Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Us (Kindle Worlds Novella) (4 page)

Chapter 7

Maya

I didn’t know why I agreed to let Calder go with me to the gem shop. I probably shouldn’t have. But there was something about the look of defeat in his eyes. Something that made me think there was more to this guy. If he knew my secret and was still coming back for me, then maybe there was something more. Maybe I could actually trust him.

Or maybe I just really needed to get laid and the first guy to touch me in years was making me give into anything.

He crammed his long body into my compact car and I tried not to giggle as his head practically hit the ceiling. I watched his hands as he gruffly buckled his seatbelt. Those big hands that I thought about resting on my cheek.

What the hell was I thinking?

I couldn’t have those kinds of thoughts about Calder, especially since he knew I shifted. But I was drawn to him. Maybe it was because I knew that even though he had the hard, former military guy exterior, there was a part of him that was broken. The part that made him walk into the ocean.

That broken part was beautiful. The part I found myself thinking about constantly.

“So…where are we headed?” Calder finally asked.

I licked my lips and tried to think of the right thing to say, so I didn’t sound crazy. Instead I just blurted the truth. “A gem shop.”

He laughed. It was a great sound. It came from low in his stomach and made my whole body tighten. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those hippie types that’s into essential oils and gems and all that nonsense?”

“Aren’t all shifters?”

I took a shot at glancing at him and saw a dimple in his cheek that I hadn’t noticed before. “Is that what you are?”

Letting out a deep breath, I finally spilled what I hadn’t told anyone but Gran. “I think so. When I was a teenager, I held a couple of high school records in swimming. I was good. Really good. The Olympic Trials was coming up and everyone knew I was going to make the team and possibly a world record in the 200M individual medley.”

I took a deep breath before I continued. “I went to the pool at Olympic trials for one final practice and ended up with a tail flapping against the water. It scared the hell out of me. I don’t know why it didn’t happen before then, but it was like someone turning on a switch. Once it turned, I couldn’t not shift when I got into the water. Thus my swimming career was officially over and lost my college scholarship.”

I didn’t wait for him to respond and kept talking to get it all out. This was more than I’d ever talked to anyone about my shifting. “I hadn’t been in the water since the night I jumped in after you. When I came home late that night, I confided in my gran about my shifting. She told me about my father as a shifter and gave me this amulet. Now I need to know what it means.”

I was pretty sure that Calder was going to think I was insane and bolt out of the car as soon as I was done talking. But he didn’t.

Instead he put his hand on mine on the console between us then squeezed it gently. “That’s a whole lot of shit to take in. I know grown men that wouldn’t be standing right now if they found out all of that about themselves.”

“You don’t think I’m crazy?” I glanced over to see that his beautiful brown eyes were locked on me and a ghost of a smile crossed his face.

“Maya, you rescued me from the ocean. You took a chance at someone seeing you shift and blowing this cover you’ve been working so hard to keep, to save my stupid ass. The only thing I think you’re crazy for is trying to save me.”

“I couldn’t live with myself if I let the sea take you,” I whispered.

He didn’t respond. He just squeezed my hand one last time and then kept it there while he looked out the window.

I wanted to know what was going on in his head, but I could barely tell what was going on in mine. But the warm chill that went through my body just from the small touch of Calder’s hand on mine was the most alive I’d felt in years.

Calder knew about me and instead of running, he was chasing me. Wanting me.

Maybe it was trap. Maybe he was going to turn me into the naval base and they would do experiments on me.

I had to believe that wasn’t true. I had to believe he was a good man.

We pulled into a little strip mall near the beach with a tie-dye painted beach house on one side of it. A big painted sign swung from the front porch that read “Gia’s Gems”.

“This is the place?” Calder asked, staring out the front window.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Seems like a legit place that would know about shifters.”

Rolling my eyes, I unbuckled my seatbelt. “I haven’t had any other leads so I have to take them when I find them.”

Before I could open the door, Calder’s hand was on mine, stopping my movement.

