Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Lily (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Jenika Snow

  What if he took me from the only man I’d ever loved?

  I didn't want to think about any of that, but it kept running through my mind like a broken record.

  I opened my eyes and blinked a few times, staring at the ceiling. We were isolated in this cabin, the woods surrounding every side with only a small gravel driveway leading up to the front door. When Brock had taken me away from the party, we’d driven for hours to get to this place. I was exhausted, it was late as hell, and all I wanted to do was sleep.

  But the most screwed-up part of all was even though my life was in danger, my attraction for Brock was stronger than ever. All I could think about was that I would be in this cabin with him alone, my feelings for him growing, my weakness for needing him intensifying.

  I didn't know what the future held, but it was in Brock's hands.

  Brock

  The next day

  I sat at the table, the mug in front of me half filled with lukewarm coffee. I'd been up all night, not able to sleep because I was waiting on more information from Cutter and for the supplies to be dropped off.

  I glanced at the front door and saw several boxes of food and water that had been brought over leaning against the wall, as well as a large duffel bag filled with clothing. I didn't know how long we'd be at the cabin, and Cutter didn't have any new information on the whereabouts of Makonovich, but as long as Lily was here with me, I felt a semblance of ease.

  I should've only been focused on the Makonovich issue, but my mind wandered to Lily, thinking about her being here with me alone in the cabin. This would've been the perfect time for me to admit how I felt for her, that I loved her…had loved her for so damn long. I was being selfish and reckless entertaining these thoughts. I grew angry with myself and pushed back from the table before standing and making my way toward the supplies. I picked up one box and put it on the table and moved back to pick up another one to do the same.

  I hastily put all the shit away before grabbing the duffel bag and tossing it on the couch. I'd go through that later. Right now I needed to make myself busy by scoping out the perimeter and ensuring sure all the cameras were working and everything was where it needed to be.

  If I couldn’t stop from thinking about Lily while inside the cabin, then I'd keep myself so busy outside that I couldn't think of anything else.

  Lily

  I had fallen asleep for only a couple of hours last night, but it was broken up, with me waking because my heart was pounding, my palms sweating. I knew I was safe here, but it didn't ease my anxiety.

  There was an old-school clock radio on the nightstand, and I glanced at it. It was barely dawn, the sun peeking over the tree line and breaking through the blinds. I stared at the light that was in sharp lines on the wood floor, my mind wandering for a second. I didn't know how Brock was handling this, although I knew he was calm and collected. He was always like that, always having a level head and knowing exactly how to react.

  That was one of the reasons I loved him. He didn't let the pressure get to him, didn't allow himself to come unraveled. Kind of like how I was right now, becoming this tangled mess because I couldn’t let the pressure get to me. But there was no doubt being around him made me feel better, safer.

  A shower sounded like heaven right now, but I didn’t know if the supplies had been dropped off last night, and I had no other clothes. As it was I still had on the evening gown that I'd worn at the party, the material soft and loose enough that it had been comfortable when I was lying down, but now felt like a burden on my skin.

  I left the bedroom and realized I was alone once I got into the living room. It was an open-concept cabin, with the living room and kitchen all one large area. There was a half bathroom off the kitchen, a washer and dryer in a small mudroom beside that, and then two bedrooms behind me. There was a larger bathroom with the shower between the two rooms, but the decor throughout the entire cabin was sparse and rustic.

  This wasn’t a home. Not in the least.

  There was no television, but there were cameras stationed around the perimeter of the cabin. I had no doubt there were TVs and monitors that saw everything around the outside of the cabin.

  That was the point of this place: to keep intruders out. But nothing was fail-safe.

  I saw empty cardboard boxes in the kitchen and walked over to them. I started opening cabinets and noticed them already filled with food and bottled water. Brock had already put everything away. My stomach gave a growl, but it was the smell of coffee that I was hungry for.

  Once I had a steaming mug in my hand, with a splash of milk and a couple tablespoons of sugar mixed in, I took the first drink and closed my eyes, humming in pleasure. It was crazy, the small things that could make someone feel better instantly.

  I heard a commotion outside and walked over to the large window in the living room. I pushed the curtain aside and saw Brock, shirtless, stacking wood up against the side of the cabin. He had his handgun tucked at the waistband of his jeans, always prepared, always ready. My heart started racing at the sight of his muscular chest, sweaty, streaks of dirt from the labor he'd been doing covering his skin. The sun was already up, but that didn’t takeaway form the fact we were truly isolated and surrounded by wilderness.

  Turning away I immediately saw a big duffel bag on the couch. I walked over and opened it, seeing an array of clothes stuffed inside. I assumed the smaller sizes were mine, and although they were nothing fancy, just T-shirts and sweats, socks and underwear, I was thankful to get out of this dress.

  I glanced once more toward the window and saw Brock picking up pieces of wood before moving onto the porch. I should've gone to the bathroom then, but I was frozen in place as I watched the front door open and him walk inside. He didn't see me right away as he kicked the door shut behind him with his foot and carried the logs over to the fireplace.

