Bad Boy Christmas: Box Set by Cheyenne McCray Page A

she took a step toward him.
    He shrugged and started to turn away from her, toward camp.
    She moved in front of him and slugged him in his eye. She followed it by ramming her knee as hard as she could into his balls.
    Brick dropped to his knees with a pained shout.
    Janie smiled with the smallest amount of satisfaction, turned, and headed back toward camp.
    * * *
    Adrenaline heightened Janie’s senses as she slipped silently through the dark jungle and gripped the stock of her Barrett 82A1 .50 cal high capacity semi-automatic rifle. A kidnapped twelve-year-old kid’s life was at stake.
    And his sonofabitch uncle, Brick, was somewhere in the jungle, unaware of her presence.
    Despite his order that she wasn’t to accompany the rest of the team, she left not long after they did, following the men into the jungle.
    The snowy streets of New York City and all the Christmas shoppers and revelers were a world away from the jungle they were in. No matter what, they’d get the kid and get him to where he belonged—in a warm home with presents beneath the tree and not in some godforsaken place like this.
    Her body armor and utility belt were heavy but comforting as she moved forward. The IEDs—improvised explosive devices—as well as her dagger, Sig Sauer, a small flashlight, and extra ammo weighted her belt. Secured in her left boot was a petite but deadly knife and in her right was a second Sig, a model that was more easily concealed than her larger handgun.
    Occasionally she heard the men checking in with Brick, the obvious team leader on this mission, by giving their statuses in low voices. Miniscule earpieces were secured firmly just outside each operative’s ear canal, including her own. The individual high-tech earpieces were programmed to transmit only its operative’s voice, keeping background noise to a minimum.
    It was possible lives would be lost tonight—it was almost a given in a situation where their team would be storming a compound like this. But no way could she allow that kid or anyone on the team to be among the casualties.
    She was one of the best of the best at what she did, as were the four men ahead of her. She never allowed doubt to enter her thoughts. Doubt could get you killed.
    And there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that they would get the kid home in time for Christmas. Holiday postcard scenes of snow, sleighs, Christmas trees, and carolers flashed through her mind. That was something she’d never had and she wanted to make sure Brandon did.
    Through her night vision goggles, everything glowed green-yellow, the goggles assisting her in slipping among the dense foliage, through complete darkness. She easily blended with the night in her black fatigues, her blond hair stuffed under a cap, black paint streaking her face.
    She eased under a rubber plant’s thick, low hanging leaves, her booted feet silent on the sodden jungle floor as she made her way toward their target.
    Somewhere not too far ahead of her, Brick moved as easily and quietly as she did despite his intimidating size. She was so angry with him that her blood felt like lava in her veins. And she was so furious at herself because she was still unbelievably aware of the potent sexuality of his presence even though she couldn’t see him, couldn’t hear him. He was probably a good two hundred yards ahead of her.
    Despite the distance, Janie could almost swear she felt his magnetism beside her. She imagined catching his scent and her belly flipped as she remembered the way he’d felt inside her.
    The conflicting emotions were driving her out of her mind. She’d driven him out of his mind enough to fuck her up against a tree to get her “out of his system.” She wondered if he had. Unfortunately he wasn’t out of hers.
    She elbowed vines aside while she held back a smirk at the fact the asshole now had a black eye and had walked with a limp for the rest of the day. He seemed fine now, at least where the limp was concerned, which was a