Freeing Jasper
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FREEING JASPER
A Black Ops Romance
Book 2
The 707 Freedom Series
Riley Edwards
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 by Riley Edwards
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover design: Riley Edwards
Written by: Riley Edwards
Published by: Riley Edwards
Edited by: Elfwerks Editing - https://elfwerksediting.com/
FREEING JASPER – A Black Ops Romance
First edition – November 2017
Copyright © 2017 Riley Edwards
All rights reserved
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Other Books by, Riley Edwards:
Nightstalker
The Gift
The Awakening
Unbroken part one – A Collective Novel
Unbroken part two – A Collective Novel
The Collective – Season Finale
Free – A Black Ops Romance
Free – The Extended Epilogue
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to my three Alpha readers – Michelle Thomas, Chriss Prokic, and Cindy Wolken. Thank you so much for all your help on this book.
Elfwerks Editing took my normal jumbled up mess and polished it. Thank you for all your hard work. Your notes and suggestion undoubtedly made this book better.
To the BETA readers, reviewers, and Bloggers that took time out of their lives to read, review and promote this project – THANK YOU! As with anything else in life it takes a village. I couldn’t have published this book without your help.
Ellie Masters – Thank you. Your friendship, guidance, and steadfast support means the word to me. I wouldn’t have finished this book when I did if it wasn’t for your word sprints. You truly are one-of-a-kind.
Kendall Barnett – My business partner and friend -You are the bomb dot com. I love you woman!
Chris Genovese and Faith Gibson – The two of you listened to me whine and complain daily about the progress of this book. You helped me when I got stuck and took time out of your busy schedules to bounce ideas around. But it is your unwavering encouragement that I appreciate the most. It means the world to me to call the two of you my friends.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all the brave men and women who serve or have served in the United States Armed Forces. There are no words to properly convey the sacrifices they make and the appreciation I have for the cost of their service.
A special thanks to the sailors aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN68). I wrote this book while thinking about her crew, especially my daughter who is currently aboard in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. Godspeed sailors. BRAVO ZULU!
To the men in the 3rd ID (Infantry Division) Rock of Marne - Fort Stewart, Georgia: As the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade and 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division begin their deployment in support of Operation Resolute Support may God be with you. – Dogface soldiers, CAN DO!
The world lost 31 Heroes 06 Aug 2011. SOC SEAL John W. Faas was among the crew that died that day. Even in death, John continues to inspire all those who knew him and love him. He is not forgotten - never forgotten. His sacrifice and that of his family’s reminds us that freedom is never free.
We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.
Whether it was the writer George Orwell, the essayist Richard Grenier, or the Washington Times columnist Rudyard Kipling who originally wrote those words matters not. The sentiment rings true. We are only afforded the luxuries we have because rough men are willing to stand at the ready. Chief Faas was one of those men.
31 heroes – From a grateful nation.
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Prologue
Jasper
“Yo! Anyone home?” I walked in the front door without knocking.
“You know Lenox is gonna give you shit for just walking in his house,” Levi said laughing as I opened the door and let myself in.
“That’s what makes it so fun.” What could I say? Riling Lenox up was amusing.
“I’m in the kitchen,” Lily yelled.
Levi and I made our way to the kitchen, and my stomach growled. Lily had a metric shit ton of food spread out over the counter. God, I loved that woman. Maybe I’d consider not annoying Lenox today, in appreciation for him bringing us Lily.
“Hey, Lily,” Levi said and pulled her in for a hug.
“Thanks for having us over, everything looks great,” I noted.
After Lily came to Georgia and moved in with Lenox, and especially after Carter was born, the team had taken to backyard barbeques and poker at their house. It was a far cry from our nights together bar hopping after we got home from a mission. I was happy for Lenox, him and Lily both. After all their years apart, they deserved to be happy.
“One of these days I’m gonna beat your ass for walking into my house without knocking. And keep your voices down, I just put Carter to sleep,” Lenox commented when he came in the room.
“Doubtful,” I shot back.
“Doubtful I’ll do it? Or doubtful I can? Because I think I proved not too long ago I can put you on your ass.”
He wished.
“Man, you sucker punched me. It doesn’t count,” I said, picking up a cracker and shoving it in my mouth.
“You’re so full of shit. I warned you I was gonna kick your ass. It wasn’t my fault you didn’t believe me.”
He did. He warned me the night I told him that Lily was pregnant and I had kept it from him. I didn’t regret keeping Lily’s secret, I would do it again. They needed time to get their shit together and heal from everything that had happened. They had both said things to each other they didn’t mean. I knew a little bit about saying things that you could never take back – I didn’t want my friend to suffer the same fate I had.
