Above All Else: A Bad Boy Military Romance (Easy Team Book 2) (2 page)

              “She seems pretty interested to me,” the man announced, his toothy grin nothing more than a dirty leer.

              And that was all that was needed for the bar to erupt into a terrible brawl. Punches were thrown and bottles broken. Many of them wore brass knuckles and none of them had a problem with breaking jaws.

              I heard the girl scream before seeing her swallowed up by the mob.

              “Come on!” I said before the men of Easy Team immediately plunged into the crowd with the one mission of finding the girl.

              We weaved through the crowd methodically, easily throwing off men that jumped on us. I saw men reaching for their guns but it was such a small and crowded space, it was hard to even pull them out. Good.

              Last thing we needed was a bunch of ricocheting bullets in this mob.

              Finally I saw her.

              Huddled underneath a barstool, her hands over her head, she was kneeling on the ground. Broken bits of bottles surrounded her. I saw a thin line of blood running down her elbow, probably from a piece of stray glass that had flown by.

              My chest tightened at seeing her frightened and my body practically pulsed like a live wire at seeing her hurt.

              I pushed through and knelt down, covering her with my body.

              “Anyone call for a hero?” I teased, hoping to alleviate her fright.

              The girl raised her head. Her eyes, already so bright and luminous, looked even brighter as unshed tears glistened in them. Her mouth opened then closed, clearly unable to speak. A body slammed into the bar to our right. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and jerked at the sound.

              “Alright, come on, princess,” I said, gathering her up in my arms. “Let’s call it a night, shall we?”

              I scooped her up easily and as I stood, hunched my shoulders around her, trying to cocoon her in away from the mob. The men pushed and shoved around us but I used my height to my advantage and pulled us out of the small bar and out into the humid but at least peaceful night.

              I carried her away from the bar and towards a clump of trees a few feet away. I looked and saw the men of Easy Team slowly making their way out after having seen me safely grab the girl.

              Although she felt damn good in my arms, I wanted to have her stand so that I could make sure she hadn’t been hurt in any way.

              Gently, I put her on her feet. The girl sniffed and kept her head down. I figured she was feeling pretty foolish for the way she had dismissed my warnings. I smiled and stroked her back, not wanting her to be embarrassed.

              “Are you okay?” I asked. “Not hurt anywhere, right?”

              The girl kept her head down, staring at her feet. I sympathized with her embarrassment. She probably didn’t know just how dangerous this part of the world really was. I probably shouldn’t have been so harsh and forceful with her before.

              But all my warm and understanding feelings evaporated when the girl threw her head up. Her eyes were still glistening with unshed tears but this time, instead of looking at me with fear, she glared at me in annoyance.

              “I’m fine,” she said coldly. “No thanks to you!”

              My eyebrows shot up. “No thanks to me? You want to tell me then how you just got out of that bar? Floated out, did you?”

              She plunked her hands on her slim hips and glared at me, clearly not bothered at being dwarfed by my height. Seeing that look of haughty confidence, I was again struck by that sensation of seeing someone I knew. Where had I possibly seen this girl before?

“That fight wouldn’t have even happened if you had come in and played that weird charade with me. You riled them all up! You started it!”

              “What!” I was so blown away by her reasoning. “You must be out of your goddamn mind if you—”

              But before I could finish, two men suddenly appeared, running towards us.

              They both had on panicked faces before catching sight of us. They breathed out in relief, their expressions crumbling with relieved anxiety. I stared at them in confusion. Clearly, they were no physical threat but they looked just as odd and out of place as the girl did. They wore matching sports jackets, despite the heat and humidity, and wore dark sunglasses. Through a trained eye, it was easy enough to tell that they were security. But what kind of security? Who or what were they protecting?

              “Oh my god, Your High—”

              “How did you find me?” the girl interrupted them, clearly familiar with the men. Were these men protecting
her?
Well, if they were, they were doing a shitty job of it.

