Before the Storm, page 1
Navy SEAL Xavier Rivera visits historic Lake Olympus Lodge on a scouting mission for a top secret training exercise. In the lodge, he meets smart, attractive park archaeologist Audrey Kendrick. There are many reasons he should ignore the immediate, simmering attraction between them, but in the heat of the moment he has no restraint.
* * *
Audrey is drawn to the secretive man who helps her when she’s in a bind, and she can’t resist taking a chance on a night of passion. But their one red hot night together leads to secrets and betrayal…
Contents
Books By Rachel Grant
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
About the Author
Books By Rachel Grant
Evidence: Under Fire
Into the Storm
Trust Me
* * *
Evidence Series
Concrete Evidence
Body of Evidence
Withholding Evidence
Night Owl
Incriminating Evidence
Covert Evidence
Cold Evidence
Poison Evidence
Silent Evidence
Winter Hawk
Tainted Evidence
Broken Falcon
* * *
Fiona Carver Series
Dangerous Ground
Crash Site
* * *
Flashpoint Series
Tinderbox
Catalyst
Firestorm
Inferno
* * *
Romantic Mystery
Grave Danger
* * *
Paranormal Romance
Midnight Sun
22.7-a
Chapter One
Lake Olympus Lodge, Olympic National Park
November
The lodge was perfect. The building, the terrain—even the fact that it was situated in a temperate rainforest—was a closer match than Xavier Rivera had dared to hope for. The best part, however, was that the entire historic hotel complex shut down for four months every winter, before the narrow and twisty mountain road turned treacherous with black ice. The final guests of the season would check out the Sunday after Thanksgiving and wouldn’t return until late March.
The team would need access in January—the earlier the better—so they’d have to fast-track the approval process.
He leaned back in his seat and scanned the great room of the stately old building. It was full at five p.m. A family-friendly promotion combined with unseasonably warm weather just weeks before closure had filled the hotel to capacity. Small children were gathered for story time in front of the grand fireplace that dominated the center of the lakeside wall. A park employee dressed as Smokey the Bear read from a children’s picture book.
His gaze wandered from the children to the line at the check-in desk, which zigzagged to accommodate more than a dozen people in the small area beneath the curved grand staircase. A woman at the end of the queue caught his eye. Her dark hair was pulled back in a disheveled braid, and it appeared her clothes and skin were streaked with dirt. If she’d been hiking, she must’ve run into trouble to be so filthy, but thankfully for her, he didn’t spot any noticeable injuries.
She was attractive in an earthy sort of way—but then, she was covered in dirt, so it was no mystery why that descriptor came to mind. Still, he found her striking. He forced himself to pull his gaze away. He wasn’t here for a hookup. He was here to scout Lake Olympus Lodge as a location for a team of SEALs to prepare for a mission, and it was damn near perfect.
As he looked through the high windows to the forest behind the nearly hundred-year-old structure, he could envision cold, dark rain and a team infiltrating the woods, leaving no trace.
His blood pumped at the thought of the potential exercise. For the initial run, he’d have the team arrive as if it were the real op. If they could get a waiver from the state, they’d do a HALO jump into the lake. The lake would be about thirty-five degrees Fahrenheit in January, a brutal start for a mission, but necessary for what the team needed to practice. They’d have only one shot when the actual mission was a go.
He rolled his shoulder to loosen the ache that surged just at the thought of jumping from a plane. No HALO for him, ever again. He was still coming to grips with that.
Law enforcement park ranger Jae-jin Son—not in uniform because this was his day off—returned from the bar and set a beer in front of Xavier before dropping into a seat next to him.
Xavier thanked his friend and picked up the cold beer, a welcome treat after hiking the grounds for hours on the unseasonably warm day. It was hard to imagine the lodge would close in a month due to icy roads, but temperatures could change suddenly around the lake, nestled as it was in foothills about thirty miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. The rain came in from the ocean, then slammed into Mt. Olympus, the west peak of which was the wettest place in the mainland United States. All that rain placed the lodge deep in the heart of a moss-filled temperate rainforest.
He had almost a month before the lodge would close. If they could get the permit process going right away, they might be able to start training here in early January. To Jae, he said, “We’ll need to start the thirty-day comment period asap.”
Jae nodded. “A few of the inholding landowners will object, but most don’t visit their cabins once the lodge, store, gas station, and restaurant close. Too isolated and too much work.”
“I’m counting on that,” Xavier said. Inholding landowners could be a problem. The two dozen families with cabins on the lake were the lucky owners of property that had been private land before ONP was designated a national park. They had easements with the park that would allow the Navy access should Xavier’s plan be approved, and they’d be compensated because the Navy would require all inholding families to vacate their cabins while the SEALs ran practice ops in the forest around the lodge and lake.
Xavier glanced around the busy great room. “Any inholding landowners here tonight?”
