Kitabı oku: «Navy Seal Six Pack»

Chapter One

Navy SEAL Benjamin “Montana” Raines leaned against the side of the nondescript building in downtown Washington, DC. Anyone looking at it would guess it was nothing more than another office building filled with businessmen or lobbyists there to buy a congressman or senator into their way of thinking.

Montana liked being outside, even if it was on a busy street in DC. He preferred the open air and big skies of his home state, Montana, but this city was a nice change from the heat, humidity and mosquitoes prevalent at his duty station in Stennis, Mississippi. Not that he minded Mississippi all that much. That little backwater town was home to the Pearl River and some of the best riverine training in the country.

For the past four years, Montana had been with SEAL Boat Team 22, or as he and his team called it, SBT-22. The men on the team were more family than his own family back home. He’d been to hell and back with his fellow SEAL teammates and he’d give his life for each and every one of them.

Trained to conduct covert operations in river and jungle environments, Montana was feeling a bit out of his element and naked in DC. Instead of trees, brush and bugs, his surroundings consisted of concrete, cars and pavement. What bothered him most was that he couldn’t openly carry a weapon, and he wasn’t wearing any kind of protection—no Kevlar helmet or body armor. Civilian attire was the uniform of the day, with orders to try to look like he belonged in Washington, DC. Most of all, be on the lookout for his new partner.

His team had picked him for this operation because he was good at camouflage and he had experience with bombs. Whether it was in a desert, forest, golf course or city, he could blend in. From what he’d been told, his partner had similar skills. Which could be why he hadn’t spotted her yet.

The need to blend in would be useful in a city where blending in normally wasn’t the goal. Everyone in DC was, or wanted to be, someone. From the politicians always aware of the next election, to the lobbyists or leaders of the political action committees. All mingling with the rich and famous who hoped to manipulate the lawmakers with promises of campaign funding and vacations on fully staffed, luxury yachts.

None of that appealed to Montana. He’d rather be riding a horse on the prairie or staring up at the big sky on a starry night. He couldn’t even see the stars in DC. The light pollution was off the scale and visible from the International Space Station like a gaudy jewel in a long chain of similarly gaudy jewels lining the East Coast.

A bicycle courier stopped on the sidewalk at the corner of the building Montana leaned against. The basket on the front of his bright yellow bicycle was overloaded with small packages and thick envelopes, precariously stacked. He toed the kickstand and dismounted. One by one, he removed the larger packages, lining them up against the building. Then he carefully rearranged them in the basket. A moment later he mounted his bicycle and rode off.

The courier passed Montana and crossed the street.

Montana glanced back the direction from which the cyclist had come and frowned. A small package lay against the brick of the building.

Montana spun toward the cyclist and yelled, “Hey!”

The young courier either didn’t hear him or ignored him, hurrying toward his next delivery. Which could have been to deliver the package he’d left behind. Already he was too far away to hear someone shouting at him over the sounds of the traffic on the street, or for Montana to catch him on foot.

Montana turned back to the package and walked toward it. Perhaps it had an address on it, or the phone number of the delivery service. He could call and have them send the courier back to retrieve it.

He had just about reached the package when a flash of motion made him look up in time to see a jean-clad female, with shoulder-length, straight blond hair, flying at him.

The crazy woman bent over and plowed into him, her shoulder hitting him square in his gut, sending him staggering backward. She didn’t stop plowing until he’d been pushed several yards along the sidewalk, tripped over his feet and landed hard on his back. He lay still for a moment, the breath knocked out of his lungs, not only from the fall, but from the woman landing on top of him.

When he could drag a breath of air in to fill his lungs, he grabbed the woman’s shoulders and pushed her to arm’s length. “What the hell?”

“Stay down!” she shouted, and covered the back of her head with her arms, burying her face in his chest.

Not sure why he should keep down, he recognized the command in her voice and remained on the ground. He even threw his arm over his face.

Several seconds went by. People passed them on the sidewalk. A woman giggled, a man snorted and a child asked, “Mama, what’s that woman doing to that man?”

“Shh,” the woman said. “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

At that point, Montana opened his eyes and looked around. “Is something supposed to happen?”

His assailant leaned up on her arms and looked behind her. “The cyclist left a package. It could be full of explosives.”

Montana chuckled. “Or it could be full of cookies, or paper clips, or someone’s special-ordered dentures.” He stared up into steely-gray eyes and studied the woman who’d tackled him. “Not that I mind letting the woman be on top, but I prefer it to be in the privacy of my bedroom, not a sidewalk crowded with people.”

The female pushed to her feet and stared at the small box leaning against the side of the building, her eyes narrowed. “It could be a bomb,” she said, as the bright yellow bicycle sailed past her.

Montana rose behind her, recognizing the cyclist from a few minutes earlier.

The rider barely came to a stop before he dropped to the ground and scooped up the box. Back on the bicycle, he jerked the handlebars around and sped away, hitting the street to weave in and out of the slow-moving traffic.

