Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Going Ghost (Kindle Worlds Novella) (SEALed Brotherhood Book 2)

by Victoria Bright

  “Like I said earlier, I’m sure he’s fine. He’ll be back soon and you two will be back to knocking boots as if he never left.”

  Adrienne giggled and shook her head. “Yeah, I’m sure he is okay,” she said with a sigh, looking down at her cup. “It’s just…you know.”

  “I understand,” Melody said, reaching across the table to give Adrienne’s hand a comforting pat. “But know that I’m proud of you, for taking a chance. I know it was probably scary for you to get involved with something in a dangerous profession after what happened to Miguel.”

  “Yeah, but Myles is so different,” Adrienne said, a small smile pulling on her lips. “It’s hard to explain, but he makes me feel…alive. When I’ve felt so emotionally dead all this time, all he did was talk to me on a plane to bring me back to life. He’s so sweet, considerate—”

  “And apparently good in bed from what you mentioned,” Melody said with a smirk before taking a sip of her iced coffee. Heat rushed to Adrienne’s cheeks.

  “Well, yeah,” she said and giggled.

  “Now you make me want to ditch my guy and go find a soldier,” she joked.

  “Oh hush,” Adrienne said with a wave of her hand and glanced down at her watch. “Oh shoot. I have to get to school. I don’t want to be late on the last day.”

  “Yeah, I have to get to work myself. Want to catch dinner tonight? Chandler’s out of town on business and I heard there’s this new amazing Italian place downtown that I’ve been dying to try out.”

  “Ooh, Italian sounds yummy. I’ll call you later to get the details,” Adrienne said as she stood and moved around the table to hug her friend.

  “Okay, later, girl!”

  ***

  A few minutes before the final bell of the day rang, Adrienne leaned against her desk and looked at her senior students. “I always tell myself I won’t get emotional on days like this,” she said as her eyes start to burn with tears.

  “Oh no, don’t cry, Ms. Barrera! You’re going to make me cry!” a student exclaimed in the back of the room.

  “I’m sorry, guys. You all are graduating in a few days and then you’ll be off into the world. It’s been a complete honor teaching you all this year, and I pray that you’ll find great success in your future no matter what you decide to do.”

  “What if I decide to be a pimp?” Malcolm asked, causing everyone to snicker.

  “As your teacher, I wouldn’t recommend that, Malcolm,” Adrienne replied with a smirk. Her eyes scanned the classroom, but Josephine still wasn’t here. She wasn’t sure what was going on or if she was okay, and she wouldn’t see her again until graduation. “Anyway, I want you all to know that I’m so proud of you and that life is only beginning. Graduating high school isn’t the end and things definitely won’t become easier. But I know you all will make the most out of everything and will make me proud out there.” She fanned her face as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

  “Aww,” the class said in unison as they all crowded around to hug her. Her heart swelled with happiness. This was what she loved most about her job. Not only was she enriching children from different backgrounds, she was also making some kind of difference in their lives. It was always hard to let her seniors go. They were her babies and it never got any easier to watch them graduate and move on.

  “You guys better come visit me,” Adrienne said through her tears.

  Her only red-head, Rebecca, looked at her and smiled. “Of course, Ms. Barrera. You’re everyone’s favorite teacher!” she exclaimed. Everyone else murmured in agreement.

  “That’s sweet, Becca,” she said, just as the final bell of the day rang. “Okay, guys. One last hug from everyone and I’ll let you go.”

  Each student hugged her tight and wished her a great summer before leaving until she was the only one that remained in the classroom. She sighed and began to straighten things up. Just as she was straightening a desk on the other side of the room, she heard a knock.

  Her eyes widened when Josephine stepped into the room with a sheepish grin. “Hi, Ms. Barrera,” she said.

  “Josephine,” Adrienne started, walking to meet her in the middle of the classroom. “How are you? Are you feeling okay? You weren’t in class today.”

