Stealth Ops Series Box Set
Page 77
“No chance Ricco Carballo will actually be at this compound tonight,” Wyatt said. “But wouldn’t it be nice to take the bastard down once and for all? A quick double-tap right in the forehead?”
Carballo wasn’t their target, but yeah, it’d be a nice bonus to bring his head back with or without the body.
“Anyone want to wager on whether CIA intel is actually accurate?” A.J., Echo Two, asked. “Loser buys next rounds for a month,” he added, his Southern drawl winging through his words more heavily than normal.
Harper’s voice popped over the radios, “Aren’t I already on beer duty for a month as the newbie?” She laughed. “I mean, I’ll happily take the bet and relinquish my—”
“A month’s round of beers says CIA intel is wrong,” A.J. interrupted.
“Deal,” she answered far too confidently.
“Brother, you’re gonna lose this bet.” Knox stood and patted A.J. on the shoulder. “All right, we ready to roll out, or do you boys need a group hug first?”
Liam rolled his eyes before placing his NVGs back on. “Let’s do this.” He took a moment to collect his thoughts and then followed the team.
After a ten-minute walk through the woods, which was more comfortable to Liam than a stroll through Times Square during holiday rush hour, he and Wyatt arrived at their destination and set up.
They’d be on overwatch, banging on their long guns so the rest of the team could infiltrate the compound for the rescue.
“Bravo Four, radio check,” Asher said over the line.
“That’s a good copy,” Liam answered and examined the scene. “I have two tangos outside the entrance.”
“Looks like we showed up to the right party after all. You lost the bet, Echo Two,” Wyatt added over the line with a light chuckle. “I have five heat signatures inside the main building at the center of the compound. Two on the post-exterior of that building. One on each side.”
Liam put his crosshairs on his first target and calculated the distance. He was about one milliradian tall in his scope, which meant he was roughly a thousand meters away. Liam adjusted for the range, and then noted the wind was currently moving right to left, so he shifted one mil dot to the right and upward by two mils.
With one eye closed, he stared through the scope, but his mind blazed straight back to Emily and their night together in Vegas, even though he had no business thinking about her at a time like this.
When Jessica and Asher had been running through the operational details yesterday and again today—it’d been like a flashbang grenade had gone off in front of him, and all he’d been able to see was red, orange, and purple smoke.
All thoughts centered around Emily—the friend he’d been given strict orders to stay away from by Sam, Owen’s wife.
He’d been drawn to Emily since the day they met last fall when he had to hold her back from knocking the shit out of a guy she’d been dating.
And frankly, the fact that his feelings went beyond physical attraction had scared him enough to behave—well, up until he’d overdone it with the shots the night of the wedding.
Relationships were a fuck-no with flashing red warning signs for him.
And Emily, she was the kind of woman who deserved more than a few orgasms and a thank-you-for-the-lay breakfast in bed.
The morning after Luke and Eva’s, and Owen and Sam’s weddings, Emily had lifted the sheet, taken a look, and with a gasp had quickly clutched it to her body. Her cheeks had ignited into the brightest red Liam had ever seen, and her eyes said it all.
“Did we have sex?”
“Yeah, I, uh . . .” He hadn’t been sure what the hell to say to her as he stood next to the bed.
Her hand had darted to cover her eyes, and he’d lowered his gaze to find himself buck naked. And for some reason, her shyness about that fact had him smiling instead of reaching for something to cover himself with.
“I’m an asshole,” he mumbled to himself off comms. He didn’t need to hear rapid-fire agreement from his teammates over the line. They wouldn’t need a frame of reference to understand his words—they knew his MO.
“Bravo Four. Echo One,” Asher interrupted his thoughts. “We’re in position. Take your shots.”
Liam stiffened and held his breath, which was never good for sniping.
An unusual tremble traveled down his spine, and Liam squeezed the trigger. The tail end of the round caught the wind and—shit, I missed.
Before Liam could figure out how the shot went sideways, Wyatt pinged Liam’s target.
“Both targets down,” Wyatt said.
Liam felt his gaze. Wyatt was probably wondering how the hell he could have butchered the shot.
“Breacher up,” Asher ordered next.
