A surprised Lizzy opened the door. “What are you doing here?”“A guy can’t see his girl for four days in a row?”“I’m not your girl.”Johnny pushed past. The strappy dress she wore revealed tanned limbs, and he ached to kiss the couple of freckles dotting her right shoulder. Instead, he laid a pizza on the counter. “Want some?”“It’s nine in the morning.”“I’ve been up since five, sorting out the team’s week. They’re rolling in late tomorrow, and then we’ll be heading out the following day.”“How long will you be gone?”“I’m not sure.”MIT2 were heading to the Kenyan territory bordering Somalia. They planned a joint training exercise for Kenyan first responders and law enforcement professionals to support efforts concerning extremist activity. MIT worked closely with PREACT—Partne

Embrace the suck, Johnny thought as he walked gingerly into the maintenance shelter and laid out the plate carriers next to the holsters and radio equipment. Thanks to a sex-crazed little blonde, and the baking heat in the warehouse, his joystick didn’t feel all that joyful.Velcro crackled as Slater pulled apart a plate carrier. “You okay there, bro? You’re embracing that Wyoming cowboy swagger.”“Fell in the shower,” Johnny muttered.“Damn shame. My grandma can lend you a non-slip shower mat if you need it—”“Screw you.” Another hour with Lizzy’s luscious mouth and body and he would’ve been wheelchair bound. He’d forgotten how tough she was; it stood to reason that she’d take to bonking with the same amount of enthusiasm as she climbed trees.Johnny didn’t mind her climbing all over him like he was a giant oak, already counting the days until he could

Two days of hard grafting and the fence was up with cameras installed. They’d even set up a basic alarm system that alerted the staff to intruders on the property.Lizzy invited the men back to her place for dinner and left the orphanage early to dash home to cook a delicious roast. As the food simmered away, she slipped into the shower. Soaping up, she let out a loud shriek when firm hands wrapped around her waist.“James Johnny Cane! Do you want me to keel over from fright?”Already naked, he twisted her around and shoved her against the tiles. “That’s what happens when you give your ‘friend’ a key to your apartment. Now don’t move. I need to get clean and then please my woman.” He wrenched the soap bar from her hand. He’d already sheathed himself in a condom and she ran her eyes over the very male picture he made.“I’m not your woman.”“At this moment, you’

She had a bladder the size of a peanut. Lizzy slammed out of the aircraft lavatory. Her phone buzzed again for the fifth time and she slipped it out of the apron pocket to glance at the screen. John had sure meant it when he’d said to keep her phone nearby. Two missed calls and five texts from the man. She should just switch it off and place it in her damn carry-on.He seemed concerned over her insistence on working the flight. She knew he was right to be worried. She felt like dog poop. As soon as she landed in Johannesburg, she’d see the family doctor.Talking to John was out of the question. He wanted space, well now he had it, and it would probably be a long time until she saw him again. With her packed flight schedule ahead and his covert work, they probably wouldn’t see each other for months.It was better that way. It gave her time to mourn the loss of their budding relationship and to get back to earning a living. She’d bid for mo

Thanks for my boots, bro.” Johnny pulled on clean socks and grabbed a scuffed Magnum boot.Donnie placed a heavy duffel bag down carefully. “No problem. I had to swing by to grab our equipment. We’re now fully prepped, the rest is in the truck.” Donnie glanced around the workroom. “How many of these amigos have bigger egos than MIT2? What do you reckon? Think we’re still top dog?”There was a mother-load of brass and bluster sandwiched in the walls of the newly set up base of operations. That was what happened when the most infamous terrorist on the planet kidnapped an American diplomat’s son.The British contingent was gathered around a laptop in the far corner. SBS boys and possibly Scotland Yard. The majority of the Americans worked for the United States Special Operations Command. The CIA made their presence known, and Task Force Green—known to civilians as Delta Force—stood near the back. All the G