  I tried to control my breathing, but the movement of the muscles under his golden, sweaty skin did things to me that I should've been embarrassed by. This was a dangerous situation, right? I was at this cabin because my life was in danger, yet all I could think about was how it would feel to have him pressed up against me. I wanted to know what it would be like to have his arms around me, his mouth at my neck, his tongue moving along my skin.

  A shiver raced over me, and I took a step back. Because I wasn't watching where I was going, I knocked into a side table, and the noise made him look in my direction.

  We stared at each other for long seconds, and I felt the heat in the room intensify, saw the way he stared at me, his gaze moving over my body. Hell, I was doing the same, looking at his muscles, which were bunched, tense, his six-pack clearly defined. He was all man, strong and masculine, making me feel wholly feminine.

  I held up the clothes, trying to think of what to say. “I thought about taking a shower. I assumed these are mine since they're the smallest sizes.”

  He looked over at the duffel bag and nodded. But he didn't say anything. I could see the muscles under his jaw working, and felt the tenseness come from him like a tangible touch along my body.

  I cleared my throat, not saying anything else, and headed back to the bathroom. Once I was inside with the door shut, I leaned against it and closed my eyes, breathing out heavily. There had to be something seriously wrong with me to want Brock at a time like this. But even with common sense and rationalization I couldn't stop my desire or attraction for him from growing every second.

  I needed to get my head on straight. I had to talk to Brock about all of this, had to figure out what was going on. I had a job, a home to get back to. Although I knew I was safe here, my unanswered questions needed to be resolved. I needed to know what exactly I was in for.

  4

  Brock

  Once the bathroom door was shut, I unclenched my hands at my sides and breathed out slowly. I was trying to remain professional here, calm and collected. I felt like a fucking bastard for the thoughts that were going through my head regarding Lily. I wanted her li
ke a fiend, wanted her in my bed, naked, under me, and crying out from the pleasure I gave her. I should be focused on waiting for more news from Cutter and dealing with the Makonovich issue, not wondering how her pussy tasted or how soft her skin was.

  Just then my cell vibrated, and I reached in my pocket and pulled it out. A blocked number flashed across my screen, and I knew it was the information I'd been waiting for. I heard the shower turn on just as I accepted the call.

  “Yeah?” I walked over to the table and sat down, my focus now snapped to attention.

  “I'm just calling with a heads-up that we haven't gotten any new information or leads on the Makonovich situation.”

  I recognized the voice on the other line as Hunter “Cookie” Knox, one of the SEALs that had been in the room at the party with Cutter and everyone else.

  “We're still working on trying to locate him, but he's either gone rogue and into hiding, or the mob is doing a pretty good job of keeping him under wraps.”

  I highly doubted it was the mob that was keeping him hidden. He’d already been the black sheep with the mafia back when he’d been employed with them, but now that I'd fucked him up, and even though I thought he had died, that would be a stain on the mafia’s reputation. They wouldn’t have had any of that shit. No, the bastard was definitely on his own.

  “He's gone rogue,” I finally said out loud. “Back when he was working with the mob, he would've had the resources to find out about me, about my weaknesses and who I was associated with. He must not have had time to use that against me before I thought I blew his ass up.” He was definitely using those pieces now.

  “Well, you need to think about where the bastard might be hiding,” Cookie said. “You knew him for a year while you were dealing with his psychotic ass. We need to know where to look, and you're the best person who would have intel on that. We can scour the Web for information on him, but that would take time we don’t have.”

  I closed my eyes and nodded even though Cookie couldn't see me. I ran a hand through my hair and glanced at the bathroom door. The shower was still running, and all I could think about was how I would lose my shit if something happened to Lily. “Give me a few hours to think of where the fucker might be.”

  “I'll be in touch later tonight.”

  I disconnected the call and shoved my cell back in my pocket. It'd been a year since I had even entertained the idea of Makonovich. There were obvious places he could be hiding, sleazy clubs and bars, but those places had been associated with the Russian mob. I felt in my bones that he was rogue, and unless he was a fucking idiot, he wouldn't go near those places.

  The shower shut off, and my heart stalled in my chest for a second. Lily had let me skim over the details about why she was here, but she was smart and I knew she wouldn't be pushed away much longer. I needed to be fully honest with her and let her know exactly the danger she was in.

  She needed to know that the reason she was in this situation was because I fucking loved her.

  Lily

  All I could do was stare at Brock as he finished telling me about the danger I was really in. I ran my hand over my face and shook my head in disbelief. “What I still don't understand is why I was targeted. Is it because you're associated with Cutter and he and I are close?” If so, then why wasn’t he here with us? That was the one piece of information that Brock had left out.

  Brock had explained about Makonovich, about the threatening tape, Cutter and the other SEALs confronting him at the party, and how he didn't know where Makonovich was now.

  I stared at Brock, waiting for him to answer. He looked really tense, his jaw set hard, the scruff lining his cheeks telling me that he hadn't shaved since we got here.

  “Brock?”

  He'd been staring at the table for long seconds but finally looked up at me. We stared at each other before he finally leaned back in the chair and crossed his big arms over his wide chest. His muscles bunched under the material of his T-shirt. “You want to know the truth, Lily?” His voice was void of emotion, hard like stone.