Liam examined the dead guard on the ground through his crosshairs, trying to analyze his error to ensure he didn’t repeat the same mistake on his next shot.
He heaved out a deep breath at the realization he hadn’t accounted for the disparity in elevation, which had impacted his depth perception. The guard had appeared closer than he actually was, and it was a mistake Liam didn’t make.
A hard knot fisted in his stomach as he considered how he’d allowed himself to lose focus. He thought back to the time in sniper school he’d nearly been booted for missing a shot.
“You miss again, you’re done,” his instructor had said during their morning session. Morning shots were the worst; you had to shoot through the bore of a cold barrel—one of the hardest shots to take.
He’d missed the day before because he’d been thinking about what he’d given up to be in the Navy . . . and if he missed again, he was done.
“Good,” his instructor had said after Liam nailed the target.
Of course, he had no intention of telling him he’d slept with the bullet under his pillow to warm it up. Every guy did it, though. Well, the guys who wanted to pass.
After sniper school, Liam had made a vow to himself to never lose focus.
And he hadn’t come close to missing a shot until three years ago. In his defense, it’d been right after visiting his family in Australia and discovering something that hit a twelve out of ten on his shit meter—but even then, he’d still managed to take down the hostile on the first try.
But now . . .
“Bravo Four, you good?” Wyatt asked.
“Yeah.” He had to get his head back in the game. He couldn’t let his team down.
Once the compound had been breached, both Liam and Wyatt took their next shots.
All successful.
And thank God.
Liam caught sight of Asher and Knox exiting a building at the center of the compound with the hostage a few minutes later.
“Uh, TOC?” Liam pulled away from the rifle for a second then looked back through the scope. “I thought we were rescuing a woman.”
“Yeah, Elaina. What’s wrong?” Jessica answered.
“She’s a she,” Asher came on over the line, “but she’s also a kid.”
“And she doesn’t seem to want to go with us,” Knox added.
The girl couldn’t have been more than seven or eight, and she was flailing her arms, protesting the abrupt departure.
“I wasn’t aware of her age.” Jessica’s normally calm tone conveyed surprise.
“You sure this is a rescue?” Liam asked when the girl continued to struggle with Asher as he pulled her toward the exit. “We didn’t, uh, just kidnap Carballo’s daughter or something, did we?”
Learn more - Finding Her Chance
Also by Brittney Sahin
A Stealth Ops World Guide is now available on my website, which features more information about the team, character muses, and SEAL lingo.
Also, check out this handy reading guide.
Stealth Ops Bonus Scenes.
Hidden Truths
The Safe Bet – Begin the series with the Man-of-Steel lookalike Michael Maddox.
Beyond the Chase - Fall for the sexy Irishman, Aiden O’Conno
r, in this romantic suspense.
The Hard Truth – Read Connor Matthews’ story in this second-chance romantic suspense novel.
Surviving the Fall – Jake Summers loses the last 12 years of his life in this action-packed romantic thriller.
The Final Goodbye - Friends-to-lovers romantic mystery
Stealth Ops Series: Bravo Team
Finding His Mark - Luke & Eva
Finding Justice - Owen & Samantha
Finding the Fight - Asher & Jessica
Finding Her Chance - Liam & Emily
Finding the Way Back - Knox & Adriana
Stealth Ops: Echo Team
Chasing the Knight - Wyatt Pierson (2-20-2020)
Becoming Us - the series that inspired Stealth Ops
Someone Like You - A former Navy SEAL. A father. And off-limits. (Noah Dalton)
My Every Breath - A sizzling and suspenseful romance. Businessman Cade King has fallen for the wrong woman. She’s the daughter of a hitman - and he’s the target.
Dublin Nights
On the Edge - Travel to Dublin and get swept up in this romantic suspense starring an Irish businessman by day…and fighter by night.
On the Line - novella
The Real Deal (guest stars Harrison Reed)
Stand-alone (with a connection to On the Edge):
The Story of Us– Sports columnist Maggie Lane has 1 rule: never fall for a player. One mistaken kiss with Italian soccer star Marco Valenti changes everything…
Connect
www.brittneysahin.com
brittneysahin@emkomedia.net
FB Reader Group - Brittney’s Book Babes
Stealth Ops Spoiler Room