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

  I met his movements looking into his blue eyes, seeing the emotion in his face. He had me wanting to say things I had never said to a man. Protecting my heart in case he changed his stance again, I resorted to panting and moaning safer words.

  As I feared, curled up next to him, he started speaking about me having new detail. “Someone needs to be on the outside looking in at everything from a far. Seeing the whole picture…” He outlined everything that needed to be done from that moment forward. “The mission will be completed and we will find who’s behind this sickness.”

  “But no one will protect me like you.”

  “I will always protect you, Maya. We need another pair of eyes on us.”

  I moved out of his arms and sat up. “What do you mean?”

  I absolutely loved the rest of his speech which explained how I was going to hire a full-time bodyguard from Sutton’s security company and Logan would remain at my side. My only rebuttal was questioning his own life and job. I liked that I was his main focus but hanging out with me was not what he had trained for all of his life.

  “Once we find the bird killer and you are safe again, I will take assignments. Until then, leaving you is not an option.”

  He pulled me back down next to him and I didn’t fight him when he silenced me with a kiss that tingled every part of my body.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Logan

  Once my heart got involved it was time to let someone else take over the job. When emotions came into the mix, I was no good to Maya and I couldn’t fathom my slip causing her any harm. With my focus shifted, I lost the edge I needed to stay in control of the situation or any that might arise. I would say that I was ashamed or disappointed in my behavior but the chance to meet a woman like her didn’t happen often.

  Of course, I would still never let anything happen to her and that was why I had agreed to accompany her back to LA and stay with her. Not knowing how long I would be out there, I packed a couple bags with everything I would need for at least a month.

  “Go through the fridge and grab everything you will eat. I have an extra-long ice chest that fits into the container in the back of my truck, we can fill it. There’s a lot in my pantry too.” If I was going to be staying with her, the least I could do was contribute groceries—healthy items that she probably never purchased knowing her love of junk food.

  “I can’t believe you don’t have frozen items. And no ice cream. That’s a crime.”

  “I hate to admit it and I hope it’s not a deal breaker…” I hesitated knowing she would most likely be outraged. “I’ve never really been a fan.”

  “Oh no! Don’t say that! I’m not sure I can truly trust anyone who doesn’t like ice cream… It comes in so many flavors. You mentioned some basic flavors at the pool… It’s not possible to not like it.”

  I laughed at the baffled expression on her pretty face. “I didn’t say I didn’t like it—”

  “Thank God.” She threw her head back dramatically and wiped her brow. “There’s still hope for you. I can sway you to the light side.”

  I had a feeling that she could sway me to just about anything.

  “We need to get on the road before we delay our trip by a few hours or days.”

  Of course, I would’ve loved to keep her in my place and enjoy more time alone but she had to get back to work. She, also, had several comic book shows to attend in a few weekends to promote her movie. Knowing that she needed added protection, I needed to get some reinforcements—before we went to them—as soon as we got settled in Los Angeles.

  I wished we had taken our time and stopped along the way for lunch or fun, anything to prolong what waited for us at her house. More bullshit for her to deal with and I was thankful she wasn’t alone as she would’ve been had we not agreed that I would stay with her.

  “Welcome Home” was painted on a banner across her gate in red letters that seemed to drip down the white paper. Not so bad at a glance. But once Maya gave me the gate code to punch in and it opened, there were several little tiny birds littering the driveway—all wingless. Something new, attached with a knife through a poor lifeless creature, a comic book and what appeared to be another note:

  You can’t fly!

  I’ll clip your wings yet.

  Make them see the light before it’s too late!

  I had used some rags that I had behind my backseat and dislodged the book and note to keep as evidence. Placing it gingerly in the back of my truck, I drove up to the front of the house and parked. “Are you okay? I asked, reaching over to gently stroke Maya’s bare arm. I could see goose bumps on her skin.

  “I will be as long as he didn’t get inside of my house. Hopefully, the alarm system stopped him more than the gate did.” I hated the pained look on her face.

  “The gate does no good without cameras… Your house is in a canyon that I assume is pretty dark with limited street lights.” I had assessed the area as we drove in. “The system should include extra lighting, motion detectors and cameras. I want…you need a premium package. You need to be tapped into a company that offers the most monitoring.”

  Thankfully, Maya didn’t argue with me once we were safely inside of her home—that looked like it belonged in a tropical jungle—which had not been touched. But that didn’t mean that I was backing down. With my things stored in Maya’s bedroom, I was on the phone immediately, contacting a home security monitoring company and I had them out the very next day bright and early arming the house and outdoors with the maximum security.

  “I hope you’re leaving some areas private.” Maya grinned and moved closer to me, speaking softly so the technicians couldn’t hear, “You know I like to skinny dip.”

  I smiled and took her into my arms for a kiss before assuring her that she would not be watched. “Outer perimeter, gate, front door. Those are the only cameras being monitored by the company.” I laughed at the way she sighed dramatically, but her safety was no laughing matter.

