by KaLyn Cooper
After completing her contract as a naval officer, she kept up her training, often beside her brothers. She worked out hard almost every day and made it to the range at least once a week, firing different guns each time.
When she’d first returned to Ethiopia, her brothers were impressed with her skills until her dad told them about the top-secret training she’d gotten at the Joint All-Female Special Operations School.
One night, while drinking with her older brother Clint, they spent hours comparing his Army Green Beret training with hers. It was surprising how many of the same schools they’d attended including sniper school, jump school, and several more. They joked at how their cold-weather training had absolutely no application now that they were back home.
Ryker had much the same training with greater concentration on water-related situations. Although she was a good SCUBA diver, she preferred the air over water. She loved to fly.
When Xena walked into the library, she headed straight for the computer. “Give me a minute to get the maps pulled up.” Glancing over at Ryker, he stood one step inside the room, his gaze sweeping right to left trying to take in everything that she took for granted.
While the computer went through its startup process—which took considerable time because of the firewalls their resident computer guru, Dell, built into their system—she took a second to try to see things through Ryker’s eyes.
It was a library and thus contained books. Thousands of them. Several written by her father. One section was for the classics her mother used while homeschooling her and the boys. Her father utilized a whole wall. An entire shelf was dedicated to Bibles written in several different languages. Another contained the Torah. Her dad considered those research materials, concentrating on the time before Christ was born. The rest of his were books on archaeology, anthropology, plate tectonics, and anything possibly relating to his educational-based work.
Behind her father’s huge desk, which couldn’t be seen under the piles of files, the wall was filled floor to ceiling with books on war. From biographies of Winston Churchill to Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, to books by little-known authors on battles seldom discussed. Many of the books were written in Russian, a language he’d learned in college. He’d added Greek and Arabic, as well as several African dialects since moving to Eden.
The biggest television her father could find took up most of the wall opposite his desk. After entering her password, then her specific code, she was finally able to access the highly detailed maps her father paid to have created of Ethiopia. She threw the first one onto the screen, gaining Ryker’s attention.
“What am I looking at?” He asked as he walked toward the flatscreen, shoving his hands into the pockets of his lightweight sweatpants.
Damn. The man had a perfect ass. Her gaze swept past a trim waist and up the V of his back to broad powerful shoulders. The well-washed navy-blue T-shirt was loose enough to be comfortable but didn’t hide his muscles. After slow dancing with him several times, she knew he was extremely fit, but what she saw went beyond anybody her father employed.
“Where exactly are we?” Ryker’s question broke her train of thought.
“Ethiopia.” Using the mouse, she pointed out their current location on Shala Lake, then Addis Ababa in an attempt to help orient him. “If all went well for Ajax and Serena today, and since I haven’t heard from any of my contacts that there was a problem, they should be here.” She indicated Dessie, a small town about two hundred and fifty miles north of Addis. “They are spending the night with good people.”
“Where are they headed?”
Xena debated on telling him, but decided, what the hell. “The Afar region. The two men the Eritrean rebels took have remained holed up in a mountain cave, here.” She pointed to the desert close to Djibouti.
“That’s a damn long ways yet to go.” Ryker moved closer to the big screen. “That’s got to be nearly a hundred fifty miles.
“Don’t worry about them. Between our contacts and Charley’s, we’ll get them there safely. My team is monitoring their progress.”
Ryker whirled to face her. “Charley. What do you know about her? How long have you worked for her? Who is she?”
She had to take a second to catch up with his rapid-fire questions. “First, I don’t know much at all about her. This mission, though, isn’t the first time we’ve worked with her. Who she is? Damned if I know. She calls and talks to Daddy, he figures out what’s needed and gives her a price, almost immediately the money is transferred and we rarely hear from her again. According to him, she’s the best kind of customer.”
“What kind of jobs have you done for her in the past?” Ryker prodded.
She cocked her head to the side and raised one eyebrow. “You know better than to ask a question like that. It’s classified, just like this mission.” She tried to soften the blow with a small smile. “I can tell you that each mission righted a wrong. In your case, your SEAL squad was led into an ambush instead of taking out one of the most powerful rebels in all of Ethiopia. I’m sorry—”
Xena caught herself before she said another word. Charley had warned her not to say a word to Ryker or Ajax about the reason their squad was trapped. “I’m sorry that happened. You were fed bad intelligence.”
“If I ever find the CIA agent who sent that information up the chain of command, I’ll personally kill him with my bare hands,” Ryker threatened, his hands extended as though he was choking someone.
Xena’s left hand flew to her neck, the right hand shaking the mouse. Thankfully, Ryker’s attention was on her, not the jumping arrow on the screen. She swallowed hard and regained control of her body. “Good to know.”
Quickly changing the subject, she pointed to the screen. “Our four men have been on the move almost constantly since they were captured here in Dembi.” She moved the cursor due west of Addis to the mountain range close to the South Sudan border.
“They haven’t taken them out of the country yet, have they?” He looked over his shoulder at her.
