dust, his squad came to the hill closest to the compound. The night was cold and clear, the only light coming from the stars above and the fires below. The area looked quiet, but in war time, that could just be a ruse. A few men sat around the central fire, riffles laying to the sides. Jobe, their Weapons Sergeant, moved to the other side gaining visual. “All clear to the east.”
Tony gave the signal and his men began sliding into position. Gabe and Vinny were both Medics, but Vinny was also a Weapons Sergeant and their best marksman and long range shooter. Vinny positioned himself where he had the best visual of the compound, having identified the building his squad members would be entering.
Through night vision goggles, Tony saw Gabe and Vinny look briefly at each other before separating. He had never worked with twins before and was awed by the instinctive way they communicated. But then all of his men worked that way. They ate, slept, played, and trained together for years. He had never worked with a group of men that clicked the way this squad did.
Several of his men slid down the hill carefully then moved through the back of the village like fog. Jobe and Chief Warrant Officer Bryant moved in first, followed by their Engineer Sergeant and Gabe. Tony brought up the rear of the front group moving in. Please let their contact’s info be right.
Finding the building, they moved toward a window, Jobe peering in first. He gave the signal indicating that it was the right one, then held up four fingers on his left hand indicating that there were four others in the room besides the man they were rescuing. Tony watched as Jobe moved three of his fingers.
Fuck. Three children in the room. Jesus, fuck. He could never get used to the enemy using children in their wars. Moving up beside Jobe, he peered in as well at the sleeping man they were after and a woman with two small children and a baby. The children were asleep, but the woman was sitting in the corner nursing. The sight of her sent shock waves through him, the memory of Marla nursing Sofia almost sending him to his knees. The plan was to kill anyone who stood between them and their rescue.
Leaning back against the mud-brick wall, he willed his mind back to the mission at hand. This is not personal. This is my job. Tony was the quintessential Green Beret. He was the mission. Slowing his heartbeat, clearing his mind, he nodded at the others.
Moving in through the door, Jobe kept his weapon trained on the woman, whose eyes were wide with fright, but she did not make a sound. Bryant moved to the man and quickly woke him, placing his hand over the man’s mouth to quiet any noises he might have made when startled. They stood and moved to the door as Tony took over Jobe’s position of holding his weapon on the woman as Jobe led the group out of the door.
He began to move to the door as well, following Gabe, and at the last second allowed his eyes to drop from the woman to the sleeping children and the baby still nursing. With a nod, he turned and quickly followed his men out of the door and back to the rest of the squad.
The mission was considered a success and upon arrival back at the base, the men began their debriefing. Afterwards they cleaned up, ate, and celebrated their accomplishment, enjoying their bragging rights. That night in bed, Tony lay awake starting at the photograph next to his bed, hating that he could not be there and yet thankful that she was not being raised in a warzone. Stay safe little Sofia, he thought, until I can get home and take care of you and mommy, always.
*
Three days later, Tony was called in to the Major’s office. Walking in, the Major immediately walked over and placed his hand on Tony’s shoulder, as the base Chaplain walked in as well. His heart began to pound but before he could ask, the Major spoke.
“Tony, we’ve just received some horrible news. There was a car accident involving your wife as she was driving yesterday. She was coming back from a doctor’s appointment with your daughter. Tony, I’m so sorry. Your wife Marla and baby were killed instantly.”
The blood roared through his ears and he heard nothing else. The floor rushed up to meet him as his knees buckled. There were no tears. Not then. It was too surreal. Too much for his brain to process. He would later look back and not be able to remember anything else from that day. Not the words from the Chaplain. Or his men rushing to his assistance.
His men.
They packed for themselves and him as well. They boarded the plane with him…all eleven. They drove him to the funeral parlor and sat with him making arrangements. They drove him to his house to help settle matters there. And they stood behind him at the funeral.
For a week they assisted with the insurance forms, mail, neighbors, relatives, and yet knew instinctively when to step back and give him space. And on the day they were to fly back to the warzone, they drove him to the cemetery before they had to make it to the airport.
Tony remembered that day when all the others were a blur. Walking over to the headstones, side by side, he knelt between them. The tears flowed from somewhere deep inside of him that he never knew existed before. Someplace dark and hidden. That place that is buried in all of us that it is only revealed when the loss of someone rips our soul so deeply that it is then exposed. And once opened, like Pandora’s box, can never be completely closed again.
As his sobs finally subsided, his men moved silently closer to him, surrounding the area, and with heads bowed p
rayed for peace. Peace in the world. Peace for the Captain they loved. But more importantly, peace in their souls.
Chapter 1
Five years later
Tony sat alone at Gabe’s wedding reception table glowering at the beautiful woman three tables over. Sherrie Mullins. His men, talking and laughing, as they walked by to greet her. And Monty. Fuckin Monty Lytton. He did not have anything personal against the FBI agent who had recently assisted Tony’s agency on a case. But any man in her vicinity would draw his ire right now.
Tony Alvarez was a man of action who left the Army and started his own security agency and filled it with his brothers-in-arms who had left the Special Forces as well. Men from his squad. Men he trusted. Men whose skills were unparalleled. His agency now handled not only installing state-of-the-art security systems, providing security to any number of dignitaries or functions in the area, but also helped the Richland Police Department on a number of cases where their budget constraints did not allow for the equipment that he had.
He was not a man used to sitting around staring at a woman who should not even be on his radar. But she was and had been in his sights for almost a year.
He remembered the first time he saw her picture. She had been trying to help her drug-addicted, prostitute sister. Charisse had become involved with one of the biggest gang leaders in the area and Sherrie had put herself in danger to try to help. Jesus, fuck. He remembered seeing the picture of the woman he was tasked to rescue when the gang leader kidnapped her and was attempting to take her out of the country. She was a beauty, but he could see trouble from a mile away. He thought she was probably just like her sister, after all she had been a waitress in a cheap strip joint. Hell, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Reading her dossier, he discovered she was strong, smart, loyal, and…good. When she realized she could no longer help Charisse unless her sister wanted to get help, she cut her loose.
Tony: Alvarez Security Series Page 1