  “Um, yeah…I was…um, kind of burnt out from exams and all,” she said, her eyes darting all over the classroom. Adrienne placed her hands on Josephine’s shoulders.

  “Are you sure you’re okay? You know I’m here if you need to talk about anything,”

  “Well, actually, I’m not fine,” she said, a slight smirk on her lips. “I actually need a problem that I need to get rid of.”

  Adrienne raised an eyebrow. “Um, okay. What’s the problem?”

  “Not what, but who,” she said, and turned toward the door. Adrienne gasped when Myles appeared in the doorway with a vase of beautiful white calla lilies and a teddy bear.

  “Hey there, beautiful,” he said, flashing the handsome smile that made her weak in the knees.

  “Oh my goodness!” She quickly crossed the room and flew into his open arms. Josephine came over and took the flowers and bear from his hands. He wrapped his arms around Adrienne and held her tight against him. “I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered.

  “I’ve missed you too,” he replied, planting a soft kiss on her neck before pulling away. “That deployment wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  She scoffed. “It was tortured,” she said and smiled. “But none of that matters now that you’re back.”

  “That’s what I like to hear,” he said and captured her lips. She became lost in his lips, his warmth consuming her as she melted into his arms. Although he’d been going for a couple of months, they picked their passion back up as if he’d never left. He slowly pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. “Do you have plans tonight?”

  She thought back to Melody and their plans to visit the Italian restaurant. “I did, but I can always reschedule it.”

  “You don’t have to reschedule. I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”

  “It doesn’t matter. You’ve been gone for too long and I’d rather spend the night showing you how much I missed you,” she purred, standing on her tip toes to plant a kiss on his lips.

  “Um, ew. I’m still here, guys,” Josephine said from behind Adrienne. Ghost and Adrienne chuckled and finally pulled apart from each other.

  “So when did you get back?” Adrienne asked.

  “It was late last night, otherwise I would’ve called,” he said. Adrienne picked up the vase of flowers Josephine sat on her desk and examined them.

  “These are beautiful, Myles. Thank you so much,” she said with a smile.

  “No problem. Josephine said that you had those on your desk a lot, so I assumed you liked them.”

  “Yeah, calla lilies are my favorite,” she said.

  Josephine rubbed her forehead. “Myles, I’m gonna go sit in the Jeep. I’m feeling kind of dizzy,” she said. Myles reached to support her, but she swatted him away. “I can make it back on my own. Just don’t take forever in here.” He watched her as she left the room, finally turning back to Adrienne when they were alone.

  “Now I can really kiss you like I want to,” he murmured, his fingers going into her hair as he devoured her mouth. A moan slipped from her throat as his tongue found hers, her knees becoming weak. Her head became cloudy with lust as her senses because familiar with the electric feeling she’d been missing since he left.

  She finally pulled away, her heart racing as she panted. “It’s not fair to turn a woman on when she still has a few more hours to work,” she said. He chuckled and placed another kiss on her lips.

  “There’s more where that came from, babe,” he said with a devilish grin. “So now that you’ve made it through your first deployment, how to you feel?”

  She shrugged and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I feel okay. I think it mostly sucked because I didn’t get to spend much time with you before you had to leave, but we ha
ve a little more time now.”

  “Indeed we do.”

  “So we’re fine. We’ll take each deployment and our relationship day by day,” she said with a smile.

  He returned her smile and brushed a stray hair from her face. “The sexy French teacher that I’d been secretly admiring for months is now my girlfriend. Who would’ve thought a trip to Paris would’ve made that happen?” he said.

  She smirked at him. “Secretly admiring me for months? That doesn’t make you sound creepy at all,” she joked. He laughed and tickled her sides. “Oh my goodness! Stop it!”

  “I love hearing you laugh,” he murmured, wrapping his arms back around her. “I swear I missed you.”

