Rescuing Emma (Special Forces: Operation Alpha) Read online

  “All clear, Captain.”

  “You can get out now,” said Nate. He exited his side of the vehicle and came around, scanning the area even as he gripped her arm and moved her quickly inside.

  Emma swallowed hard. Her life had been flipped upside down in a matter of two days. She couldn’t even go home and now she was stuck inside a small house on the northern end of D.C. with a man who didn’t like her. As birthdays went, this one really sucked.

  Nate let the men find their spots within the three-bedroom house. Skyscraper and Hollywood took the first bedroom. Doc and Eastwood grabbed the second, and Ghost took the couch. That left the third bedroom for Emma. She was surprised when Nate joined her, dropping his duffel bag on the floor next to the king-size bed.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  Nate looked at her. “I’m settling in.”

  Emma was standing by the window on the opposite side of the bed staring at him wide-eyed from behind her glasses. She was still wearing the hot pink silk dress and the jacket lent to her by Ghost on the way back across the Atlantic to keep her warm. She was dirty, tired, and wanted to be alone.

  Nate reached down, unzipped his bag, and pulled out a pair of gray sweat pants and a black t-shirt. “You can change into these. They’ll be a bit big on you, but there’s nothing I can do about that right now.” He paused. “I’m sorry we didn’t have time to get your things from the hotel, Emma. I’ll get you a pair of socks from Hollywood. He has the smallest feet. Tomorrow, I’ll have someone bring you some clothes and shoes.” He handed her a pad and pen from the nightstand. “Just write down your sizes and what you think you’ll need.”

  Nate turned, heading out of the room.

  “Wait.” Emma stared at the clothes laid out on the bed and then at his back. Nate turned, watching her. “You’re not sleeping in her with me.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Oh, yes I am. You’re not leaving my sight, Emma, not until this is over.”

  Seeing his determination, she blurted, “This is absurd! You don’t even like me!” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.

  Nate let go of the door handle and stalked towards her, jaw clenched.

  Emma backed up a step, suddenly wary. The wall at her back stopped her. The wall of his chest in front of her left her no way out. She was trapped.

  “Emma, let me be perfectly clear. How I feel and what I think about someone does not matter. My job is to protect you until the threat on your life is resolved. To do my job, I need to keep you close and if that means sleeping in this bed with you then that’s how it’s going to be. So get used to the idea,” he said, his voice dropping low, finger pointing at the large bed, “because both of us are sharing this bed together tonight and for however many nights it takes until this is over. Understand?”

  Emma’s heart raced, but she wasn’t sure if it was anger at being given no choice in the matter or his nearness. She was still wildly attracted to him despite the fact she was mad as hell and hurt by his rejection. Worse, all of her lady parts were jumping up and down in excitement, betraying her completely. Bitches! “You can sleep on the floor then!”

  Nate watched the sparks flashing in her eyes even as heat rose in her cheeks. She was breathing as if she’d run a marathon, causing her breasts to rise and fall in an appealing manner as she stubbornly stood her ground. In that moment, he forgot his anger and smiled wickedly, remembering she wasn’t wearing much beneath that dress. Moving in closer until a barely an inch separated their bodies, he reached out touching the side of her face and sliding his finger down to her neck where he gently caressed the pulse point at her throat. “You can protest all you want,” he whispered low, leaning in and grazing her jawline with his stubbled chin until his lips hovered over her ear. “But your body is sending out a very sweet invitation, Emma. I’d be happy to RSVP,” he murmured, “personally.”

  Emma gasped when his lips caught the lobe of her ear, sucking it before dropping soft, hot kisses there and then working his way down the nape of her neck.

  Her body responded, growing hot and needy. Nate nuzzled her, his hands sliding the jacket from her shoulders. Next, his thumbs hooked the straps of her dress, inching them down until her breasts were exposed to his view.

  Sucking in a sharp breath, his hungry gaze took in every inch of her nakedness.