He was so close that I could feel his breath on my cheek. He smelled warm and inviting like fresh mint and a woodsy cologne. “Hey, I wasn’t trying to be a dick. I’m sorry it came off that way. If this is where you have to go to find answers, then this is where you have to go. And once you find those answers, we’ll talk?”

I swallowed hard, staring into those endless dark eyes of his. Finally I nodded and managed to squeak out some kind of a response.

It must have satisfied him because he smiled, squeezing my hand before he got out of the car and before I knew it, he ran around to the other side and opened my door, holding out his hand.

“Um, what are you doing?” I asked.

He took my hand and pulled me to a standing position. “It would be rude if I didn’t open the door for you. What kind of guy do you think I am?”

I couldn’t remember the last time a guy had opened a car door for me. Or any door really. “Thanks,” I muttered and turned toward the white porch of Gia’s, so he couldn’t see the blush that I knew had to be creeping up my cheeks.

A bell rang over the stained glass door as we entered and my senses were hit with bright, reflecting crystals and the strong scent of patchouli.

“Welcome to Gia’s, let me know if I can be of any service!” A woman in a long, flowing purple robe called from behind a wooden counter.

Calder gave me a ‘WTF’ look and I tried to ignore it. To shake off the feeling that this wasn’t just another dead end.

Slowly I approached the woman at the counter. “Yes, a friend told me that you could help identify this gem.”

Slowly I unclasped the chain and the woman’s eyes widened. She grabbed a small pair of purple glasses from behind the counter. “Do you mind if I look at this more closely?”

I nodded and handed her the necklace.

She took it as if it were a piece of breakable glass and then set it on the counter in front of her, peering down at it. “This is a piece I haven’t seen in years…”

“You’ve seen one before?” I asked, trying to keep my breathing even but my entire body was shaking.

“Only once. Many years ago, but my partner…he was the one that knew exactly what it was.” The woman didn’t even look in my direction when she spoke. She grabbed the necklace, then immediately whirled around, and pushed a beaded curtain open behind her.

“Jeb! Jeb!”

The woman quickly turned toward me and motioned a finger for me to follow, then scrambled behind the curtain.

“Do we follow?” I asked, turning slightly toward Calder.

He nodded. “If something goes wrong I’ll take one of my legs off and beat them with the prosthetic while you run.”

I tried not to laugh but couldn’t help my smile. “Glad one of us has a plan.”

Calder followed me behind the counter and pushed beside the beaded curtain to reveal a small room that was painted a dark purple. The only light came from a small lamp on a desk covered with papers.

An older man with salt and pepper hair and large glasses stared through a microscope, ignoring the woman in front of him.

“Jeb! Jeb! Why aren’t you listening?”

“Gia, can’t you see that I’m working?” Jeb finally looked up at the woman with a look of annoyance on his face. Then he glanced behind her and his eyes widened when they landed on me.

Slowly he stood up, removing the glasses and setting them down on the table.

“My stars…It’s you…” he whispered, slowly walking toward me.

He couldn’t have been any younger than Gran and was dressed in an old worn button down shirt and dress pants. Something I would expect a grandpa to be wearing, not some guy at a gem shop.

But it wasn’t what he was wearing that I was concerned with. It was the way he stared at me. Dissected me.

I backed up a bit only to find Calder’s hard stomach against my back and his arms curled protectively around my waist. Instantly I felt safer. Like Calder would somehow be able to save me from any harm, otherworldly or not.

“Do you know this guy, Maya?” Calder asked sternly.

Jeb responded before I could. “I knew your father.”

Looking up, I stared into the man’s light blue eyes that were locked on mine.

Jeb’s voice lowered. “You have Zale’s eyes. Black as night.”

“Who’s Zale?” I whispered.

“Your father.”

I gasped. I’d never heard my father’s name before.

“What can you tell me about him?” I asked.

Jeb smiled, sitting back down on the chair. “Your father was a good man. A little confused at times, but a good man.”

I took the necklace from Gia’s open palm where it laid. “He gave this to my mother before he left. Do you know what it means?”