“Tragedy averted,” Montana couldn’t help saying. “Thank you for saving me from a fate worse than Grandma’s cookies.”

The woman stiffened, color rising in her cheeks. “Excuse me.” With her chin lifted high enough that she couldn’t possible see her feet, she marched away.

Montana resumed his post next to the entrance of the Stealth Operation Specialists headquarters, his gaze following the woman with the steely-gray eyes and sandy-blond hair.

She’d crossed the street and stopped to stare at the numbers on the building in front of her. Performing an about-face, she retraced her steps and stopped in front of him to stare at the number on the outside of the building.

With a chuckle, Montana asked, “You wouldn’t happen to be Kate McKenzie, would you?”

She closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and nodded. “I am.”

“Since we already know each other on an intimate level, let me introduce myself. Benjamin Raines, but my friends call me Montana. I hear we’re going to be partners.”

* * *

KATE WANTED TO sink into the concrete sidewalk and die of mortification. Instead, she sucked it up and held out her hand as if she tackled perfect strangers on a regular occurrence. “Nice to meet you. I don’t suppose you’d keep our little...incident to yourself, would you?”

“It’ll be our secret.” He took her hand, his strong, callused fingers wrapping around hers. She had no doubt he could crush her bones with one tight squeeze, if he wanted. A ripple of awareness feathered across her senses.

When she’d been lying on top of him, she’d felt the rock-hard muscles of his chest and thighs. He was built as solid as an armored tank. When her old college roommate, Becca, had briefed her on this mission, she’d told her she’d be paired with a Navy SEAL. The image in her mind had been one of a scruffy man with a beard and intense eyes. Not this ruggedly handsome, clean-shaven man wearing blue jeans, cowboy boots and a blue chambray shirt. He could have been a model for a jeans commercial, the kind of jeans best suited for horseback riding, not hanging out on street corners in the city.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” he said, his voice deep and smooth like warm chocolate being poured over her skin, seeping into every crevice. “Come with me.”

To the end of the earth. The thought leaped into her mind and she quickly banished it. Kate had more than proved herself a lousy judge of men and matters of the heart. But she couldn’t stop the shiver that slipped down the back of her neck as she passed him and entered the building.

Montana led the way to the elevator and waited for her to enter before he punched a button on the panel.

As the car rose, Kate held her tongue. What could she say after making a complete fool of herself? “Do you know what this so-called mission is all about?”

Montana nodded but didn’t enlighten her. While the elevator car rose, he leaned against the wall, studying her.

“I take it you’re not going to clue me in.” Kate hit him with a brief but unswerving glare, and then jerked her gaze away, avoiding direct eye contact, afraid of repeating her own history. Hadn’t she fallen for a handsome colleague once before? Drawn into his world, his life, she’d been hard-pressed and embarrassed to admit she’d fallen for the oldest double cross in the book.

Maybe she deserved to be a desk jockey for the remainder of her career as a CIA special agent. Determined not to fall under any man’s spell ever again, Kate watched the numbers blink on the display over the door. Two. Three.

A loud boom echoed in the air. The elevator jerked to a halt so suddenly Kate was thrown to her knees. Lights blinked out and absolute darkness descended on the enclosed box.

“Are you all right?” Montana’s deep voice filled the abyss.

“Yeah.” She pushed to her feet, bracing her hand on the wall. “What happened?”

“I think your bomb exploded.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than another explosion rocked the elevator and dust sifted through the air vent. Thrown sideways, Kate crashed into the hard body of the Navy SEAL.

His arm circled her waist, pulling her tightly against him.

Kate waited in silence, her chest crushed to his, listening for the next explosion, sounds of sirens or voices.

After a couple minutes and nothing else exploding, Kate broke her silence. “You can let go of me. I think that was the last one.”

“We can’t be sure,” he said, his arm tightening, his fingers digging into the small of her back. “Give it another minute or two.”

The longer she waited in the circle of his arm, her body absorbing his heat, the more time she had to take in just how tall and firm this man’s body was. From what she’d felt, he didn’t have an ounce of fat anywhere. And he smelled of outdoors and fresh air. She inhaled, deeply.

“You were right. It was the last one,” he said, his breath stirring the loose strands of hair on her cheek. His arm loosened.

For a long moment, Kate remained pressed against him, her thoughts in a whirl, her blood hammering through her veins. Then she remembered to let go of the breath she’d been holding, and backed away. “I don’t suppose you have a flash—”

A light blinked on in the darkness.

When her eyes adjusted to the sudden illumination, Kate shook her head. “You don’t look like the kind of guy who carries a penlight.”

Montana grinned. “I’m not. But Becca’s boss gave me this one. It also contains a hidden camera. I might be a cowboy at heart, but the James Bond in me goes all techno-geek with stuff like this.” He shined the light at the control panel. “Suppose the emergency button will work without electricity?”

“Only one way to find out.” She pressed the button and waited. No sirens nor flashing lights came to life. She shrugged. “Help me pry the doors open so we can see where we are.”

