Protecting Mari (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) (Counterstrike Book 1)

by Cara Carnes

  Fuck.

  Ethan squeezed his eyes shut and willed the memories away. Nolan Mason.

  He hadn’t heard the name since he’d gotten dragged out of the jungle half dead. No, he hadn’t been dragged out. He’d been carried out by Nolan Mason.

  The man’s team had been stranded, left for dead after the mission went sideways. He’d never gotten details because by the time he’d woken up in a hospital they were gone.

  “You good?” Texas asked.

  “Yeah,” Ethan lied as his gaze slid to his brother, who wasn’t chopping anymore.

  Big brother by two minutes didn’t appreciate the fact Ethan hadn’t shared much about what went down in that jungle. He’d gotten back to a new team and been back in the thick of service as fast as possible—anything to forget the fact his entire team had been killed and he’d been the sole survivor.

  The team he’d trained with.

  But the new assignment had landed him on Milo’s team and Gemini had been born. To say they’d taken shit from their teammates was an understatement, but Ethan had to admit he wouldn’t have changed much of it if given another chance.

  Except for the events that led Nolan’s team into that jungle to drag his half-dead ass back to safety. He owed the man a bigger debt than he could ever repay.

  And was apparently about to add to it.

  “They’re solid.”

  Tex’s firm statement was all Ethan needed to hear, not that there’d been any doubt in his mind. If Nolan’s brothers were anything like him, they were more than solid. “Make the call.”

  “It’s more complicated than that. Their system isn’t for sale. The back office operatives who designed it are the best in the business, a one hundred percent success rate. Every country including ours wants that system.”

  “And you mention this shit because…”

  “Because the girl I know there thinks she can get you a tamed down version of it,” Tex said. “She can’t make any promises, but she’s looking into it.”

  “And plan B?”

  “I’ll get to work on it, but it won’t be anywhere near as good as plan A.”

  “Understood.” Ethan clicked off and shoved his phone in his pocket.

  “You look like you just chatted with a ghost.”

  “Close to it,” he admitted.

  “Mason.” Milo started chopping a red bell pepper. “Is that the same Mason from your rescue?”

  “Yeah.” Ethan didn’t offer more and was grateful when Milo took the hint. Now wasn’t the time to dig up the past. “I’ll be back, gonna go for a jog.”

  “You sure you wanna leave Marisol here with me? We haven’t met.”

  “You’ll manage.” Ethan fisted his hands. “I need to burn off some of the ugly in my brain.”

  “Go. I’ll cover for you.”

  Back before the service they’d been interchangeable. No one could tell them apart. They dressed alike, talked the same, even listened to the same music and had the same friends. Two halves of the same whole.

  In many respects nothing had changed.

  In others…well, neither of them was the man they’d once been. Now their similarities were more skin-deep than to the bone like they’d once been. The sooner he ran off the ugly, the sooner he could get back to Mari.

  Chapter 3

  Mari stood at the entry to the kitchen and watched the man chopping. He looked like a badass chef, a clone of Ethan.

  But he wasn’t Ethan. The subtle differences drew her attention: the extra stubble along his jawline, the tattoo along his arm. It was the same dragon, but with green instead of red.

  He wasn’t Ethan.

  Chompers didn’t seem to give a damn. He padded into the kitchen and drew the man’s attention. She swallowed and took another step closer. He paused the rhythmic move of his knife, flashing a grin. “Hi there.”

  “Hi. I’m Mari.” She forced a smile, even though it hurt. “I’m assuming you’re a brother of Ethan’s?”

  The grin deepened, accentuating the handsomeness of his face. “That obvious?”

  The tease made her laugh, which hurt even more. God, he and Ethan were so, so similar. But this man’s eyes weren’t haunted like Ethan’s had been. He exuded confidence, but in a lighter, more relaxed way than Ethan had.

  “You can tell us apart. That’s a first. Even Mom has trouble some days.” He smirked as if finding immense pleasure and amusement from the feat she’d accomplished. “I’m Milo, Ethan’s elder by two minutes, aka the better half of Gemini.”