Jae gave a slow nod and ever-so-slightly cocked his head to the right. “Male, early seventies, thinning gray hair, green shirt, playing checkers with a tribal elder. His name is Jeb McCutcheon. He’ll be a problem. He’s vocal about every proposal ONP makes and tries to use environmental regs to stop all new trails. Tourists set one foot on his property and he calls law enforcement. He hates the park, but loves having us police his property.”
“If he hates the park, why’s he in the lodge?”
Jae shrugged. “The lodge predates the park, I guess. But also, the elder he’s playing checkers with is George Shaw. They’ve been friends for decades. Both served in Vietnam a few years apart. George has an inholding cabin up in the woods—we’re talking rustic in the extreme, and it’s not even close to a road—and for the last three years, he’s lived there year-round. He’s a master carver and does demonstrations for tourists in exchange for having full-time access to the woodshop that’s next to the blacksmith shop on the north end of the lodge complex.”
Xavier frowned and kept his voice low. “He wouldn’t be able to use the shop during the trainings.”
“I hear George’s family convinced him to winter on the reservation this year, so he’ll be moving out when the lodge closes after Thanksgiving. And even if he changes his mind, the payout for vacating for a few weeks will probably sway him. January can see some nasty weather, and it’s a long, cold walk between cabin and woodshop. That’s why his family convinced him to move back to the reservation in the first place.”
Jae nodded toward the other side of the room. “Elderly Black couple sitting on the sofa. Harriet and Daniel Jamison own a cabin a few doors down from the yurt. They won’t object. Given their ages, they never visit once the weather turns. This is probably their last weekend here until next June.”
The Jamisons looked to be only slightly younger than the lodge, and Xavier was impressed they were here at all. Life goal: live to be ninety and still weekend at cabins on lakes in national parks.
He rolled his shoulder again, the dull ache from his injury making itself known. After nearly dying eighteen months ago, he should probably just stick to the first part of the goal: live to be ninety.
He watched the couple, noting how Harriet touched Daniel’s hand and smiled, her expression soft and warm. “How long have they been together?” he asked.
“Sixty-seven, maybe sixty-eight years?” Jae waved toward the restaurant. “A few years ago, they had a big party here to celebrate their sixty-fifth.”
Xavier watched the couple, wondering at what they’d been through in that many years. What would it be like to have someone stand by you? For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. Xavier had thought a lot about those words after being dumped while in the hospital.
He was lousy when it came to relationships. Forty years old and only a few long-term relationships under his belt. It had been foolish of him to believe he and Lynn had something different. But still, part of him envied couples like the Jamisons or SEALs like Chris Flyte, married to the love of his life for eight years. Somehow, Chris made the team lifestyle and marriage work. Paul Cohen and his wife, Carly, were another example of a couple who’d navigated military life with ease.
Xavier rolled his shoulder yet again. If he lived to be ninety, he still had fifty years left. Plenty of time to find someone if that’s what he really wanted. Or he could just get laid and leave his heart out of it.
Jae leaned close, and his voice dropped to an even quieter whisper than he’d used before. “See the woman in line for the check-in desk? Backpack, hair in a messy braid? That’s Audrey Kendrick. She’s ONP’s park archaeologist.”
Xavier took in the woman he’d noted earlier. She was at the front of the line now, with her back to them both. “Park archaeologist?” That at least explained the dirt.
Jae nodded. “Yeah. Her job matters to you because the lodge is historic and surrounded by archaeological sites. Historic and cultural resources will likely have more bearing than the environmental issues for your training. Odds are, Audrey will be the one to have final say over your permit.”
“We’ve had similar issues for trainings in state parks with the State Historic Preservation Officer,” Xavier said. “You think Audrey will object?”
“Hard to say. She cares deeply about cultural resources, but she’s reasonable. I think as long as you make sure to highlight how you plan to protect historic and archaeological resources, you have a good shot.”
He needed more than a good shot. He needed a sure thing.
Xavier alternated between watching her and scanning the room. Situational awareness was a habit he couldn’t break. Given that he was here to scout a location for a top-secret SEAL exercise, it was important he remain on guard for anyone paying undue interest in him. He and Jae were both in their civvies, looking for all the world like two tourists, here for a weekend of hiking and kayaking amongst the fall colors of the remote Olympic Peninsula park.
The park archaeologist stepped away from the registration counter and turned to scan the room, her expression weary.
Again, he couldn’t help but notice she was attractive with her broad cheeks and lightly freckled skin. She looked tired. Not like she’d just finished a short, hard workout, but like she’d just endured a long day of physical labor.
He’d always found that kind of stamina appealing, and the dirt on her skin and clothes added a rugged air. This woman wasn’t afraid to get dirty.
As an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed camping, hiking, rock climbing, white-water rafting, and whatever else he could find to keep himself outdoors, he’d always been drawn to women who shared those interests. For all he knew, she liked none of those things—she could just be dirty after a day of digging—but still, she looked like a hiker. And that was always a turn-on for him.