  In light of the newest intrusion and the demand to keep her safe heightened, I found myself interviewing suitable candidates to protect my woman. I had contacted Sutton who already knew some of the details and he suggested that I talk to some of my SEAL buddies. One in particular, apparently, had a contact that could be very helpful to me and, more importantly, Maya.

  Speaking with my old SEAL buddy, Wolf, he put me at ease as I told him about my dilemma. “I know all about loving a strong woman.” Wolf’s Caroline, who I had to agree was a bit of a badass for what she had done to save his team, was sweet and easy to like. “And I know what it’s like when you let your guard down doing things foreign to our training.”

  That was the truth.

  “You need to remember that we’re all human and love messes with our heads…and other parts.” He laughed and then turned serious again. “Use this guy and continue to use a team and let Maya be a part of it. Caroline taught me to never keep her out of the loop where she was concerned. And stop beating yourself up over falling for her.”

  Falling for Maya was one thing I would never regret.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Maya

  “What the fuck does he want? Why the birds?” My new musclebound bodyguard, Hawkman—had to be one of those military nicknames—was speaking out loud, sitting in my dining room and writing notes down on a yellow legal pad. He had a whole page filled with circles and lines connecting several of his scribblings.

  Logan and Hawkman were going over bits of information that had been compiled by the Palm Springs team that had stepped in to help me.

  “It has to be your character. I am surprised that the comic book was damaged.”

  I hated to say it, but I wasn’t familiar with every story that my super hero character was in and, apparently, she was in several—some big parts and some tiny ones. I read the scripts that had been sent to me but I never researched her in great depth. Since she was a fictional character I didn’t think about reading more into her or her background. The ba
sics were outlined. If she had been a real person and it was more like a docudrama or involved a profession I wasn’t familiar with, I would’ve done research.

  “I guess some people would say that was a big mistake on my part to not take more interest in a flying super hero—”

  “That’s just it and probably what upsets your tormentor. Your character has never flown in any comic book editions. She jumps from building to building or up to where she needs to be.” I was listening to Hawkman speak and picturing my character in my head.

  “The photos I have seen of her have depicted her reaching forward in the air in a flight-like action or crouched down like she was about to take off or was landing.” It was true. Even on a few covers she looked like she was taking flight. “What about her ability to read minds of certain people?” Not that anyone had mentioned that to me, but I thought maybe I should know if that was right or wrong.

  “Yes, that is correct. I’m not blaming you for the wrong depiction. Even if you did know that she didn’t fly, you didn’t write the script to my knowledge and you are not the producer.” I shook my head. “Exactly. So you have no control. But…”

  He paused as if he was changing gears and going a completely different direction. His voice was so amazing he should’ve done movie trailer voiceovers.

  “The person we’re dealing with is most likely a comic book fanatic.” I swear there was a cymbal crashing, a drum thumping or a dramatic overture ending that said “ta-dah” before he moved on. “Have you ever attended a comic book event?”

  “Yes,” I nodded my head. “Before filming had begun on my movie and after the studio announced that production was in the works.”

  I had never heard of my character or others that weren’t commonly known by the general public. It shocked me to see warehouses filled with vendors with various collections. And going to an event with fans was an eyeopener. Several people roamed the venue sporting action hero t-shirts and hats. Some people, actually wore costumes and full makeup of their favorite characters.

  I saw my character on several t-shirts, a few women were in full costume and even one man. I posed for selfies and signed pre-made books with comic book covers—they were pretty cool. Apparently, that avoided marking up comic books that could one day—if not already—be valuable.

  “Comic fanatic or not, this is a sick individual who has no problem killing. The birds tell us that.” I felt a chill run down my spine listening to Hawkman’s words.

  “We need to have someone checking around pet stores. We have a list of the mutilated birds. Whoever is behind this bought several brown finches for your welcome home greeting.”

  Logan chimed in, digging through reports and producing one. “Pet stores were checked in Palm Springs, but were a dead end.”

  “Right. Not in LA…yet.”

  That was about the time I decided to leave the table.

  “Are you okay, Maya?” Logan reached out to stop me with his strong hand that had me longing for some time alone.

  “I will be. I need to read my script. Filming starts soon.” I wanted to add that he could make me forget everything if he would follow me into my bedroom or we could send Hawkman out to the guesthouse for a bit. Keeping those thoughts to myself, I leaned down with my free hand and brushed Logan’s hair off his forehead, smiling. Then I broke free of his gentle grip and padded down the terra cotta paved hallway to my room.

  Apparently my acting hadn’t been as good as I thought since Logan appeared in my bedroom where I had situated myself on a chaise near glass doors that looked out to a pool area. He didn’t say a word. He just stood looking at me. I didn’t ask what he was doing, I just enjoyed the view. I felt like a silent conversation was going on between us. My heart was racing and my body was warming which was amazing since I was slowly undressing. I grinned as he followed suit, kicking off his slip-on tennis shoes, t-shirt over his head, messing up his dark blond hair. Once his jeans and briefs hit the floor, he was on the move, nearing me and I was squirming, knowing what was to happen.