  Emma couldn’t even breathe. Her nipples were painfully hard, begging for his touch, but she was angry and hurt. Nate had run hot and cold since her rescue in France and she still didn’t know what she’d done besides getting kidnapped to cause it. Now she was stuck in a room with him and if he thought that meant he could just have his way with her to pass the time, he could just think again!

  Taking a deep breath, she pulled the straps back up and pushed with all her strength past him. “I’m going to take a shower.” Emma grabbed the clothes off the bed and marched into the bathroom, shoulders back and chin held high. When she slammed the door shut, he laughed.

  “What are you laughing about?” Ghost watched Nate enter the living room noting his captain chuckling to himself.

  “Emma’s mad at me,” he said.

  “And that’s funny?” Ghost raised a pale eyebrow.

  “Not really, no.”

  Crossing his arms, Ghost glanced at Doc who sighed.

  “I don’t want to get in your business, Outlaw—”

  “Then don’t, Doc!” Nate snapped.

  Ignoring his captain’s outburst, Doc continued, “but she’s been through a lot in the past two days. Maybe try and ease up on her. I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but two days ago, you really liked this little lady.”

  “She’s the journalist he doesn’t like,” said Ghost.

  “I know that. I was in that debriefing, but what’s that got to do with anything? You know who she is now, not just some words on paper, not just some journalist with ideas different than your own, but a flesh and blood woman. So what if she’s a bit of a bleeding heart. She cares about people. Nothing wrong with that even if your grumpy ass doesn’t agree with it.” Doc stated, pissing Nate off.

  “He’s just trying to find an excuse, Doc,” said Ghost.

  “An excuse for what?” asked Eastwood, entering the living room.

  “To not care about Emma,” said Ghost.

  “You mean no more than he already does?” Skyscraper threw in his two cents as he and Hollywood joined them.

  “Too late, boss. You’re already there. Otherwise, why would you insist on being her personal body guard? The State Department could’ve handled this, and you know it,” Hollywood added.

  Nate glared at his men. “Are you clowns finished?”

  The men quieted. The look on their captain’s face was one they knew well. It screamed, ‘don’t push your luck!’

  Nate stood with hands on hips. “Ghost, make a schedule. I want one man watching her apartment on eight-hour rotations. One of us stays here with her at all times. She doesn’t leave this house. Get that written up and send out copies to the General, the State Department, and one to me. Understood?”

  “Understood,” said Ghost.

  Nate nodded once and walked to the kitchen leaving the men alone.

  “Man, he’s got it bad,” Hollywood chuckled.

  “Yeah, but he’s going to screw it up. Just watch,” said Doc.

  “Unless we help him,” replied Ghost, lip twitching.

  Chapter 12

  Emma felt better after a hot shower, but it did nothing to cool her desire. Nate’s kisses and raw male appeal had stoked a fire within and no amount of water pouring over her body could put it out. It got worse when she slipped into the clothes he lent her. The t-shirt smelled like his cologne from being packed in his duffel bag. She was surrounded by his scent, which annoyed her, but was also oddly comforting. After towel-drying her hair and pinning it up, she left the bathroom and found a pair of black socks folded on the end of the bed. She slid them on. Nate was right. Hollywood did have smalli
sh feet because there wasn’t much excess room. There was a joke in there somewhere and it would’ve been funny any other time, but not now. She didn’t even have her friends to share it with.

  Her stomach grumbled reminding her she hadn’t eaten anything for the last twenty-four hours. She was hungry and tired, but before she could climb into bed and hopefully forget this nightmare for a while, she needed food.

  Ghost was in the kitchen with Doc. They were making a spaghetti dinner.

  “Hungry, Emma?” Doc asked.

  “Starving! That smells so good. Can I help you with anything?”

  “No. We got it,” said Ghost.

  “Here, try this.” Doc held out a stuffed mushroom from the tray he’d pulled out of the oven.

  Emma took a bite of the appetizer. “This is so good. How’d you learn to cook like this?”

  “My mom’s a chef.” Doc grinned, popping one of the mushrooms into his mouth.

  “No kidding?” Emma smiled. “You know, Becky loves mushrooms.”

  “Oh, she does, does she?” Doc moved to stand by her. “And what else does freckles like?”