“Fortunately, no. They seem to be moving from small town to small town, living off the locals. If they don’t voluntarily support the rebels, they steal what they want. People in that area live hand to mouth. They don’t give a shit about politics. Their biggest worry is if their teenage sons are going to become enamored by the rebels and run away to join them, leaving the hard farm work to the old and female.”
After a moment, she added, “There are several mines in that area, but the workers barely make enough money to feed their families.”
“Do you mean that the vice president’s son and his dweeb sidekick don’t pay their employees well? That wouldn’t look good in the world press,” Ryker snarked.
“Why, my dear Ryker.” She changed her voice to the schooled socialite she pretended to be at her mother’s functions. “They couldn’t bother themselves with the daily operations. They are merely investors. They certainly are responsible for the poorly paid, overworked men.”
She suddenly remembered Ford’s reaction when she questioned them about Zesaro Neberu needing partners. She made a mental note to ask her mother about it. Did the Saudi/Ethiopian billionaire need money or was he trying to buy favor with the vice president? Ford wouldn’t be the first politician’s child to sell access to his parent. The problem with that idea was that money usually went the other direction, into the children’s coffers.
She was too tired to give the situation any more thought.
“We’re pretty sure the SEALs were with the rebels who set up a camp south of Bonga, in the mountains.” She took a breath and let it out slowly as she pointed out the mountain range.
“Can we get the latest satellite photos of that area? Looks pretty dense. Is anyone on your team jump-trained?” Ryker didn’t give her a chance to continue. “We could parachute in there. A night drop would be—.”
“Whoa there, Master Chief Tufano.” Xena used her best officer voice.
It worked.
; He shut up and spun around to glare at her.
“I am no longer a master chief. I am not even allowed to consider myself a SEAL anymore.” The muscle in the side of his jaw pulsed as he ground his teeth. “I have no idea what’s in your file concerning me, but the Navy stripped me of any rank, my trident, and all hopes for the retirement that was so close I could taste it, and all because of fucked-up intelligence that got my squad ambushed then captured.” He leaned forward as though to make his point more clear. “I don’t give a shit about any of that right now. All I want is to find my men, rescue them from whatever hell they’ve been living in for the past three months, and get them on an airplane headed home to their families.”
Ryker stood up straight. “Then I’m going to hunt down the bastard who did this to us…and I’m going to kill him.”
Her. Not a him. She was to blame.
Xena stared at the man who seethed anger with every right to do so. Would he kill her? He’d try, that was for sure. Did she deserve to die for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time?
None of the Navy SEALs had died.
Yet.
If she could save them, save them all, maybe he would be merciful.
Focus on the first problem first. That’s what she’d been taught in JAFSOS and it’s what made her such a good tactician.
She decided to take the high road. “Before you so rudely interrupted me, I was about to tell you that as of ten days ago, that encampment was empty.”
Ryker crumpled in front of her like a balloon deflating. It was as though all of his ambition, energy, and intentions slowly leaked out as he collapsed on the couch.
Jumping up from behind the desk, Xena shot to his side. Hating to see him this way, she enfolded him in her arms. “We’ll find them. We have people all over the country looking for them.” She giggled. “Compared to us, they’re not very good soldiers at all. They’re terrible at logistics and even the most staunch supporters of the rebellion aren’t going to let them steal the small amount of food they have for their families.”
Her hand went to the back of his head and shoved it into her shoulder. “It’s been a long day. I’m sure you’re emotionally drained after flying halfway around the world yesterday then being forced to attend a state dinner. Sleep tonight. Sleep in tomorrow morning. We can’t do anything until everyone reports in which will be close to noon.”
Xena pulled back and cupped his cheeks with her hands. “Trust me. We have found them each time they moved. We’ll find them again.”
She sealed her promise with a short, sweet kiss.
That brief contact stunned her. His lips were surprisingly soft and warm. He didn’t respond until the very end, but it was a quick kiss. While dancing with him earlier that evening, she wondered what it would be like to kiss him for real. Now she thought she knew.
Ryker’s hands were on her face, mirroring her own.
She couldn’t tell if she bent in first, or he did. It didn’t matter.
Once her lips met Ryker’s, she discovered a new depth to the man. He was gentle yet demanding at the same time. He sipped and nipped at her lips sending a wake-up message to her very core. Somehow, she knew he would make love to her body the same way.
A deep throat cleared.
She and Ryker flew apart like teenagers caught kissing on the porch swing after their first date. Although it was kind of an accurate description, they were still consenting adults.
Xena looked up to find Blade standing in the doorway glaring at Ryker.
“We need to talk.”
Ryker stood and glanced down at her on the couch. “I’m going to take your advice. I hope you meant it when you said I could sleep in. Are you positive you won’t know anything more until noon?”
She stood, too. She hated when men towered over her looking down. She knew what she was capable of doing—killing a man with her bare hands at least two dozen ways. Not that she wanted to kill Ryker. Blade, on the other hand? Highly possible.
“Yes. We’re waiting for several sources to check in. They have till noon tomorrow.” The grandfather clock chimed then bonged twice. “Well, actually today.”
“See you in the morning.” Ryker turned and left the room.
