Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Beauty (Kindle Worlds Novella) (The Bounty Hunters: The Marino Bros. Book 5)

by MJ Nightingale

  Yes, it was true. Her family, and her dear friend and her life had been in Pennsylvania for so long. But with her job she could literally move anywhere. Her parents looming retirement was upon them and many of their friends had pulled up stakes and headed to Nevada. Life was changing all around her. She pushed that thought out of her head and focused on the horizon. This trip was meant to be stress free.

  Gazing across the bay, Melody could see a woman with long dark hair, doing yoga on the balcony of one of the largest homes. She seemed so at peace. Looking closer, she took in the sight of her belly, and knew instinctively it was swollen with child. A sign? She felt a flutter in her stomach. The woman was pregnant, very pregnant.

  Melody’s intake of breath alerted Tex to his wife’s change in mood. He gazed across the water in the direction she was looking. The woman he had noticed just seconds ago was bending deeply performing her exercises. He watched for a moment wondering what had caused his wife’s breath to hitch. Then he saw it as she stood and stretched and reached heavenward. Her belly. Swollen with child. He sighed inwardly. Melody, and he, wanted a baby. And so far, with over a year of trying, they hadn’t conceived. They hadn’t gone to a fertility doctor yet, but both agreed that they had plenty of options and time to add to their family.

  Tex held his wife closer. “Melody. I love you. You are my life. If it doesn’t happen, I’m okay. We have Akilah . . . and of course, Baby. And we can adopt others if you want.” He had said these words before. He felt her nod, but her face was still turned towards the woman on the balcony.

  “I know, love. And truly I’m okay too. If it doesn’t happen . . .I mean I want it too. I want to know what it feels like to have a child grow in my belly. To feel your child grow in my belly. I want to give you that. But if it doesn’t happen, I love our daughter, and there are so many other children out there, like her, who need parents.” Their daughter had been a refugee, wounded, and treated in America when she had lost her arm. She had also been in an orphanage. He heard about her through his military connections and his heart had known that she needed a man like him to help her through her ordeal. That was the kind of man she had fallen in love with. Selfless and always putting others first.

  “And I’d love that. Whatever you want to do, babe, as long as it’s with me,” he murmured softly against her cheek.

  “Always,” she whispered into the wind still watching the beautiful woman across the sea.

  Together they both watched the woman until a very tall dark haired man joined her on the balcony. Melody and Tex watched the couple as the man took the petite brunette in his arms, his hands circling her and holding her abdomen. It was a beautiful moment. A vignette frozen in time. A moment neither would forget.

  As Tex watched the remarkable scene before him, he had to admit to himself that he would love to feel his child growing inside of Melody. But above all, Melody was who had given his life meaning. If it was him, or her, that couldn’t have children, he didn’t care. He knew all he needed to make him complete was her. They had discussed their inability to conceive and both agreed to let nature take its course. They were healthy. Their primary physicians saw no problems and advised them to wait it out. Give it a year. They were still young yet. So, they both decided they were not going to pursue medical options, or other more drastic measures. They both knew they could be happy and have a full rich life without biological children.

  Tex felt his wife sink into him. Her body was warm. The sweat from her back coursed down between her shoulder blades as she pressed herself against his bare chest. A swim in the cool waters of the ocean was what they both needed. He should put the motor back on and guide them further out. But something stayed him for a moment longer. It was the couple across the bay.

  Tex looked more closely. His chest constricted suddenly and a memory flashed in his brain. It wasn’t the couple. It was the woman. When she turned and stood in profile he was riveted and sucked in a sharp breath between his teeth. His head began to pound as the memories came flooding back. Could it be? Her? The beauty?

  Melody turned her head and looked up at him. Concern in her eyes. He gazed down at her momentarily. Saw the flare of her nostrils. The apprehension in her gorgeous eyes, but then looked at the woman across the bay. The man was sweeping his hands across her face. A fall of dark hair came across her shoulder. She flicked it back and the shape of her chin and the movement of her wrist was all too familiar. The girl. From all those years ago. It was her. Beauty. It’s what they had all called her. Back in his days with the FBI. Before he became a SEAL. In fact, she was the reason he became a SEAL. Catarina. It was her. He knew it in his gut. The girl who had suffered on his watch. Just a child then. One of many. But this one, he couldn’t ever forget. Her piercing eyes had marked him. All of them. When she was finally rescued, they all wondered if it had been too late.

  Melody sensed the change in him. Her easy going Tex was full of tension, more than she had seen in him in a long time. What was it? What was the matter? “Tex?” she questioned, not bothering to hide the worry from her voice.

  Tex would never keep anything from Melody that wouldn’t harm her. There were no secrets between them unless it concerned a mission and would keep her safer by not knowing. This wasn’t one of those situations. And he didn’t want her to worry about this. His past. It had no bearing on their future. Although it pained him to see this woman now. It reminded him of his regrets. But what happened with her had made him the man he was. The man who was in love with the woman before him now. “I know that woman,” he admitted while gauging his wife’s reaction to his confession.

