Stealth Ops Series: Books #4-7 (Books)

Prologue Recruitment

CORONADO, CALIFORNIA

“You know, you’re a walking stereotype.”

Liam’s gaze slid sideways to match a face to the voice. A pretty redhead with pale green eyes studied him.

“You should try a little harder if you want to hide the fact you’re a SEAL.” A smug smile skirted her glossy lips. Clearly, she was proud of herself for identifying him as a Teamguy.

Liam planted his palms on the bar top counter and straightened his back. He scanned the wall of liquor bottles before his eyes landed on Brent Flannigan, the owner of the pub.

Brent gave him a light shake of the head, a signal the woman was trouble.

Yeah, Liam knew her type. Since joining the teams, a decade ago at nineteen, he’d encountered plenty of women who loved to hook up with Teamguys. And it was a major turn-off.

“Oh, really?” Liam wrapped a hand around his glass of Coke and feigned interest in the napkin beneath.

“You’ve got an American flag on your shirt. Probably made by Forged.” She paused. “The G-shock watch on your wrist and Gatorz sunglasses on your head are also dead giveaways.”

He glimpsed at her out of the corner of his eye before casually gulping down half of his drink.

“Probably have a frogman or trident tatt somewhere beneath that T-shirt of yours, too. But . . . I’ll let you buy me a drink, anyway.”

Brent shot him another look, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The guy was enjoying every minute of this. He’d been on the teams until an IED stole part of his leg.

Brent was a survivor, though. He’d gone on to train the Naval Special Warfare Developmental Group—DEVGRU—recruits for Green Team after that. And now, he ran an Irish pub, often frequented by women hoping to score with SEALs.

“You’re right. You caught me.” Liam lifted his palms in surrender and faced her with a smile.

And in three, two, one.

She scoffed and stood, then backed away like he was some disease carrier. “No way are you a SEAL. Obviously, you’re a fake.” She rolled her eyes. “No real SEAL would admit to being one.”

Her sandals smacked against the concrete floor as she sashayed to the door, then slammed it so hard it rattled some of the nearby framed photos of war heroes on the wall.

“Well played, brother.” Brent stood before him and pressed his hands to the counter. “But really, she was right. You look like a fucking Teamguy,” he said in a low voice.

“Why do you think I dress like this?” Liam laughed. “Hell, it doesn’t matter what I do. When I’m in Coronado, I get accused of being a SEAL, so—”

“Act like someone pretending to be a SEAL?” Brent smiled. “Brilliant.”

Liam finished his Coke. “But this is why I rarely come down here. No offense.” He loved getting laid, but Coronado was swimming with frog hogs—women who wanted to screw as many SEALs as possible—and sex because of his job title? Nah, he was good.

Brent wiped down the counter, tossed the rag over his shoulder, and then crossed his arms. “You have that look, like your skin is all itchy. You must be on standby.”

“It’s the worst, man. No drinking. No partying. Nothing.” He spent most of his time prepping for missions that Washington inevitably turned down. But on the off chance he got the call for an op, he had to remain sober at all times.

“I remember those days,” Brent said, even though it hadn’t been that long ago since he’d been active duty. “How’s your grandfather doing? He still living in Virginia?”

“Yeah, I owe him a visit when I get some time off. My mum flew in from Sydney a few months ago and stayed with him for a couple of weeks, but I was overseas.” Liam stood.

“Well, next time you see him tell him I said ‘hello.’ He’s a good man. Served our country for a long time.”

“Yeah, and he left some pretty big shoes to fill,” Liam said with a smile.

“You’re not doing so bad yourself.” Brent nodded. “When was the last time you went Down Under to see the rest of your family, mate?” His imitation of Liam’s Australian accent was comical.

“A few years.”

Brent’s gaze locked on something over Liam’s shoulder, and Liam pivoted to follow his stare.

Luke Scott strode through the pub with another Teamguy, Wyatt Pierson, at his side.

He didn’t recognize the blonde to Luke’s left, though.

“Flannigan. Been a long time, man,” Luke said once he closed in on the bar.

“You here for this guy or me?” Brent jerked a thumb Liam’s way. “Or is this a chance run-in?” He came around from behind the bar to embrace Luke in a quick one-arm hug.

