Protecting Caroline (SEAL of Protection Book 1)
Read Protecting Caroline (SEAL of Protection Book 1) Online
Authors: Susan Stoker
Protecting
Caroline
SEAL of Protection, Book 1
by Susan Stoker
This
book is a word of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are
products of the author’s imagination or ate used factiously. Any resemblance to
actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Copyright
© 2014 by Susan Stoker
No
part of this work may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without
written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review
purposes as permitted by law.
This
book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold
or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with
another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If
you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for
your use only, please purchase your own copy.
Thank
you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Cover
Design by Chris Mackey, AURA Design Group
Edited
by Missy Borucki
Manufactured
in the United States
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to take the time to thank my awesome
editor, Missy B., for polishing up my words and making Wolf and Caroline’s
story even better.
To my wonderful Stoker Aces…ya’ll are the best
street team ever. We might not be big, but you guys do such a great job in
supporting me and pimping me out! Thank you!
To Connie N—Thank you for being my very first Beta
reader for Protecting Caroline and giving me GREAT tips that I think helped
make the story so much better.
To Amy H—Wow, you gave me the confidence I needed to
really work to get this series out. Thank you for all your encouragement and
tips, every day. It means more than you’ll know.
To my friends and family, who I am sure are
wondering when I’m going to be “over this writing thing”…thanks for putting up
with me!
To all my readers, thank you for taking a chance on
me. Without you I’m not sure I’d be putting my stories out there.
Matthew “Wolf” Steel couldn’t be more proud of his
five teammates, and friends. SEAL teams were notoriously tight, and his team
was no different. The SEALs were exhausted. They’d just spent the last two
weeks at an “undisclosed location” trying to ferret out the head bad guy in a
nest of hundreds of other bad guys. It’d been a hell of mission, but one they’d
ultimately succeeded in accomplishing.
Looking around the plane, Wolf observed the sleeping
men. He really should be crashed as they were, but he still had way too much adrenaline
coursing through his body to relax just yet. He knew he’d be out for the count
later, but for now, he was wide awake.
Christopher “Abe” Powers was the first to catch
Wolf’s eye. Abe was probably his closest friend of the group. Wolf thought he
was the only one of the group who knew even a little bit of Abe’s background,
but it was uncanny how well the nickname fit Abe. The man was as honest as the
day was long and Abe demanded that same honesty in those he called his friends.
Wolf watched as Abe shifted in his seat and then
settled once again. Wolf then looked over to Hunter “Cookie” Knox. Cookie had
been the most recent addition to their team, but no one looked down on him as a
result. Unlike many businesses, it didn’t matter if a SEAL was fresh out of Seal
Qualification Training or had been on a team for years, a SEAL is a SEAL.
The group was still getting to know Cookie, but he’d
proven to be a great addition to their close-knit team. Cookie was the best
swimmer out of all of them; he was funny, compassionate, and never hesitated to
do whatever it took to get the job done.
Faulkner “Dude” Cooper’s mutterings drew Wolf’s
attention. Dude hadn’t taken any of his gear off and was sitting scrunched into
the little seat on the military plane. Wolf remembered when Dude was almost
blown up trying to secure a building. As
their resident explosives expert, Dude
found a booby trapped M14 mine duct taped to a door jamb during one of their
missions. The mine was nicknamed “toe popper” because it was designed to maim
and slow down people entering a room, rather than kill them.
Dude had immediately recognized the type of mine and
had moved to re-insert the safety clip to disarm it, but something had gone
wrong and the bomb went off. The mine did what it was intended to do; resulting
in Dude losing parts of three of his fingers on his left hand. He had extensive
scarring as well as missing parts of his hand as a consequence of being too
close to the mine when it exploded.
Wolf knew Dude was more sensitive about his injury
than he’d ever let on to any of his teammates. Wolf had seen Dude’s face go
blank and cold when a woman rejected him after seeing his mangled hand. Although
he missed his friend’s happy-go-lucky attitude at times, Wolf was thankful Dude
was still with them. With the best instincts when it came to explosives, Wolf
knew the team was better off because Dude was on it.
Thinking about Dude’s issues with women caused Wolf
to reflect upon Sam “Mozart” Reed. That was one man who certainly didn’t have
any problems with women. Mozart was popular with the ladies and never hesitated
to turn any encounter into one which involved flirting and the possibility of a
one-night-stand. As far as Wolf knew, however, Mozart had never been tempted
into anything more.