Jeb stared at the necklace then grabbed his glasses, adjusting them on his face before he picked up the amulet. “I’ve only seen this once before. Your father brought this stone for me to put on a necklace for his daughter.”

“He knew about me?” I whispered. Gran had said he knew my mother was pregnant with me, but I didn’t think he knew he had a daughter.

Jeb smiled again, nodding. “Very much so. He told me that he was to be a father again and wanted something for his daughter to remember him by. His rookery wouldn’t let him stay on land with mortals, but he couldn’t resist your mother.

I had so many questions swimming through my head. Too many to even voice. Before I could open my mouth to say anything else, Jeb turned off the small lamp on the table and held up a black light flashlight, shining it on the necklace.

The entire room lit blue and dozens of swirls of white letters filled every wall, reflecting off of the gemstone.

“What the hell?” Calder asked, staring around.

The words kept spinning around the walls, but they didn’t make any sense. “What is this? What does it mean?” I asked.

Jeb sighed, turning off the flashlight and turning the lamp back on. “I was hoping you’d be able to tell me.”

“I just found out I had a father who was a shifter. This is all new to me.”

Jeb nodded, handing me the necklace. “Then there’s someone you should meet.”

Chapter 8

Calder

Maya held the crumbled piece of paper in her hand as we walked out of the gem shop.

I’d never believed in magic or otherworldly things, but now I’d seen it with my own eyes.

I thought the gem shop would be just another bogus tourist attraction, but when the room filled with all of those letters and they moved around us, I knew this was something.

Now I just had to figure out how to help her.

“So, are we heading to see that guy then?” I asked, leaning against Maya’s car.

Maya slowly looked up. “He’s in Mexico and not right across the border Mexico, but near Punta Prieta. I don’t think my car would make it that far and I couldn’t ask you to go on a road trip with me.”

Smiling, I slowly walked over to her. “Then we’ll take my car. And why not a road trip? It’ll be fun.”

She raised her eyebrows. “First off, the last road trip I went on was with Gran to some god awful town in Mexico to try and get some off-the-market pharmaceuticals. We ended up almost arrested by border patrol and if Gran didn’t break her hip, we’d still be in prison. Second, well, I mean we don’t really know each other. How do you know I’m not some kind of serial killer?”

I laughed, shaking my head. “First off, most serial killers are men, which doesn’t mean you couldn’t be one, but I’m guessing I’m safe.  Second off, if you’re willing to share your secrets with me, I think I can trust you.”

I took a step closer and smirked. “Plus, I was trained by the Navy. I’m pretty sure I can fight you if I need to.”

“Or throw your leg at me?” Finally, Maya smiled and it was one of the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen.

“Both of them if you keep back talking,” I said with a laugh.

She chewed on her bottom lip and my dick strained against my jeans. There was something flawlessly sexy about the girl and she wasn’t even trying to turn me on. Being in a car with her for a day could be a really bad idea, or a really good one.

“I don’t know… I’d have to take time off work…”

I leaned in and put my fingers under her chin, moving her eyes to meet mine. “Then do it. I’ll call the university and tell them I need some extra time off and we can take a couple of days during the week when the bar isn’t too busy. We’ll get your answers and then come back.”

“Why do you want to do this with me?” she whispered.

“Because you saved me, Maya.”

She slowly shook her head. “I didn’t do that much. Anyone could have called 9-11.”

“The moment I walked into the ocean, I wanted to end it all. Then you came and pulled me out of the water and I couldn’t stop thinking about you afterward. You’re the one thing that makes me hope for a better tomorrow and if I can give you the same things you’ve given me, then I’m not about to give up helping you.”

She smiled slightly. “That may be one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.”

“Then you need to start hanging out with better people.” I smiled.

***

We drove in silence back to Maya’s house. There were a million questions I had for her and so many things I wanted to say. But instead I just kept my hand on hers and listened to the lull of the engine.

There were so many thoughts running through my head about this girl. I’d never felt this way about anyone especially not this fast and part of it scared the hell out of me, but part of me never wanted to lose this feeling.