“I’m here for Liam.” Luke reached to shake Liam’s hand. “But seeing you is a bonus.” He pointed to the woman at his side. “This is my sister, Jessica.”

Liam adjusted the band of his watch while Brent shook her hand, then he followed suit. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“You, too.” A damn firm grip.

Tall. Blonde. Ice-blue eyes. A walking cover model.

Not his usual type, though—especially since she was Luke’s sister.

Liam greeted Wyatt next. “What brings you all here?”

Luke looked at Brent. “You mind if we steal him for a few minutes?”

“Of course. Drinks on me when you come back.”

Luke nodded, and Liam followed the three of them out of the pub. “How’s it going, man? I assume you’re on standby?” Luke patted him on the shoulder as they headed toward the beach on the other side of the street.

“Yeah, unfortunately.” The sun beat down on the water, and the golden sand sparkled.

He slipped on his sunglasses and tucked his hands into the pockets of his board shorts as they walked.

“So.” He dragged in a deep breath, suddenly feeling like a recruit again.

The nerves in his stomach trekked up into his throat.

Luke Scott didn’t make social calls. The man was a legend. And here he was, walking on the beach with Liam. And Wyatt, well, he’d all but reinvented what it meant to be a sniper for the SEALs.

Liam had mad respect for both of them.

The presence of Luke’s sister . . . that was throwing him off, though.

“Wyatt and I left our teams.”

Luke’s words stopped him in his tracks. He slowly removed his hands from his pockets.

Liam’s job as a sniper was to recall details about every setting at any given time. Snipers were intelligence gatherers first and foremost, which most civilians didn’t realize.

But at the moment, he barely noticed the two women in matching red string bikinis in his peripheral vision.

“What? Why?” He scratched his beard, which he’d finally had trimmed upon his return from Kandahar four weeks ago.

“Technically, we’re still SEALs,” Luke said once the two hotties in bikinis were out of earshot. “Just on a different team.”

He took a beat to absorb the words before focusing on Luke’s sister, hoping for some clarity. “What’s going on?”

She removed her black aviator sunglasses. “We’re forming a team of covert operatives to run missions for the president, CIA director, and a few other higher-ups. Only a handful of people will know what we’re doing; our ops will be off the radar.”

Liam tilted his head skyward, attempting to corral his thoughts. If they were telling him about a newly formed, secret group that meant only one thing: they wanted him on the team.

“You’re one of the best bloody snipers in the world.” Wyatt’s British accent still clung to his speech despite his time in the U.S.

“We’d like you to join our team,” Jessica said.

Liam still wasn’t sure how she fit into the equation.

“I was CIA,” she said softly, reading his thoughts. “And, in part, forming this team was my idea. I want to conduct missions that won’t get caught up by red tape. We’ll use an alias, Scott and Scott Securities, as our cover.”

That explained her role, but he still had a lot of questions.

Although, the idea of sidestepping the bureaucratic bullshit was damn appealing.

Hell, how many target packages in the last few weeks had his people presented only to be blocked by the suits sitting comfortably in Washington?

Of course, would working directly for POTUS or the CIA director be any different?

“We’re creating two five-man teams. Bravo and Echo,” Luke explained. “I’ll be Bravo One. And I’ve asked Wyatt to be Echo One.”

“And between ops, what will we do?” He hated idle time.

“We’ll take on legit security jobs for Scott and Scott Securities,” Jessica answered.

“I understand this is a lot to take in, but—” Luke started.

“I’m in,” Liam cut him off.

“Told you he’d be down.” Wyatt grinned and slapped Luke on the back.

“Welcome to the team, Bravo Four,” Luke said. “The president will be speaking to your CO this afternoon to explain your departure.”

“I assume my CO will get an alternate version of the truth?” He’d prefer to be the one to tell his platoon why he was leaving, though.

Jessica nodded.

“Why don’t you enjoy the surf today,” Luke suggested. “We’re gearing up for our first op. We head out tomorrow.”

“Oh, yeah?” A burst of excitement traveled up his spine, and he arched his shoulders back. “Where to?”

“Argentina,” Jessica said. “Short notice, I know. Not much time for goodbyes, but—”

“No, I’m game.” He’d miss his platoon, but damn, he couldn’t pass up this opportunity. “Let’s do this.”