SEALs of Summer 2: A Military Romance Superbundle by Lynn Raye Harris, Elle Kennedy, Anne Marsh, Delilah Devlin, Sharon Hamilton, Jennifer Lowery, Cora Seton, Elle James, S.M. Butler, Zoe York, Kimberley Troutte
Authors: Lynn Raye Harris, Elle Kennedy, Anne Marsh, Delilah Devlin, Sharon Hamilton, Jennifer Lowery, Cora Seton, Elle James, S.M. Butler, Zoe York, Kimberley Troutte
Ads: Link
Carter.
The admiral’s mouth was a grim line. “You’re the best fit, Dane.”
Dane’s gut tightened. “Because my dad is General Erikson, you mean.”
Mendez nodded. “Doesn’t hurt. You know the Army. Understand it.”
“I joined the Navy. I’m not interested in the Army. Sir .”
Mendez’s look could best be described as disgusted. For some reason, that made Dane feel contrite. He cleared his throat and stared at the wall behind the colonel’s head, not liking that this man could reduce him to feeling like a puny child in his father’s home.
Just like old times.
Mendez’s tone, when he spoke again, was conversational. But Dane didn’t kid himself that the man was as mild mannered as he appeared. No, there was steel in that tone and steel in his eyes.
“So you don’t care for the Army. I don’t much care for the Navy. But here’s the thing, son. We’re in this together. We’re fighting for the same goddamn thing, and if I need a SEAL team on my roster, I’m getting one. You can come willingly, or you can come with a grudge. Your choice. But you are coming. So pack your gear and get your ass up to Maryland. I’ll expect you at oh seven hundred the day after tomorrow. Any questions?”
“What about my team?”
“They’ll get their orders. In the meantime, you can come and get cozy with us while you wait. We won’t hurt you, I promise.”
Dane wanted to say something sarcastic. He very wisely didn’t. The colonel was yanking his chain at this point. He’d set himself up for it, so he could hardly blame the man. “Yes, sir.”
“Excellent.” The colonel pulled his cap from his belt as he turned toward the door. “Welcome to HOT, Lieutenant Erikson. We hope you enjoy the ride.”
Chapter Two
‡
T he colonel hadn’t been kidding that the facility was state of the art. It took about half the morning to get clearance, a Common Access Card, and all the codes and various protocols needed to enter and exit on his own power, but finally Dane had everything and found himself in a locker room staring at a group of faces that looked at him curiously. There was no hostility, which he found encouraging.
“You the frogman?” one of the dudes asked.
“You the ground pounder?” Dane returned.
One of the other guys snorted. “Yeah, that’s Iceman all right. He pounds the ground pretty regularly. When he’s not pounding a certain senator’s daughter.”
“Shut up, fuckhead,” the one named Iceman growled. “That’s my fiancée you’re talking about.”
“Sorry, Ice. Couldn’t resist.”
“You’d better be sorry or I’ll pound your face for you. Then what, pretty boy?”
Dane turned away and opened the locker he’d been assigned. All his gear was there. He didn’t know what the hell he was supposed to do with any of it while here, but he supposed Colonel Mendez would waste no time in letting him know.
“Hey, frogman, we didn’t mean to insult you or anything,” the second guy said, and Dane turned around again.
The man walked over and held out his hand. “Chase Daniels. Welcome to HOT.”
Dane eyed the guy for a second before he gripped the offered hand. “Dane Erikson.”
They engaged in that age-old ritual guys have of squeezing the daylights out of each other before they let go again.
The other guys in the room stood and came over to thrust out hands. After introductions and handshakes all around, the bones in Dane’s hand felt decidedly bruised. He couldn’t tell if they’d done it on purpose or if they were being nice. Though he nearly laughed to think of a roomful of Special Ops warriors being nice.
But they were a brotherhood, even if they were different services. SEALs worked with other services on operations. Dane had worked with Delta Force, Marine Force Recon, Air Force PJs, the CIA, ATF, and DEA in the past.
But he’d never worked with HOT. Hell, he hadn’t thought they existed. If Delta Force was the Army’s secretive arm, then HOT was their
The admiral’s mouth was a grim line. “You’re the best fit, Dane.”
Dane’s gut tightened. “Because my dad is General Erikson, you mean.”
Mendez nodded. “Doesn’t hurt. You know the Army. Understand it.”
“I joined the Navy. I’m not interested in the Army. Sir .”
Mendez’s look could best be described as disgusted. For some reason, that made Dane feel contrite. He cleared his throat and stared at the wall behind the colonel’s head, not liking that this man could reduce him to feeling like a puny child in his father’s home.
Just like old times.
Mendez’s tone, when he spoke again, was conversational. But Dane didn’t kid himself that the man was as mild mannered as he appeared. No, there was steel in that tone and steel in his eyes.
“So you don’t care for the Army. I don’t much care for the Navy. But here’s the thing, son. We’re in this together. We’re fighting for the same goddamn thing, and if I need a SEAL team on my roster, I’m getting one. You can come willingly, or you can come with a grudge. Your choice. But you are coming. So pack your gear and get your ass up to Maryland. I’ll expect you at oh seven hundred the day after tomorrow. Any questions?”
“What about my team?”
“They’ll get their orders. In the meantime, you can come and get cozy with us while you wait. We won’t hurt you, I promise.”
Dane wanted to say something sarcastic. He very wisely didn’t. The colonel was yanking his chain at this point. He’d set himself up for it, so he could hardly blame the man. “Yes, sir.”
“Excellent.” The colonel pulled his cap from his belt as he turned toward the door. “Welcome to HOT, Lieutenant Erikson. We hope you enjoy the ride.”
Chapter Two
‡
T he colonel hadn’t been kidding that the facility was state of the art. It took about half the morning to get clearance, a Common Access Card, and all the codes and various protocols needed to enter and exit on his own power, but finally Dane had everything and found himself in a locker room staring at a group of faces that looked at him curiously. There was no hostility, which he found encouraging.
“You the frogman?” one of the dudes asked.
“You the ground pounder?” Dane returned.
One of the other guys snorted. “Yeah, that’s Iceman all right. He pounds the ground pretty regularly. When he’s not pounding a certain senator’s daughter.”
“Shut up, fuckhead,” the one named Iceman growled. “That’s my fiancée you’re talking about.”
“Sorry, Ice. Couldn’t resist.”
“You’d better be sorry or I’ll pound your face for you. Then what, pretty boy?”
Dane turned away and opened the locker he’d been assigned. All his gear was there. He didn’t know what the hell he was supposed to do with any of it while here, but he supposed Colonel Mendez would waste no time in letting him know.
“Hey, frogman, we didn’t mean to insult you or anything,” the second guy said, and Dane turned around again.
The man walked over and held out his hand. “Chase Daniels. Welcome to HOT.”
Dane eyed the guy for a second before he gripped the offered hand. “Dane Erikson.”
They engaged in that age-old ritual guys have of squeezing the daylights out of each other before they let go again.
The other guys in the room stood and came over to thrust out hands. After introductions and handshakes all around, the bones in Dane’s hand felt decidedly bruised. He couldn’t tell if they’d done it on purpose or if they were being nice. Though he nearly laughed to think of a roomful of Special Ops warriors being nice.
But they were a brotherhood, even if they were different services. SEALs worked with other services on operations. Dane had worked with Delta Force, Marine Force Recon, Air Force PJs, the CIA, ATF, and DEA in the past.
But he’d never worked with HOT. Hell, he hadn’t thought they existed. If Delta Force was the Army’s secretive arm, then HOT was their
Similar Books
