Under Fire (Elite Force 3)

His arm twitched, pulling her tighter against him. Too tight. He forced himself to ease up. He ushered her deeper into the muggy parking lot, one foot in front of the other, his heart in his throat.

He stopped beside the rental Jeep—had to be theirs, because no way in hell were there two metallic purple Jeeps on the planet—and faced Rachel full on, frustration pushing the words out until they exploded into the night air. “Because I love you, damn it.”

“Well, good,” she shouted right back. “Because I love you too, damn it.”

Her chest heaved and the echo of their voices faded like sparks showering from the bolt of lightning he’d once seen skip through an airplane. Tingling. Singing, even. A little dangerous. Definitely scary.

But exciting as hell. She deserved to hear just how exciting. No assuming she understood. No repeating mistakes of the past. Rachel was a gift. She was his future.

He took the ice pack from her and held it to her jaw gingerly, careful not to hurt her.

“Rachel Flores, from the moment I saw you in the Bahamas I knew I would claim you. That may not sound PC or romantic, but I felt it”—he thumped his chest over his heart—“here. Right where you’ve stayed, no matter how much time we spent apart or even when you wouldn’t return my calls. I have loved you. I still love you. I want you in my life as my partner, my lover, and if you can bring yourself to trust me, I would be honored to be your husband.”

She clasped his face and said simply, “I love you, and I trust you. Now, and always. Lover, friend, husband.”

His forehead fell to rest on hers, relief and happiness threatening to send him to his knees. “Let’s go home, Mrs. Franklin.”

He felt her smile against the ice pack.

“That sounds like a lovely idea, Mr. Franklin. Do you have any new sex games in mind to keep your old-guy libido revved?”

Stepping back, he gave her the ice pack and opened the door for her. “I was thinking that given your current condition, the best option would be for you to just lie back and let me be your gigolo.”

She swung up into the front seat. “Now that sounds like the perfect proposition to me.”

Epilogue

Ten days later

Wind rolled off the ocean and tugged at the frothy scarf Rachel wore to cover the fading bruises as she stood on the bleachers with Sunny Rocha. The United States Air Force Band played the national anthems of each country represented during the closing ceremony for the weeklong summit.

A blessedly uneventful week that went off without so much as a hiccup.

Today’s Florida summer weather was sweltering but breezy, without a cloud in sight. The lush lawn stretched out a natural carpet for the dais. Leaders from around the world who’d attended the confab on global missile and satellite technology were gathered. Behind them, an air force rocket launch facility loomed with a missile at least twenty stories high. What a backdrop.

Impressive.

But what impressed her most went unnoticed by others.

Liam and his team had been in the background the entire week, providing a tight inner circle of security for the high-profile guests. She’d seen firsthand how very qualified they were to protect as well as rescue.

The pararescuemen dotted the perimeter, around leaders of foreign nations and heads of state. Her eyes, as always, were drawn to Liam. And oh my, what a sight he was today. An M-16 on his shoulder, he wore his uniform with the maroon beret. As he dressed early that morning, he’d told her the color symbolized the blood sacrifice of the PJ brothers who had come before him, a sacrifice made “That Others May Live.”

She was alive because of just how far they would push themselves to carry out that vow.

The band reached a piercing crescendo of trumpets before finishing so the final remarks could commence. A two-star general stepped up to the lectern—the center commander—with Colonel Zogby at his side. No mention was made of General Ted Sullivan today.

News reports thus far had stated only that General Sullivan been brought up on a number of charges, from sexual harassment to dereliction of duty. His family had gone into seclusion, no comments forthcoming from them. But rumor had it, Sullivan’s wife was most definitely not standing by her man.

Rachel had expected to feel vindicated, but more than anything she was just sad over all the lives ruined. Who knew how many? Liam had only been allowed to tell her that the general had planned to sell the targeted locations of certain satellites that gathered intelligence. He’d intended to pin the leak on the two-star general at the lectern now, discrediting him so Sullivan could take his place.

According to OSI profilers, General Ted Sullivan was a sociopath with a narcissistic personality disorder. He truly believed the world was better off with him in charge, regardless of who got hurt in the process. But then, Liam had figured all that out without the psychology degree and he’d played the guy just right to save her life. Beyond amazing.

Sullivan also seemed to assume it was his right to sleep with any woman he wanted. Including Special Agent Sylvia Cramer. Something none of them had seen coming.

As best they could piece together, she’d been clueless about Sullivan’s espionage when the affair began, and once she suspected, had tried her best to bring him down while saving her own career. By sleeping with him, she’d already made her job all the more difficult, since who would believe an ex-lover’s accusations based primarily on suspicion?

She might actually have succeeded if Captain Bernard hadn’t stepped into Sullivan’s office and told him about Brandon being found. In one instant, her plan collapsed.