off his head and plunked it on the table. “What the hell’s going on? This place is lit up like a freakin’ Christmas tree.”
“You guys got back pretty fast,” Dash commented.
The man snorted. “Fast until we hit the gate and got the third degree from a heavy contingent of guards. They almost didn’t let us take the truck full of women and children inside the gate.” His gaze shifted from Dash to Blade, and then finally to their special operations commander. “Anyone want to tell me what’s going on?”
The colonel’s lips twisted. He nodded toward the table where Sunny sat.
She turned to fully face the men who’d entered. Their eyes widened.
“Holy shit. You’re Sunny Daye.” The lead man exclaimed.
Sunny chuckled. “Yes, I am.”
The man’s eyes narrowed, and his gaze shot to Dash. “Please tell me our man Dash didn’t make you give him a full concert for him alone.”
Sunny’s glance shot to Dash. “No, he didn’t.”
The man’s eyes widened. “He didn’t try to sneak into your quarters or hold you hostage, did he?”
Sunny laughed. “No, as a matter of fact, he saved me from being abducted by somebody else.”
The man’s brow twisted. “What the hell? Is that why the guards are all in knot and this place is lit up?”
Dash nodded. “I stopped the abduction but didn’t catch the guy who did it.”
The soldier raked a hand through his short hair. “No wonder they gave us the third degree coming through the gate.”
“We don’t know who he was or how he got on the base,” Dash said. “We need to find the guy who tried to take off with Miss Daye.”
The soldier frowned. “Is it me or is it too much of a coincidence that the man we were tasked to catch left the human auction early and Miss Daye’s abduction happened shortly after?”
“The connection did cross our minds,” the Special Operations commander said. “That’s why the base commander insisted on putting one of our guys on Miss Daye’s security detail until her tour is complete and she leaves Afghanistan.”
Dash waved a hand toward the man in front of the others. “Miss Daye, this is Rucker Sloan, our team lead.”
Sunny pushed back her chair, ready to stand.
The man held up a hand. “Don’t get up.” He closed the distance between them and held out a hand. “I love your music, Miss Daye. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Still seated, her cheeks heated as she shook his hand. “The pleasure is mine.”
One by one, Dash introduced her to his team.
“The big guy with the bulky shoulders is Craig Bullington. We call him Bull.”
Bull stepped forward and took her hand in a surprisingly gentle grip. “Miss Daye.”
She smiled. “Do I call you Craig or Bull?”
He grinned. “You can call me anything you want.”
“The wiry guy behind Bull is Dawg, aka Doug Masters. He’s the best shot on the team.”
The man stepped forward. “Pleasure.”
Sunny shook his hand. “The best shot? Are you a sniper?”
He held up the high-powered rifle with a scope attached. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You’ve met Blade.” Dash nodded toward his teammate. “The man is an expert knife thrower.”
“Aren’t knives old school?” she asked.
“Not when silence is key to an operation,” Blade said, then winked.
Sunny nodded. “I guess so.”
Dash waved to a tall man with green eyes. “Sean McDaniels.”
“Most folks call me Mac,” McDaniels said.
“Nice to meet you, Mac,” Sunny said.
“Tank, come say hello to Miss Daye.” Dash waved a big guy over from where he perched near the door.
Tank frowned and pushed his way through the others.
“Miss Daye, this is John Sanders.”
She shook the man’s hand with a smile. “Why do they call you Tank?”
The big guy shrugged.
A handsome man with black hair and gray eyes stepped up beside Tank and draped an arm over his shoulder. “We call him Tank because he’s as graceful as an M1 Abrams tank.” He held out his hand. “Lance Rankin at your service.”
She took Lance’s hand briefly.
When she released his hand, he grinned. “I can’t believe I’m actually talking with Sunny Daye. Please, ma’am, I’d be honored to volunteer my services to protect you.”
Blade snorted. “Dash got that lucky assignment.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” Sunny said. “Since Dash saved me, I’m going to stick with him until I leave the country.” Her brow dipped. “What was it you said about a truckload of women and children?”
Rucker shook his head. “We just got back from a mission to find the source of the human trafficking in the area. We caught them in the