Chapter 2
“You’re late!” his commanding officer snapped.
Gunner didn’t respond, even though he wasn’t late. He was right on time, actually. But in his CO’s mind, even on time meant one wasn’t prepared and, as a Navy SEAL, his team always needed to be prepared. “Won’t happen again, sir,” he replied, taking his seat in the briefing room.
“We’re going in here.” The CO, Commander Mick Hanson began, using a pointer to indicate a tiny, remote island in the Indonesian islands. There was a universal groan as the team absorbed the news. Nothing good ever happened in that area of the world. Indonesia was a gorgeous place, if one stayed in the tourist areas. Step out of those areas, especially to one of the remote islands, and you were begging for trouble. Unfortunately, trouble always found you.
“We received confirmation that a scientist has been captured, but no ransom has been demanded.” Gunner mentally shook his head. The guy was probably already dead if a ransom hadn’t been issued. Why the hell were they going in? The man’s body would eventually turn up.
The CO continued, “This scientist was gathering vital information on a new plant species that has properties that the scientific community doesn’t understand, but the current chatter is that this plant’s pollen could easily be weaponized. The flower wasn’t in bloom until this past week and…”
Gunner’s mind whirled as his commanding officer continued. Daisy had said something about Ivy waiting for a flower to bloom. Just thinking about the stunningly beautiful woman made his body go on high alert. He quickly suppressed his body’s reaction and tried to focus, but whenever he thought about the gorgeous woman, his mind stripped her naked, the need making him throb.
Surely it wasn’t the same flower, he told himself.
“There’s a possibility of other Americans being held captive as well, but that isn’t confirmed yet. Our target is this scientist and his family, getting them out of that area and protecting the data he’s gathered.”
Gunner itched to pull his phone out to contact Daisy. He’d text Ivy directly, but unless he really pissed her off, she ignored his texts now. Damn, the woman made him crazy…in so many ways!
Focusing back on the mission, he listened carefully, taking in every detail possible. If he actually found Ivy in this mess, he was going to spank her sexy butt!
But then he pushed that thought out of his mind as well because the idea turned him on too much.
“Madman!”
Gunner focused on his CO. “Yes sir?”
“You’re going in here,” Commander Henson explained, pointing to a place on the map. “We think this is the area where the others are being held captive,” he explained and brought up a satellite image of a compound consisting of four large buildings along with several smaller ones and a variety of vehicles that had seen better days. Never trust the looks of a vehicle out there though. They might look like they were dilapidated piles of metal, but surprisingly, many could plow through the jungle easily enough. The lack of organization of those vehicles meant one of two things, either the rebels were completely disorganized and had parked haphazardly because they had no discipline, or they understood the strategic benefits of parking their vehicles in a random pattern so they couldn’t be destroyed easily. Either possibility created its own challenges. “You’ll set up distraction points here, here, and here,” Henson instructed, pointing to three different areas.
Gunner didn’t write anything down. He’d already memorized the layout and was mentally compiling a list of supplies. “Got it, sir,” he replied.
“When we have the target out, you will knock down trees in this area, blocking their chase.”
Gunner once again nodded, eagerly anticipating the mission now. Explosives were his thing. They didn’t call him “Madman” for nothing. He was an explosives expert and could rig a charge that was so small it wasn’t detectable from ten feet away, or he could set up explosives that would be seen from planes flying overhead. He knew how to create a chain reaction that would completely destroy a line of vehicles so that there were only metal fragments left behind, or he could set off a set of charges that would silently disable every vehicle in a predetermined radius. Whatever was needed, he could do it. Some missions took a bit more finesse and others allowed his prowess to create a massive explosion.
In this mission, it seemed that a middle ground would be needed. Not a problem!
Twenty minutes later, the entire team was hot-footing it into the belly of a cargo plane, supplies were rolled in and secured. Five minutes later, the plane was taking off but it wouldn’t land. It was midday at the moment. But once they reached their destination, they would fly high and the team of Navy SEALS would jump out of the plane, landing in a pre-determined area, supplies on their backs or in the crates strapped to the sides of the plane.
Gunner followed his team to the mesh seats, listening to the teasing and laughter. It was a gauge of the tension in the group - the rougher the teasing, the higher the tension. Right now, the tension was low. The team of twelve would jump out of the plane into the heavy jungle, survey the compound, wait for their moment, extract the target, and get out again via the beach where the rest of the team would be waiting just off shore for extraction.
