“Darko Stjepanić and Zasha Vasiliev,” Saint said, his attention laser-focused on the slides. “Where is she?”
Terry looked grim. “She’s being held in Mogadishu. We’ve attempted to negotiate with the government there, but this warlord has a lot of power. We’ve been given the green light to go in and rescue her. Your LT asked for this one.”
Fast Lane rose. “You have eighteen hours to get your affairs in order. I’ll see you on the tarmac.”
Fast Lane, Terry, and Colonel Jackson exited the room. Saint just sat there as if he was in shock and couldn’t move, but 2-Stroke saw the anger simmering in the normally laid-back West Virginian.
“We’re going to get her back,” 2-Stroke said.
“Hoo-yah!” Pitbull said.
“She’s tough,” Mad Max offered. “Might be tougher than me.”
Saint closed his eyes and scrubbed his face. He rose without a word and headed to the door, slamming through it.
“We all know what she’s going through right now,” Dragon said. “That guy is a twisted pervert, and he runs fighting matches. We all know how capable Aella is, but if he’s pitting her against men…fuck this!”
2-Stroke felt sick at the thought of Aella at the hands of Omar. “Let’s get ourselves together, then get back here. Saint’s going to need support,” he said.
“We’ve got his back,” Pitbull said. “Hoo-yah!”
They all echoed it back.
When he got home, Chry had dinner on the table. He sat down and she looked at him. “I know you can’t say anything, but I’ve already been briefed. I was lucky that I wasn’t ever…violated, but Aella…oh, God.”
He went to her and wrapped his arms around her. “We’re going to get her back.”
She nodded, but it didn’t alleviate any of the fear they held for her.
Saint stood on the tarmac looking off in the distance. He had been thirty minutes early and saw when everyone had arrived, saying goodbye to their loved ones. He had fought the frantic need to get to her ever since he’d seen her beautiful face on that slide and knew she was in the hands of Omar. An evil, depraved bastard. He would kill the man with his bare hands if he harmed Aella, hurt her… He couldn’t finish the thought.
He took a breath, reminded himself to stay calm, to stay focused, to not give in to the wave of panic trying to wash over him. Her capture had been orchestrated by a lying, betraying asset, and before he left Mogadishu, he was going to find out who had sold her out.
So, help him God, people were going to pay.
Darko and Zasha were going down if he had to track them to the ends of the earth.
He should never have made love with her. The price of having her was going to be too damn steep. He could feel it in his bones just how long he was going to be paying for having her, for easing the ache she’d put in his heart.
But all that he felt for her swirled inside him until it was something alive, and the sheer torture that he might be too late was almost too much to bear.
Fast Lane grabbed his shirt. “Do you have your head in the game? I don’t need any cowboys on this team.”
“I got it under control,” he said, and for the first time in his professional and personal relationship with Ford “Fast Lane” Nixon, his CO, his respected and noble LT, Saint lied to his face.
Next up will be the 15th book in the SEAL Team Alpha series, Saint. Our dedicated medic and warrior will be going after Special Agent Aella Mikos in an adrenaline rush of action and suspense. She’s being held by a ruthless warlord in Somalia, and Saint’s about to go off the rails to get her out. Aella thought her love affair with Saint had been relegated to the past until he shows up to rescue her, making her reassess everything in her life. But will she choose complicated and passionate with Saint or stick with her easy and simple man?
Glossary
BO - Basic Orientation (BUD/S)
BUD/S - Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL training
Comm - The equipment that SEALs use to communicate with each other in the field.
CO - Commanding Officer
CTT - Combat Training Tank
DEVGRU - The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), formerly SEAL Team Six
DoD - Department of Defense
DOR - Drop on Request
DZ - Drop zone, the targeted area for parachutists.
HALO - High altitude, low opening jump from an aircraft.
HVT - High value target
IBS - Inflatable Boat, Small
IED - Improvised Explosive Device
Klicks - Shortened word for kilometers.
LRRP - Long-range reconnaissance patrol.
LT - Nickname for lieutenant.
LZ - Landing Zone where aircraft can land.
Merc - Mercenary - guns for hire.
MWD - Military Working Dog
MRE - Meals, Ready-to-Eat, portable in pouches and packed with calories, these packaged meals are used in the field.
NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NCIS - Naval Criminal Investigative Service
NWU - Navy Working Uniform
OIC - Officer in Charge
REACT - Regional Enforcement Action Capabilities Team
RIB - Rigid Inflatable Boat
RPG - Rocket Propelled Grenade
R&R - Rest and Relaxation
Tango -Hostile combatants.
SERE -Stands for survival, evasion, resistance, escape. The principles of avoiding the enemy in the field.
Six - Military speak for watching a man’s back.
SO - Special Operator
SPIES - Special Patrol Insertion & Extraction System
UDT - Underwater Demolitions Team
About the Author
Zoe Dawson lives in North Carolina, one of the friendliest states in the US. She discovered romance in her teens and has been spinning stories in her head ever since. Her heroes are sexy males with a disregard for danger and whether reluctant, gung-ho, or caught up in the action, show their hearts of gold.
Her imagination runs wild with romances from sensual to scorching including romantic comedy, new adult, romantic suspense, small town, and urban fantasy. Look below to explore the many avenues to her writing. She believes it’s all about the happily ever afters and always will.
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For an up-to-date listing of all my upcoming and current novels with buy links, please go to www.zoedawson.com/books
Thanks for reading and joining me on this wonderful journey!