“So, are you thinking we leave maybe Wednesday? Then you can tell work tonight you’ll be taking off and have one more shift before we head out?” I asked once Maya put her car in park in front of her house.

She sighed, turning toward me. The woman was beautiful with her tanned skin and dark hair falling in loose waves around her face. Every time she looked at me, I just wanted to reach over the seat and take her in my arms.

“Are you sure you really want to do this, Calder?”

“Are you?” I asked.

“No. Not at all. I have no idea what to expect in Mexico. Hell, this could all be some kind of trap or another dead end.”

Leaning over the seat, I cupped her face in my hands. “No matter what we find in Mexico, it’s going to be okay. I’m not going anywhere and I won’t stop until I help you find out what your necklace means or anything else you want to know about yourself.”

“You don’t have to, Calder.”

“I do,” I murmured before sealing her lips with mine. She gasped, her mouth opening to mine and letting me taste her sweet mouth. She fisted her hands in my hair, tugging it lightly and causing a groan to emit low from in my throat. She took that chance to nip at my bottom lip and my dick hardened.

It had been too damn long since I’d been with a woman and if I didn’t stop kissing her soon, I would take her right there in front of her grandmother’s house.

She was the one to slowly break the kiss and glance over my shoulder. “I’d better go. Gran’s staring at us through the window.”

I looked where her gaze went and saw the old woman was glaring at us from the front window. I couldn’t help but laugh and shake my head before I looked back at Maya and gave her one last small kiss on the lips. “I’ll let you go, for now. But I’ll be back on Wednesday.”

She nodded slightly, biting that bottom lip and it took everything I had not to bring her to my lap. “Okay. Wednesday it is.”

***

When I went back to my empty condo, all I could think about was Maya.

I had the time off work, but still sent in a message to the university, letting them know that I was going to be out of town. I made up some bullshit excuse about going to Mexico for some kind of healing practice thing.

It sounded better than what I was actually going to be doing there.

By the time I was done with a work out and another shower, it was close to dinnertime and I knew just the place to go.

Ace’s was packed, as usual, with the after work crowd, but Maya could stand out anywhere.

Her hair straightened and falling down her back, parted on the side so it framed those luscious breasts that popped out of her tank top.

I was getting hard just from looking at the woman.

I can’t deny that I was kind of a player before my injury. Women loved a man in uniform and when they found out I was a naval doctor, their panties dropped faster than I could say my full name.

But that was before I lost both of my legs. Before I had to have assistance getting in and out of the shower. Before I took my legs off for bed.

How the hell was I supposed to handle a woman in the bedroom if I was still building up my upper arm strength to even move myself across the bed?

I was a mutant. A fraud. Something no woman would ever want. While most women looked at me with pity because of my legs, Maya looked at me and saw me, not just some vet with prosthetics.”

She was the first woman that made me feel whole since the accident; the first woman to make me feel anything other than sadness. And no matter what was going on with her physically or mentally, I wasn’t going to let her get away.

I made my way over to the bar stool, trying not to limp, but it was just a part of me. Even after a year of constant rehab, I was still getting used to these damn new legs. The girl had to have some kind of super strength to get my prosthetics and me out of the ocean. By the time I got to the hospital, they already started fitting me with a new pair, courtesy of the military.

Sliding into the bar stool, I spun around until I met the smiling face of Maya.

“Drinking soda tonight?” She raised her eyebrows, setting a coaster down.

I leaned in and winked. “Make it a double. On the rocks.”

She laughed. “Living large, Doc.”

“Hey, I’ve got a big trip to go on. I need to get my caffeine in.”

She smiled, pouring a large mug of soda then sliding it on the coaster before she leaned against the counter. “You sure you still want to go through with this?”

I took a sip of my drink and raised my eyebrows. “Are you sure you want to?”

Maya shook her head. “No. Not in the least. I’m scared out of my mind actually.”

