Hostile Home Front [Black Ops Brotherhood 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (6 page)

* * * *

Amy walked into the house and quickly changed. She pulled back the covers on her bed and slipped in. She could hear the rumblings of a fall storm start to blow in and thought about Gavin Walsh as she listened. He was very much like that storm. Lynn had called him all wrong. Lieutenant Gavin Walsh was tall, dark, and
dangerous
. Her mind traced over the evening. She smiled at the way he had initially denied he had been the one that had come to the house on Friday night. There had been no mistake when he had driven her home.

Amy felt the butterflies in her belly again when she recalled the way he laughed. It was a deep, sensual laugh. She closed her eyes and shook her head. She was attracted to him, but she needed to be very cautious. Tim had nearly destroyed her and she wasn’t about to make the same mistake again. He had been the first guy to really pursue her. Amy was never one to take guys seriously until she had met Tim, who had been the first guy she had dated and later married.

Amy had been twenty-seven when she married Tim and he had been her first sexual experience. The marriage quickly descended into an abusive nightmare for her. He convinced her early in their marriage that she was unable to get aroused. He made her believe that she was a freak and even suggested that maybe she was a lesbian. The jerk offered to find her a girlfriend but only if he got to watch them having sex. She had been sickened.

Amy pushed Tim out of her thoughts and turned back to Gavin. She remembered the couple of times that he had touched her during the evening. It had made her quiver. Her eyes finally closed as the rain started falling.

Amy felt the warm water run over her body. The water caressed her, surrounded her. She felt someone step into the shower with her. That is strange, she thought. She felt hands on her back caressing her much like the water had done. The hands moved over her shoulders and over her body. She closed her eyes at the gentle massaging. She felt light kisses being placed on her shoulder. She opened her eyes as the hands washed her.

“Relax, Amy,” a familiar deep voice said.

Amy sighed. The hands became bolder, washing her breasts, playing with her body as they caressed her slowly and methodically. Amy moaned. She could feel her core begin to ache. Not in a bad way like before, but in anticipation.

“That’s right, Amy,” the voice said as she leaned against the hard body behind her.

One of his hands moved lower and touched her down there.

“Amy…” he called.

“Mmmm,” Amy managed to groan.

He took her hand and guided it to her pussy, showing her how to stroke herself as he continued his caresses and kisses.

“Touch yourself, Amy. You know what to do,” he said, encouraging her.

Amy understood the rhythm. She found her sensitive bud and stroked. She moaned as she played with herself, and the hands continued playing with her breasts.

“Doesn’t that feel good?” he asked as he kissed her neck and shoulders.

“Oh, yes,” Amy whispered.

Amy felt her body spasm. She cried out as the spasms gripped her muscles and snapped her nerve endings. It was a sensuous pleasure she had never known until now. She moaned as it occurred to her who the voice belonged to.

“That’s right, Amy. Come for me,” Gavin said.

Amy woke up screaming. She was in the middle of her first orgasm. She was breathless as she moved her hand from between her legs.

“Oh my God,” Amy panted. Her heart was racing at the shock of pleasure that ran through her body. “What is this guy doing to me?”

Building 1534, East Runway Hanger

Randolph Air Force Base, Texas

Near San Antonio, Texas

November 15, 2007/1327 Zulu

Gavin arrived at Randolph Air Force Base as promised. He had dropped Jimmy off at Lackland to find a dog that was available for adoption. Jimmy told him the process would take a while and he was welcome to wait. Gavin begged out, making excuses. Officers in the department did not need to know what he was up to all the time.

As he walked into the building, he held the door open for a short brunette wearing glasses, who apparently worked in the same building. He wistfully thought of Amy and his date with her tomorrow night. He noticed the brunette walked down the hallway and took a right turn.

Gavin easily found the Office of the Commander of Naval Special Warfare Group Five. He recalled this group had barely been in the planning stages when he left the Navy. He walked up to the yeoman sitting at the desk.

“I’m here to see Rock—I mean Captain O’Malley,” Gavin said. Rock’s new title sounded funny to him.

