by KaLyn Cooper
When Clint joined the group, their father stuck out his hand. “Obviously, congratulations are in order.”
With dazed eyes, Clint shook his father’s hand. “I’m flying to the United States next week right after Mom’s party.”
Chapter 20
Xena was an emotional mess as she waved goodbye to her friends, but Ryker wasn’t sure how to help her. She had just watched her only girlfriends fly off. He’d learned from his foster sisters how important real female friendship was to a girl. Since Xena hadn’t had that feminine support as a child, the women who just left in that helicopter were even more important to her.
Top that off with the fact her brother and one of her best friends had betrayed her by not telling them of their marriage. Yeah, a drunken unintentional wedding in Las Vegas wasn’t something to brag about, but had Ajax done that to him, Ryker would be furious.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore you while my friends were here,” she apologized to him.
“You didn’t ignore me. I wasn’t exactly invited to your reunion.”
Xena let out a sigh. “I know I dragged you up here. Thank you. I wanted you to meet my friends and then I didn’t really introduce you.”
Ryker shrugged. “No big deal. Besides, I got to see the coolest helicopter I’ve ever seen in my life. That thing’s amazing. Who did you say they work for?”
“They got assigned to Homeland Security and I went to the State Department.” They started walking back to the vehicles. “Oh, shit. I have to take this flash drive to Dell. Hopefully, between what Van brought him, what he could piece together from the drones earlier today, and whatever is on this drive, we can at least construct a rough map of the camp. Clint is going to want to practice, practice, practice all day tomorrow.”
“That’s exactly what we would do back in the SEALs.” Ryker held the door to the operations center and gestured for Xena to go first.
“Such a gentleman,” she commented. He just smiled. He really enjoyed following her so he could check out her magnificent ass. Maybe tonight he’d take her on her hands and knees.
When they entered the subdued lighting of the ops center, they found Dell with his head down on the semicircular desk, sound asleep. Code was running on almost every screen except the one directly in front of Dell. That one had a live camera feed of an aquarium reef with colorful fish swimming past the camera.
“Should we just leave the drive and let him sleep?” Xena whispered to Ryker.
“I’m awake. I’m just resting my eyes.” The voice came from the desk, but he didn’t move. “What drive?”
“I’m sorry, Dell. I forgot to notify you that my friends were stopping in to refuel and they flew over Jimma using their thermal radar.” Xena thrust out the flash drive.
Dell moved so fast he almost tipped over his chair. “You have thermal?”
“That’s what they said they were using, and they have no reason to lie to me. My friend said the pictures were very clear.” Xena was awesome in command mode.
Grabbing the small drive from her hand, Dell shoved it into a port. It took a few minutes because he had to download a specific add-on to a program. Fortunately, it had been included on the drive.
“Fuck. This is the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in my life. Where did they get the camera? This is better than photographic quality.” His gaze flicked between the screen running code to his left and the one in front of him. “Holy mother of God. It’s 3D.”
Two clicks later, the image crystallized on the screen. “Watch this.” With the move of his mouse, the image rotated so it looked as though they were standing in the camp.
The door to the ops center opened and closed.
“Well, how did the girls do?” Digger asked as he moved in behind Dell’s chair. “Well, thank you United States government. Tell me we now have this program.”
Dell chuckled. “We have the program to look at the data, but we don’t have the camera, or cameras, that take the pictures. Nor do we have the computer that retrieves the raw data from the cameras. I’m not sure if there’s a subprogram running here.”
“One more thing just got added to my wish list.” A moment later he asked, “Will this make us a map?”
“Oh, yeah.” Dell grinned up at his boss. “But wouldn’t a 3D model be even better?”
“Hell yeah,” Clint interjected. “Can that thing make this real?” He pointed at the oversized model printer.
“It’ll take all night, but by breakfast, we could have a complete model of the area.” Dell looked at the screen for a few seconds before his fingers moved over the three keyboards so fast it looked almost like a blur. “If I combine what our drones took this afternoon and what Van brought in and run it through the program we use for your archaeology sites, then merge it with this program, you’ll be able to see every inch of the camp. Why didn’t I think of that before?”
“Are you talking about the LiDAR and ground-penetrating radar program?” Digger asked.
“Yeah. That one.”
Everybody stood silently and watched Dell’s magic show.
“Why are you still here? Go to bed. Somebody needs to get some sleep tonight. It certainly isn’t going to be me.” Dell jumped up from the chair and grabbed a large plastic cube from the cabinet and placed it inside the printer that filled the entire corner of the room. “This is going to take me all night.”
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Xena asked. She was always there to help other people. It was one of the things he admired most about her, her giving heart.
“Could you guys round me up some tables?”
Van hit Clint in the arm. “Come on. We’ll go grab some from the barracks.”
“Princess, Ryker, let’s get out of Dell’s way.” Digger headed out of the room. “Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
Digger drove him down to the house, saying good night after he parked in the garage.
