Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Maya (Kindle Worlds Novella) Read online

  “If I was to avoid places where I received fucked-up deliveries, I’d have to move out of my house and that’s not an option. I love my house.” She smiled up at me and I had the overwhelming urge to kiss her forehead. Fortunately, she said goodnight and went off to her room.

  I stayed up for a while, sat at the dining table and viewed information that was being sent to my laptop. Just as I had thought, the dominant fingerprints on things belonged to me or Maya. The sender possibly wore gloves, but the delivery had been made by the hotel staff for it to make it into her room. His fingers had to be the last set besides ours and who knew how many hands touched it.

  With the help of videotapes we could maybe pinpoint the timeframe the box was delivered and when someone was in the elevator. Most elevators were outfitted with cameras and some hotels had them in their hallways. Many did not because of privacy issues. I hoped that we got lucky on both locations. We did get a clear shot of a man in a hotel uniform in an elevator with the box in question in the right timeframe. He didn’t appear nervous and wasn’t treating the box with any special treatment which most likely meant he thought it was nothing more than chocolates.

  Over the years of training and watching behaviors of our subjects, it was often easy to spot people that were up to no good or simply lying. Body language could be instrumental. Unsteady facial expressions. Voice tones that wavered. Then there were obvious signs like sweating and shaking.

  So we knew he wasn’t our guy and had no idea where the chocolate box came from since we were able to see he went from the front desk to the elevators and then disappeared for a short time before he was back in the elevator heading down.

  Dead end!

  For the moment.

  With my hotel room not in use, it allowed me to move another guy in for extra eyes. That was something I decided to keep to myself. The less Maya knew the better. Let me and my guys focus on the sicko and let Maya focus on doing her job and maybe enjoying herself.

  The weather was great and there shouldn’t be any reason for her to stay cooped up like a prisoner because she was afraid. She needed to use me to the fullest and it started with getting her up for a run once the sun came up. I had observed how she looked outside while she ran on the treadmill. Nothing matched the great outdoors.

  Well, crawling in bed next to Maya—who had her perfect breasts on display when I walked in to wake her—may have ranked above all else. Being a gentleman or fool, I covered her upper half with the robe I had handed her the night, or hours, before, prior to waking her.

  The memory of her glorious body was already permanently burned into my mind for all eternity. And nothing could ever shake it loose which was probably not the smartest idea. She had made me forget all about a certain part of my training that involved being focused on the target and objective. For once, I was thinking about breaking all of the rules that had been entrenched in me…or not—I was on the fence.

  “Rise and shine! It’s oh seven hundred! Daylight is burning!”

  “Please don’t tell me you have a bugle and are about to play Reveille.”

  I laughed, remembering my great grandfather’s bugle and his Navy stories about playing his bugle on the USS Idaho in the South Pacific during World War II. He played the bugle on occasion for us when I was little. He always raised an American flag in his front yard every day until the end of his life. My mom has that brass bugle sitting on a bookcase in her house not far from his encased burial flag.

  “You’re safe. I never learned to play my great grandfather’s bugle. But you do need to get your butt up or you’ll be stuck inside on that boring treadmill.”

  That seemed to spark a flame under her. “Go! I’ll be ready in five minutes.”

  Waiting with two sports bottles of water, Maya did as she promised, emerging dressed in a fitted turquoise tank top and black running pants with her dark auburn hair in a ponytail sticking out the back of a grey baseball-style cap, rocking dark sunglasses and wearing bright lime green running shoes.

  Hot in and out of clothes!

  Riding the elevator down to the ground level, we walked over to a grassy area and began to stretch for a few minutes before taking off on foot at a slow pace.

  “I’m not a fast runner but I can last an hour.”

  I was running with her, for her benefit. “I can go your pace. We’ll run a half-hour in one direction and then turn back using another street that runs parallel,” I said, setting a timer on my ever-present watch.

  “Sounds perfect. I’m just thrilled to be outside.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. “Fresh air instead of stale hotel air is divine. Thank you so much. It means the world to me… You have no idea.”

  I loved the smile she gave me when I added, “It’s all about you.”

  Chapter Eight

  Maya

  Not a bad view being outdoors at all. The handsome man beside me in turquoise running shoes, baggy grey gym shorts and a tight black sleeveless—not shirtless as I pictured—rivaled the desertscapes and mountains in the distance.

  “I wouldn’t mind having a condo out here.” It always seemed to be sunny in Palm Springs when it was raining and cold everywhere else in the winter.

  “Good weather.”

  “That one’s nice.” I pointed to a row of two-story, modern, townhouse-style structures behind a gate. In light of the shit going on, added security seemed necessary.

  My running companion didn’t say much and when he did reply he used very few words. I did note that his words were precise and clear while mine came out in a pant—breathless in nature. I was used to running a mile just about every day and still it affected me. Maybe it was the fresh air or something to do with being in the desert or altitude. Maybe it was that I was talking too much and concentrating more on Logan than myself. Whatever it was, he had me wondering how many miles he could go…

  Did he pant or get out of breath when he had sex?