Wolf figured Mozart’s aversion to settling down with
one woman had something to do with Mozart’s little sister being murdered when
he was a child, but Wolf never pried. A man was allowed to have his secrets.
Wolf chuckled to himself thinking about the last man
on their team, Kason “Benny” Sawyer. Nicknames were a part of life on SEAL teams.
Everyone got one and it wasn’t necessarily something that was macho or even
wanted by the recipient. Benny was a case in point. He’d been trying for years
to get the guys to change his name, but they’d just laughed and ignored him. An
inside joke with the team, they’d ask Benny if he liked some new name only to
just laugh and say “too bad” when Benny agreed that he loved the new one. Benny
had earned his nickname fair and square, and nothing he could say would change
it.
Feeling tired for the first time since he’d climbed
onto the plane, Wolf finally closed his eyes. He felt lucky he not only had one
of the most interesting and exciting jobs in the world, but that he was able to
work with such a great group of men.
Each man had his strengths and
weaknesses and there were no secrets within the group.
Abe, Cookie,
Mozart, Benny, and Dude were teammates, but they were also his closest friends.
Wolf sighed, settled himself into his seat and tried
to get comfortable. The team would most likely have a few weeks stateside
before being sent on another mission, but time off was never guaranteed. Wolf
knew the night after they returned; the team would head to their favorite bar
for a “post-mission” ritual of blowing off steam and shooting the shit.
Leaving the mission behind was sometimes difficult,
but somehow their tradition of throwing back a few beers would break the team out
of the military frame of mind and bring them back to what was
important…friendship and women.
Wolf figured each team member knew they most likely
wouldn’t meet the woman of their dreams in a bar—especially not in a bar near the
base where too many women were more than willing to sleep with a SEAL just to
say she’d done it. But, it didn’t stop the boys from enjoying what was
frequently offered.
Wolf ignored the niggling little voice in his head that
said he wouldn’t mind settling down and finding someone to love. It wasn’t as
if he could plan it, he’d just have to go with the flow. Hopefully it happened
sooner rather than later, but he wasn’t going to act desperate about it.
Sleep finally came over Wolf, as it had the rest of
his team, and they all slept the sleep of the exhausted as they flew toward
California, and home.
Like a fantasy
brought to life, each woman in the bar was acutely aware of the table full of
gorgeous men sitting in the corner. Obviously in the military, they were
muscular and had a wariness about them that came from too many missions
overseas. Every one of the women would have given anything to be able to go
home with one of them—they were
that
good looking.
The group of six
teammates and friends were enjoying a final beer together before some of them
headed off on leave. Known for its excellent beer choices and as a good place
to pick up women, the bar was where they spent quite a bit of time, especially
after a mission. All six men had gone home with a woman they’d met there at one
time or another. So far none of them had found “the one.” It wasn’t as if they
didn’t
want
to find someone to love, it just hadn’t happened for any of
them yet, and in the meantime they all enjoyed playing the field.
All of the men
had played the pick-up game at one time or another, but Wolf was the least
likely to hook up with a random chick who just wanted to bag a SEAL. He’d
learned at a young age, by looking at the example his folks set, that true love
was out there and could be found. Wolf wasn’t a saint, but he also never
flaunted his sexuality.
“You ready for your
vacation?” Dude asked Wolf.
“Oh, hell yeah! I
can’t remember the last time I took some time off…hell, when
any
of us
took time off.”
“Where are you guys
going again?” Dude questioned.
“Mozart, Abe, and I
are headed out to Virginia to visit Tex. We’ve been using him on more and more
missions lately because he’s got some amazing contacts the Navy couldn’t hope
to replicate.”
Taking a breath,
Wolf continued, “After Tex lost his leg on that mission, he retired and it’s
been way too long since we’ve seen him. Since we’re slated to leave out of
Norfolk in a couple of weeks for our next mission, we thought we’d take some
R&R and head out there beforehand.”
Everyone around
the table nodded at Wolf’s explanation of where he, Abe and Mozart were going
in Virginia. Benny, Dude, and Cookie also knew Tex well and were glad Wolf and
the others would get to spend some time with him.
