Dangerous Rescue - Linzi Baxter Page 0,11

it. Like I’ve taken care of myself for the past six years. Good night, Hudson.”

She didn’t wait for him to answer. Instead, she hung up on one of the few men who could probably help her. But anger still bubbled inside of her. He thought he could walk back into her life and pick up where they left their relationship six years ago. She would deal with this herself and go to the police first thing in the morning.

4

Hudson

Hudson was frustrated. He wanted to find Siena and take her back to his house. Cy was digging for more information so he could figure out what he was up against. Hudson had planned to ask for leave before the next mission, but he worried that wouldn’t be an option since the team had been called in late at night.

In the last six years, he hadn’t taken any PTO. He hoped Commander North would give him the time, because he wanted to make sure Siena was okay. She was the only one for him. Kaiden wasn’t the only reason he hadn’t dated anyone else. None of the other women he’d slept with over the years had made him wish for more. He knew he’d fucked up and would have to work extra hard to win Siena back, but he couldn’t do that if he was shipped overseas for who knows how long on a mission.

His team sat around the conference room table in the SEAL team support facility. It was late at night, and the building was mostly dark. They were in the soundproof room used for discussing missions. Royce “Lucky” Holt was a demolition expert, Seth “Doc” Thornton a medic, Marcus “Cy” Reeves a communication specialist, and Axel “Richy” Deleon an Olympic swimmer before joining the Navy. Jared “Casanova” Dawson specialized in close quarter combat and Tim “Ginger” Mueller was the team’s unmanned aerial vehicle operator, the last to join the team, were also present.

Seth, Jared, and Carter lived on base. The rest of the crew lived off. None of them were told what the meeting was about.

The door to the conference room swung open, and the men around the table stood at attention until Commander North said, “At ease.”

The building they were in was designated for SEAL team members only, and the man standing next to Commander North wasn’t even in the military. The latest rumor Hudson had heard about Xavier Smith’s Mercenary company and his team was that they worked for the CIA. At times, they seemed to walk the line between good and bad. Nobody knew Xavier’s real last name either.

The six-foot-five man stood with his arms crossed. Xavier rolled up the sleeves of his white button-down shirt, showing his black-and-white tattoos. His sandy-blond hair was longer than the military allowed. His crystal-blue eyes cut through the room.

“Is there a reason the CIA is in the room?” Lucky asked.

It wouldn’t be the first mission they’d run with the CIA, but they normally met the contact out in the field for intel, not in a government building, since the agents didn’t have any domestic jurisdiction. Commander North sighed before taking a seat at the head of the table, and Xavier sat down next to him.

“I’m not a spook,” Xavier growled. “I’m here to help you.”

“Like how you helped us with our last mission?” Lucky asked.

The team was still bitter. They’d been in Afghanistan for a month, working to bring back four American scientists. Hudson’s crew freed the captured men and women, Xavier and his team immediately took them. The SEALs hadn’t heard from them since. High command told them to forget about the mission and said that everyone was safe. But Hudson’s team figured out not all the scientists had gone home. When Cy scanned the cameras and airports, he saw that one of the women had never made it back to the US. Her family hadn’t been notified she was alive either. Her parents were still mourning their daughter's death, and she wasn’t even dead.

Xavier leaned back in his chair. “Let me explain in terms you understand. That mission was classified.”

Lucky snorted. “That’s a cop out. I don’t trust you.”

The mercenary just shrugged and looked at Commander North, who scowled and said, “Mr. Smith wouldn’t be in this room if I didn’t trust him. He might be an arrogant ass, but he wouldn’t do anything that would put you guys in harm's way. I’m not going to go into detail on how I know him or the missions