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

  Of course, I didn’t get one. I did get treated to a delicious breakfast shake that had me licking my lonesome lips.

  Logan was a perfect gentleman there and back at the hotel when I donned a skimpy bikini and declared it was time for a pool day. All that was on my agenda was a dinner and I had been dying to hang out on a lounge chair. And while I relaxed poolside, I planned to order a Bikini Sunset—and since breakfast was nutritious—a Country Club sandwich and French fries. I was going all out. I could pick at the dinner being served or I could swim off the calories.

  So many options… I just wanted to splurge and have fun.

  “What are you up to now?” I heard and was afraid my wish was about to be denied as my assistant walked in with her tablet in hand. “I thought you’d like to go over your schedule for next week. Shooting starts and you’ve been invited to some comic things over the next few weekends.”

  “We can talk about those out by the pool.” I could make it all work to my advantage if I could get her to loosen up.

  “No bathing suit for me.” I had no idea why she wouldn’t sport a bikini or one-piece. She had a nice shape—a bit too skinny in my book—but nothing to hide. “If you want to look the schedule over, I’ll message it over to you. And don’t forget dinner tonight. Your red dress is hanging up in the room and I received some sandals last week for you—I brought them along.”

  “Fine. Fine.” I wanted her to stop talking so I could slip outside. Agreeing with her was the only way I was going to get my wish and with any luck Logan would gift me with his hot body wearing nothing but swim trunks.

  “Oh…” She stopped with her hand on the hotel door and then turned back, moving over to a table not far from me. “Something was delivered for you while you were out.”

  I had never seen Logan move so quickly before I could get anywhere near the bulky package my assistant was lifting. His reaction put a shocked look on her face.

  “It’s just a couple scripts for her to read.” She knew about the deliveries to my house but I had a feeling she didn’t expect me to tell him about them. It was obvious by his reaction that I had. She had no idea that he had seen one for himself since I didn’t mention the most recent one to her.

  To keep everyone calm, I stepped in between the two of them and took the script package out of her hands and tossed it into a tote bag I had filled with a few things for the pool. Crisis averted, it was time to let her go off on her merry way and get me outdoors.

  To my delight, Logan was onboard. I finally got my wish once we secured two lounge chairs under some palm trees, not far from the pool or bar.

  Perfect location.

  Perfect weather.

  Perfect guy.

  Yes, Logan looked amazing in board-short style trunks and wait for it…no shirt. No disappointment there at all. As I suspected, washboard abs, sculpted pecs and those lickable creases that started at the top of his hip and disappeared into his shorts and I imagined pointed to his package. That was probably something I would never get the privilege of seeing up close and personal.

  But I could maybe innocently rub against him to entice a feel…

  “You know you can’t protect me completely if you don’t get in.”

  Those were my “come get me” words as I walked backwards to the pool, grinning all the way.

  Chapter Eleven

  Against my better judgement, I threw on swim trunks and a t-shirt to accompany Maya to the pool. I could’ve easily worn some slacks and a polo and sat off in the distance to keep an eye on her. Instead, I turned into a pool boy or playmate as I once again gave into her and charged after her, jumping right into the water.

  Not that it was necessary to be so close, but I never left her side. Not even when she splashed and fanned water into my face. In fact, we got a whole lot closer when she attempted to dunk me and jumped on my back. Rough play with her was so fun that I lost track of who I was…who we were. If I had been observing us, I would’ve guessed that we were a couple.

  And anyone who listened to us bantering back and forth about which flavors of ice cream were the best and who made the best—not that I was a big fan of the cold treat—might have thought we were siblings. Either way, we appeared friendly and close in an intimate way.

  I had to admit that I liked it.

  And mostly I liked the way she made me feel and I wanted to be her man…the man who cared for her. The man that knew her well enough to order for her.

  “She’ll have the club sandwich, a side of fries and another Bikini Sunset and I’ll have a ginger beer and the special shark tacos.”

  “Shark.” She played with that word on her tongue and I liked how it sounded and made me think of other ways I’d like to hear her say it. Well, maybe not that exact name. But definitely my name on her lips.

  “Speaking of sharks. I’ve been meaning to ask you, what’s the reason behind your name “Shark?” I’ve heard a few guys call you that and you answered your phone that way a couple times.”

  “All SEALs end up with a nickname. Barlow is Fin, great swimmer. And Roman is King, royal background. Most of them are simple and often involve inside jokes. I got mine from a training officer who happened to remember me from my competitive swimming days.”

  “You were a killer? Predator? Deceitful?”

  I shook my head knowing that it was nothing like she had imagined and part of the reason why I rarely told anyone the reasoning behind my name. Not that many people even asked. “Our swim team was called Sharks.”

  “That sounds a bit boring.” I loved the smirk on her face as she wrinkled her nose up so cutely.

  She made me laugh and then I gave in and told her the rest of the story as I remembered how he had pointed his finger at me in an accusing manner as I stood at attention.

  “You’re a Shark!”