Once in the upstairs hallway, Xena followed him into his room. Ryker knew this might be the last time for them. Tomorrow would involve planning, practice, creating new plans, and practicing those. Planning for every contingency possible and practicing some more. No doubt, they would go into the rebel camp in just over twenty-four hours. He wanted to make the most of the time he had left with this woman who was beautiful inside and out.
She must’ve realized their time together was coming to an end. They took their time undressing each other, kissing, nipping, licking every inch of flesh as it was exposed. He was so hard by the time he sheathed himself and slid inside her hot, wet body, he almost came on the first thrust. Her inner walls quivered. All too quickly she came, her channel spasming and taking him with her. With tissues on the nightstand, he quickly disposed of the condom in the wastebasket next to the bed.
Ryker rolled over and wrapped his arms around an already sleeping Xena.
They reached for each other twice more that night. Once in a feverish coupling where she rode him while he played with her breasts and nipples before concentrating on her clit.
The last time, just before dawn, their lovemaking was slow and sensuous. He wanted to make it last as long as it could, never wanting it to end.
I could get used to sex like this. With this woman. Having Xena in my bed every night. It wasn’t just the sex. He enjoyed being with her every day. He wanted her in his life. Possibly for the first time, Ryker was falling in love.
As he lay on his back, Xena snuggled against his side, her leg sprawled over his, he thought about the future after rescuing his teammates.
What the hell am I going to do with my life? Everything will be over by this time tomorrow. Not everything.
He still had to track down everyone involved in his squad’s ambush and subsequent capture. Maybe she would let him stay with her while he finished his self-assigned mission.
On that hope, Ryker fell asleep.
Xena had gotten up to go to the bathroom when she heard her cell phone ring. The sun was trying to
break over the horizon but had barely chased the night away. She didn’t want to disturb Ryker with her conversation, so she wrapped a towel around her naked body and scooted down the hall to her room.
“Hello, Ms. Xena Riggs.”
“Good morning, Ms. Xena. This is Jasmine. I apologize for the early morning call, but I thought you should know that Mr. Ajax has left.”
“What about Serena?” Xena had wondered if her straightlaced presence would be more of a hindrance than a help when it came to the actual rescue of the Navy SEALs.
“She’s still sleeping. He left her here.” The woman hundreds of miles away in the northeastern part of Ethiopia sounded sad.
“Is she planning to follow him later?” Although in the right part of the country, Jasmine’s house was quite a distance from where they were to meet her friend Striker.
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” Jasmine had such a strong personality, Xena doubted Serena would even be able to leave the house.
“It’s better if she stays put.” Xena believed that was the right idea. “Take care of her, and yourself. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“Thank you, Ms. Xena. You’ve done so much for us already. You have a good day.”
Xena sat on the edge of her bed and texted a message to Striker: One package on the way. Would appreciate arrival confirmation.
A minute later she received a thumbs-up emoji from him.
Wide awake, Xena decided to shower and get dressed for the day. Somehow, she’d work in a nap before mission lift off.
She knocked on Ryker’s door then stuck her head into his room as he walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a low-slung towel around his hips. Water ran in slow rivulets over his pecs and down the gully between six-pack abs. Her gaze followed a single drop down to the towel an inch from the thin dark line that ran from his belly button. She’d followed that happy trail last night with her tongue, not stopping until she had caressed his erection with her mouth.
“Is everything okay? I woke up and you were gone.” His deep sexy morning voice interrupted her memory.
“Yeah. Everything’s fine. I had to take a phone call.” She decided to go ahead and tell him. “Ajax left Serena at their last lodging. He moved on to the final leg by himself.”
“Probably a good idea.” Ryker nodded and finished drying his hair.
“Yeah. I thought so too.” Xena hated the sudden awkwardness between them. Last night was so special. Tender. Loving.
Oh my God. What they’d shared the last time wasn’t sex. She’d had sex. For the first time in her life, Xena had made love.
Wasn’t this a fucking mess?
She’d finally fallen in love, and he’d made it perfectly clear that it was nothing more than a stress release. It was all for the better anyway. She might not make it out of that rebel camp tonight. If she did, he might kill her when he discovered she was the reason his team got ambushed.
They could never have a real relationship…or a future.
He pulled off the towel and tossed it into the bathroom and started digging in his duffel bag.
Damn. He was magnificent. She’d seen it all before. Kissed it all before. But it was only sex. It had to be that way.
Too bad she couldn’t convince her heart.
Xena had to get out of there before she stripped off her clothes, jumped on the bed, and spread her legs wide, begging for him to come inside her once again. What they’d had…sex…she reminded herself once again, was nothing more than stress release in his eyes.
“I…uh…gotta go.” She threw her thumb over her shoulder toward the door. “I’ll see you down to breakfast.” She dashed out before he could say a word.
Chapter 21
Ryker’s heart fractured at the closing of the door.
She couldn’t run away from me fast enough. I was nothing more than talented fingers, an eager mouth, and a stiff cock to her. Stress release. That was all.