              “We were following reports of a girl of your likeness who had come into this part of the village,” one of the men reported. “But we must hurry and return to—”

              “Fine,” she said curtly, cutting them off.

              She gave me one final glare before saying, “Next time, try not to ruin a girl’s night out like that. You’d be doing all us females a favor.”

              And with that, she flipped that mass of wavy copper blonde hair over her shoulder, turned and followed the two men down the rocky unpaved road where there was clearly a jeep waiting for them.

              I stared after the ungrateful little brat with my mouth open. Did she not know how close she had come to danger tonight?

              Hawk’s hand slapped me on my shoulder, pulling me out of my reverie. I looked at my friend before snorting in exasperation. Hawk grinned.

              We’d be leaving soon for another mission. And this bar and this night will soon become nothing more than a memory.

             
Good,
I thought. I didn’t think I could handle such a little brat for more than one night. What a mouthy little spitfire. Ungrateful to boot.

              Well, at least she was safe. And if nothing else, the memory of that soft, curvy body would sustain me for many nights to come.

              I walked away that night feeling sorry for those two bodyguards. I could at least enjoy the girl through memory in one way that those bodyguards couldn’t: memories come with a mute button.

              And if there was ever a girl who needed one, it was her.

Chapter
Two
Xander

              I plunked down on the couch with a half groan, half sigh. Immediately, I threw myself down, an arm over my eyes, exhausted.

              “Hey, where am I supposed to sit?” Tennessee complained, swatting at my legs as I hogged the whole couch.

              “Floor looked pretty comfy,” I mumbled, my arm still over my eyes.

              I heard Ten snort above me.

              We were in what we called the rumpus room. It was the small room that led to the commander’s office. Usually we waited out here until we met with the commander.

              The room was pretty Spartan. Two well-worn couches faced each other over a scratched and marked coffee table. A TV stood in one corner on top of a stack of old crates.

              I looked over at the other couch where Hawk, Dozer, and Tweety sat, their heads leaning back against the couch, clearly already dozing.

              After three weeks in Colombia shutting down a drug cartel, we had then gone to El Salvador where there was a small but quickly growing army of insurgents that was going around killing and raping the local villages.

              Easy Team went where no armies or governments went. We went where diplomacy could not. And because we were an independent mercenary group, we went wherever our contracts called us.

              “When is the commander coming in again?” Tennessee asked. He actually was sitting on the floor, remote control in hand, as he flipping through the old TV.

              “Should be half an hour or so,” Hawk said. “We’re early.”

              It felt good to finally be back on American soil, no matter how seedy and broken down our part of America was. We were in an abandoned part of East L.A. Easy Team headquarters were in a nondescript brick building that from the outside looked like a derelict factory.

              But seeing that boarded up factory made my throat tightened with homesickness. I was glad to finally be back and get some rest.

              I threw my arm over my eyes and dozed for a bit before I woke up to a news report from the TV. Keeping my eyes closed, I half listened to the report.

              “…safe evacuation is the most important goal for the Crown Princess of Loranza, says a royalist. After the growing riots encouraged by the Loranza Minister of Defense and Royal Liaison, Argus Pryto, the situation has grown incredibly dangerous for the Princess and her guardian and uncle, Prince Gregory. As of right now, it seems the pair have succeeded in going underground since no reports have been made of the Princess’s whereabouts since yesterday morning.”

              “What’s this?” Tennessee asked, confused.

              “Remember?” Hawk said. “Before we left, there were reports of a possible coup in Loranza. But it looked like it would be a peaceful one.” I heard him grimace. “I guess that didn’t happen.”

              Though my eyes were closed, I could hear the shouts and protests of people in Loranza from the TV, angry and loud.

              “Why are you protesting the princess?” a reporter asked.

              “Because she does not care about her people!” a protestor answered immediately, his voice hoarse from shouting. “She uses State money to live a lavish lifestyle abroad while her countrymen suffer and starve! If she does not care about Loranza, Loranza does not care about her!”