  Everyone turned to look my way as he stood right in front of me. I read the name stitched in yellow on his navy blue t-shirt. It was a very familiar name from my youth that had me answering “Yes, Sir” and standing up a little straighter.

  He had been a few years older than me, but with our age bracket groupings—unfairly set—I had to compete against him. Truthfully, I didn’t mind. I knew I would never beat him, but he made me swim some of my best times—trying to get as close to him as possible. I was no competition for him. However, he knew of me like many other swimmers in our competitive summer season for two reasons: One, a timer had logged the wrong time for me at one swim meet and that incredibly low time followed me in the record books.

  The second reason, he shared with the rest of the recruits. Off the starting blocks, I zoomed to the other end of the pool, did a flip turn and headed for home with everyone else in my line of sight far behind me. I couldn’t believe it and then I heard my teammates following me down the edge of the pool, cheering me on. I kicked and dug in harder thinking I had finally beat him as I reached out to the touch pad. Then as I waited for everyone to catch up, I realized that I had done freestyle while everyone else was doing the breaststroke. That—at one time embarrassing, long ago—story had my fellow recruits laughing and the “Shark” name was mine forever.

  Maya laughed too. “Well, I learned from Shark Week that sharks are gregarious and highly social. I think you’re quite friendly.”

  I loved the smile that brightened her face and it had me wanting to reach behind her head with my hand to bring her in close for a kiss. A little taste. A little taste would never be enough. A little taste would be very wrong since I was working for her. Protecting Maya. I needed to say those words over and over in my head because I was having a hard time focusing on what I was assigned to do and nothing more.

  No emotions. No involvement. Stay on task. Complete the mission.

  I should’ve been looking around the area. Scanning the faces of the people around the pool. Noting any unusual behavior. Was anyone studying Maya? Taking photos of her? I was keeping her safe but I wasn’t supposed to be barely dressed and lounging next to the
beautiful woman depending on me. Laughing. Basking in the sun. Ordering her lunch like we were on a date. Enjoying her company far more than I should have. None of those things had ever been part of my training.

  “Don’t be so serious. You’re off the clock for now.”

  Was she reading my mind?

  “I’m never off the clock where your safety is concerned.”

  “I don’t believe anyone in their right mind would try to come at me with you next to me. So relax a bit and tell me more about you before you became a bad ass.”

  Her laughter put me at ease and I forgot about work to an extent.

  Chapter Twelve

  Maya

  It was like being in dreamland, lounging side by side on lounge chairs that were nearly right together. So close we could almost feel each other’s breath against our skin. We were really talking. Comparing summers and then moving onto our more grown up lives. I told him about how I got into the movie industry and he told me how he ended up as a bodyguard after years as a Navy SEAL. It amazed me that we had both fulfilled dreams we had since we were young. We both had awesome parents who supported us but made us finish college before we reached for our dreams.

  “Did you learn anything in school that prepared you for stardom?”

  “I learned to be humble and to be prepared when your understudy goes out of her way to make you sick so she can step in. Food poison.”

  “You think maybe she’s the one behind the notes?”

  I laughed. “No. She’s somewhere in the Midwest with three brats calling her mom. That’s a whole other story. What about you and your course study?”

  “Definitely not. The only thing that helped was hours spent in the pool. Had I studied psychology that might have been beneficial to me. History as a major only gave me a lot to talk about, not that anyone wanted to listen to me sound like a school teacher.”

  “I don’t know. I quite like listening to you.”

  And looking at you.

  And touching you.

  And fantasizing about you.

  And not wanting to be without you.

  I never wanted the day to end and I really wanted to skip that evening’s dinner altogether, but it was important and my last scheduled event. Too soon I would be saying goodbye to Logan and heading back to work on another movie playing the super hero. I wasn’t the main story but I was working with other heroes to save the world in some way. It struck me funny—strange, not humorous—as I sat next to a true hero who protected not only me but our country.

  It made me sad to know that I would have to give him up so he could protect another person in need…

  What if I still needed him?

  Who was going to look after me once I left the desert?

  We still hadn’t learned much about my crazy fan nor had I received any more deliveries. It could’ve been Logan—always at my side—that was keeping him away from me.

  What happened when I didn’t have Logan protecting me anymore?

  I hated to think about that.

  “Hey! Are you ready? I think our food is coming.”

  I followed the wave of his hand and sure enough a man was nearing with a loaded tray.

  I was so excited to finally taste my club sandwich and fries. The special cocktail had already fulfilled one of my desires. I nearly applauded the man delivering the tray with a few metal covered dishes. Sitting up, I moved back on my lounge chair to give him room, then I signed the bill and waited for Logan to lift the lids.

  Oh my God! His tacos looked incredible. Oh, and my order of French fries were perfectly crispy and came with a variety of dipping sauces. I quickly dove into them while they were still hot.

  “Hungry?” Logan asked with a laugh.

  “Yes. You can leave my sandwich covered for now. It’s not hot so it can wait… But these are amazing. I hate when fries get cold. These are the perfect temperature and they’re so crisp. They always remind me of summer day camp when I was younger. The only thing missing is ice cream.”

