Wraith (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)

by Kendra Mei Chailyn

  The whole drive, Liam barely said two words to her. He’d gotten colder, if that was at all possible. He probably blamed her for his friend’s death and she couldn’t say she would deny it. If it hadn’t been for her, Wraith would have been safe in his cabin in Nowhere Land, and Cuzo would be alive. It seemed ever since she opened the letter to Poppy LaCroix, her life turned to crap.

  “Liam. What about Lili?”

  “Lili can take care of herself.”

  “I was just…”

  “I know what you’re saying. Forget about it.”

  “Right.” She glanced up at the sign for Terminal One and made a left at the fork in the road. “Okay.”

  She followed his terse directions to a parking spot and turned off the engine before he could tell her to. She then watched as he pulled a small, silver tube from this bag, shook it then tossed it in the car and closed the door. Amelia asked no questions. It seemed no matter what she did around Liam, she couldn’t seem to catch a break. He probably hated her. Her existence was a thorn in his side. After they parked, Amelia gathered her things and merely waited. She had no control over her life anymore—she might as well play along until she wound up like Cuzo.

  Liam held her hand and escorted her across the street and into the glass structure of Pearson International Airport. They continued, through a checkpoint then down a long corridor. He stopped to speak in hushed tones with a guard and soon they were being driven in a golf cart down another and out toward a rather large plane.

  Inside, they found seats over one of the wings and she stashed her bag under the seat between her legs. Wraith did the same.

  “I’ve never been on such a long flight.” Amelia admitted.

  “Don’t worry. It’ll go by before you even know it.”

  “Easy for you to say.” She shifted, trying to get comfortable. “I really wish I could call Lisa.”

  “Who?”

  “My best friend. She’s the only family I have left and now she won’t know what happened to me.”

  Amelia turned her gaze out the window to watch the men on golf carts going back and forth. Just to the left, a few men tossed suitcases to one another and she frowned.

  “Dicks.”

  “Once we land, I’ll try and find you a way to call her,” Wraith promised.

  “Isn’t it dangerous?”

  “It can be. You just can’t tell her where you are or what you’re doing.”

  Amelia sighed. What was the point then? She’d always shared everything with Lisa. No matter what, Lisa was always there for her and now when Amelia didn’t even know if she could go home again, she can’t even reach out to the woman who had been like a sister to her.

  Where was the justice?

  “No. I’ll wait,” Amelia said. “Thank you, though. I’d rather keep her safe and stay away than call and put us all at risk.”

  “If you change your mind.”

  “My mother died alone,” Amelia said. “I was at school. Dad was—wherever he was doing whatever or whoever he was doing and my mother died alone, at home. I never thought I would end up like she did. I couldn’t have done things differently—well it’s not entirely true, is it? I’ll be doing it another way because I’ll die alone, in a foreign country with a bullet to the head like Cuzo.”

  “You’re not going to die alone, Amelia.”

  “Why? Because you’re protecting me? I don’t even…” She sighed.

  “How did your mother die?”

  “The coroner said it was a heart attack.”

  “You don’t believe him?”

  “No. I think she died because my father broke her heart so many times it just couldn’t heal after the last battle.” Amelia rubbed her palms against her thighs. “I can’t believe I still believe in love. I’m so stupid.”

  “It’s not stupidity, Amelia. You’re just hopeful.”

  “Hopeful, dense—at this point, what’s the damn difference?”

  “Amelia…”

  “I’m tired.” Amelia shifted in her seat and turned her head away from him again. She even closed her eyes. “I’m going to sleep.”

  But she couldn’t fall asleep. No matter how hard she’d tried all she managed to do was think of Liam. All she could do was sit beside him, yearning for his arms and driving herself mad.

  The meal served on the plane was inedible. She pushed it around on her paper plate for a good half an hour before giving up and handing it to the hostess when she passed. Amelia settled on drinking the apple juice and then drifted off to sleep again. At the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport in France, they switched to an Air France airbus. Amelia pouted the whole time they were hurrying to catch their plane because she couldn’t believe she was in Paris and couldn’t even see the Eifel Tower.