  “Freckles?” Emma laughed.

  “Yeah, well,” Doc chuckled. “Give a guy the inside scoop, won’t ya?”

  “I will if you will,” she sighed.

  Doc and Ghost exchanged a look.

  “What do you mean, Emma?” he asked.

  She fidgeted, uncomfortable now having brought the subject up.

  “Is everything okay with you and the captain?” Ghost inquired, dropping the spaghetti noodles into the pot of boiling water.

  “I don’t think it is,” she said, staring at the floor tile.

  Doc reached out, putting his arm around her shoulders. “He’s just stressed. This whole situation has him on edge.”

  “You mean I have him on edge, getting myself kidnapped, and now he has to babysit me.”

  “That’s not it at all, and it wasn’t your fault. You did nothing wrong. What I meant was that Nate doesn’t take on any mission he doesn’t feel he can’t handle,” said Doc.

  She looked at him. “What do you mean he took this on? He’s a soldier. I’m an assignment.”

  Ghost put the spoon down and faced her. “You’ve got that all wrong, Emma. Nate insisted on being the one to watch out for you. We all did,” he said, looking at Doc who nodded his agreement.

  “That’s right. Old Nate wasn’t about to let anything happen to his girl again, not after—"

  “Not after your kidnapping,” Ghost said, cutting Doc off.

  “Yeah, right,” said Doc, throwing a look of apology over her head at Ghost.

  Emma digested his words, strange as they were. She looked up at Doc. “Did you just say ‘his girl’?”

  “Well, yeah,” Doc grinned. “We haven’t seen Nate so smitten in…” he thought for a moment, “a long time. He’s damned protective of you, which kinda makes you one of us, sis.” He squeezed her shoulders.

  Emma bit her lip. She looked at Ghost who stood watching her. “Thank you, Allen.” She returned Doc’s hug. “Thanks, Doc.”

  “You’re welcome, sis,” he said.

  Ghost stirred the noodles, tested one, and reached for the colander. “So, you about ready for some spaghetti?”

  “I am, yes,” she grinned.

  “I’ll go ring the dinner bell,” said Doc, who poked his head out of the kitchen and yelled, “Dinner!”

  Despite Doc and Ghost’s encouraging words, dinner was still awkward. Nate returned just as Skyscraper left to relieve Eastwood of watch over at her apartment. Emma had set aside a plate for Eastwood in the microwave for when he returned, and then filled one for herself. She entered the dining room and sat down next to Hollywood but as soon as Nate came in, Hollywood got up and moved to the other side of the table leaving the seat next to Emma vacant.

  With Doc at one end and Ghost at the other, and Hollywood on one side holding the seat next to him for Eastwood, there was nowhere else for Nate to sit except at Emma’s side. While he didn’t have a problem with that, she did. As hungry as she’d been when she filled her plate, that feeling waned rapidly when Nate sat down, and she pushed her food around with her fork.

  “Something wrong with the vittles, Emma?” Doc asked, a wicked twinkle in his green eyes.

  Nate threw her a sideways glance as he downed a stuffed mushroom.

  “No, no. Nothing. It’s delicious,” she said, twisting the noodles onto the fork and taking a bite.

  “Good girl,” said Doc. “Can’t have you losing your curves. They’re kinda nice. Aren’t they nice, Outlaw?”

  Emma blushed, staring at Doc in mortification. Her glasses slid down her nose and she automatically pushed them back up, clearing her throat.

  Nate chewed slowly, giving Doc his poker face before turning to look at Emma. His eyes were drawn to the sight of her wearing his clothes. They were too big on her, but he still knew where every one of her curves were beneath the cotton. With her dark-rimmed glasses framing her big, brown eyes, her hair piled atop her head, and the pink tinge in her cheeks, she looked sexy as hell. She was studiously avoiding making eye contact and that annoyed him.

  “They are, Doc,” he said. His voice dropped low. “Very, very nice.”

