Blaze: A Small Town, Nerdy Girl, Opposites Attract, Protector Romance (Ghost Ops Book 1)

Prologue

“Got a job for you, gentlemen.”

Alex “Ghost” Bishop eyed the five men he’d handpicked for this mission.

“But you’ll have to take risks you’ve never taken before. Get it right, nobody’s going to know except those of us in this room. Get it wrong, millions of people could die.”

Blaze “Shadow” Connolly, Chance “Wraith” Hughes, Seth “Phantom” King, Kane “Demon” Fox, and Ethan “Dragon” Snow didn’t blink. He hadn’t expected they would. They were the best of the best. Hostile Operations Team to their cores. Men he’d worked with on some of the shittiest missions imaginable.

They’d had his back and he’d had theirs. He’d been given a blank slate when selecting his team for this operation, and he’d chosen men he knew he could rely on. Men who fit the special requirements.

Patriotic. Moral. Willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good.

That described all of HOT.

But there was more.

No strong family ties. No connections. No wives or children to worry about.

“What’s the job?” Shadow asked.

“I’m getting there. But first you gotta understand something. Get caught, and you’ll be cut loose. You’ll proceed through the criminal justice system. If you’re convicted of a felony, you’ll lose any military benefits you might possess. This job isn’t going to be easy, but it will be worthwhile. Nothing less than the future of this nation is at stake.”

“Not hearing anything to make me say no,” Wraith drawled. “What’s the catch?”

The other guys laughed. Ghost grinned. He loved these guys. They’d all been on the same squad back when he’d still been leading missions. That was a few years ago, but their first time as a unit hadn’t gone smoothly. They’d gone into enemy territory for a hostage rescue. Misinformation had nearly tanked the mission and gotten them killed, but they’d found the hostages and gotten them out. That was due in no small part to the well-oiled machine these guys made when operating together.

“This mission is Ghost Ops, gentlemen, and not just because I’m running it. We are ghosts. We’re doing this job silently and secretly, without sanction or official support. Our orders come from the president, but we can’t be associated with her office if anything goes wrong. If this is not for you, I need to know now. Because if you don’t say anything, you’re a part of this. There’s no turning back, no quitting in a month or two. Once I’ve revealed our objective, you’re locked. This is your shot to walk.”

The men exchanged looks. Shadow crossed his arms. Phantom crossed his legs. Demon whistled a soft tune. Dragon and Wraith merely looked at him.

He could hear their curiosity, but none of them voiced it yet. They understood the consequences. Stay in this room and you’re in no matter what. There were no do-overs. No take-backs.

He nodded when it was clear nobody was leaving. “You were picked for a couple of reasons. First, you’re my team. We know each other. We’ve saved each other’s asses. And though our paths led in opposite directions at times, we’re here now. Second, and this is a shit thing to say, but you’ve got no family, no wives or kids, and no messy relationships to navigate. Same for me. We don’t have to explain, don’t have to leave anyone behind. We’re free to move, and free to suffer the consequences if things go wrong without dragging loved ones into it.”

Their faces were a little harder now, but he had to say it. They had to know it was important.

It wasn’t that special operators didn’t have families, because they did. But this team wasn’t going to be the norm. The mission, their cover; everything about it was a potential minefield.

It was simpler not to have people waiting at home for them.

No hard questions being asked. No families to worry over or explain to, especially if something went wrong.

“You said we’re ghosts,” Shadow stated, looking at the other guys. “Am I wrong, or does it sound like you’re going along?”

“I am.”

He let them exchange bewildered looks before he spoke again.

“If you look behind you, you’ll find envelopes with your names on the table by the door. We’re separating from the military, effective immediately. You’re officially civilians now, friends, though if this ends well, you’ll have full military benefits and the shot to go back on active duty if you want it. For now, we’re just a bunch of former Army guys about to open a training facility with a range and gun store in Alabama. We’ll be there for some duration, hence the cover.”

“Always wanted to open a range,” Shadow said. “Sounds fun.”

The other guys nodded their agreement.

“Why Alabama, sir?” Demon asked, his brow wrinkled in confusion.

“It’s Alex now, Kane. We’ll need to get used to calling each other by our names instead of call signs. Ranks don’t exist. I’m no longer a colonel.”

He studied them. Blaze, Chance, Seth, Kane, and Ethan. They were wondering what they’d gotten themselves into by now.

But he knew, even if he gave them a way out, they wouldn’t take it. That’s not how men like these were wired.

It’s not how he was wired.

“We’re going to Alabama because that’s where we’ve been asked to go. Huntsville is home to a top-secret project vital to our national security. Unfortunately, our nation’s enemies are aware of the project and actively trying to sabotage it. Our mission is to protect it, find the spies, and make sure development stays on schedule. The president trusts HOT to get this done. Not the FBI, not Homeland Security. Us.”

He eyed them. “You’ll keep your identity, but your military records will be sealed, your DNA wiped from the system. Nobody will have access to anything we’ve done. You weren’t spec ops, you weren’t elite soldiers. You were regular Army grunts who served your time in a combat unit and were honorably discharged. We’re friends who served together, and we’ve finally decided to follow our dream and open a range and training facility. We chose northern Alabama because property is cheaper than Virginia or Maryland, and we like our prospects there.”

Seth slapped the envelope he’d retrieved against his leg. “Good enough for me.”

“Amen,” Kane said. “President Willis chose right when she chose us.”

“Y’all best get to working on your Southern accents,” Chance drawled with his finest Mississippi vowels. “Might stand out a bit if you don’t.”

“And we’ll stand out even worse if we try to fake it,” Ethan grumbled, New York state coming through in his words. “Do they even have good pizza down there?”

Blaze laughed. “Always thinking with your stomach. Man, they got barbecue. Pulled pork, chicken with white sauce. I had to go to Anniston once, and that was some of the best damned barbecue I ever had. You’ll be fine, promise.”

Ghost loved their banter, loved that they could fall right into the unknown without fear. That was another reason he’d picked them.

“What’s the timeline?” Ethan asked.

Ethan was the planner, the one who’d always mapped out the mission down to the second.

“Four weeks until we meet up in Alabama. Details are in the envelopes.”

Blaze got to his feet. “Guess I’d better get to packing then.”

The rest of the guys stood too. Ghost walked over and shook their hands.

“Whatever we need to do to protect this country, we got this,” Chance said.

“I know you do. So does the president and her closest advisors. It’s why you’re standing in this room instead of anyone else.”

When the men were gone, Ghost looked around the briefing room, taking it in one last time. He’d thought he’d take command of the Hostile Operations Team one day when General John “Viper” Mendez retired.

Instead, he was hanging up his hat. The others had a shot to rejoin the military if the mission was successful, but it wasn’t a possibility for him. There was a new deputy commander waiting in the wings. Ghost couldn’t step out of the stream for this mission and step back in like the water hadn’t moved on without him.

It was different for the team guys. They could return to operations like nothing had changed. Not so for him.

Maybe he could join Ian Black’s organization, or he could start his own security firm.

Then again, he could collect his military pension, buy a small house somewhere, and go fishing all day. Forget how to spell colonel, much less salute anyone or take orders.

Decisions for another time.

For now, he was heading to Alabama.

Dead to his past. A ghost. No family and no connections. Nothing but his guys and the biggest mission of his life.