  Their next switch was in Sheremtyevo, Russia. That one she had some seriously pissed off feelings about.

  “How much longer?” she asked, trying to push her bum into the way too narrow seat. The metal part dug into her hips fiercely.

  “This is the last plane to Chelyabinsk.”

  “And how far to Omsk?”

  “About twenty hours.”

  Amelia sighed like a child in the backseat during a road trip. “How did you learn Russian?”

  Liam glanced at her as if he wasn’t about to answer the question. Finally, he cleared his throat and gave her a one shoulder shrug. “In the military, most of us had to learn a second language to do our jobs. I learned Russian, Farsi and Mandarin.”

  “Really?” Amelia perked up. “Say something in Mandarin!”

  “Um…” Liam turned to stare into her eyes. “Nǐ zhēnměi.”

  Amelia trembled. She had no idea what he meant but just watching his mouth form around the foreign words, gave her the most beautiful goosebumps she’d ever felt. “Tell me what it means.”

  “I might tell you one day.” Wraith whispered, his voice cracking slightly. “Might.”

  She eyed him with her brows wrinkled but didn’t push the subject. Instead, she allowed him to ask her questions about herself. Those she answered without fear or hesitation. A part of her said he was only asking to keep her mind off the hell her life had become. Sleep would remain aloof. The only thing she could do until they landed, was talk to Wraith, pretend he wanted her and truly was interested in what made her smile.

  Chelyabinsk wasn’t what Amelia expected.

  Honestly, she hadn’t been sure what she had expected. One thing was for sure, after being in Russia, she’d never complain about the winters in Toronto or Kirkland Lake ever again. She moved beside Liam, quickly through the airport. Somehow, they managed to bypass customs. Amelia didn’t ask questions. She merely kept her head down and shuffled along.

  Outside, the air was frigid but thankfully they caught a cab. Liam spoke Russian to the driver—actually had a whole conversation with him in the language. It still surprised her. She didn’t think he could get any sexier. Though the Russian language wasn’t particularly sultry, knowing Liam was smart enough to pick up the tongue did something for her.

  They climbed from the vehicle about twenty-five minutes later in front of what looked like a broken-down motel. It was massive and in its hay day, the place must have been something special. Not anymore though—on the top floors most of the windows were smashed out. A few of them were boarded up but others had gaping holes. Amelia looked up to find smoke dancing lazily from the chimney above the large abomination of a structure.

  “When we go inside, let me do the talking,” Liam was saying.

  “Might as well. I don’t speak Russian.”

  Wraith gathered both their bags and took her hand. For some reason, she didn’t pull away. Her fingers were warm in his large paw. She trembled but somehow managed to have her brain communicate with her feet. The stench in the lobby was intolerable—a sickening combination of age-old cigarette smoke, body odor and cat pee. It took everything inside her not to throw up the little food she’d managed to eat on the plane.

 
; Liam was once again speaking in the language making her weak. She clung to his arm and remained quiet. The man behind the counter smirked at her in the way a man looked at a woman when he wanted to tear her clothes off—the way which said he approved of Liam’s choice in women. Amelia didn’t have to speak the language to know what was being said. Finally, the man handed over a set of keys and Liam dropped money in his hand.

  “You are officially my wife,” Liam said when they were making their way down a corridor with a whole different smell. This time, it was of mold and bad curry.

  “Your wife?” Amelia took a breath. “Sure. I’m already Kristy Swansea, Why the hell not your wife?”

  Inside their room, things weren’t any better. The lighting left little to be desired for it made Amelia squint to see much of anything. But what she noticed was the bed was being held up by cinder blocks. Splotches on the sheets worried her. They didn’t look like any kind of stains she’d ever seen. The curtains by the window had seen better days for they seemed to have been through a fire and a flood. Amelia poked the bed and groaned. “I’m not going to sleep tonight,” she said.