Just another day at the office.
Unfortunately, Gunner’s gut was telling him this wasn’t just another mission. Somehow, he knew that Ivy was involved.
Once they were in flight, Gunner made his way towards the CO and his second in command, Lieutenant Caleb Wilson. Both men were big and tough, they had to be in order to make it through SEAL training. But these guys were brutes, although not as big as Gunner. He had a couple of inches on everyone else in the company, although some of the guys might match him in muscle weight.
“Sir, I have a,” he barely paused as he told the fib, “friend that might be in that area. I know we go radio silent during missions, but I’d like permission to try and contact this person. If she’s there, she might be able to give us some intel.”
He waited while the CO and LT exchanged a look. Finally, CO turned back to Gunner. “Would this ‘friend’ happen to be a tall, leggy brunette who turns you into a pain in the ass every time you come back from a visit with your sister?” he asked.
Gunner ignored the LT’s chuckle because, well hell, he was right. “One and the same, sir,” he replied with a curt nod.
The LT shook his head. “I don’t think I want you pissed off when handling explosives.”
Gunner understood that, but shook his head. “You know me, sir. I’m always careful,” and he held up his hands, showing all ten digits still in place. It was one of the clues in dangerous territories to find people with missing fingers. Either they stole something and the local authorities had cut off fingers or toes as punishment and a lesson to others, or the person had lost the finger or thumb while building an explosive device. Most of the people in dangerous regions who were in charge of making bombs hadn’t received the specialized training he had.
They both chuckled, and shared a significant look. A nod was conveyed before the LT looked at Gunner while the CO went back to studying the map. “Make the call. Let us know what you find out.”
Gunner moved over to one of the mesh chairs anchored against the wall of the plane. No first class seating here, he thought as he pulled a satellite phone from one of the holders. He dialed the number he knew by heart as he sat down and waited. Ringing. More ringing. No answer.
Hanging up, he dialed his sister’s number. Daisy answered on the first ring and, from the sound of her voice, Gunner instantly knew something was wrong.
“Daisy, what’s going on?” he demanded in a low voice.
There was a long silence, followed by a sob. “I can’t reach Ivy and she hasn’t checked in.”
Instantly, his body tightened. “For how long?” he asked, knowing that Daisy, Ivy, Marilee, and Tony were tight. The four of them were like siblings, and Gunner had eventually grown to feel that way about Tony and Marilee too. But not Ivy. Nope, the feelings he had for that leggy, sexy, amazing woman were about as far away from sibling affection as one could get.
“Three days,” she admitted.
Gunner muttered a curse under his breath. “Daisy, when I see you again, we’re going to have a long conversation about the point of a daily check-in,” he warned with gritted teeth. “In the meantime, tell me where she was, what she was doing, and everything you know about her trip.”
He moved to the map spread out on several crates and took a pen, jotting down notes. They weren’t detailed, but as soon as he wrote something down, both the CO and LT understood the information and used it to refine their plans. Their silent nods, scribbled numbers, and hand signals communicated information back and forth, so that Daisy wouldn’t know what was going on or where they were. Daisy wouldn’t intentionally say anything to anyone about his missions, but he never revealed anything to his sister, knowing that even the smallest detail of his whereabouts could put her in danger.
As a lottery winner with more than two hundred million dollars in the bank, and probably more because she didn’t spend much so the investments her business manager had made on her behalf kept the money growing, meant that his little sister was already a target. Thankfully, he’d taught her enough about survival that she understood even when he didn’t say anything. Plus, he’d taught her to defend herself. Not against bullets, but Daisy could handle herself against an attacker.
Thankfully, Daisy and Marilee might look soft and sweet, but don’t mess with either of them. They were a whole lot tougher than they looked. Ivy, on the other hand, was…she was gorgeous and strong and vibrant and…drove him crazy!
Tony sparred with Gunner whenever he came to the Norfolk area or when Gunner arrived home. When Tony stopped by to visit Gunner in Virginia, Gunner brought his SEAL buddies into the mix and now, Tony was a powerhouse.
But Ivy…well, she was different. Yeah, he’d taught her everything she’d let him teach her but…she was just…different. Her strength and confidence was a total turn-on, but he didn’t like the thought of her being in danger.
Impatiently, he glanced at his watch, calculating how much time before he was on the ground, searching for the sexy hellion.