Hot shadows, p.1
HOT Shadows, page 1
HOT Shadows
Hostile Operations Team® - Strike Team 2
Lynn Raye Harris
Contents
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Prologue
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
Who’s HOT?
Books by Lynn Raye Harris
About the Author
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Heroes who do the right thing…. no matter the price!
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Sexy, suspenseful, and action-packed, Lynn’s books feature larger-than-life alpha heroes and the strong women who bring them to their knees. Happily-ever-after guaranteed!
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Sign up for Lynn’s VIP Reader List today and get exclusive bonus content only available to subscribers, including bonus scenes & epilogues, a character dossier, and a craft pattern!
Everly Fairhope is desperate. When threats against her mother's life escalate, there's only one man she can turn to. But he's as likely to slam the door in her face as he is to help her.
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Special Ops soldier Jax "Gem" Stone didn't think he'd see Everly again after the abrupt way she walked out of his life and got engaged to someone else. So when she turns up at his front door, begging for help, the answer is no.
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Until someone takes a shot at them both.
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Gem doesn't want to get involved for good reasons, but there's no turning back. He'll protect Everly and end the threat, then he wants her gone.
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Some things are easier said than done, though.
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Saving Everly from danger could be harder than expected when powerful forces work against him. But letting her go a second time?
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Impossible. She's his, and he intends to prove it to her. If they survive what's coming...
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**Start reading the Hostile Operations Team Series - Strike Team 2 today and enjoy an action-packed, seriously romantic and steamy-good-fun military romantic suspense. Each book can be read as a standalone. No cliffhangers or cheating and a guaranteed happily-ever-after ending!
Prologue
“It’s an ambush! Abort, abort, abort!”
“Fuck,” Jax “Gem” Stone swore as the explosion reverberated down the line. Ryder “Muffin” Hanson was behind the wheel of the armored car carrying members of Congresswoman Ellen Fairhope’s staff. He rolled the wheel hard right and spun the vehicle, same as everyone else in the line did.
Gem grabbed onto the overhead handle until the spin stabilized then drew his weapon and prepared for a fight. He threw a look behind the car, but all he could see was a cloud of dust flaring into the air, obscuring his view.
He wasn’t a fan of desert details. Not in the fucking least. He’d done his share, but they hadn’t grown on him over the past few years. Even when shit was normal, it was fucking hot and the sand blew in his eyes and made them even grittier than the typical lack of sleep did. An ambush was some next-level bullshit, though.
As he twisted forward again, he glimpsed the wide eyes of the woman who’d introduced herself back in DC as Everly. A lawyer or something on the congresswoman’s staff. He wasn’t clear on that. She was pretty, with dark gold hair and intelligent brown eyes behind her glasses. She wasn’t his usual type, but he had to admit he’d felt a tingle of interest when he’d first seen her. That was before they’d boarded the plane to Qu’rim.
He’d lost that interest when she’d looked down her pretty nose at him. Or up, since he was taller. She’d still made it look like she was looking down on him, though. He didn’t care for that. He might not be a doctor or a lawyer, but he was damned good at what he did.
And what he did was going to save her ass right about now.
“Gem, you still there? Report.”
Gem touched the mic control on his helmet. “Copy that, Saint. We’re here. Taking the civvies back to the rendezvous point.”
“Roger. We’re moving that way too. See you there.”
“Fucking hell,” Muffin muttered as he glanced at the dashboard. He’d jammed the pedal to the floor, but the car wasn’t going any faster.
“What?”
“Red line. This baby isn’t going to make it much farther.”
The car slowed as Muffin worked to keep the inevitable from happening. Damn desert heat. Gem gripped his pistol and swore to himself. “Take us as far as you can. We’ll go on foot if we have to.”
“No way. Keep driving.”
Gem turned to look at the women in the back seat. His eyes met Everly’s. Two other staffers were crammed in beside her, but he knew it’d been her by the way she glared at him. Damned if that flare of interest didn’t happen again. He crushed it like an ant at a picnic.
“Excuse me?”
“I said no. Wendy has fibromyalgia. She can’t walk through sand.”
The woman in question gave him a weak smile. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Nothing to be sorry for. We’ll carry you, ma’am.”
Everly’s brown eyes flashed at him, but he wasn’t sure if it was anger or gratitude. Hard to tell with her prissy attitude. He turned away and touched the mic again.
“Got a situation in car three, Saint. Muffin says we’re redlining. This vehicle isn’t going to make it, and we’ve got someone with a medical condition onboard.”
They were already falling behind if the cloud of dust in front of them was any indication.
“Copy that. How much longer?”
Gem arched an eyebrow at Muffin and nodded at the dash. “Any minute,” Muffin replied.