  Liam dropped their bags on the floor and instantly reached for his laptop. He set it on the desk.

  “We won’t be here long,” Liam told her. “I’m sorry it’s not better. We have to lay low and a mainstream hotel means more eyes and cameras.”

  “I understand.”

  Amelia left him to work to wash her face and hands. She didn’t see the point really—the room itself was dirtier than anything she could have touched outside. In the small toilet, most of the tiles were missing and she could see the grout underneath. Amelia didn’t bother pulling the shower curtain aside to check out the tub. What was the point? She wholeheartedly believed if she’d looked into the tub, there would be a dead body. She carried the three towels she found in the bathroom back to the bed and spread them over the sheet. She draped her jacket over the pillow and tried to get some rest. She managed to doze off for a few minutes but woke up screaming. Amelia took a breath and turned to see Wraith was staring at her with an unreadable expression—the same one he’d given her the night they’d met.

  “Nightmare,” she said simply. “Why is it so cold in here?”

  “I checked earlier. The thermostat is broken and the vents in this room are stuck closed.” Liam rose and walked over to the bed. He climbed in beside her and wrapped an arm against her hip.

  “What—what’re…you doing?”

  “You’re cold.” Liam pulled her back into his chest. “You trusted me before, Blackbird.”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “What should I call you?”

  “My name is Amelia.”

  He shrugged. “I like Hummingbird.”

  Amelia said nothing. Deep down she secretly loved the new nickname. As a kid, she’d watch hummingbirds fluttering around her mother’s garden. They tend to love the hibiscus flowers the most. Though she picked other flowers to carry into the house during the summers, she never picked the red and yellow hibiscus. Deep down, she felt if she did, the beautiful, fluttering birds wouldn’t visit.

  “We probably shouldn’t,” Amelia said. “I mean, it’s not like you’re single.”

  Liam quirked a brow.

  “Forget I said anything, okay? I’ll just use my jacket to pull over the sheet.”

  “Amelia—why don’t you ever say what you mean?”

  “Because I don’t want to fight.” Exhaustion mingled with the cold was beginning to make her pissy enough to cry. “I just—I want a good night’s sleep in a place that doesn’t smell like cat piss and turpentine and isn’t cold enough to freeze my nipples!”

  “Your nipples are cold?” Liam smirked at her as his gaze dropped to her chest. “Well, so they are.”.

  Amelia crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Come on, Hummingbird. Let me help you out. I’ll behave. Scouts honour.”

  She cuddled into his chest. “You were never a scout.”

  Liam laughed softly. “But it worked, didn’t it?”

  She grunted.

  Of course, it was a bad idea. Being close to Liam Snyder was the big daddy of horrible ideas. But the room was the North Pole and she couldn’t seem to stop shivering. Just like the night in the woods, he was hard under her. The thoughts floating through her mind were dangerous—thoughts like, she belonged against his body in every way Lili probably had been. His warmth gave her safety and his massive chest became the perfect pillow to cushion her head.

  Amelia closed her eyes as her body warmed, remember Liam’s face—dark brown hair, a full beard and grey eyes which saw into her soul. She’d never liked men with facial hair. The lumberjack look never turned her on. But Liam’s was neatly cut as though he took care of it. It was perfect. At nights she lulled herself to sleep, imagining how it would feel against her body—the small of her back, the soft insides of her thighs, against her nipples.

  She trembled.

  Liam pulled her closer.

  Chapter 8

  A while after Amelia fell asleep, her heated breath bathing Wraith’s skin, he remained awake. He scooted off the bed to check the doors, and windows then left the hotel room to unscrew the light bulbs in the hall. He felt the darkness would slow any attackers down—give him and Amelia time to get it together and move. After checking a few more things, he climbed back beside her.

  She shifted into his arms causing him to moan. Her breasts squeezed deliciously into him and Wraith had to fight for control. The almost primal sensations flooding his soul had never happened to him before while on duty. Arousal sent a tremor through him, and Wraith was tempted to leave the bed. Caressing her arm, he closed his eyes, willing himself to get some sleep.