  Had I kept focused to the run and not his hotness, I may not have stumbled on a stupid little rock and went down. I felt so stupid as Logan picked me up off the ground.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Fine.”

  Not really. I was as embarrassed as I had been in ballet class. Gracefulness was not my forte and I never could even fake it. The other ballerinas flew through the air with their hands elegantly posed. Not me. I got the height part with awkward arms and I came down hard like an elephant. A few pointed fingers and laughed at me behind cupped hands over their mouths. Being a joke among my peers was enough for me to move strictly into the tap and jazz portions of my lessons.

  Lesson to be learned when running, pay attention to the task.

  “I don’t think you’re fine. Your pants are ripped at the knee and I notice you’re babying that ankle.” He was assessing me and getting me even more worked up.

  Luckily he was focused on my ankle and knee and not my nipples that were on full view, pointing straight ahead. They were so hard that they could maybe poke his eye out. I tried to cover them with my arms but I needed to use them more for balance.

  “That’s it. We’re done.” He was standing upright and holding me steady with his hands on my upper arms. “Take your pick. Over my shoulder or on my back.”

  “What?!” I half asked and exclaimed as it hit me that he planned to carry me. The lift back to the hotel was possibly the true saving factor to eliminate further injury, instead of me pushing myself to finish. I had a feeling that it wasn’t an option, so I gave in. “Piggyback ride.”

  The next thing I knew I was loaded onto his back with his forearms under my thighs and I threw my arms around his neck. Holding on tightly, Logan turned back in the direction of the hotel. Having my body wrapped around his felt so good—it had been far too long since a hard body was crushed against mine.

  The ride was far too short!

  Back in the hotel suite, Logan moved into a different mode instructing me to remove my pants once he settled me on the sofa. His sexy voice had my bra
in instantly jumping to the far side of the moon which involved pleasure while he was wanting to look at my scraped knee.

  “Just rip them. That hole isn’t going to be mended.”

  Listening to me, he carefully destroyed them and then told me to sit still before disappearing briefly. Returning to me, he had a first aid kit, towels and a bottle of water. My ankle was first to receive treatment with a cold pack, then he cleaned my wound, removing gravel from my abrasions and finished off by applying some liquid bandage goop to my knee.

  It took every ounce of restraint to not ask for a kiss on my booboo.

  The fact that my assistant walked through the door may have contributed too. She was all about business as she launched into a mini-lecture and asked why she wasn’t informed that I had plans to go out running. Walking in to wake me up for my busy day and finding me gone without a note gave her a fright. Of course she added that running outside was not a smart decision as she was inspecting my knee.

  “Good idea going with the liquid bandage. I have a sundress picked out for you… A plastic bandage would definitely draw attention.”

  Then without stopping, she launched into reminding me that we had a full day at a neighboring hotel before another screening I had agreed to attend for a fellow actor.

  I hadn’t forgotten my schedule but I had forgotten how stacked interviews were for foreign stations. Thanks to my assistant she got me through it directing me, moving me from room to room. Like cattle we all moved, answering questions and then signing movie posters that were filled up with my fellow cast mates’ signatures.

  Photos and selfies with reporters and their crew often came with the conclusion of each segment that was filmed before makeup and hair people primped us in between. By the time I finished up with the last session, I was weary, hungry, and wanting to sip a cocktail, but remained a good sport showing off my pearly whites.

  Seeing Logan standing off to the side was reason enough to make me smile. He looked amazing in navy blue dress slacks, a crisp white button-down shirt and blazer. Basically a suit without a tie—a sexy look on him, but I was thinking back to less on him when we ran. Undressing him with my eyes was what I was doing and trying to picture the rest while remembering his hands on me. I wondered if he realized what I was doing when I watched a grin appear on his handsome face.

  Chapter Nine

  Logan

  I laughed when Maya kept calling me Dr. Logan when I tended to her scrape and twisted ankle—that thankfully was not sprained—and asked her if she was alright a few times when I caught her wincing. Besides worrying about her and enjoying the way she patted my arm each time in an assuring fashion, she put the thought of playing doctor with her in my head.

  I’m not really sure what playing doctor involved but I knew it had naughty undertones. Maybe it was that the patient undressed and you thoroughly examined their nakedness. I was all for that type of game. Just having her on my back earlier in the day had been a perk to taking care of her. Tearing her pants and having my hands on her soft skin had my mind in the gutter.

  “I’m ready, Doctor.” Maya spoke softly and leaned in close to me. “Can you sneak me off to the bar? I want greasy bad food and maybe even a beer.” She reminded me of a child trying to get away with something they knew they were not allowed to do.

  “Where’s your assistant? Do we need to get her approval?” I was partially serious after her assistant’s outburst that morning, but mostly being sarcastic.

  “I sent her back to the hotel in a shuttle to get my clothes ready for tonight—my last theatre commitment.” She smiled and clapped her hands together. “Today was the end of press stuff…” She stopped as if she missed something or was thinking about something. I didn’t like the hint of sadness and was happy to see it quickly fade away. “I may get to have fun tomorrow.” The new look on her face was one of pure joy. “Wanna have fun with me?”