              I heard the protestor spit. Well, clearly the princess was not going to win any popularity contests anytime soon. At least, not in her own country.

              I remembered hearing about the Loranzian princess. It was always in passing since the girl seemed to be a staple for the gossip magazines and I never read that trash. But Easy Team liked to keep a pulse on the feel for international politics and issues. It usually gave us an idea of where our next mission would be.

              And whenever the Loranzian princess was brought up, it was always in connection to some rumor. She was dating a Spanish prince. She caused scandal by being a cover model for a fashion magazine, something definitely not befitting royalty. She was being courted by Hollywood directors to possibly act. Essentially, the girl was an expert at getting attention. And never for the right reasons, it seemed. No wonder her people were so pissed.

              “Crown Princess Sofia and Prince Gregory’s whereabouts are as of yet unknown,” the anchorwoman said, returning to the screen. “They had made repeated appeals to several neighboring nations and to the UN but were unsatisfied with their slowness to respond. It’s now being reported that royal sympathizers have helped smuggle Princess Sofia and Prince Gregory to temporary safety.”

              I was about to doze again when I heard the protestors come back, shouting, “Slut! Whore! Step off the throne! Step off the throne!”

              “Damn,” Dozer said. “Those people are pissed.”

              “Well, not surprising,” Tweety said. “It sounds like she’s not too interested in leading. If that’s the case, maybe she should step down.”

              “Sounds like these people want more than her just stepping down,” Hawk said judiciously. “Sounds like these people want to have her head.”

              I was about to fall back asleep when I heard the front door open. Immediately, Tennessee turned off the TV.

              We quickly rose to our feet.

              Commander Wolffe walked in. The grizzled retired general was in his early sixties. You could tell with one look that that man had infantry written all over him. He had seen the massive benefit soldiers with special training could provide to the dark, forgotten corners of the world. So once elite soldiers decided to put down their uniforms, he recruited them, offering them a chance to make a difference in the world without any ties or government bureaucracy. And the offer was usually too good to pass up for most soldiers.

              At least, it definitely had been for me.

              “Glad to see you men back whole,” Commander Wolffe said. There was no hint of a smile on his craggy face but the men of Easy Team broke out into a grin in unison.

              “Yes, sir!” we all said.

              The commander nodded and then headed towards his office door.

              “Alright then. Why don’t we get started on the debriefing? I know that El Salvador in particular was a sticky mess,” he said, opening the door.

              Hawk stepped in first, leading the rest of us in, as we got ready to debrief the commander and to put these missions finally to rest amongst all the other successfully completed ones of the past.

***

              “Hawk, Bear,” the commander said as we all rose from our seats, debriefing over. “I want you two to stay behind. I’d like to have a word with you both.”

              The other men looked a bit confused by the order but nodded in farewell to the commander before heading out, ready to find some rest in a nice clean bed for the first time in three months.

              “Sir?” Hawk asked, taking his seat again. I sat down as well.

              Commander Wolffe sat down again behind his large and worn walnut desk. “There’s another mission for us.”

              Hawk and I looked at each other in surprise.

              We’ve had times when almost immediately after returning home, we’d had to go back out again for another mission. It didn’t happen often though because by the time we returned, we were usually exhausted and sometimes injured from our previous missions. It was dangerous to go off another mission right after without any rest.              

              Looking at Hawk now though, I knew he was thinking of more than just exhaustion or injury. He was thinking of his fiancée, Emilia. Ever since meeting Emilia, I noticed that it was harder and harder for Hawk to go out on missions. He missed her. And as much as I teased him about this, I was glad the captain had found a good woman.

              That wasn’t such an easy thing to do when you’re a mercenary. It was damn near impossible finding a woman who could understand the lifestyle of Easy Team. But Hawk had done it.

              And if I had to be totally honest, I was a little envious.