“You know, the first time I went out with a team, I was scared shitless. I mean, the UMOs and doctors don’t usually see combat, but I was still there in a country where it seemed more people hated us than liked us. I didn’t know if I’d make it out or if I’d actually be able to help anyone.”

“So what did you do? How do you stop the feeling of wanting to throw up and run a marathon at the same time?” Maya asked.

I shrugged. “You don’t. You kind of just push through it and breathe when it’s over. Not everyone survived those missions. I couldn’t save them, but I still kept going. They were like my brothers…”

Were like my brothers. Until I couldn’t save any of them. I couldn’t even save myself.

Maya’s hand was on mine and my eyes were drawn to hers. “They were lucky to have you and so am I. I’ve never had that kind of comradery. High school and club swimming were the closest thing and we were all young and stupid, just trying to be the best. Maybe if I would’ve been able to swim in college it would’ve been different. Would’ve…”

I hadn’t thought about everything she had lost or what her full story was.

She sighed and pulled her hand away. “Sorry. Some ass at the end of the bar has been signaling me for the past five minutes. He’s been holding up his one finger like some kind of privileged douche.”

Smiling, I followed Maya with my eyes as she walked to the other end of the bar where some young guy in a rugby shirt was holding up one finger and I swear he was about to put his lips together to whistle.

When he got his drink and Maya walked away to help another patron, his eyes still followed her. More importantly they followed her ass.

I clenched my fists without even thinking what I was doing. I wasn’t the type of guy to get in a bar fight, I always maintained my cool, but there was something about Maya that I wanted to protect.

I ordered another drink and some burger and fries. It was typical bar food, but there was something about it that made it the best I’d ever had. Maybe it was because it was the first time I actually enjoyed being in a crowd. That I wasn’t sulking in my condo, alone. I had a future and a place to be that wasn’t just some shitty job. I was alive and it was all thanks to Maya.

The bar was clearing out, getting near closing time. Some of the other waitresses were trying to get rid of the guys parked on their barstools or chairs and others were cleaning the tables.

“Are you going to help me clean the bar?” Maya asked playfully, raising her eyebrows as she wiped down the bar top.

“Give me a mop and I’m sure I can make myself useful.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

I smiled, standing up. “Well, I don’t think you’re going to be able to leave until it’s finished, so the faster it gets done, the more I get to spend time with you not behind a bar.”

She bit that bottom lip and I couldn’t help the blood that rushed directly below my belt.

“Okay. I have to go take the trash out. You can help me carry some of the boxes.”

“That’s the most romantic thing you’ve said to me all night.” I laughed.

I followed Maya behind the bar to the kitchen area where there were four huge full garbage bags.

“Didn’t take the trash out at all tonight?” I asked.

She smirked, heaving one of the bags over her shoulder. “If you didn’t notice, I was kind of busy.”

Maya pushed open a large steel door behind her, letting in the muggy night air.

Reaching down, I grabbed one of the other bags. I went to grab the second bag when I heard a muffled scream from behind the shutting door.

Dropping the bag, I rammed the door open and dodged bar trash that was littering the back parking lot.

I scanned the dark lot before I saw some white tennis shoes wiggling behind a car across the lot.

Without even thinking, I ran as fast as my legs could carry me until I saw a guy in a ski mask wearing all black, hovering over a screaming Maya as he held her down with one hand and pulled at her necklace with the other.

“Hey! Let her go!” I yelled.

I expected the guy to put up a fight, so I crouched down, ready for him. It had been years since I’d done combat training and that was pre-prosthetics, but I had enough adrenaline that I knew I could take him.

Instead of pouncing me, the guy took one look in my direction then dropped his hands from Maya and ran the other way.

I watched him scurry through the parking lot. I thought about chasing after him, but I couldn’t leave Maya.

Kneeling down, I cradled Maya’s head in my hands and lifted her to a sitting position. “Are you okay?”

There were no visible scrapes, but her whole body was shaking. She threw her arms around my neck and buried her face in my chest, large sobs escaping her lips.

I held her close, running my hands through her hair. I had so many questions as to what happened, but I didn’t want to upset her anymore.