  Gemini. Of course. Now the moniker made sense.

  “It’s the eyes,” she admitted as she looked around, trying to disguise the fact she really wanted to know where the man’s twin had gone. “And the dragon. Yours is greener.”

  Had they both been in the military together? Questions rolled into perfect formation and started a queue within her mind.

  “You’ve got a good eye for detail,” he commented. “Jen’s next door. I can grab her if you want.”

  “Jen?”

  “Our little sister. She’s an attorney who helped us start up Counterstrike.”

  “Counterstrike?”

  Milo paused and studied her face a moment. “You have no clue what I’m talking about.”

  “No, sorry.”

  “Don’t be. Sit.” He motioned to a barstool near him. She hauled her short, plumper than she wanted self onto it and forced a polite smile as she eyed the door behind him and remembered the one to her back. He followed her line of sight and raised his eyebrows.

  “My bedside manner’s never been good, but women don’t often want to flee my company, sweetheart. You’re safe here. No one’s going to hurt you, most especially me. Ethan would kick my ass.”

  “Good to know.”

  “How do you know Tex?” Milo asked.

  “He’s a friend of my brother I guess.”

  “Your brother’s in the service.”

  “Yeah, but I can’t give you details. He’s never been able to tell me much about what he does.”

  “He knows Tex. That tells me all I need to know,” Milo commented. “He wouldn’t have called us if your brother wasn’t tight with him.”

  “Thanks again for the help. I’ll get out of your hair as soon as I can,” she promised.

  “Good luck with that,” he commented with a grin. “Little brother’s burrowing into your mess much like Chompers when he has a new bone.” Milo tossed the dog a piece of ham. “Ethan and I got out of the service about the same time. Little sis was pretty fed up with her corporate attorney world, so we decided to do something we wanted to do. Counterstrike was formed a few months later.”

  “What do you do at Counterstrike?”

  “We help people in impossible situations, by any and all means necessary.”

  Wow. The fierceness in his statement calmed her, made her think of Joseph, who exuded the same lethal determination and quiet confidence.

  “It must be nice to work with family,” she commented.

  “You tight with yours?”

  “Yeah, Joseph’s in the service. Mom and Dad are down in Florida testing out an early retirement. It’s always been just the four of us.”

  “If you want to call them, we can make that happen. Jen’s going to be bringing you a new cell phone when she comes over. Until then, make yourself at home. Make whatever calls you need to.”

  Work. Mari groaned. She’d done a no call, no show. Her boss would be beyond pissed, but it wasn’t like anyone would miss her. With the university not in session, the UT libraries were pretty empty, except for the diligent graduate students working on their doctoral dissertations, or whatever all the brainiacs using the library did.

  As far as work was concerned, it was quiet and peaceful—exactly the sort of thing she needed way more of in her life. Her second job at the coffee shop near the university was another story. Even though she worked the late-night shift, it was always a zoo—one she couldn’t afford to miss, not even for a
night. The tips were too good, and her boss there wasn’t nearly as understanding.

  “We help domestic violence victims mostly, especially those with children. Anyone with kids gets priority.” Milo glanced at her. “Lots of people start making excuses for their exes right about now, when they’re feeling safe and their mind starts playing tricks on them. They start thinking things like, ‘Maybe it’s not as bad as it seemed.’”

  “It was.” He froze, so she continued. “As bad as it seemed. Way, way worse.”

  The door behind Milo opened and a beautiful, long-legged brunette entered. Since Mari had rolled up the stretchy pants she’d donned at least four times and tested the boundaries of shoving her wide hips into the snug, but soft fabric, she suspected this was the woman who’d kindly lent her some clothes.

  And the familial resemblance was evident. She had the same thick, gorgeous wavy hair as Ethan and Milo. Hers tumbled in soft curls Mari envied. Mari’s always kinked way too much and frizzed in humidity. Curly hair sucked.