“Yes, Chief Walsh, the captain is expecting you. Go in,” the young man said.

Gavin thanked the young petty officer who had crutches propped against his desk and walked into the massive office. Rock was sitting turned away from the door, staring at his computer.

“What are you doing, Rock?” Gavin asked, smiling.

“Reading my e-mail, badass,” Rock replied, not quite turning away.

Rock O’Malley always had his nose buried in something. He studied everything he could lay his hands on. Whatever the Rock was reading would soon turn into military tactical genius. It was interesting that
Captain
Jack “Rock” O’Malley had started out as a Bronx thug that had been given a choice between prison and the military. That
Bronx reject
had now become one of the top SEALs in the Navy, second only to the admiral who ran Navy Special Operations Command. Being a master tactician was also why Rock was so successful with women. He had more pussy than he knew what to do with.

“Yeah? You can read now?” Gavin quipped.

Captain O’Malley smiled and stood. “I had to learn when I took this job.”

The two men shook hands and Gavin took a seat in front of Captain O’Malley’s desk.

“So? What can I do for you?” Rock asked.

“I guess Mac filled you in?”

“Yes, he did.”

“What can you tell me?”

“Nothing, you know that.” Rock sat back in his chair.

Gavin had fully expected this answer. “How about a trade?” Gavin offered.

“Depends on what you got,” Rock said.

“Ramirez-Merles is working with the Mexican Mafia now. He visited one of their bigger guys at a Federal Prison in Beaumont about six weeks ago. He didn’t use his name. He used an assumed name, Marco Lima, remember him? Facial recognition at Beaumont Federal Prison ID’d him, afterward. I’ve got a few other bread crumbs he’s left the last couple of years,” Gavin said.

“I thought La M’ie was pretty loose, a bunch of gang bangers banding together when it’s convenient. I’ve got nothing to do with that,” Rock said.

“My guy that he went to visit has made some pretty interesting friends. The guys he hooked up with should be at Gitmo, not Beaumont. I was the one that sent them to jail. They were involved in a kidnapping that happened in Virginia. The one JG Gamez tipped me off to. They were the two running an engineering company that had managed to get a GSA contract and get access to the Marine ForceRecon personnel office as well as the FBI school at Quantico. The engineering company was a front. They were scoping out Quantico for a terrorist attack. The plan was twofold, a cyberattack and then a physical attack on the FBI school or the ForceRecon building. We didn’t find anything on the cyber thing. Since Ramirez-Merles is a hacker and tied with my boys, I need to know if they somehow got unauthorized access to some data,” Gavin said.

“Really? Who are his new playmates?”

“Omar Abdul and Krazi Mummar. They’re Pakistani nationals. Can you find out why they didn’t get sent to Guantanamo?”

Rock sat forward. “Gitmo is full right now, so they were probably sent to Beaumont to wait.”

“How do these guys all tie together?” Gavin wondered aloud.

“I can’t help you right now. I’m not operational yet. Technically, I don’t even exist,” Rock said.

“I don’t need your backup, I need your intel.”

“I can’t give you any official support without a direct order from the commander of Navy Special Warfare or the commander at SOCOM,” Rock officially informed Gavin.

“I understand, Captain.”

“But, let’s say you might have something that ties in with what I’ve been charged to do, say, hacking of sensitive government information…at a Marine base in Virginia…let’s say it’s Quantico, for instance…and all of a sudden a known unfriendly foreign national that so happens to be a cybercriminal is also dealing with suspected terrorists…” Rock said.

Gavin smiled. If anyone could find a loophole, it was Rock.

“Well, then, we’ll just have to see where this goes. Can I ask why you’re here, Rock?” Gavin asked.

“To support the new Joint Cyber Command out at Lackland. We’re the hammer and, of course, whatever SOCOM tells me to do,” Rock answered.

“When are you standing this thing up?”

“Officially? Not until September of next year. Hell, I’m still looking for an XO.”

“Really? I see you found a command master chief.” Gavin smiled.

“That was a no-brainer.” Captain O’Malley smiled.