Gem repeated the info to Saint as well as their location.
“We’ll have to make a transfer then. No choice,” Saint said. “We’ll stop at the mile marker and wait for you—”
A woman’s voice spoke in the background. Gem wasn’t sure what was said, but a moment later Saint was back, sounding pissed. “The congresswoman doesn’t want to stop. Cars two and four will wait for you there. Should be enough room for everyone.”
Gem could hear the anger in Saint’s voice, but disobeying a congresswoman who was also the chairwoman of the House Armed Services Committee wasn’t really an option. Ellen Fairhope could make life hard for HOT if she wanted. None of them would willingly do that to General Mendez or Colonel Bishop. Or to their teammates.
Piling into the other two cars would make things tight, but they could do it.
“Roger,” Gem said. “It’s enough. We’ll make it. Get her back to base and we’ll join you soon.”
Muffin glanced at him. He didn’t look happy. “Seriously? Fucking civilians.”
“Agreed.”
Gem didn’t know if the women in the rear of the car heard or not. He didn’t care. They were in this mess because the congresswoman wanted to take a tour of Qu’rim and meet with a warlord who was supposed to be on the side the Americans were backing. Gem didn’t know if the guy was or wasn’t, but it was a little suspect that someone had planned an attack on her convoy when she was an hour into the journey.
The car slowed some more, and Gem looked behind them. They were the only ones throwing up dust now since they were in the rear, which meant it cleared faster than before.
“Shit,” Gem growled when he could see. “We’ve got company. Two trucks and men on horseback closing in.”
Muffin pressed the accelerator. The car surged forward before sputtering and slowing. “It’s no good. This bitch is about to die a quick death.”
Gem reached onto the floor for his rifle. There wasn’t enough time to call for air support. No way was he letting these women fall into the hands of the enemy. If they were captured, it wouldn’t be pretty for any of them.
Gem powered the window down and thrust himself through, leaning on the door frame for support and lifting the rifle to his shoulder. He fired at one of the trucks, aiming for the engine bay.
A second later, his bullet found its target and the truck lurched to a stop. He aimed at the next truck. He heard the clang of full metal jacket impacting, but the truck didn’t stop. The bullet must have glanced off a steel support instead of tearing through the radiator or shredding the fan.
Gem sighted through the scope again, pulled in a breath to steady himself as the car lurched forward, then squeezed the trigger on the exhale.
Boom!
This time the round connected, and the truck’s engine blew white smoke as the vehicle skidded. The driver slammed the brake and the top-heavy truck tipped onto its side, spilling men and guns into the sand. The horses scattered as their riders peeled off to whirl back the way they’d come.
Thank God.
Gem slipped into his seat. Cars two and four came into view ahead. Muffin somehow got their limping vehicle to the other two and they piled out, pulling the women from the rear and helping them toward the waiting vehicles as dust swirled and the sun beat down hard.
Wendy and the other woman ended up in one of the cars with Muffin. Gem hauled Everl y to the car guarded by Zane “Zany” Scott and Mal McCoy. There wasn’t enough room for both of them to have a seat and Gem didn’t ask questions. He piled in and dragged Everly down on his lap, one arm banded around her waist as Zany hit the gas.
She was stiff as a board as she leaned against him. He tried not to inhale the sweetness of her shampoo or the tang of her sweat, but she was too close and it was a losing battle.
He clenched his jaw and told himself he’d smelled plenty of women before. And in better circumstances.
She wiggled her ass on his lap and he practically groaned. He tightened his arm around her a little roughly. “Stop moving.”
“Your gun is digging into me,” she grated at him.
The other staffers in the car didn’t react, but Mal threw him a smirk. Gem snarled silently at his teammate. In different circumstances, sure, he might get a woody with a woman sitting on his lap as the car hurtled down the road, the entire frame vibrating with their speed.
But it wasn’t his cock poking into her. It was the gear strapped to his body, specifically the tactical vest with ammo, weapons, and other items he might need in a protracted fight.
“Sorry,” he said, shifting sideways to allow her to move off the offending piece of equipment.
She sniffed but didn’t reply as she leaned away from him. The ride lasted another thirty minutes before they reached the safe zone they’d left only a couple of hours ago. Everly tried to throw herself off his lap as the car door opened from the outside, but her foot got caught on the way out and she went down. Gem grabbed her before she face-planted in the dirt.
Her long hair had flipped over her head, her feet were still on the floorboards, and her breath heaved into her body as she clutched his arm tightly.
“Hang on, I’ve got you,” he said. He tugged her back up so she could brace against him and get her feet out of the car. When they were firmly planted on the ground, he eased his hold and she stood on her own.