  The woman stopped near her brother and her wide, expressive gaze was a bright green rather than the soft cinnamon, warmed chocolatey mix of Ethan’s and Milo’s. She wore a beautiful shade of pink lipstick so pale you could barely notice it if it weren’t for her pale, creamy skin that shimmered like ivory.

  “You must be Marisol.”

  “Mari.”

  “Right.” The woman set her bag down and held out her hand. “I’m Jennifer, but everyone calls me Jen. I’m your new attorney.”

  Mari blinked.

  “Mari missed a few things about what we do. I was going to wait until Ethan got back from his run to start filling in the blanks.”

  The woman’s brow crinkled. “He went for a run?”

  “Yeah, after chatting with Tex.”

  “What happened?” the woman asked.

  “Leave it be, sis,” Milo warned. “He won’t leave us alone with Mari for long. We know all his secrets.”

  “Not all of them.” Jen’s concern rippled through the room and Mari couldn’t help but tighten.

  She recognized familial worry when she heard it, especially since she’d had loads of experience in the form of her parents and a big brother since she finally decided to leave Chester. She’d tossed her small family into the emotional wringer and taken them for more than their fair share of spins. Thank God they’d held on fiercely and never given up.

  Ethan entered from the same doorway Jen had not too long ago. Sweat dampened his t-shirt and face. He grinned and held out his arms as he closed the distance between himself and Jen.

  “Don’t do it,” the woman warned. “So help me God, I’ll get you back, Ethan. Don’t think I won’t.”

  He chuckled and lunged. She squealed and kicked her legs as he drew her against his massive body and lifted her off the ground. Their laughter echoed within the kitchen. Milo chuckled as he continued adding stuff to two skillets on the stove.

  Mari couldn’t help but smile even though she felt as if she were invading their private sanctuary.

  The two siblings settled down and Ethan prowled toward Mari. Her pulse quickened as she regarded him curiously.

  “You good?” Ethan asked.

  Mari nodded. She couldn’t remember the last time a man not related to her asked if she was okay.

  “I’ll be back in a few. I’m gonna shower really quick.” He looked at his brother, then Jen. “You fill her in on the plan yet?”

  “No, figured we’d wait on you.”

  “Good, though Jen could get to work on the legal stuff,” Ethan commented. “We’ve got a meeting with the sketch artist later today. I’d like you there with us, sis. They aren’t bleeding blue on her again.”

  Mari’s heart thudded wildly as Ethan regarded her a moment then headed out of the room. She shifted her feet on the low rungs of the stool and looked at Jen. “I appreciate all the help, but I’m afraid I can’t accept it. My finances are in dismal shape because of the divorce. I don’t have the funds for an attorney.”

  “Which is why you need an attorney now more than ever,” the woman said. “Your husband was an abuser. Those debts shouldn’t be yours to incur, and they won’t be when I’m done.”

  Mari choked as the shock rolled through her. How did the woman know Chester had abused her? Milo offered her a glass of orange juice and held out a plate with an omelet and three strips of bacon. Her stomach rumbled as she accepted the plate and glass.

  “You aren’t alone in this fight anymore, Mari. Not by a long shot.” Jen took a twin plate and steered Mari to the small dining room table within the breakfast nook. Unlike the rest of the furniture, the small eating surface was weathered with age and regular use.

  “The fight’s just begun,” Milo commented. “Eat, then we’ll chat.”

  Mari studied each scrape in the wood, wondering what stories the table could tell if it spoke. She’d always found the mysteries within beautiful pieces such as that one amazing. Her dad had always been fascinated with antiquing, and had taken her along whenever he could.

  Dad. She knew she needed to call her parents, but they’d endured enough because of her. They deserved to enjoy Florida rather than worry about her.

  She picked up her fork and focused on the task at hand—eat the omelet.

  Mari was grateful for the silence as they ate. She was halfway through her omelet when Ethan returned. He took one of the plates Milo held out, and the two men sat at the small table. They offered duplicate smiles and got to eating.