“That sucks he
left the Navy,” Benny said, “but I get it. If I couldn’t stay with you guys and
a team, I wouldn’t want to stay in only to have to work a desk.”
“Yeah, but can
you imagine how much harder some of the shit we do would be if it wasn’t for
him?” Mozart responded. “Seriously, I have no idea how Tex gets the information
he does, but I don’t think we’d be as quick to get through some of our missions
without him.”
“Yeah, he
seriously is scary with that computer shit,” Cookie enthused. “Tex can find
anyone, no matter where they are.”
Mozart nodded.
“I certainly hope that’s true. He’s working on something personal for me and I
really need him to come through.”
Wolf thumped
Mozart on his back. “I’m sure he will. Given enough time Tex always comes
through. Hey, you ready for Norfolk?”
Mozart’s mood lifted
immediately at Wolf’s question. “Can’t wait! Heard there are some awesome bars
around the base out there and not as many SEALs to compete for the ladies.”
Everyone
laughed. The group knew how much Mozart loved finding “fresh meat” to convince
to go back to his room with him.
The men sat in the
bar until late in the evening, talking and enjoying their time together. Typically
the conversation would veer toward women, alcohol, and their job. Because Wolf,
Abe, and Mozart had get to the airport early in the morning, they eased off
their typical competitive natures about who could drink the most and spent their
time relaxing and playing the odd game of pool.
Finally, as the
evening turned into night and the crowd began to get thicker and more
uninhibited, Abe thunked his empty bottle on the table and sighed, “Damn, wish
we weren’t leaving so early in the morning, that chick at the bar’s been
checking me out all night.”
Cookie laughed. “As
much as I hate to agree with you, especially considering it makes me sound too
much like Mozart, I think you’re right. And if I’m not mistaken, her friend’s
been checking
me
out.”
Everyone laughed
because they’d noticed the duo at the bar making eyes at them all night. It was
obvious the women didn’t really care who they ended up with, as long as they
went home with a SEAL, but their eyes followed Cookie and Abe more than the
others.
“The one on the right
is Adelaide and the one on the left is Michele,” Mozart told them knowingly.
Wolf just raised an
eyebrow at his teammate while everyone else demanded to know how Mozart knew
who the women were.
“They come here all
the time. I
might
have gotten to know them both reaaally well a couple of
weeks ago. I’m sure they’ll be willing to get to know you better when you get
back, Abe.”
Nobody was surprised
at Mozart’s words. Taking on two women at a time was just the type of thing
they’d expect out of him. None of them doubted that Mozart was telling the
truth and not just bragging. The group knew him too well.
“I’m a
one-woman-at-a-time man,” Abe told the group laughing. “But Adelaide looks like
my kind of woman. I think I’ll see if she might be interested in a few weeks
when we get back home.”
Everyone knew he
was warning them off. Abe didn’t stand for poaching. The men chuckled at his
claim, used to Abe’s quirks when it came to women.
“As much fun as this
has been, I’m gonna hit the road,” Wolf announced to the group, not in the
least abashed to be the first person leaving for the night.
“Yeah, me too,”
Mozart chimed in.
“We’ll see the rest
of you guys in a couple weeks in Norfolk,” Abe told his friends and teammates as
he stood up, joining Wolf and Mozart as they got ready to leave.
The three men smacked
each other on the back good-naturedly as they said their good-byes to the rest
of the group and headed out the door, disappearing into the night.
Cookie, Benny, and
Dude pushed back their chairs not too much later to leave as well. “See
you guys in the morning at PT,” Dude told them as they walked out through the
door of the bar.
“You’d think with the
others gone we’d at least get a morning off from training,” Cookie mock
grumbled. Benny and Dude laughed, knowing Cookie loved to work out, never missing
PT unless he was sick or recovering from an injury.
“Whatever Cookie, you
know the CO has a ten miler scheduled. You’ll be there before all of us.”
Cookie just laughed. The
men gave chin lifts to each other and faded into the parking lot to their cars
and into the night.
A previous commander
of the SEAL team once remarked to an Officer that had been visiting the base
that this group of six men were one of the best teams he’d ever commanded, not
because of the skills they’d learned during Hell Week or because of their
strength, but because of the genuine respect they had for each other.
“Those men would do
anything for each other. They’re the epitome of the word “team.” If ever I
needed rescuing or protecting, those would be the men I’d want.”