In an effort to push Lily away, in some misguided effort to protect her, Lenox had said some pretty brutal stuff to her. Including lying to her, telling her he had never loved her. When the truth was, he had loved her his whole life. It was all for naught when Lily was kidnapped and held in the Bahamas by a madman. After we rescued Lily, she knew she was pregnant, but hadn’t told anyone. I made the decision to not tell Lenox. Lily had already made up her mind she was going to ru
n. There was nothing that Lenox could’ve said to make her stay. It would’ve only further driven a wedge between them. I let Lily leave without telling Lenox. They both needed time. When her time ran out, the team and I took Lenox to her. In the end, it was the right choice. Lenox and Lily were happily married with a son they both adored.
Only, Lenox didn’t actually give me a beat down or kick my ass, he sucker punched me in the face, and I didn’t hit him back. That’s how men worked their shit out. It was easy; a man gets pissed, he punches another man in the face, we move on. It was so much easier than what women did – bitch and drag it on, forever rehashing it every chance they got.
“No more talking about the fight. We’re here to eat, drink, and play poker,” Lily chastised.
“But Lily, this is what real men do. We talk about fighting, fucking, and killing bad guys,” Levi helpfully explained.
The look of shock on Lily’s face was hysterical. I knew she thought that Levi was the most mild-mannered out of the group because he rarely cursed in front of her. Boy was she wrong. We all had our own special skillset when we were in the field. Each of us brought something unique that made our team the best there was. Levi was ice-cold when we were on a mission. Not even I could turn off my emotions the way he could, and he was brutal when he needed to be. And the cursing? He had Lily snowed; that man came up with some pretty creative words for tangos.
“Seriously?” Lily asked.
I had to laugh when Lily turned to Lenox for help.
“Well, sweetheart, he’s not wrong,” Lenox confirmed.
I thought I heard Lily mumble men under her breath, but there was a knock at the door before I could comment.
“For tonight, while I have a friend over, can we please limit the talk about fighting, fucking, and killing?”
“We’ll see what we can do,” Shane replied, smiling at his wife.
“Is she hot?” I couldn’t help asking. I didn’t bother hiding my enjoyment of women around my team. I know they probably thought I got laid more than I actually did, I just didn’t bother correcting them.
“Not answering that,” Lily shouted back as she went for the door.
“Dude, what happened to the blonde from last night?” Levi asked.
Yes, the blonde. She was sexy as hell and fake. Every part of her from her glued-on lashes to the porno-style moans. Boring. A dime a dozen. We both had fun and parted ways. No hard feelings.
“Do you want details or the cliff notes?” I joked.
“Not even worth the normal week?” Lenox laughed.
“She kicked me outta her bed with a thanks-for-coming-don’t-call-again. I smiled and left,” I explained.
Levi or Lenox said something, but I’d lost interest when I heard the sweetest voice come from the other room. I couldn’t make out the words, something about whiskey maybe. It was the tone of her voice, the cadence. The kind of voice that would soothe and lull you to sleep. Just the sound of it alone hit me in the gut. She wouldn’t fake her moans, she would enjoy her man, actually feel him.
“Come in. The guys are in the kitchen, and if you want to eat, we’d better hurry,” I heard Lily say.
Holy fuck.
In walked the prettiest woman I had ever seen. Long midnight hair that was made to have a man wrap around his hand. Crystal blue eyes made even more beautiful by her skin tone, not makeup. I didn’t even think the girl was wearing any. Her beauty was all her – all real, no pretense, nothing fake.
“Hi, Emily. Nice to see you again, thanks for coming over,” Lenox said.
His voice pulled me from my stupor, reminding me I was in front of my team.
“Hey, Lenox. Thanks for having me,” the woman, Emily, replied.
“This is Jasper and Levi, Shane’s teammates.” Lily pointed at each of us.
“Hi. I’m Emily.” Her sweet voice was even better close up.
“Nice to meet you,” Levi politely said.
“Yo,” I greeted. When her eyes came to me, I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of interest. I had to know for sure so I added a wink.
Emily blushed. Hell yeah!
“You from around here, Emily?” I asked for no other reason than I wanted to hear her voice.
Before Emily could answer, there was a honk from out front that drew everyone’s attention away.
“That must be Clark,” Lenox said.
Shit, I forgot. Another reason we were here today. We were going to build Carter a swing set. I followed Lenox and Levi to the front door without getting to hear Emily’s answer.
The door shut behind us and Lenox turned to me. “Lily will have your balls if you fuck with Emily, brother. And while I’m not fond of that visual, better she removes yours than mine.”