  How did I answer that, truthfully or professionally?

  I was saved by my phone buzzing. “I need to make a call,” I said, looking at the number and ones I had missed earlier. “Let’s go find you food and see if my guys learned anything new.”

  “Point the way.”

  I liked the way she turned into my body with her back to my front, allowing me to place my hand on her back and steer her into the nearest bar with a private booth toward the back. I seated her so her back was to most people and I had a clear view of everything going on around us.

  I hadn’t been out on a date with a woman in such a long time with my schedule that included traveling around with high-profile clients for business meetings and taking part in a few political events. Not that our late lunch was anything more than work but I enjoyed the act of sharing a meal and conversation. It didn’t matter that we were talking about our schedule for the rest of the day and what had happened since the delivery.

  My guys had decided to rethink their views on whether or not the hotel staff member who had delivered the box to Maya’s room was important. Watching other video feeds, it appeared that the guy most likely knew nothing of the contents but he was captured pocketing a healthy stack of dollar bills. Granted it was during the film festival and there were many celebrities and film bigwigs staying at the hotel asking for various services. We just couldn’t afford to overlook anyone.

  The notes and box contents were nothing to ignore either. I couldn’t believe that Maya’s people weren’t more concerned and trying to get to the bottom of things. The person was threatening her and brushing it off by saying that every actor had a certain amount of crazies to deal with seemed wrong. Whether that was how it was or not, it needed to be addressed before something bad happened to her.

  I would hate to read about any harm being done to Maya. I liked seeing her smile and laugh as she indulged in a greasy cheeseburger and stole fries from my plate.

  “You should’ve ordered fries with yours, instead of fruit.”

  “I have to be good,” she answered right before a fry touched her lips.

  “Because you eat mine you’re being good?” I raised an eyebrow, willing her to make me understand the logic behind her ordering method. Not that I really cared. She could have every one of my fries. It was fun to flirt with her.

  “If I ordered them, I’d be tempted to eat them all. With them on your plate, I have to work for them by reaching—”

  “A form of exercise?”

  She shook her pretty head and her green eyes twinkled catching the overhead lighting. “Not what I meant but I might add that method to my madness.” She laughed. “It’s more of a limit thing. How many you will allow me and knowing that I can’t take all of them.”

  She was so wrong because I would’ve given her anything she wanted. Her happiness was what mattered most to me… I didn’t know how I was going to function once our time together was up. If we didn’t locate the sicko tormenting her in the next couple of days or at least get a handle on how to track him and keep tabs on him, I was going to be a mess. I would be worrying about her safety. Wondering if her people were right that the sick-fuck just wanted to be acknowledged in the media. I wasn’t so sure that was the case and I wanted to make sure she remained safe and unharmed.

  That wasn’t my mission. That wasn’t why I was hired. My assignment outlined a schedule of events and places to attend with Maya Bexley. I was to stay in the hotel room next to her suite and be at her disposal in case she wished to go places that were not on the set schedule. If she wanted to shop, go out nightclubbing, dinner…whatever, I was there for her protection. Basic bodyguard duties.

  Maya was making me break so many rules.

  Some missions, unfortunately, didn’t always have happy endings and sometimes we walked away without clear cut solutions or outcomes. We gave our all without thoughts of the future. We lived in the moment and served our country. Our feelings weren’t part of the equation. Our emotions needed to be suppressed. We did what we were told to do and when they told us to stand down and move on, we did.
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  How was I going to do that? How could I ever let her go?

  Chapter Ten

  Maya

  Why couldn’t I find a man like Logan in real life?

  He was fun. He was intelligent. He listened to me. He treated me with respect. He made me feel special… He was hired to protect me. I kept forgetting that little detail.

  I had attended other events where there was security and they never paid much attention to me or said more than “this way” and “that way” as they moved me along. No one ever touched me the way Logan did. No one ever went out of their way to make sure I was okay. They did their job and offered nothing more.

  Logan made it hard to not feel something for him.

  Running with me, lunching with me, attending screenings with me, and then waking me the next morning with his great manly voice made my heart hurt. I didn’t want to let him go, ever. I looked forward to our days and nights together.

  Never a disappointment.

  I liked the way he cued into my love of being outdoors and he thought out of the box. Instead of hitting the pavement the day after our run, he surprised me; we hopped into a truck and headed for an easy hike in a nature preserve.

  Of course, before we left we informed my assistant of our morning plan and I even asked her if she wanted to come along knowing she would say no. She wasn’t a morning person and was high maintenance as far as I was concerned—perfect makeup, clothes and only ate nutritious stuff. We could never hang out for fun which was fine since she worked for me and business and pleasure was not a good thing…

  When it came to Logan, I hated that expression because I wanted to mix in a whole lot of pleasure between us. Our hike had been great and a bit intimate in a non-sexual way. I liked that he held my hands and helped me get over rocks and up on some by lifting me up in his strong arms. If it had been warmer, it would’ve been nice to play in the water flowing in streams. I imagined us sitting side by side and maybe wiggling our toes together. It was a really beautiful area that screamed of romantic walks, romantic picnics, romantic kisses…and I wanted one.