“Who you looking at for XO?” Gavin asked.

“I wanted Cobra, you know, outta Little Creek, but Shane won’t let him go. So I’m talking to Rafe Wilson next week,” O’Malley said.

“Fucking ring knocker!” Gavin swore.

“Yeah, well, Academy grad or not, he got through BUD/S like the rest of us and he’s pretty effective. I just did a remote with him in Afghanistan. He’s one mean motherfucker.”

“I’ll bet he was pissed when he was passed over for this job. Watch your back, Rock. I don’t trust fucking ring knockers. I especially don’t trust Rafe Wilson,” Gavin warned.

“That’s what I’ve got Mac for,” Rock said with a smile.

Gavin and Rock talked and bantered with each other for a few minutes longer until Gavin’s cell phone rang. Jimmy had found a new dog and needed Gavin’s signature on paperwork. He left and drove back to Lackland Air Force Base on the other side of San Antonio to retrieve him and his new pet.

Jimmy was waiting with his new best friend, Kaiser. Gavin signed the requisition as well as the financial paperwork and Jimmy and Kaiser got into the vehicle and the group went home. Jimmy talked most the way home. He was proud of the dog that he had found and was looking forward to training him. He was a whole different person around dogs. Kaiser was mostly trained and almost ready to go. Kaiser, however, could not cut the strict standards that the military had. He apparently had a little digestive problem. Jimmy had figured he could work around it. When they returned from San Antonio, David Ortiz was waiting.

“Well?” Ortiz questioned.

“Well what?” Gavin asked.

“What did you accomplish?”

“We recruited a new K-9. After he passes the certification test, he can get his badge issued to him.”

“That’s it? You were in San Antonio and you didn’t go to the field office?”

“No. Was I supposed to?” Gavin questioned.

“I figured you would be looking into your boy,” Ortiz said.

“No. I found out what I needed with the information you gave me.”

“What was that, exactly?” David demanded.

“I’m still working on it, Chief.”

Ortiz turned and left. Since Gavin had arrived, he never felt like he had to always lay his cards on the table. No one person had to know everything he was doing. And his so-called boss did not always need to be in the know. Ortiz had a habit of getting in the way.

Gavin went home and relaxed in front of the TV. His mind drifted to Amy. He was looking forward to seeing her tomorrow night. He smiled to himself. She wouldn’t be his typical date. She was classy and one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. It was a miracle she had even said yes to him. He knew she wouldn’t be jumping into bed with him on their first date. He had figured that out on their quasi date last night. Despite their first encounter, she really was a lady.

* * * *

Amy got home later than she should have. Unexpectedly, she had had to close the library tonight. It was a quarter to ten when she got home. She hadn’t been prepared to stay that long. She decided to have a light snack before she went to bed. She was attempting to diet
again.
At a size fourteen and five four she was overweight. She never stopped trying to lose weight. She had been this way her whole life. She yo-yo dieted all the time. When she and Tim had been married, he had practically starved her on a regular basis. She would lose weight and then quickly gain it back, most of the time doubling the gain.

Amy was really stressed out about her date with Gavin tomorrow night. She was a little suspicious that a guy like him would want to be around her. She wondered if it was because of the show he had gotten the week before. She worried about how she would handle any advances that he might make. He had been a perfect gentleman on Wednesday, but in her mind that didn’t mean anything. Tim had been a gentleman for the two years they dated and turned out to be a monster in the end.

The more Amy dwelled on it, the more she wanted to cancel the whole thing but remembered she didn’t have Gavin’s phone number. By the time she went to bed, she had convinced herself going out with him was the worst thing she could do. Her mind made up, she decided she’d simply call the station in the morning, find him, and blow off the whole thing. She was saddened at having to give Gavin the brush-off. She wanted to share her life with someone, and she seemed to connect with Gavin, but the risk was too great. She didn’t want it to end up the way it had with Tim. She shook her head.
It’s better this way.

The next morning Amy arrived at the library and started her day. She had a couple of things to do before she would call Gavin. Lynn walked into her office in back of the circulation desk and smiled.