"Fudge ripple, that's not good. It was too easy." She looked at Ren. His eyes were narrowed as he examined her. "I don't like this. Maybe my intel wasn't complete. There were too many of them—so there could be a lot more out there."
"They could've changed the plan after you set out." Ren's tone was low, rumbling, meant to soothe her. "Don't worry about it, sprite."
She hadn’t imagined him calling her that earlier. Before she could call him on the carpet—“Something's coming."
"What?" Ren turned toward her, crowding into her personal space even more. "What do you…”
A grenade thrown through the doorway tumbled into the room.
Ren's "fuck" barely registered. Keely was closer. Tossing her weapon to the side, she went for the explosive. As she rolled across the floor toward another set of boxes, she grabbed the live grenade, then lobbed it side-handed out the rear door. She kept rolling and made it behind some boxes of frijoles before the explosion rocked the back of the building.
She rolled onto her stomach and pulled her Bren from the holster at her back. She flicked off the safety and held it two-handed just in case someone was alive to follow through.
"Keely, what the fuck was that?" Her brother's frightened bellow was loud and cut through the ringing in her ears. She could make out Petriv swearing in some highly colorful Russian.
A quick glance told her Ren was okay—but visibly furious. "Don't you ever fucking do that again!" He glared at her instead of paying attention to the new hole in the wall.
She shrugged and fired over his head at a man attempting to come through the smoldering opening. The dead man drooped over the jagged remnants of the wall, half in and half out of the room.
After another furious glance at her, Ren double-tapped the intruder to make sure he was dead.
Why the heck was he mad at her? She'd kept them from being blown into hamburger and then saved his life? She deserved an "atta-girl."
Silence reigned once more over the small, battered building. Her itchy feeling was gone, thank the Lord. She laid her weary head on her forearms, but kept her handgun in her right hand, just in case her spider sense was wrong.
"Keely!" Tweeter's worried voice came from the front room once more.
"I'm fine, Tweetie. How many did you get on your side?"
"Vanko and I got us a confirmed ten motherfuckers."
She ignored her brother’s profanity, allowing for the situation. "My three on the way here plus your ten plus we have eleven, no, make that twelve on the floor and hanging over the hole in the wall. That's twenty-five. We might have taken out one or two with the grenade out the back door…"
"What fucking grenade?" Tweeter yelled. "Where did you get a fucking grenade?'
"The live grenade your fool sister picked up and threw out the back door." Ren's jaw clenched and unclenched. He belly crawled toward her.
"Tattletale." She stuck out her tongue.
His eyes narrowed as he moved toward her. "Brat."
Ignoring him, she turned and crawled into the bar area with Ren so close behind her she could feel his hot breath on the bare skin of her legs above her hiking boots. She met her brother just inside the doorway as he crab-walked toward her. He looked her over, then sighed.
"I think that's the same blood you already had." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Imp, don't do that shit. Let us do it."
"It" being the throwing of live grenades, she supposed. "It was closer to me—and I know how to handle a live grenade, ya know." And why was she getting defensive?
"Yeah, Mom never let Dad live that training session down, did she?" He grinned at her. A shaky finger stroked her cheek.
"Nope, she didn't." She sat up and pulled her knees to her chest, her arms hanging loosely over her bent knees, her gun still in her right hand. "There could be more mercs waiting in the jungle—or the survivors of this team could be regrouping. I say we get out of here before they can come at us with bigger guns or something. Plus, we have the belly guns on the helo and all that armor-plating Russians love to layer on their aircraft. I'll feel better once we're up and can shoot down on them."
Petriv's shout of laughter had her smiling. Someone appreciated her. She grinned at the Ukrainian.
Knee-walking, Ren came up against her back. His knee nudged her bottom and his body almost covered hers from behind. He grabbed her arms, keeping her from moving away from his heat and scent. What was his problem now? She was just sitting here.
"Ren?" Tweeter frowned. "You're crowding my baby sister. Back off."
Copyright, 2010, Monette Michaels
About Monette Michaels
A Hoosier born and raised, Monette still lives in the heartland near Indianapolis, Indiana. Married to her college sweetheart and soul mate, she has one son. After many years of practicing law, Monette found that all the clients, opposing counsel, and the problems she handled ignited the need to write fiction. So she started writing – first, romantic suspense/thrillers featuring alpha-male heroes and kick-ass heroines, then adding a touch of paranormal and sci-fi -- and, eventually, a sexier side (as Rae Morgan,) writing paranormal romance and urban fantasy.
Monette Michaels is the author of the top-selling Security Specialists International series featuring former military heroes operating a private security firm. Eye of the Storm (Book 1) was an EPPIE finalist. Her Prime Chronicles series is science fiction romance set in the far reaches of the Milky Way galaxy and book one in that series, Prime Obsession, was also an EPPIE finalist.
Fans of Monette Michaels describe her writing as "full of romance, alpha males, strong female roles, sci-fi and steam," with "witty dialogue" and "MUST READ" books. Her "characters are believable" and her books are "yearly reads" that they "come back to again and again."
Monette (and Rae) loves to hear from her fans. E-mail her at [email protected]
Sign up for her Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/kkgxj
Visit her at:
Website: www.monettemichaels.com
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/authormonettemichaels
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Other Books By This Author
Writing as Monette Michaels
Fatal Vision
Death Benefits
Green Fire
Vested Interests
Blind-Sided (with Janet Ferran)
The Virtuous Vampire, A Gooden and Knight Mystery, Case File #1
The Deadly Séance, A Gooden and Knight Mystery, Case File #2
Eye of the Storm, Book 1, Security Specialists International
Stormy Weather Baby, Book 1.5, Security Specialists International
Cold Day in Hell, Book 2, Security Specialists International
Storm Front, Book 2.5, Security Specialists International
Weather the Storm, Book 3, Security Specialists International
Storm Warning, Book 4, Security Specialists International
Hot as Hell, Book 4.5, Security Specialists International
An Ill Wind, Book 5, Security Specialists International
Firestorm, Book 6, Security Specialists International
Prime Obsession, Book 1, The Prime Chronicles
Prime Selection, Book 2, The Prime Chronicles
Prime Imperative, Book 3, The Prime Chronicles
Prime Target, Book 4, The Prime Chronicles
Prime Claiming, a Prime Chronicles Short Story
What A Witch Wants, Book 1, What A Witch Series, Magic and Mayhem Universe
What A Witch Needs, Book 2, What A Witch Series, Magic and Mayhem Universe
What A Witch Desires, Book 3, What A Witch Series, Magic and Mayhem Universe
Writing as Rae Morgan
Destiny’s Magick, Book 1, Coven of the Wolf Series
Moon Magick, Book 2, Coven of the Wolf Series
Treading the Labyrinth, Book 3, Coven of the Wolf Series
No Secret
s, Book 4, Coven of the Wolf, in the Zodiac: Pisces anthology
Earth Awakened, a Terran Realm Book
Enchantress, a novella
Evanescence, a novella
Table of Contents
(Untitled)
Firestorm
(Untitled)
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
See where it all began – Eye of the Storm, Book 1, in the SSI series
Excerpt
About Monette Michaels
Other Books By This Author
Firestorm (Security Specialists International Book 6) Page 35