  The heat in his tone made Emma gasp. Against her will, her eyes found his and the sizzle she expected wasn’t there. Instead, his blue eyes were stormy with anger. Again, Emma didn’t know what she’d done to earn his ire. She looked away quickly focusing on her food. Each bite was torture as Nate sat beside her watching her eat.

  Finally, Ghost broke the silence. “How did the meeting go?” he asked.

  Nate turned. “As expected. Nothing new yet. He slipped the French.”

  “Fucking French,” Hollywood smirked. “It’s no wonder we have to save their asses all the time.”

  “Be that as it may, we still have to find al-Waleed. I checked in with Tex and he says all’s gone quiet in the back channels as of this morning. You know what that means.” Nate looked around the table at the men.

  “Yep,” said Doc.

  “Damn,” uttered Hollywood.

  Emma waited, but no explanation came. Curiosity got the better of her. “Well? What does it mean?”

  Nate ignored her, working on clearing his plate.

  Ghost answered. “It means he’s on the move. When they go quiet, something’s up and when something’s up, they’re making big plans or moving players around the board, so to speak.”

  “So there’s no way to know who or where, right?” Emma asked.

  “That’s right,” said Nate. “Not until their communication lines open up again or we get a confirmed sighting. Which means you don’t leave my side,” he added.

  Emma’s eyes narrowed at the reminder. She opened her mouth to reply when Ghost cut her off.

  “It’s for the best, Emma. We’re all here to keep you safe and we can’t do that unless you cooperate. Anything less than your full compliance to Nate’s rules right now puts us all in danger, and I know you don’t want that.”

  She looked at Ghost, and then around the table at the men one by one. They waited patiently for her to understand the gravity of the situation.

  For her part, Emma had come to know each of these men over the past forty-eight hours in a way that felt like she’d known them forever. They were funny, smart, kind, and brave. They were putting their lives on the line for her. The least she could do was her part in keeping them safe. Emma swallowed the lump in her throat.

  “You’re right, Allen.” She fidgeted with her napkin and then looked at Nate who sat quietly watching her. “I’m sorry for being difficult. There’s no excuse for that. You saved my life. I know you didn’t have to. I’m sure you could’ve left it up to police or the French government to rescue me, but you didn’t. You came for me.” Her last words wobbled as her eyes welled with tears.

  One slid down her cheek. Before he could stop himself, Nate reached up and wiped it away.

>   “How could I not? I’ll always come for you, Emma.” The question was spoken softly, but their meaning held a world of emotion.

  The silence around the table grew thick. Doc cleared his throat and pushed back his chair. “Anyone want seconds?”

  Hollywood dabbed his eyes with his napkin. “None for me. You use too much garlic, Ghost. That shit has my eyes watering.”

  Ghost chuckled. “That’s onions, Hollywood. Not garlic, you big wussy.”

  Nate rested his hand on top of Emma’s, threading his fingers with hers. Watching his men dissemble into a bunch of emotional women was awkward at best, but it wasn’t nearly as awkward as his own surprising words to Emma. He wasn’t sure where that had come from, but he meant what he’d said. He would always come for her, and having arrived at that conclusion, something shifted in his heart. His anger dissolved. It was never her fault, just his own stubbornness over an issue that wasn’t even important. She was who she was, and he liked her. He felt lighter than he had for a long time, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. And it was all because of Emma.

  Emma bit her lip. She was grateful for the break in the silence. She could breathe again. Nate’s thumb caressed the back of her hand absently. While the men refilled their plates and poked fun at each other, she and Nate gazed into each other’s eyes, a new understanding between them blossoming with each passing moment.

  Nate looked at Emma’s near-empty plate. “Are you finished?”

  She glanced at the last few bites remaining and nodded. “Yes.”

  “Good.” Nate pushed back his chair and stood. Still holding her hand, he said, “there’s something I want to tell you.” He waited as she rose, standing beside him. Swallowing hard, he took a deep breath, leading the way out of the dining room to the bedroom. He needed privacy for this conversation, one he’d shared with only one other individual. But now that he’d found Emma, it was time.

  Chapter 13

  Emma’s heart hurt. The story Nate shared made her ache for the man, but it also explained so much.