But then, he hadn’t dated or even attempted a random hookup since Lynn dumped him, so he tended to get turned on by a stiff breeze these days. Eighteen months was a long time to go without.
The woman spotted Jae, and her face lit up like a firework. Damn. That made her even more appealing, but she obviously had the hots for his friend. Grinning broadly, she made a beeline for their table in the middle of the room.
“There something between you two?” Xavier asked in a whisper.
“Nope. Just close friends and colleagues.”
The look on her face argued otherwise, but oh well. None of his business. “We can’t discuss why I’m here.”
Jae nodded. “I know.”
Xavier had been granted special permission to discuss the exercise with Jae, as the ranger had triggered Xavier’s notice of the lodge as a potential practice ground in the first place, but until the thirty-day comment period began with official notification to the park and inholding landowners, no one else outside the Navy could know about the proposed action.
The archaeologist reached their table. Up close, she was even grubbier and more attractive. Who knew he had such a thing for dirt?
Both he and Jae stood to greet her. Jae kissed her cheek and turned to introduce Xavier, but before he could speak, she said, “Jae, my dearest, bestest friend, I will name my firstborn child after you if you have a room and will let me use your shower.”
Jae smiled—his real smile, which included dimples that, back in high school, all the girls had swooned over. “Wish I could help you, Aud, but I don’t have a room. Heading back to Port Angeles in a few.”
She frowned and let out a heavy sigh, the light and joy on her face extinguished. “Bummer.” She turned to meet Xavier’s gaze. “Sorry for interrupting. I’ll let you two enjoy your beers.”
He should let her walk away. After all, talking to her before the proposal was submitted could be a mistake. A conflict of interest, even. But still, he found himself saying, “Join us. Please.” He waved at the empty chair at their small table.
“Audrey Kendrick,” Jae said, “this is Xavier Rivera, an old friend.”
“Xavier, with a Z or an X?” she asked as he took her offered hand in both of his.
Her fingers were rough, and he guessed she’d been digging today. His sex-starved brain couldn’t help but flash on an image of her roughened hands on his bare skin, and he had to force himself to remember her question as he willed his cock to stay down.
“With an X,” he said, “but not Ex-zavier. Just the Z sound.” Sometimes, for simplicity, he wished his parents had gone with the original plan and named him Javier, but having a name that began with X had more benefits than the occasional mispronunciation. It wasn’t dimples like Jae had, but in high school, chicks had dug his name. And in the Navy, there was no end to the badass nicknames he’d been given.
“Nice to meet you,” she said. “I should go. I don’t want to intrude. Plus, I’m Pigpen from the Peanuts comics, a cloud of dirt billowing around me.”
“Nonsense,” Jae said. “Sit.”
“Please,” Xavier added. “Jae was just telling me you’re the ONP archaeologist, which might be the coolest job I’ve never heard of before. I didn’t know national parks have a designated archaeologist.”
“Not all parks do, but the bigger ones all at least have some sort of cultural resources and historic preservation program.” She dropped into a seat at their small table. “You’re sure you don’t mind?”
“You know I’d say so if I had a problem,” Jae said.
“Plus, you’re saving me from a lonely evening when he heads home,” Xavier added.
“You aren’t leaving too?” she asked.
He leaned back in his seat and slowly smiled. He couldn’t stop himself from letting his gaze slide down her face. She wasn’t conventionally beautiful—at least, not in the way of glamor and polish. She was the opposite, and so much more. Striking. Appealing. Utterly attractive in an earthy, athletic sort of way. The streaks of dirt on her skin reminded him of her plea to Jae. “Nope. I have a room here—complete with a shower and bathtub.”
She let out an excited little pant, then leaned forward and planted her chin on knitted fingers. “Tell me more.”
He chuckled. It didn’t appear she had a thing for Jae, but she definitely had a thing for men who could give her hot and cold running water. He’d enjoy it and not even feel conflicted.
He should probably be concerned about the permit application that would cross her desk in a few weeks’ time, but right now, he just wanted to sink into this rush of attraction. It wasn’t like this would go anywhere, and it would be good for him to flex his flirting muscles. After Lynn, he’d let them rust over.
Later, after Navy operations inside the park were complete, he’d get her number from Jae.
He leaned in, bringing their faces close. “Hot and cold knobs. Wand showerhead on a flexible hose for washing those hard-to-reach places. You’re welcome to borrow it, and it won’t even cost you naming rights for your firstborn child. All I ask is you join us for a drink and tell me about your job.”
“Deal,” she said without hesitation.
“Service is slow tonight, I’ll get you a beer from the bar,” Jae said, but as he stood, the waiter appeared, and he settled in his seat again.
After placing her order, she leaned back and studied them both. “So, how do you two know each other?”
“When I said ‘old friend,’ I meant very old friend,” Jae said. “Probably, what, thirty years?”
