SEAL on a Mission - Paige Tyler Page 0,1

to name a few.

At the end of the day, the politics didn’t really matter. They needed to stop this weapons deal before the drone made it into terrorist hands, where it would disappear into the vast deserts of central Africa until it showed up at the site of a horrific terrorist attack.

Wes sat up straighter when he saw several men creeping through the night toward the buildings below. The SOG operatives were making their move.

“Joe won’t like it, but I don’t give a shit,” Holden muttered. “We’re moving in closer. If something goes wrong, they’d all be dead long before we could get down there.” He looked at Wes, half of his face hidden by his NVG’s. “You and Noah take the right. Sam and I will go left.”

Smart, Wes thought. By approaching the buildings from two sides, they’d avoid putting each other in a crossfire situation.

Giving Noah a nod, Wes led the way downhill, moving as quickly and carefully as possible as he headed for the low rock wall surrounding the group of buildings on three sides and crouched down. They were close enough to help Joe and the rest of the SOG guys, but far enough away that no one would hear them.

Noah dropped to a knee beside him. “What’s going on with you and Kyla?” he whispered. “Have you finally gotten off the fence and asked her out.”

Wes did a double take. Even though Noah was wearing NVG’s, Wes could still see the curiosity on his friend’s face. “Seriously? Do you really think this is the time to be talking about my social life…or lack thereof?”

Noah shrugged as Joe announced over the radio that they were in position and waiting to move in. “What? You got something else you’d rather talk about while we wait for the shooting to start?”

Wes hesitated, floundering to come up with any other topic of conversation before letting out a sigh. If he wasn’t wearing a helmet, he would have run a hand through his hair in frustration. Thoughts of the beautiful, dark-haired grad student he was seriously into had a way of doing that to him lately. Oh, hell. Might as well address the proverbial elephant in the desert.

“No, I haven’t asked her out yet.”

Over the radio, Joe announced he and his guys they were picking up the sound of voices from the biggest of the three buildings.

“Why not?” Noah demanded. “Dude, you’ve been living in the friend zone for a frigging millennium. I thought you finally decided to go for it.”

Okay, maybe saying it had been a millennium was extreme. But it had been a long time. All he could so was shrug. “I did, but it isn’t that easy.”

Noah let out a snort. “It seems pretty easy to me. You’re attracted to Kyla and want to ask her out. What’s so complicated about it?”

“Actually, complicated doesn’t come close to covering it.” Wes sighed. “Kyla’s got a lot of stuff going on right now. The trial against her father’s killer has dragged out way longer than anyone expected. She tries to put on a good face, but it kills me to see the toll it’s taking on her. Right now, it’s more important to be there for her when she needs to talk.”

Noah frowned. “I still don’t see what the problem is. The fact that she confides in you means you and Kyla have a connection, which would only get stronger if you took the next step and asked her out on a date.”

Wes would like to believe that, but…

“I don’t know, man,” he said. “What if she doesn’t think of me as anything more than a friend? If I ask her out and that’s not where Kyla wants our relationship to go, it might ruin our friendship, and right now, she needs me.”

Noah shook his head. “Damn, you really have it bad for this girl, don’t you? So bad that you’re willing to purposely trap yourself in the friend zone because you think it’s what she needs.”

Pretty much. But before Wes could tell him how right he was, Joe was on the radio again.

“It’s a trap!” the CIA agent shouted. “Get out! Now!”

Shit.

Wes and Noah were leaping over the low wall and running toward the buildings on the other side without waiting for orders from Holden. Over the radio, Wes could hear the sound of running feet and Joe saying something about a tape recorder and a set of speakers. Wes caught a glimpse of the SOG guys jumping