  “And I missed you,” she replied, pulling him down to kiss him. “I wish I didn’t have to be here for a few more hours. You’ve gotten me all hot and bothered and all I want to do is let you take me to your place and have your way with me.”

  He chuckled. “As I said, there’s more where that kiss came from. In fact, if you decide to reschedule your plans, how about you come to place for dinner at 7? We’ll have the place to ourselves tonight, so you can be as loud as you want.” Myles wiggled his eyebrows.

  “I think that sounds good,” Adrienne replied with a giggle.

  “Good. I want you to wear that sexy little dress you wore in Paris on our date…” he kissed her lips, “and ditch the panties.”

  Adrienne bit her lip. “Sir, yes, sir,” she nearly whispered.

  He smiled. “That’s sexy. I want you to say that tonight when I have you bent over my kitchen counter,” he said with a wink, planting a quick kiss on her lips before turning to leave. She watched him walk out of the classroom, a goofy grin splayed on her face. She didn’t know what the future held and she couldn’t predict if anything would ever happen to him. She could only look forward to living in the present with him and being happy while taking her newly budding relationship a day at a time.

  Epilogue

  One week later…

  “Myles! I can’t find my cap!” Josephine called from her room.

  “It’s on the kitchen table!” he called out, wincing as Adrienne tightened his tie a bit too tight. “Damn, babe. I know I was bit rough last night, but you don’t have to try to strangle me as payback.”

  She smirked as she loosened it a little. “Better?”

  “Much,” he said, kissing her on the lips and moving over to the mirror. “Looking good, looking good.”

  “Yes, you do,” she said, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist. He smiled at her in the mirror.

  “You think so?”

  “Of course. I thought you were sexy in your uniform, but seeing you dressed up is giving me some ideas,” she said with a mischievous smirk. He turned around and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her lips gently.

  “Oh yeah? What kind of ideas?” he murmured against her lips before kissing her again.

  “I hope they include taking me to graduation,” Josephine interrupted from doorway. Ghost looked up at his sister as she posed. “So how do I look?”

  He smiled at her. “You look like you’re ready to take on the world,” he answered. Josephine playfully rolled her eyes.

  “Yeah, that’s fine and dandy, but do I look okay? I am trying to impress people, you know.”

  “You look beautiful, Josephine,” Adrienne said as she walked over to her, giving her a tight squeeze. “You’re graduating!”

  “I know! I don’t think it’s necessarily hit me yet though,” she said, her smile slightly fading. “I’m kind of scared of what happens next.”

  Ghost moved over to her and put his arm around her shoulders. “We’ve talked about this. No matter what happens next, I’ll always be here,” he said.

  “I’ll be here as well,” Adrienne added. Josephine looked between the two of them and put an arm around each of their waist, hugging them close to her.

  “Thanks, guys. I’m glad I have you two,” she said.

  “Always,” Ghost replied. “We’re all we got.”

  “Right,” Josephine beamed.

  “Do you have everything? Your speech?” Adrienne asked.

  “Shoot! Thanks for reminding me. I left it on my bed,” she said, dashing out the bedroom. Today was bitter sweet for Ghost. He was glad to see his sister walk across the stage, but he was also nervous about what would happen next. He’d gotten so used to her being around all the time that his place would feel weird without her in it. In the few years that she lived with him, they’d created a bond that made them nearly inseparable. He was pretty sure she wouldn’t be the only one with the waterworks when it was time to take her to college.

  “Looks like big brother is sad,” Adrienne said as she moved to stand next to him, rubbing his back.

  He sighed and ran a hand over his head. “It’ll just be weird when she goes off to college. No one to fuss at for letting their hair clog the shower drain or hearing her complain about taking the last Gatorade or using all the hot water.” He chuckled. “I’ll miss her, that’s all.”

  “She won’t be gone forever, babe,” Adrienne said. “I’m sure it’ll be hard for the both of you at first, but you have each other to lean on. Everything will be fine.”