  Melody’s heart began to race for a nano second as she looked in the direction he indicated. She saw the woman again, and her beauty was evident though she was too far to make out her features clearly. “Who is she?” Melody asked, wanting to know in what capacity her husband knew the pregnant woman.

  Tex didn’t answer. Not right away. And that caused Melody once more to have a brief moment of alarm. Not doubt, no. She knew Tex loved her, but still she wanted to know how his life was connected to the woman across the bay.

  Her fear slipped away when his arms tightened around her and he pulled her gaze away from the couple on the balcony. She turned into Tex and looked up into the eyes she had grown to love, though she had loved the man long before she had even met him. He loved her. Of that she was sure.

  But she asked again when she saw a flicker of pain cross his face. “Who is she?”

  He cleared his voice before he spoke and she sensed the regret in his tone. “She is the reason I became the man I am.” His words were unequivocally spoken and profound. Melody knew this woman had been important to him. But how? Why?

  Again Melody felt flutters. Tiny little flutters in the pit of her stomach. She wet her suddenly dry lips. “Is she from your past? A job? Personal?” She had to know.

  Tex broke his gaze away from the couple on the balcony. “Melody. Not personal. Nothing like that. You’re the only woman I have ever loved. But yes, she was a mission a very long time ago. Before I became a Navy SEAL. . . Actually, she’s why I joined the SEALs. . . . Because I let her down. And I vowed I would never do that again.” Tex’s eyes were fixed on Melody now. Begging her to understand.

  Melody heard the pain and the self-loathing in Tex’s voice. And she felt acid rise in her stomach. She didn’t like it, not one bit. This man never let anyone down. She found this incredibly hard to believe. He was a SEAL through and through. They didn’t fail. They didn’t forget, and they never left anyone behind. But the disappointment she heard in Tex’s voice stunned her. Her man was a rock. “Tell me about it,” she demanded. In her heart she knew that Tex’s guilt would eat at him unless he did just that. And it was apparent, that whatever had happened on this mission left its mark on his soul. This was a secret he couldn’t keep to himself any longer.

  Tex nodded slowly and looked up at the couple one more time as they made their way into the magnificent home through t
he double glass doors. “I will. Love. I promise. . .but not now.”

  Melody looked up at him with concern wondering how seeing this woman from the past was going to affect him. She was happy to see his eyes light up as he gazed down upon her once more. He would be okay. This woman from his past was in the past. It wouldn’t change him. Not now. She reached up to touch his cheek, already whiskered though he had shaved just yesterday. There were only a few worry lines in the corners of his eyes remaining.

  “You sure you don’t want to talk about it now?” She would listen. Hell, she would do whatever it took to keep Tex happy. These next ten days she wanted to be worry free.

  “Yes, I’m sure.” Tex pulled the tie fastening the wrap around his wife’s waist until the billowing garment drifted onto the deck and she stood before him in nothing but her bathing suit. He admired her in the black ensemble. The cut outs revealed more of her body than he’d ever seen her dare to wear in public before. And the way the cups pushed up her breasts and provided him with an amazing view of her cleavage had him rock hard in an instant. He pushed his cock into her letting her know what he needed in that moment.

  Gone was Catarina Stone from his mind for now. He would search her out later on his computer. Make sure her life had gotten better despite him. But this time belonged to his wife. These next days were for her. There was nothing he could do for the other woman now. That was in the past. It was Melody he needed to focus on. And he wanted to do all he could to make her dreams come true. “Yes, I’m sure,” he growled seductively. “Because right now, I want to make love to my wife. And then I want to take her for a swim in the Gulf of Mexico. Then I want to lick the salt water off her body, and make love to her again. Are you okay with that?” he asked as he began to walk her backwards towards the hatch and to the small room below that had an incredibly soft bed.

  Melody just nodded. Speechless. Oh yes. She was more than okay with that.

  “Good, then,” he snapped as he turned his wife around. Melody nodded as her suddenly boneless body felt the pressure of his erection pushing up tightly against her.

  Tex turned with a small limp, bent to open the hatch as his wife looked on. Then taking his hand, she allowed him to go down the hatch first before he helped her down the few steps to the berth below. All thoughts of anything except what the two of them were about to do fled their minds. Tex’s brown eyes were hungry with desire. And so was she.

  Chapter 3

  A FEW HOURS later, Tex gazed back at the now much more distant island. The two story old style Florida home where he had seen Catarina Stone was just a spec on the horizon now, but he doubted he would be able to get the image of her standing there out of his mind for a very long time.

  He began to pull up anchor on the small craft. It was a nice boat. He’d contemplated getting one for himself this past year. He enjoyed boats, always had and had loved his time on the water training to be a SEAL. It reminded him of his childhood growing up in Virginia. His parents loved to sail too and took him out often. The water was in his blood.

  But that house and Catarina were now on his mind. Melody was below deck. Sleeping. Enjoying a well-deserved afternoon nap. They had taken that swim, after making love, and then made love again. He would let her sleep for now. But he knew his woman would wake up famished, and she would want to talk. He planned to dock the boat at a little restaurant the rental company had told him about. They claimed it served great seafood right along the water. The Shoal, as it was called, had a dock for boaters to pull up and grab a bite while they enjoyed their day on the water. It sounded perfect.