  The day couldn’t get any better… Well, maybe one thing could make it a whole lot better but I couldn’t complain at all. I had the chance to playfully rub my, practically, naked body against his in the pool. Jumping on him and begging him to swim around with me clinging to him was fun but probably totally out of line. But I wouldn’t go back and change a thing. Never. Ever.

  “Are you going to eat your sandwich or do you want me to have them wrap it up for you?” He seemed cued into my groans as I flopped back and held my tummy.

  “I have been dying to have that sandwich since I checked in. I always order them when I’m here…” I made another sound that had an “ugh” tone to it. “Okay, maybe just one bite and I’ll save it for tomorrow.”

  I’d like to say that the sandwich was delicious and everything that I anticipated. Only my beloved sandwich wasn’t under the metal cover when I lifted it up. The metal lid that crashed to the ground as I dropped it. The crash had turned a few heads, but I held back a scream that was warranted. Most people would’ve reacted. But I kept my cool since being tormented in a sick way was a common occurrence in my life.

  To other people not in the know, the plate of torn apart chicken wings with bright red sauce and a few feathers would’ve cause them to send the dish back for a more appetizing order. However, we never ordered wings of any kind and I knew that it was another delivery intended to warn me that someone… some crazy someone was coming for me according to the note:

  You can’t fly!

  I’ll clip your wings yet.

  Yours are about to be broken.

  Then how will you film your next movie?

  To me that had to mean that he was about to make his move really soon since I was supposed to report to the set of another hero flick in about a week. Was he planning to break my arms? Or was he planning to do worse? It wasn’t like I used just my arms to fly. It was my whole body that soared through the sky thanks to harnesses and green screens.

  He was scaring the fuck out of me.

  “Sorry. Pool time is over, Maya.”

  I nodded my head and allowed Logan to escort me back to the suite.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Logan

  What the fuck?! Our time together by the pool went from ten—on a scale of ten being best—to zero in the matter of seconds. It was the best time I had ever had with a woman and it was quickly tossed into time-to-remember-I’m-her-protector mode. Not some wonderful vacation together.

  I’d like to say that things got better once we left the pool area but Maya was rightfully shaken. Whoever was behind everything that had been going down before and during the festival, was definitely getting a bit more brazen. I had to admit that he was getting a bit too close and most likely had a fairly good grasp on her schedule. But the day at the pool had to mean he was staying in the hotel to gain easy access without being questioned while he spied on her.

  “Do you want to forget the dinner tonight or will it help take your mind off of it?” I wanted her to say whisk me away somewhere and keep me safe.

  “I don’t want him to win is what I want. I promised to go to the dinner and I believe in following through… So we’ll go.”

  Not one to argue with people in charge—and that was what she was—we went and it seemed to pull her spirits up a bit. Or maybe she was just a really good actress.

  It wasn’t until we were heading back to the hotel that I noticed a drop in her mood and once we walked into the suite, she let her emotions go. I couldn’t blame her. The living room area was a total mess with dead wingless birds, feathers, their blood or something that looked like blood and broken glass. It looked like the stiff birds had been thrown through the open sliding glass door and they had knocked over vases of flowers.

  I was on my phone immediately and moving Maya behind me as we walked through each room. There was no way I was leaving her side. Both of our rooms hadn’t been touched.

  “It’s my fault. I left the sliding doors open.”
Maya’s voice was soft and shaky.

  “It’s not your fault.” I wrapped my arms around her and held her close to me as I spoke to Fin and King who were grabbing an off-duty beer and put me on speaker.

  As I let them know what had happened from the pool to the suite being messed up, Maya mumbled things—still blaming herself. “I made it easy to reach me. If the doors were closed he would’ve had to get someone to make a delivery again. Not a mess.”

  That was when I knew I needed to get her away from the hotel. No amount of cleaning could wipe the scenes of the day away from her mind while she remained at the scene of the fucked-up crimes. My guys agreed with the plan I had and threw in a few other ideas. With us all onboard, it was time to put things into motion.

  “Listen to me, Maya. This isn’t a normal person. He probably would’ve just tossed the stuff on the balcony knowing you like doors open. It’s obvious he has been watching you closely today.”

  “This is sick…” Her voice trailed off.

  “My guys are going to be here any minute. Let’s get our things together. We’re not staying here. We’re going to put on a bit of a show while the crew cleans this place and gets our things to a safe location…including my truck.”

  No sooner had I set her mind at ease a bit and moved our bags to the door, a knock sounded. Opening it, like last time, a whole team had been assembled and was coming through the door.

  “Shark.” I turned to see Fin with an uneasy look on his face. “Hotel security said they ran a bunch of teenagers off the property earlier. They were in the area of her balcony. They had no idea what they were up to so they didn’t detain them.”

  “Yeah,” King chimed in. “Looks like whoever this sick asshat is, he has no problem getting people to do his dirty work.”