  “Of course.” I heard the trembling in my voice, because honestly I was afraid of what he was about to say.

  “You're put in this situation, a target, because I fucking love you.”

  Everything in me stilled, froze right in place. Had I just heard him correctly? He didn't say anything else, and the silence grew, stretched. It became thick and uncomfortable, and I shifted on my chair, not sure what exactly to say in response.

  “So you now know the fucked-up situation I've got you in.” He ran a hand over his hair, messing up the short strands. He stood up, the chair scraping along the wooden floor.

  All I could do was sit there and stare at him, still not sure what to say or how to react. I wanted to tell him that I loved him too. I wanted to just go up to him and wrap my arms around his big body. But I was being a coward right now.

  “I'm gonna take a shower, maybe even try and rest for a couple hours.” He glanced at me then, and I noticed the dark circles under his eyes. It was clear he hadn't slept last night.

  “Okay,” I said softly. I wanted to say more, but before I could find the words, he was grabbing the duffel bag off the couch and heading into the bathroom. Once the door shut, I closed my eyes and covered my face with my hands. This whole situation had just gone from fucked-up to totally unbelievable.

  5

  Brock

  I leaned against the porch banister and stared through the living room window. From my vantage point I could see Lily in the kitchen cooking dinner. She'd insisted on making something for us to eat, and after all the shit I’d told her today, I wasn't about to deny her anything, even if the man in me wanted to take care of her.

  I’d just gotten off the phone with Cookie and told him a few areas I thought Makonovich might be lying low at: a few sleazy bars, even an underground fight club that I knew he'd gone to at least twice when I'd been keeping an eye on him last year. Cookie said he'd hook up with Cutter and Wolf, look into it and get back to me, but stuck here in this cabin, wanting to go out and handle this myself rode me hard.

  Wolf, one of the SEALs Cutter worked with, was supposed to stop by the cabin in the morning to really talk in depth about this. Although we had secure phone lines, because this was a direct threat, I didn't want to be giving information back and forth over the phone, especially after Cutter’s experience with his woman, Dakota. She’d been on the run, and he’d communicated with his team via what he thought was a secure phone. But it turned out the line wasn’t secure at all and the asshole who was after Dakota had been listening to every conversation he’d had. So yeah, I needed to speak with somebody face-to-face. I needed to look them in the eye and figure out how we were going to rectify the situation and make it safe for Lily.

  I was a hands-on kind of guy, and sitting here in a cabin waiting for something to happen wasn't how I did shit. It made me antsy, nervous, and that wasn’t a situation I wanted to be in.

  Especially since the one person I needed to protect was the woman that I loved.

  I continued to watch her through the window, my heart full, my love for her growing even more now that I'd finally confessed how I felt to her.

  We hadn't spoken about that conversation since, but I knew it needed to be brought up again. I knew that I needed to see how she felt about it, if it changed things between us, if me making that confession had crossed the line.

  I went back into the cabin and closed and locked the door behind me. The security monitors were set up in the main bedroom where I slept. If anyone or anything tripped the wires from outside, I'd know about it instantly because an annoying-as-fuck alarm would sound.

  I stayed back and watched Lily cook dinner. She either didn't hear me enter, or she was too engrossed in the meal preparation to know I was right behind her. I loved having this calm and comfortable presence when we were together. I could pretend that we weren't here because of a threat. I could envision that I'd invited her here for us to spend
some time alone, to get to know each other, to really work out our feelings.

  Tonight I would talk to her about what I’d said, about how I’d admitted I loved her. We would go from there, see how things progressed. I didn't want anything to be awkward. I just wanted to look in her eyes and really tell her that I did love her, that she'd been mine for a long time whether she knew it or not.

  I wanted to admit that I'd been too weak, too much of a coward to admit how I felt. I hated that it had taken this situation for me to grow a set of balls, but I wanted to know how she felt in return.

  The way she looked at me, the glances I'd seen her give me throughout the years led me to believe she harbored some feelings for me. But tonight I'd find out for sure.

  I moved into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. I shouldn't be checking her out, shouldn't be letting my gaze linger along the arch of her spine, or stared at the curve of her ass. She was perfect in every way, not just physically but mentally, intellectually as well. She was smart as hell, had wit and a mouth that could bring any man to his knees.

  “You doing good? Need any help?”

  She jumped a little and turned around, her eyes wide but a smile on her face. It wasn't forced, and I was glad she didn't seem uncomfortable in my presence after what I’d revealed.

  She looked at the stove and then at a few bowls on the counter before turning her attention to the small table off to the side. “I'm actually good and dinner is done. If you want to grab the plates and some cups? Maybe something for us to drink?”

  I nodded and moved into action. As I set the table and grabbed a couple beers out of the fridge, I found myself continuing to look at her. She bent over and grabbed something out of the oven, and my gaze was immediately trained right on the roundness of her ass. She might just be wearing some oversize sweats and a T-shirt, but damn did the material mold to those perfect globes.