Jase (Delta Five SEALS #3)

Chapter 1

Jase

Location: Adriatic Coast — Somewhere Unfriendly

Time: Night

The boat is burning.

That’s not a metaphor.

That’s a very real, very expensive fire on very dark water.

I crouch behind a half-shattered crate on a dock that doesn’t exist on any map and watch men with bad posture and worse intentions run in directions they didn’t plan on running.

Ronan’s voice cuts through my comm.

“Convoy asset was transferred here. Then vanished.”

“Yeah,” I mutter. “That tracks.”

Gunfire cracks through the night.

Someone screams.

I rise just enough, sight, fire—two rounds straight into the engine block of a fleeing SUV. It jerks, stalls, smoke pouring out as it blocks half the exit.

Chaos multiplies.

“Any sign of her?” I ask.

“Negative,” Ronan replies. “But this was the handoff point.”

Of course it was.

I scan the dock again—fast, precise, controlled.

And then I see her.

Dark hair pulled back. Blood on her temple. Moving like she belongs in the middle of a firefight instead of running from one.

Not panicked.

Calculated.

Beautiful.

My chest tightens in a way I don’t have time to deal with.

“Mila,” I breathe.

A year ago—Prague.

Ronan’s wedding.

Too much alcohol. Not enough restraint.

We danced like we were trying to start a war.

Hands where they shouldn’t be.

Mouths closer than they had any right to be.

And later—

Yeah.

That part I remember perfectly.

Then morning came…

And so did the reality that we couldn’t stand each other.

Big mistake.

She ducks behind a shipping container as two men break off and go after her.

I don’t think.

I move.

The first one drops before he even knows I’m there.

The second turns—fast, trained.

Not fast enough.

He never gets the shot off.

I grab Mila’s arm and haul her behind cover.

She spins instantly—gun up, eyes sharp.

She didn’t have that in Prague.

We lock eyes.

Electric. Familiar. Dangerous.

Then she says, “What are you doing here? You’re not supposed to be here.”

I grin despite everything.

“I get that a lot.”

Footsteps pound closer.

She swears—at least three languages, maybe four.

“You brought friends,” she snaps.

“Nope,” I say. “But you definitely did.”

Bullets slam into the metal beside us.

I grab her again, pulling her toward the edge of the dock.

“Let go of me!” she snaps.

“Not happening.”

“You don’t understand—”

“I understand you’re about to get killed,” I cut in. “And I’m about to ruin several people’s night.”

She glares at me like she’s deciding whether to shoot me herself.

Wouldn’t be the first time.

We hit the edge—

And jump.

The explosion behind us hits a second later.

The water swallows us whole.

Cold.

Black.

Violent.

I come up fast, scanning—

Bodies drift past us.

Yeah.

This night just keeps getting better.