  He looked over at her and nodded. “You’re right,” he said, just as someone knocked on the front door. “I’ll get it.”

  “It may be Pia and her parents!” Josephine called from her room.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Ghost muttered as he crossed the living room. Once at the door, he looked through the peep hole and his heart immediately jumped into his throat. His palms became sweaty in an instant as his heart rate rose.

  “Myles? Everything okay?” Adrienne asked from the hallway.

  “Y-yeah, it’s fine,” he stammered, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat as he opened the door.

  His mother stood before him, looking healthier than she’d looked in a long time. Her brown skin glowed and her face had very little makeup, just enough to accentuate her beautiful features. Her jet black hair hung in curls around her shoulders and her flower-printed dress slightly moved with the light wind.

  She smiled at him. “Hello, baby,” she said, her voice like a soothing balm on the never-healing hurt she’d caused when she’d left. Unable to find the words, he hugged her tight, tears streaming down his face. He’d forced himself to be strong for so long to pick up her slack and just hearing her voice and seeing her the way she used to look sent all of his protective walls crashing down. He’d missed her and who she was. She still smelled of cocoa butter as she did when he went have her hold him for comfort. Each time she rubbed his back, more and more layers he’d covered himself with slipped away, leaving him vulnerable before her. Nothing hurt him more than to lose his mother and to have her back, no matter how temporary, meant everything to him.

  He finally pulled back and looked at her. Her own face was streaked with tears as she reached up to wipe his away. “It’s so good to see you,” he finally said once he pulled himself together.

  “I wouldn’t miss this for anything in the world,” she said with a smile.

  “Mommy!” Josephine screamed from the hallway, dashing across the living room to hug her. “Oh mommy!” Josephine sobbed in her arms as their mother held her tight. Seeing them together made him even more emotional. Even though Ghost was hurt by his mother’s actions, his pain was nothing compared to Josephine’s. Josephine was devastated when she’d first moved here, refusing to eat or listen to him because all she wanted was to go back home to their mother. She didn’t understand that their mom had a drug problem back then and demanded that he take her to her. He knew she missed her dearly and after everything she’d been through lately, he was glad that their mom came through for her.

  “Look at you! You’re so beautiful and you’ve gotten so big!” their mom exclaimed as she looked at Josephine.

  “And you look so good, mom. Are you feeling better?” she asked.

  “I fe
el great, baby,” she replied, fixing Josephine’s cap on her head. Adrienne slowly stepped into the living room, catching the attention of their mom. “Oh, I’m sorry. Hello, dear.”

  “Oh mom, this is Adrienne, my girlfriend,” Ghost said, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him. “Adrienne, this is my mom.”

  “It’s so nice to meet you,” Adrienne said, holding out her hand.

  “Oh nonsense.” His mom pulled her into a hug. “It’s nice to meet you too. You can call me Denise.”

  “I can’t believe you’re actually here,” Josephine exclaimed, hugging Denise again.

  “Jojo, finish getting ready so we can get out of here,” Ghost said to her. She nodded and headed back toward her room. Denise watched her until she disappeared before turning back to Ghost.

  “I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done for her,” she said, her eyes glossing over once more. “She was very lucky to have you.”

  “We’re family. I’d do anything for her,” he replied. “So how are you?”

  “I’m doing well. I went back to rehab a few days after I left and fought through it. I’ve been clean almost three months now,” she said proudly.

  “That’s great, ma. I’m so proud of you,” he said with a smile. “I’m glad you were able to make it. Jojo really missed you.”

  She looked toward the empty hallway with a sigh. “I know. I promise to be more present in her life,” she said and turned her eyes back to his. “Myles…I know I can’t take away the hurt I’ve caused you over the years, but I want you to know that I’m sorry. I know it may take time, but I’d love to be a part of your life if you’ll have me.”

  Ghost gave her a small smile. Of course it would take time to rebuild their trust and relationship, but he was willing to try if she was. “Of course, ma,” he murmured.