“Fuck with her? I don’t want to fuck with her,” I told him.
“You didn’t exactly hide the fact you were eye fucking her,” Levi added.
“I was not eye fucking her. If I was, she would’ve been panting. I won’t lie, she’s fucking gorgeous.”
“But? There’s normally a but after the phrase, I won’t lie,” Levi asked.
“No buts. Just acknowledging the fact, she’s beautiful.”
Lenox stared at me, something weird working behind his eyes. “What?” I prompted.
“Huh. I’m not used to you calling women beautiful or gorgeous. Sexy and hot are your normal adjectives.”
“You’re way overthinking this. Let’s get this lumber in the backyard so we can eat,” I said.
Damn, nothing gets past that fucker. The truth was she was both hot and sexy, but it seemed beneath her to describe her that way. She wasn’t some barfly I wanted to take home for the night. Not that I wouldn’t mind some alone time with her. But more than that, I wanted to talk to her, take her to dinner so I could hear her laugh. I bet she had a great laugh.
***
Emily
“What’s that look for?” I asked Lily after the guys left the room.
“No look,” she answered and busied herself straightening up the food trying to hide her discomfort.
“Liar. You think I’d fall for a lame pick-up attempt? I’m not stupid enough to fall for a man like Jasper. Besides, I haven’t been with a man since Steven. I think if I am going to start dating again I need to start with training wheels. And that man looks like he’s as high speed as they come.” I tried to put her at ease. Most of what I’d said was true. The other parts? I was saying them more to myself than her.
“I don’t think you’re stupid. And I love Jasper like a brother. I don’t have a bad word to say about him. But he…” she trailed off.
“He’s a dog.” I laughed. “A man that sexy can be. I’m sure he has women throwing themselves at him.”
I was sure not many women would be able to resist Jasper if he turned all of his attention on them. His messy brown hair was cut short on the sides in standard military regulations. It made him look sexy in a I don’t give a shit way. And his deep blue eyes told a story if you really looked before he turned on the charm.
“What the hell?” Lily said, looking over my shoulder into the backyard.
I turned around to look and holy dear God the sight was amazing. The guys were carrying lumber, muscles bulged and flexed under their T-shirts. Even from a distance, I could see Jasper’s shirt pulling tight over his impressive biceps.
“I don’t know what the hell they’re doing, but I admit I am enjoying the view,” I said.
Lily opened the sliding glass door and hollered, “What are you doing?”
“Building a swing set,” a man answered.
“A swing set?” she returned.
My attention was pulled from Lily’s conversation, and I was fully engrossed in watching Jasper move. Just his walk exuded power.
“You know, for junior,” Levi added.
“You do know that the baby won’t be able to play on the swing set for years, right?” Lily told them.
“So?” Jasper spoke up. “No time like the present.”
“Don’t say anything, Lily. We want to make sure that Carter’s taken care of while we can,” the man who I had not met yet answered.
Lily’s face softened, and her tone changed. “Thank you,” she called back.
“No problem,” he answered.
She shut the door when the guys disappeared around the corner of the house and turned to me.
“That’s sweet they’re doing all this,” I said.
“I’m sorry. I’m new to all of this and forget sometimes,” she apologized.
Ah, I understood what she was apologizing for. “Don’t be silly. There’s nothing to be sorry for. They are going a little overboard out there, but I do understand. We never know how much time we have with them. One of the perils of falling in love with a man like that.” I stopped and sucked in a deep breath. I understood all too well. The love I had for Steven was far different than the love that Lily and her husband had. But I knew the loss nonetheless. “Hold on tight, Lily, and enjoy every minute. Soak it all up. You’ll need it to get you through deployments and training assignments. And God forbid if the unthinkable happens, you’ll need all the goodness and love he gave you to get through that, too.”
“Did you soak up enough?” she asked.
“I thought I did, but now I’m not so sure. My tank’s running low,” I answered.
I hated not being able to tell Lily the truth. I wasn’t keeping the truth from her because I didn’t trust her. I was protecting Steven’s reputation. He deserved my loyalty, even in death.
“Does it bother you being over here, around us?”
“Hell-to-the-no, sister. I love you and Lenox. Just because Steven is gone, doesn’t mean I want to lose my family. Right after it happened, I was afraid I would lose that, too. The Army is my life, and I still love it.”
“Good. Because I love you woman.”
That felt good. I didn’t have a lot of friends. My life was wrapped up in being a single mom. Jason was all that I had left.
“Now, let’s grab a drink and sit on the deck. I wanna watch the guys carry the lumber.” She laughed. Lily grabbed the baby monitor while I grabbed a beer and we made our way to the back deck.