But he had set those rules, not her. They had both known what they had in that bed could never last. It had an end date before it ever began. Besides, walking into a firefight was a given. Walking out wasn’t.
If he made it through the night, got his teammates to safety, he’d give more thought to the situation with Xena. He’d have some time while hunting down the bastards who started this entire cluster fuck.
Ryker quickly finish dressing and trotted down to the dining room. He followed one of the men from Xena’s team through the dining-room door.
“Tracker,” she said with a smile. “Come, sit down and eat with us.”
“Thank you, ma’am, but I came here straight from the helicopter. I know how bad I smell. I wanted to report in to you before I got a shower and some grub up at the chow hall.”
Ryker had to agree. The man smelled like two-day-old sweat mixed with the garbage and piss from the camp they had reconned the night before last. He was glad the man, and the stench, stayed near the door.
“Before you get started, we found their new camp. It’s near Jimma.” Xena handed her teammate a glass of juice. “We also know they’ve been reinforced with at least another twenty-five men. Our plan is to go in late tonight and free the Navy SEALs.”
“And the women they’ve captured and tied to trees,” Clint added through clenched teeth.
Ryker completely agreed. It was abusive enough when he first thought his teammates had been tied to trees, arms, and legs spread out, but when his bee caught one of the rebels raping a girl, he wanted to throw up. They had to rescue those poor girls and return them to their homes.
“If you want in on tonight’s raid, just say the word.” Xena knew how to handle her men which impressed Ryker
“You’re not going to leave without me.” Tracker’s tone was determined. “Xena, you wouldn’t believe what they did to those people. Some were sympathizers to their cause when they first showed up. Now, they would help us kill them all. When the first group, the ones with the Navy SEALs, showed up, they paid for the food. After several weeks, they’d just storm into someone’s house and take whatever they wanted. The drought last year, followed by torrential rains, didn’t allow them to grow enough crops to carry over. They couldn’t even feed their families.”
Ryker’s heart went out to the mountain people. He knew about farming. He also knew how quickly mother nature could ruin the crop.
Tracker swallowed hard. “Xena, those people are starving.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of gold nuggets. “The rebels paid the people with these. They were sure it was stolen. Mountain people know about the ruthless mine owners. If someone from that region showed up in a major city with gold, they’d be killed by the mining company. That’s why they gave me these.”
He emptied his pockets, placing nuggets of gold as small as a pea to as large as a peach pit. “That big one came from the town leader. That’s what they’d paid him to keep his mouth shut about their camp when the Ethiopian civil patrol rolled through. It was the same story village after village.”
Ryker had never seen raw gold. He had no idea how much money was sitting in the rocks in front of him.
Tracker couldn’t hold Xena’s gaze.
“What aren’t you telling me?” She asked.
“Some of that gold. It was for virgins.” Tracker said just above a whisper. “They would steal their daughters. Young girls. Then throw the gold at the parents.” The anger in his eyes could be felt throughout the room when his gaze met Xena’s. “I will be there tonight at your side. Or with whoever is going to save the girls.”
With tears swelling in her eyes, Xena hugged her teammate. “Thank you, Tracker.” She sniffed and stepped back. “I want you to be sure to get at least six hours of sleep. You’re going to need it for tonight.”
When she returned to her seat at the table, she announced, “I’ll call Father Domenico. We can spare a pilot to take him to that area with basic supplies. Next week we can load up a Huey with even more.”
&nb
sp; She ran her fingers through the golden stones. “Daddy, can we convert this to Ethiopian currency? Maybe we can make a deal with the bishop to feed the mountain people.”
“We’ll feed the people.” Her father trusted no one outside their family. “And yes, we’ll convert this to birr and put it in a separate account for their needs.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“I love you, too, my bighearted princess.” Digger finished his breakfast along with everybody else.
Her huge heart and compassion for others was one of the many things Ryker loved about Xena.
As everyone was about to leave, the house phone rang. Digger picked it up in the dining room. “Dell wants us in the operations center.”
Minutes later the same group wandered around the three-dimensional plastic version of the rebel camp. It took up two whole eight-foot-long tables.
“It’s perfectly to scale,” Dell announced proudly. “One inch equals one foot.”
“I see roads here,” Van then pointed to one end and quickly walked to the other. “And here. This one leads to the main highway into Jimma. If one of you can get into a sniper position and paint it for me, I can put a crater in that road, and they’ll never be able to use it again.”
“Trapping them is a great idea,” Clint agreed. “I’m thinking Javier can do it. We need oversight anyway.”
“I agree.” Xena was studying the model intently.
Ryker had immediately focused on the truck. “If you bomb the hell out of the road, we can’t drive this truck out of there. That was my initial idea for getting my teammates away from the camp as fast as possible.”
“Good idea, but if it were me, I’d rig the truck with explosives and probably disable the truck by removing…”
For the next several hours, Ryker and the Riggs family worked through possibilities, probabilities, and impossibilities.