  How did I get so lucky to find a man so in tuned to my emotions and needs? Well. I knew why he had come into my life. That wasn’t a great reason, but without the crap going on I wouldn’t have met him.

  I loved having him lift me up and carry me to the bed we had been sharing.

  I loved how he covered me with his big, strong, naked body.

  I loved the way his mouth captured mine and made me forget everything but us.

  I loved how well we fit together.

  I loved Logan.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Logan

  The shit needed to come to an end. We needed to find the sick fuck! I was getting madder by the day as I watched Maya smile less. I wanted my playful Maya back. I wanted to be alone with her. I wanted to skinny dip in her pool with her. I wanted to cook and play in the kitchen. I wanted to hike up the canyons and enjoy the beauty instead of worrying if someone would be waiting to pounce.

  We needed a normal life.

  It was nice to come home and not find any unwanted decorations since the cameras were in place. Nothing had arrived in the mail either, but we were constantly waiting as we attended several comic book events in big venues and in small book stores.

  I stayed as close to her side as possible while Hawkman had his eyes focused on everything going on around us. Neither of us liked what we saw appearing in the crowds: No Wings! No Flight! T-shirts with her character’s name along with bloody looking chicken wings worn by a few people at every event. They had us worried that we were dealing with a radical group rather than one sick individual.

  It had even gotten to a point that the studio took notice. Maya had been called in to talk about reshooting a few scenes to make it clear that she wasn’t flying in the movie. It had the potential to be a huge box office success and it sounded like they didn’t want negative publicity for their film that was only in the promotion phase.

  The only bad thing—as far as I was concerned—was that the studio wouldn’t allow Maya to tell anyone of the changes that were being made. It also had me wondering how so many people knew about the film when it was mainly being seen by industry people and some film buffs that went to film festivals.

  “The group is getting smaller,” Hawkman assured Maya. “We’re narrowing down to a certain group of people.”

  “I’m not sure that makes me feel good knowing that it involves my peers.” There was a long, sad expression on her beautiful face and there was no sparkle in her green eyes.

  A couple months was all it took to watch Maya sink into depression and I had a hell of a time getting her to eat and she was napping and sleeping too much. I don’t think it helped that they had removed her from the film schedule for her next movie. I think she was worried that they were going to permanently remove her from the movie even though she had a contract.

  I tried to assure her that things would get better but without the sicko making a wrong move for us to catch him, we had nothing to go on. We couldn’t round up all of the fans wearing the t-shirts. She tried to get out of going to a few things claiming to be sick but Hawkman told her that she needed to remain in the public eye.

  Being the trooper she was, she painted a smile on her face and marched into every venue happy to see her fans. “More people love you than dislike you.” I supported and comforted her every step of the way.

  I was thrilled to see a change in her once her agent informed her that she was to go back into the studio to reshoot a few scenes and that some scenes had already been edited. The film was not to be shown until the few changes were made and then it would go out to select public showings to get responses and they asked Maya if she would go to a few of them.

  “Maybe whoever was upset will get into one of the new screenings and see that I am no longer flying.” That was the first thing Maya said when she returned to a trailer she used for filming to have some lunch with me.

  “Unfortunately, we can’t be too careful. It’s not l
ike what you’re doing is being publicized. If it’s someone in the loop or in the room when you’re shooting, you might be in the clear with them.”

  The rest of our time together was filled with eating burgers and fries that I had ran out to get when she texted me that she was about to get a break. I even bought her some ice cream. If only we had been alone I would’ve asked her to show me just how much she appreciated my gesture. Instead, I was just pleased with her new attitude.

  “Off to make the comic book fans happy. See you in a bit!” Those were the last words I heard from her as she went back to film a bit more. I loved the kiss she gave me and the way she practically skipped across the parking lot to the studio door. I hated that they wouldn’t let us in the room while she filmed, but at least Hawkman was waiting right outside the door for her.

  “Where is Maya?” I asked as Hawkman walked in without Maya in front of him or behind him.

  “Her assistant just took her to do an interview.”

  I don’t know why, but his words hit me. Maya’s assistant often directed her and informed her when and where she needed to be. But she hadn’t been around much since we had returned and Maya had been keeping her out of the loop with the bird arrivals since the film festival. We had just been talking about an insider since the first note arrived before the public knew anything about how Maya’s character was being portrayed.

  “Where was she taking her? Maya never mentioned doing any interviews today.” I was already out the door of the trailer and looking around. I wasn’t sure what I was hoping to see, but I couldn’t just stand by. “Her assistant has had access to her…”

  “Isn’t that her up there?” Hawkman asked, pointing up to a building in the distance. I wondered if that was another reason for his nickname—eyes like a hawk.

  I didn’t bother to answer but headed toward the building and he was hot on my trail. I prayed I was wrong about my thoughts as I moved inside the building and searched for a stairway.