Montana placed the penlight between his teeth, dug his fingers between the sliding doors and pulled hard enough that Kate could get her fingers between, as well.

“On three,” she said. “One...two...three.”

They pulled hard in opposite directions. At first the door didn’t budge much. Kate leaned back as hard as she could, digging her feet into the floor for leverage. Inch by hard-earned inch, the door opened, until there was enough room for one of them to squeeze through.

Montana shone the light, starting at their feet. The dark wall of the elevator shaft stared back at them. He swept the beam of light upward to the top, where they could see a four-inch gap to what Kate assumed was the fourth floor.

Montana gave her a sideways glance. “You don’t suppose you could fit through?”

She shook her head. “I’m smaller than you, but I’d have to be a cat to squeeze through that narrow gap.”

Montana trained the light at the ceiling of the car. “Then there’s only one other way out of here. Here, hold the flashlight.” He handed it to her, cupped his hands and bent down. “Check it out.”

She stared at his cupped hands and didn’t move.

He glanced up. “Unless you want to boost me. I warn you, I’m a little heavier than you are.”

“I’ll go.” She stepped into his hands and raised her arms over her head.

Montana straightened, lifting her up as he did.

She found a loose panel in the ceiling, pushed it upward and then poked her head through. “I can see the fourth floor landing. We should be able to get out through here.”

“I’m going to raise you high enough to get your arms through, and you can take it from there.”

Montana lifted her until Kate got her arms through the hole, braced her elbows on the sides and pulled herself up to sit on the edge. Once she had her breath, she pushed to her feet and shone the light back into the elevator car. “Your turn. Need me to lend you a hand?”

“No, thanks.” He jumped, his fingers catching on the sides of the panel opening.

Kate backed up as much as possible, directing the flashlight beam near Montana without blinding him. He pulled himself up, his biceps flexing, stretching the shirt tight around his chest and shoulders. Squeezing his shoulders through the tight space, he soon had the rest of his body through and stood beside Kate.

She handed him the light and stepped over to the fourth floor landing and down onto the hallway floor.

Emergency lighting glowed softly, giving just enough light to guide them.

“Follow me.” Montana led the way, turning left at the end of the corridor. Midway down the next hall, he pushed through a doorway. “Everyone okay in here?” he called out.

A strong flashlight beam shone in his face.

Montana raised an arm to shade his eyes.

“Montana, is that you?” a voice called out.

Kate entered the room behind the Navy SEAL to find it crowded with guys as big and brawny as Montana, crowded around a couple of battery-operated lanterns. Interspersed with the big men were a few women and a white-haired man who appeared to be as physically fit as the younger men.

“Anyone sustain injuries?” Montana asked.

“We’re all good here. Thankfully, we were in the war room when the explosion occurred,” the white-haired man said. “I’m glad we put the extra money in the construction. It’s built like a bunker.” He stepped forward. “I’m betting this is our chameleon, Kate McKenzie. Hi, I’m Royce Fontaine, the head of Stealth Operations Specialists—or SOS, as we like to refer to it.”

“SOS?” Kate raised her brows. “Just what does SOS do?”

Royce nodded, a smile tipping the corners of his mouth. “Stealth Operations Specialists is a team of agents called in when the FBI, CIA and Secret Service can’t quite get the job done. Or the situation is highly sensitive and needs the utmost secrecy. Unfortunately, most of my agents are assigned at this time, thus the need to call in reinforcements.” He swept his arm out, his gaze circling the room. “Glad to have you all on board for this operation. We can use all the help we can get.”

Kate nodded, her gaze seeking and finding her old roommate from college, Becca Smith. “I didn’t realize there’d be an entire team of people on this gig.”

Becca pushed through the others and hugged Kate. “I couldn’t say much over the phone. We needed you here, where others can’t listen in on the conversation. As we’ve learned the hard way, we can’t trust anyone but the people in this room.”

“And based on the explosion outside the building,” Royce said, “there are those who will stop at nothing to keep us from doing our jobs. Don’t worry. I have people checking the structure. They will alert us if we need to evacuate immediately. When we had the structure built, we hardened it for just such an occasion. We could potentially continue to work out of this office, but coming and going from a targeted location will be dangerous.”

Kate leaned toward Becca and whispered, “What are you getting me into?” Her body quivered with excitement. She’d trained for covert ops. This was what made her blood sing.

Becca took her hand. “Come into the conference room. Geek is working on getting the computers and lighting back online so we can brief you. Then I’m sure we’ll move to our backup location. This building has been compromised.”

As Becca led her through another door, Kate glanced over her shoulder, searching for and finding Montana. Though she’d met him only a few minutes before, he seemed to be the anchor in this sea of people, with their plans that threatened to sweep her away from a desk job she loathed.

Becca had promised her a way to redeem and reclaim her status in the CIA, if they could pull off this mission. By the looks of it, and the people squeezing into the war room, they could well be a small army gathering to overthrow the government, for all Kate knew.

What had she gotten herself into?

Whatever it was, it sure beat the hell out of pushing paper.