Shadow in the Desert (Shadow SEALs #3) - Becca Jameson

Acknowledgments

So many thanks to KaLyn Cooper for teaming up with me on this project to write overlapping books! It was so much fun working with her. I can’t wait to dig into our spinoff series, Holt Agency, where we will give all the rescued SEALs in this book their own stories.

To the entire Shadow SEALs team of authors—you all rock! I love you guys.

About the Book

After a disastrous career-ending mission, he never expected to be sent back into the shadows.

For months Ajax has been languishing on his sister’s couch, drowning himself in beer and whiskey. It was the only way to bury the pain of losing his entire SEAL team during a mission he does not remember. Until he discovers everything he’s been told about that day was a lie. Now he'll jump on the first flight to Ethiopia with Ryker—his best friend, teammate, and foster brother—to rescue the rest of their team.

Serena has a heart of gold and a desire to help people. She’s never physically met the woman she works for, but she knows every job she does saves lives and corrects injustices. Serena’s task is to dole out assignments, be the liaison. Participating in the missions themselves has never been required…until now. Her history has made her vital to the mission.

Serena isn’t prepared for the brooding man who looks like he’s going to take down the next person he sees with his eyes alone. Nor is she prepared for the way his intensity makes her feel things she never expected in this lifetime.

Ajax is not pleased that Serena will be accompanying them. She doesn’t belong in a war zone. But when the slight woman flattens Ajax on his back on day one, he has a change of heart. Maybe she’s not as soft as she appears. He needs her help, and she needs him. But will her presence endanger the entire mission?

Chapter 1

Ajax was running a few minutes late, so he took the stairs two at a time instead of the elevator. He was only going to the second floor of this D.C. office building, and he wasn’t at all sure why he even gave a fuck if he was late.

He had no idea who he was meeting with or why. In fact, he wasn’t sure what compelled him to bother showing up today, except that he had nothing else to do, so why not?

As he pushed through the door that led from the stairwell into the hallway, he paused to catch his breath and straighten his shirt. He hated that he was slightly out of breath because he’d let himself lounge a bit too much for the past few months. He was uncomfortable in his clothes for the same reason. His khaki pants were a bit tight and his blue button-down shirt was annoying his neck. He wore it untucked because…well, mostly because again, he didn’t give a fuck.

He’d put a half-assed effort into looking presentable, but that had not included a shave or a haircut, nor had it included a tie.

He shouldn’t have felt uncomfortable dressed like this. He’d spent seventeen years in the Navy for heaven’s sake. He was used to being starched and straight. But it had been three months since he’d last donned his uniform, so he was out of practice.

Who was he kidding? For most of those three months, he’d lounged around in his sister’s den wearing sweatpants and T-shirts. He’d drank far more than his share of beer, and he shuddered to think how many bottles of Jack.

“What the fuck am I even doing here?” he muttered to himself as he drew in a breath and headed for office number 212.

It didn’t take long to find. It was three doors down on the right. He narrowed his gaze as he found the number on the door. Nothing else. No business name, nothing. The other offices in the hallway had placards on the door indicating what company they were.

For a moment, he stood rooted to his spot, hands on his hips, staring at the door and then glancing around. If there had been another human in the hallway, he would have asked them if they knew anything about this office. There was no window, so he couldn’t even peer inside.

Unease crept up his spine, causing him to lift an arm and rub the back of his neck. “Shit,” he muttered. “This is by far the stupidest thing I have ever done.” He didn’t have nearly enough details about why he was here