  He looked towards the distant shoreline. Seeing Cat after all these years had surprised him. No, shocked him. Hers was a face he’d never expected to see again. She must be close to thirty years old by now, maybe thirty-one. It had been over twelve years since he had seen her.

  She had been barely eighteen when he and his team of FBI agents worked her case. He was fresh out of the academy then, twenty-six years old. In fact, it was only the third case he worked on. His first case was a series of bank robberies, and the second case a kidnapping. It had been exhilarating to capture the bad guys, bring them to justice. But her case had been different. It took longer—months and months of gathering Intel, and data, following the money trail, while keeping their eyes and ears open watching all the players in the massive sting operation. Too long, he remorsefully recalled. And the burden of the case ruined him, ruined his desire to keep working for the government in that capacity because the victims suffered hour after hour, day after day, night after night, and he was helpless to do anything to stop it.

  He knew then the job had not been the right decision for him, but working for justice was in his blood. His father had been a police officer, and so proud when his only son announced he had been chosen from the other new officers to go to Quantico for special training. His mother had been proud as well. Both of them raised him to love and respect country. His mother’s family came from old Virginia stock, and were proud of their military heritage and service. His father was originally from Texas, and they spent time there in his youth before moving to Virginia. His father had been a Texas Ranger and later a sheriff after moving to Virginia. So, it was in his blood to protect and serve.

  Having their son pursue a career in law enforcement, well suffice it to say his parents could not have been prouder of their only child. John and Diana Keegan thought his path was a step in the right direction. Hell, he thought so too. But it had been the wrong career path for him. Working on Cat’s case nearly destroyed him.

  Tex watched the looming horizon and the row of buildings from the mainland appear in the distance as he steered the craft toward the direction of the waterfront restaurants and continued to reflect on Cat. How had she ended up here, in Florida, of all places? Last he heard, she had been placed into witness protection after she testified against the Demetrius Makas clan. That was the name of the group smuggling in girls and boys as young as nine into the country who were then thrown into flop houses throughout the D.C. area. The girl had briefly been placed in the foster care system, but was in a group home with counseling during the course of the trial. After that, he lost track of her. He’d only seen her in his dreams and they hadn’t been pleasant ones. And, even though he had only seen her from afar, he knew it was her. He wouldn’t, couldn’t ever forget her. What had happened to that woman over a decade ago never left him. Never would. As he told Melody, she was the reason he became a Navy SEAL. He’d never given her the complete story before now, just that he once worked a case where the victims had to suffer before being rescued. He knew he couldn’t be that patient any more. She understood without him having to go into the minute details. But it seemed like he would have to tell her now.

  His brief stint as an FBI agent definitely soured him. It was the waiting around to build a case that had done it. The legalities of inaction had practically destroyed his soul. Waiting for orders to go and save the victims, orders that took forever as they made their way through the courts after his superiors were satisfied they had effectively built a solid case was something he battled every day while working her case. That woman, really just a girl then, and her friends, well, if you could even call them that, had been raped, abused, beaten, and used as sex toys for months while his department sat on the locations of the various brothels in the Maryland and Virginia areas. Being still new, he had to sit on the case, gathering the data, doing surveillance, while his bosses got their ducks in a row in order to hold a Grand Jury Trial and put the criminals away. It had been a lot to ask a young idealistic man with dreams of saving the day.

  And the worst part about it for him had been the fact that many of the victims were still kids at the time. Some of them were young teenaged girls, kidnapped from all over the world, being used as sex slaves right in his own backyard in Virginia. In one of the houses there had been a nine year old boy. But because his superiors wanted more than just the men who handled them here in the U.S., more than
just Demetrius Makas and his crew, the investigation dragged on while they partnered with the CIA to catch even bigger fish.

  It had not been an easy few months for him. He’d questioned his superiors’ orders, something he’d been trained not to do. But while he eavesdropped with high tech equipment in a small apartment across the street, men came in and out of Cat’s location, raping her, raping them, the five others, four girls and one boy, who were in the rented house on Belmont Avenue. His job most nights had been to conduct surveillance, and gather information. Listen to phone calls, check in on the rooms that were bugged, pass any new information on up the chain of command, and then wait. Wait. Wait, while someone else decided they had all the evidence they needed, and the paper trail was documented with dotted i’s and crossed t’s in order to take down the entire Greek man’s operation that was connected to the international operation that kidnapped young, vulnerable people to use in the sex slave industry.

  It had been a huge operation. Bigger than they had initially suspected when they found the brothels after a tip from a Washington insider. The FBI, realizing the scope, quickly had pulled in the CIA. They traced the ring leaders of the operation to Greece, Syria and Iraq. The man behind the American operation was a real slime ball, a dirty scumbag who not only purchased the women and boys on the black market, but abused his own son, a kid named Spiro who cleaned the homes and did odd jobs in the various locations. His son was treated like dirt because of a slight deformity.