              “What’s the mission?” Hawk asked.

              Commander spread his hands across the desk. “Well,” he started, “it’s a bit of a departure from our normal M.O. But I was contacted by someone who needs protection.”

              “Protection?” Hawk repeated. I could see his mind already whirring with what that would mean. I immediately began thinking back on recent news coverage. While we had been down south, I had heard of a mayor in a town in Venezuela who was trying to clean up the streets and was falling under heavy threats by the local gangs in the area. Could he have called about protection? Or maybe it was that village in Brazil that was being threatened by drug cartels for their prime location near the jungle. They could definitely use some protection. And we’d done missions similar to both scenarios.

              “Yes, this person needs to stay out of sight and hidden for, at this moment, an indeterminate amount of time,” Commander Wolffe said. “It won’t be an easy mission given the attention this person normally receives.”

              “And who is the person?” Hawk asked.

              But before Commander Wolffe could answer, there was a loud, heavy knock at the front door.

              Hawk and I jerked in surprise but Commander Wolffe just rose to answer the front door. “They’re here.”

              We made a gesture to follow but Commander Wolffe put out a hand, telling us to stay put.

              We heard the commander answer the door. There was some muffled words we couldn’t make out before hearing their footsteps as they returned to the office. Counting the steps, it seemed like more than one person had come to visit us.

              “After you, Your Highness,” we heard Commander Wolffe say.

              Hawk and I immediately glanced at each other.
Highness?

              The door to the office opened and a tall, exhausted man appeared in the doorway. He was well dressed but his clothes were wrinkled and worn. It was clear the man had probably been sleeping in his clothes for the last few days.

              Then from around his left, another guest appeared.

              Loose copper blonde hair fell around her shoulders. Smudges of exhaustion marred her fair face. And even with her wrinkled loose dress, I could still see the hint of curves around her breasts and ass.

              It had been a little over a month since I had seen her and she had lost some weight since then. Her cheeks were a little sunken and I could see the exhaustion in the lines of her body.

              “You!” I exclaimed in surprise, rising to my feet.

My body ignited as if someone had turned on an engine within me. Although I still remembered her as a spoiled brat, I’d be lying if I were to say I hadn’t spent countless nights fantasizing about her pouty lips and her soft skin. I had fallen asleep to her curvy hips and her full breasts pressed against me night after night. She had somehow wormed her way deep into my mind and I couldn’t seem to shake her. And secretly, I didn’t want to.

              Commander Wolffe entered the room, gray brows raised in surprise. “Do you know the Prince and Crown Princess of Loranza?”

              I was about to say, yes, I did know the brat who was trying to party it up in Colombia and nearly killed herself doing so, but I saw her look at me with those deep blue eyes. Her eyes widened slightly as me as if to say, “
Don’t
say anything.”

              I quirked a brow at her. “No,” I answered, giving a little incline of the head to the princess.
I won’t,
I replied to her with a similar gaze.
For now.
“I just recognized her from television.”

              “Ah,” Commander Wolffe said, understanding. “I see.”

              Now I realized why I had felt like I had seen her somewhere before. I had seen photos of Princess Sofia of Loranza on various magazines here and there over the years. But I hadn’t been able to place her in Colombia. I had been too distracted by her wide eyes and pinchable ass.

              No wonder the people of Loranza were rioting. While their economy was in the tank, the princess had been off in Colombia, trying to score free drinks off of thugs and gangsters.

              I quietly rolled my eyes and saw the princess’s own eyes widen in offense at my silent insult.

              But Prince Gregory had not noticed and neither had the commander.

              “Please, Prince Gregory, take a seat,” Commander Wolffe said, gesturing towards the vacant chairs that had been left by the other Easy Team men.

              Prince Gregory and Princess Sofia sat down, both looking quite uneasy and extremely tired. They must’ve been traveling for days on straight without any rest to get to America like this. And they had clearly done a good job since nobody was able to report their location.