She turned to face him, her cheeks flushing as she shoved her wild hair behind her ears. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
She hesitated. Her coworkers trudged toward the hotel they’d quartered in, but she didn’t move to follow. “What happened out there?”
He got to his feet and she tilted her head back to gaze up at him. She looked young and scared and he had an urge to hold her. Not that he’d act on it, though.
“I don’t know.” Yet.
“Do you think it was aimed at her?”
“By her you mean the congresswoman, right?”
She nodded.
“Can’t say.”
She thrust a hand at him, and he realized she wanted to shake hands.
“Thank you for what you did back there,” she said when he took her small hand in his. “I know Congresswoman Fairhope appreciates your quick thinking.”
“More like training,” he told her, fascinated by the way she seemed to go from vulnerable to stick-up-the-ass formal in a heartbeat. “But you’re welcome.”
She nodded again, then dropped his hand and walked away. He watched her go then swore to himself as he rushed to catch up with her.
“Hey,” he said.
She stopped, blinking in surprise. “Yes?”
“You got someone back in DC?”
“Um, no.”
“Maybe we could go out sometime. See if we like each other somewhere more normal.”
What the hell are you doing, Gem? This woman is way too annoying.
She frowned for a second. Then she pulled a card from the satchel she’d slung across her body and thrust it at him.
“My number is on here.”
Gem glanced down at the piece of white card stock. There were two numbers—office and mobile—but it was her name that had his attention.
Everly Fairhope, Esq.
“Fairhope? Like the congresswoman?” The woman who wouldn’t stop for her own staff when they were in danger?
Her lips seemed to flatten a moment. “She’s my mother.”
She was still holding the card out. He took it, reeling with that information. “Thanks.”
“You won’t call, but it’s okay.”
“Why do you think I won’t?”
“It’s complicated. Anyway, thanks for everything you did to keep us safe.”
“You’re welcome.”
She nodded. “It was nice meeting you, Sergeant.”
This time when she walked away, he didn’t go after her.
Chapter One
Six months later…
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Gem’s teammates got quiet when he walked into the locker room. Saint nodded. Wolf dropped his gaze to his range bag and started rummaging through it.
Gem’s senses twitched, but he wouldn’t let on that he suspected they were up to something. It wouldn’t be the first time Strike Team 2 pranked one of their own. Just last week, they’d pranked Mal by putting warm pickle juice in his coffee cup. Since the lid had been on, Mal hadn’t noticed the pungent aroma until it was too late and he’d taken a swig.
Hysterical. Gem could still see Mal’s face screw up. And then the spray when he spewed the juice everywhere. They’d fallen over laughing, Mal cursing them the entire time and threatening retribution.
Gem glanced around, wondering what he was about to find in his locker. He shouldn’t have been the last one in today. Not that it could have been helped. He’d had an appointment with the team doctor over at Riverstone for a follow-up about a knife wound to the leg he’d gotten almost two months ago. It hadn’t been a deep wound, but HOT was nothing if not thorough with their people.
“How’s the injury?” Zany asked, looking concerned.
Gem stood as far as possible from his locker door and tugged it open. Nothing jumped out at him.
“All better. Just gonna leave a scar is all.”
Easy’s phone dinged. He took it out and snorted. “So cute.” He turned the phone so they could see his niece, soon-to-be daughter, sleeping on the floor with the two cats he and his wife Jenna had adopted. The cats were curled around Alice, all three sound asleep.
“When’s the adoption hearing?” Saint asked.
“Next week,” Easy said. “Jenna’s nervous, but I keep telling her it’ll be fine. We’re already Alice’s guardians.”
“Just a formality.”
“That’s what I told her.”
Gem got his range bag out. There were no rubber snakes, no gooey substances, no pickle juice lurking inside. What the fuck were these guys up to anyway?
He looked up to catch Mal’s gaze. If anyone was planning a prank, it was fucking Mal. Especially since Gem may have been the one to suggest pickle juice to the others. But Mal smiled wanly and glanced away again.
Gem spread his feet apart, folded his arms, and locked his stance. “All right. What’s going on with you guys?”
“Going on?” Muffin said. He opened his locker. A thin sheet of newspaper fell out and he picked it up and crumpled it. “Nothing.”
Gem frowned. “I don’t believe you.”
Hacker groaned. “Just tell him. He’s going to find out anyway. Hell, he might already know.”
Gem’s skin prickled with dread. “Know what? Did I get orders? Am I being sent to another unit? What the fuck is going on?”
Wolf snatched the newspaper from Muffin’s fingers. “Everly Fairhope is engaged. It was in the paper this morning.”
Ice washed over Gem’s body. He took the piece of paper calmly and smoothed it out to glance at it. “I didn’t know you read the wedding announcements, Muffin. Secret hobby?”