  Jen took a sip of her coffee, then deposited her plate on the bar behind her. She grabbed a legal pad from her briefcase, then sat back down. “Why don’t we start with a brief history? How long were you together? How much of the abuse was documented? So far Beth and Tex have found a few records, but I’m thinking most of them didn’t get saved.”

  “We dated six months and were married three years, two months and eighteen days.” She let the fact she’d counted the days speak for itself since she was thinking happily married folk might not do that. “Documentation was a challenge, especially toward the end. He got smarter and smarter. My last attorney has copies of everything. Mine were stolen.”

  “Stolen?” Ethan asked.

  “Break-in number one, two apartments ago.”

  “And the APD hasn’t considered these break-ins might be something else?” Jen asked, her brows furrowed once more. “What’s the attorney’s name?”

  “Oliver Winn and I don’t know what, if anything, the APD considers. Honestly, I gave up on them getting this to stop a long time ago. As far as I can tell, they just think I’m the unluckiest person around.”

  “I see.” Jenn’s lips pinched together as she tapped her pen on a pad of paper. “And you have a restraining order. That’s good. Have you had any issues with anyone within the APD specifically?”

  “No, nothing abnormal,” she admitted. “I know everyone there is likely above board. It’s not their fault Chester was an abusive asshole. They’re taking their fellow officer’s back.”

  “Friends should be loyal, not blind,” Ethan commented. He reached over and took her hand, squeezing it. “We’ve got enough contacts and resources to put a sizeable dent in that loyalty. I know you’re drowning in all this, sweetheart, but we’re here to get you to safe ground.”

  “Why are we talking about Chester, by the way?” She glanced around, noting the way Ethan and his brother looked at one another as the latter carried a couple plates to the table.

  She knew last night was her ex’s doing, but she hadn’t told them.

  He handed one off to Ethan and sat. “Twitch and a couple of the other guys took a look around your apartment and the complex after the APD left. We found a couple of interesting things.”

  Shady Apartments wasn’t in the best neighborhood. The high legal bills had drained her bank accounts long ago. Then there was all the credit card debt Chester had managed to accumulate under their names. It’d taken her months to track down all the credit card
companies and get the accounts shut down.

  By then the damage had been done. She’d taken on a second job and worked her ass off, but she hadn’t even made a dent in what she owed. She’d wallowed in the it’s-not-fair pool the first few weeks, but it hadn’t accomplished anything. Sure, she could file bankruptcy, but she wasn’t raised to take the easy way out.

  She may not have racked up the debt, but she’d married Chester. Every dollar she paid down to the shitstorm he’d left in his wake was a penance.

  A second job helped keep her afloat long enough to have electricity and the basic necessities like groceries, but she had been sinking for the past few months. The decision to move yet again had been difficult, mainly because every move translated into more deposits and expense.

  “It’s all I could afford, and the last place wasn’t an option, not any longer.”

  “And the last place was?” Jen asked.

  “Las Colinas Meadows, on Slaughter.”

  “And you moved because of a break-in?” Milo asked.

  “Yes, and my new neighbors were cops,” she whispered, suddenly embarrassed about her decision to flee the nicer complex simply because two police officers moved in. “Some moved into the unit beside mine at the complex before Las Colinas, and that didn’t go well. I filed several complaints with the APD about those officers because their conduct was…questionable.”

  “Good. Paper trails are critical when we can get them.” Jen glanced at her brothers. “We’ll get someone to look into the new neighbors at Las Colinas. Maybe a few undercover questions could help determine the sudden rash of officers taking up residence next door to Mari everywhere she moves. Once is random. Twice is strange.”

  “I got a new neighbor in 703 the day before yesterday,” Mari said.

  “Let me guess. APD?” Ethan’s gaze cut over to his sister. “Three times is a problem I’m handling.”

  “No, third time’s a problem I’m handling. I’m the one with the fancy law degree. You two handle fieldwork, while I fight red tape, politics, and all the other games people play.” Jen glanced at Mari. “This is a good start, enough to get our teams investigating a few different things. Chester is done messing with you.”