Blade remained, blocking the doorway, nor did Ryker skirt around him. Xena didn’t miss when their broad shoulders clashed. When Ryker was a few steps down the hall, Blade stepped into the library.
“What the fuck was that all about?” she accused.
“Just giving the frog man a hard time.” Blade smiled and sat down on the couch where Ryker had just vacated. He patted the seat next to him.
Oh, no. Xena was having none of the big brother talk.
“Well, you can stop giving him a hard time right now.” She balled her hands into fists and shoved them on her hips. “Ryker is a guest in this house…and a client.” Maybe she should have reversed the order of that statement. Didn’t matter. It was out there now.
“I’m a guest in this house and a valuable member of your team. You’ve never kissed me like that.” Blade challenged.
“Yuck. And I never will. You’re like a brother to me.” Once the words were out of her mouth she wondered, had Blade been interested in her romantically and she just missed all the signs? No way. Then she had to ask because she needed to nix those ideas immediately. “Are you…you’re not?”
“Christ, no. You’re more like a little sister to me than my own.” He glanced at the doorway. “And that’s why I’m protective of you. Was I happy to find you and SEAL boy tangling tongues? Fuck no.”
“Ryker is the same age as you are so unless you’re going to consider yourself a boy, I wouldn’t be calling him one.” She looked down at him sitting on the couch and decided to join him there. “Was there a purpose to your interruption?”
“Yeah. Your dad called Batman and said he was going to wait and fly home after dawn.” He grinned. “I’m pretty sure he’d been drinking with the locals.”
“Did he say where he was?” Xena was hungry for any kind of information, especially possibilities as to the location of Ryker’s teammates.
“Nope.” Blade yawned so hard it cracked his jaw. “Now that I’ve delivered the message, I’m going to bed.”
He stood and stretched his arms, yawning once again. “A bed that you will never be in. Clint gave me that lecture when I joined the company. I like my balls just where they are.” As though to make sure they were still attached, Blade grabbed his crotch.
He started to leave, then looked at the map of Ethiopia. “Are you going to work some more?”
Standing, Xena gazed at the monstrous flat screen. Somewhere in the western mountains were four mistreated SEALs. She needed to find them soon. “No. I’m going to follow my own advice and sleep in.” She went to the desk and shut down the computer.
“No, you’re not.” Blade said as he stepped into the hall before turning to look back at her. “Obstacle course. Zero six hundred. Several of the men have been practicing intent on beating your time.”
“Oh. Joy.” Then she gave him that self-satisfied smile. “No problem. I’ll just take a nap after my shower.”
Chapter 10
Ryker wanted to hang out in the hall just to make sure Blade didn’t take his anger out on Xena, but the bodyguard watched him walk all the way to the end and turn toward the foyer.
He waited just around the corner listening for any sounds of female distress. Although he couldn’t hear the words, she sounded angrier than Blade.
When her voice returned to her normal tone, he decided to go to bed.
Fuck it.
She kissed him first.
The second kiss was mutual, and he wasn’t going to apologize for it. If she needed to explain things to her boyfriend, lover, whatever the hell he was, then she had to explain. Not him.
He would, though, be on his guard around Blade, just in case the guy decided to jump him.
Stripping off his clothes on the way to the bed, all he could think about
was Xena’s reaction when their lips met. She probably didn’t realize that she’d moaned and melted into him. Their first real kiss—and that’s the way he’d forever think of that kiss because the first was little more than a surprise peck—was hot and wet and left both of them wanting more.
As Ryker crawled between the softest sheets he’d ever slept on, the taste of Xena on his lips, he looked forward to sleeping in. But he couldn’t get comfortable. He stuffed a second pillow under his head and closed his eyes, releasing a deep breath slowly, trying to clear his mind of images of Xena.
He smiled at his first impression of her; somewhere between Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft and Sigourney Weaver ready to fight aliens. But the kick-ass woman looked closer to Princess Diana as she glided down the staircase in that gorgeous gown. Minutes ago, though, in yoga pants and a crop top, she could have been the girl next door.
He chuckled. She was next door, or at least would be soon.
He punched his pillow and doubled it over, casting aside the other one as he rolled to his side. A shadow passed the crack under his door followed by light footsteps. He confirmed it was Xena when the door to the room next to his opened and closed.
Should he go check on her?
No. He hadn’t heard any crying and she seemed to walk normally.
She’s fine.
But what if she isn’t?
He jumped out of the bed and padded naked to the wall they shared. Cupping his ear, he laid it against the cool concrete. He couldn’t hear a damn thing. Fucking thick walls.
Crawling back in bed, he’d almost convinced himself she wasn’t his problem, even if Blade had yelled at her.
But if that sonofabitch had touched her, hurt her in any way, Ryker would kill him.
Throwing off the blankets one more time, he grabbed the sweats he discarded moments ago and pulled them up enough to cover the important things. He slowly opened his door, checking to be sure the hallway was empty. She’d mentioned that her brothers slept in that area and the last thing Ryker wanted was to meet them while sneaking to her room.