  He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in dreamland. From somewhere in the back of his head, Wraith could hear a voice. It was familiar to him but with her perfection wrapped around him, he just couldn’t pull it together. Foggy, he released her a second to focus on the stiffness in his right arm and the tingling in his right leg. It’d been a while since he woke up in pain. Usually, he slept alone and was a very light sleeper then he would toss and turn at nights. . Even when he slept on Lili’s sofa. he woke up in less pain.

  Wraith shifted and felt something heavy against his chest. Panic set in as he opened his eyes and turned his head. She no longer smelled like cherry blossoms but like the soap his grandmother would make in the basement. It almost felt like Amelia had lost a part of her while being on the run. For some reason, it all made him exceptionally sad.

  Why was he even awake? There had to be something there because he’d been sleeping so deeply.

  “Wraith? Come on, Brother. Talk to me because this is kind of a big deal.”

  Wraith turned his head and stared toward his laptop before grunting and easing his body away from Amelia. His lower back throbbed painfully as he made his way to the computer. Sitting in the chair, he turned the screen and peered into it.

  “Tex? Come on, man.”

  “I know you hate when I do this. But you can thank me later.”

  “Okay.”

  “You and your lady friend need to get out now,” Tex said.

  “How’d you know where I was?”

  “Really?” Tex eyed him as if Wraith had said something sacrilegious. “The minute you checked in, I got pinged. I’ve been monitorin’ all phone signals and lines from the buildin’. The little weasel at the front desk made a call ten minutes ago. The heat is comin’.”

  “Shit.”

  “Get Amelia. I’ll give you a way out,” Tex said.

  Wraith darted across the room and shook Amelia. “Wake up, we have to go.”

  “Go? What’s going on? What time is it?” Amelia scooted from the bed and began tossing her clothes on.

  Wraith dug through his bag and found an earpiece. Pressing the side, he waited until it flashed blue and went back to black before sticking it into his ear. “Can you hear me?”

  “Of cour
se, I can hear you!” Amelia snapped.

  “Not you. Tex?” Wraith gathered his things and zipped the bag close.

  “Yeah man. Now they’re comin’ down the corridor so your only way out is the window on the north side.”

  Wraith turned around to find what Tex was talking about then hurried over. He gripped the end, gritted his teeth and pushed. It lifted easily and he peered out. It wasn’t too much of a drop. He had taken a room on the ground floor—creature of habit.

  He allowed Amelia to climb through before he did and once she was safely out, he eased his body after her. The bedroom door exploded outward and Wraith instantly reach for his gun. A bullet slammed into the glass above him and when he landed on the snow-covered ground outside, he ducked and covered his head with his hands. Luckily, the shards missed him as he put his body between the hotel and Amelia.

  The bullets flew, and he fired back catching one man who fell through the now gaping hole in the side of the building. He could hear others yelling at each other in Russian to go around back! Their gun play continued until he managed to put the building between them and their chasers.

  Now what? They had no car, no transportation.

  “Tex!” He called. “Whatever you have planned, now would be a great time!”

  “I know. I’m workin’ on it!” Tex said. “Okay got it! There’s a Buick. I can log in through the Bluetooth system and…”

  One of the cars in the parking lot roared to life and the headlights sparked on.

  Amelia asked no questions, she merely darted around the side and climbed into the passenger side. Wraith scooted behind the wheel. As he closed the door, two men bolted around the corner, guns hoisted.

  “Get down!” He advised Amelia just as a bullet whizzed by his mirror.

  Dropping his gun into his lap, he shoved the car into reverse and slammed a foot on the gas. The luxury car propelled backward. He jerked to a stop, punched it into drive causing the tires to make a strange sound for they weren’t picking up traction for the first few seconds. The car swerved wildly in the parking lot, clanging off an old mini bus then grazing a Toyota like a bumper car. Eventually, he managed to gain control and drove over the curve, narrowly missing a man walking his dog, then finally rolled onto the street.