Protecting the Future (SEAL of Protection Book 8), page 1
Protecting the Future
SEAL of Protection, Book 8
Susan Stoker
Contents
Blurb
Copyright
Guide to the SEALs
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Also by Susan Stoker
About the Author
Rescuing Rayne Chps 1&2
Wolf and his fellow SEAL team members have saved many lives, and been in even more harrowing situations, but their latest mission might prove the most difficult of all. Charged with rescuing American soldier, Sergeant Penelope Turner, from the clutches of ISIS, the men infiltrate the refugee camp where she’s believed to be held. The conditions are horrific, the search nearly impossible, but Penelope herself could prove the key to their success…if the SEALs can interpret her clues.
An unforgiving desert, perilous mountain terrain, a rising body count and insurgents on the hunt…all of this and more stands between the SEALs completing their mission and returning home to their women, left to bravely deal with fears of their own stateside.
Sometimes a mission is more than one team can handle. With a little help from newfound friends, the SEALS won’t stop until they’ve won the day. Failure is not an option.
** Protecting the Future is the 8th and final book in the Seal of Protection Series. Each book is a stand-alone, with no cliffhanger endings.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Susan Stoker
No part of this work may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by law.
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Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Cover Design by Chris Mackey, AURA Design Group
Edited by Kelli Collins & Missy Borucki
Manufactured in the United States
Created with Vellum
Guide to the SEALs:
Matthew “Wolf” Steel – Caroline Martin Steel
Christopher “Abe” Powers – Alabama Ford Smith Powers
Adopted Daughters: Brinique & Davisa
Hunter “Cookie” Knox – Fiona Storme Knox
Sam “Mozart” Reed – Summer James Pack Reed
Daughter: April
Faulkner “Dude” Cooper – Cheyenne Nicole Cotton Cooper
Unborn Daughter: As yet unnamed
Kason “Benny” Sawyer – Jessyka Allen Sawyer
Daughter: Sara
Son: John
John “Tex” Keegan – Melody Grace Keegan
Adopted Iraqi Daughter: Akilah
Patrick Hurt – Julie Lytle
Prologue
Our top story tonight is the kidnapping of four service members by the terrorist group ISIS in Syria. A new video has surfaced showing who is believed to be Sergeant Penelope Turner, once again declaring her allegiance to Allah and warning the United States and Great Britain that if they don’t pull all troops out of the Middle East, the wrath of Allah will be brought down upon all Americans and Brits.
Sergeant Turner, along with three other Army personnel, was kidnapped about a month ago while she was on a humanitarian mission in Turkey. The refugee camps on the Syrian border have swelled to hundreds of thousands of people trying to escape the unrest in Syria. There’s no running water and not a lot of food. The conditions are primitive, at best. The Turkish forces are doing all they can to deal with the influx of people, but it’s simply not enough. The President authorized American troops to go in and assist with the situation. Turner and the other soldiers were kidnapped while patrolling a particularly dangerous section of the camp. Unfortunately, the men who were taken along with Turner were found two days later; they’d been strung up on crosses and burned alive.
There had been no word of Turner’s fate until two weeks ago when the first video surfaced. She was wearing a veil, and while not much of her could be seen, officials say she sounded good and looked like she hadn’t been heavily tortured.
Her fate is still unknown, and as of now, the government has no idea where she’s being held. They continue to reassure her family that they are doing all they can to find and rescue her. Stay tuned for an interview with Penelope’s brother, Cade Turner, a firefighter from San Antonio, Texas.
Chapter One
Caroline lay in bed with one arm slung over her husband’s chest and idly ran her fingers over his nipple. They were both content and sated after making love for the second time that night.
“Do you think they’ll ever find her?”
“Who, darlin’?”
“Penelope. That woman who was kidnapped in the Middle East.”
Matthew “Wolf” Steel shifted under his wife and kissed her forehead lightly. “Probably not.” He felt Caroline sigh as she turned her head into his chest and nuzzled farther into him.
“I can’t help but imagine myself in her place,” Caroline said sadly.
“Ice, I can’t—”
“No, I know. It’s not the same thing really at all, but every time they’ve shown that video of her and how she’s probably being forced to say all those horrible things, all I can think of is that her tone doesn’t match the look in her eyes.”
“What do you mean?” Wolf asked, genuinely curious.
“She sounds meek and serious, but I swear, Matthew, her eyes look pissed. As if she’s just waiting for her chance to turn around and kill all those men who are keeping her captive. And I see it because I know just how she feels. When I was kidnapped and that jerk was filming me, I was saying one thing, but deep inside felt something way different. And I was doing everything I could to send a message to you, and whoever else might watch that video, through my eyes. I know, it was stupid to think you could actually read what I wanted to say in my eyes, but inside I was thinking about how much I loved you. I was trying to tell you where I was, and I was pleading for you to come and find me. I could be wrong, but it’s obvious, at least to me, that Penelope Turner is trying to say many of the same things.”
Wolf turned until Caroline was on her back and he loomed over her. He braced himself up on an elbow and brushed a strand of her dark hair behind her ear with his other hand. She grabbed his biceps and looked up at him with such love, he still had to pinch himself sometimes to make sure it was real.
Three years had passed since he’d made her his wife, and every day since then he thanked his lucky stars they’d found each other. She made him happier than he’d ever been in his life.
“Yeah, I saw it back then as I watched you on tape, and I see it in Sergeant Turner now.”
Caroline bit her lip, then asked, “Do you think they’re…hurting her?”
Wolf kept his voice low and tried to sound reassuring. “It’s hard to say. They’re certainly keeping her for a reason, probably because she’s small, blonde, and a woman. They want to force the world to pay more attention to them and take them seriously.”
“You mean the bombing of that wedding last month didn’t do it?” Caroline’s tone showed her irritation.
Wolf shook his head, amazed that he could fall in love with his wife more every time she opened her mouth. He loved that she didn’t take things at face value, that she felt deeply and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. “Unfortunately, no. They need something bigger than that. And kidnapping a group of Americans isn’t big, not like on the scale that 9/11 was, but if they keep the U.S. distracted—and putting a beautiful, petite woman on television and making her say anti-American and anti-British things is distracting—perhaps they can work their way up to another grand gesture.”
“I love you, Matthew.”
Wolf smiled down at Caroline, not surprised at her change in subject. “I love you too, Ice.”
“I’m also very proud of you.”
“Thank you, baby. You’ve done some pretty awesome things yourself in your research too.”
“I wasn’t done,” Caroline pouted, gripping Matthew’s arms tighter.
“Sorry,” Wolf chuckled. “Go ahead.”
“I’m proud of you, but if you
“I’m not gonna get kidnapped. I hate to say it, but those soldiers didn’t follow proper protocol. I’m not sure what happened, but they obviously separated from their unit in that refugee camp and didn’t have backup. I don’t know if they were lured away from the rest of their unit, if they simply didn’t think they were in danger, or even if they were ordered to patrol without proper procedure being followed, but you know the team and I are always very careful, Ice. We’d never willingly expose ourselves to danger.”
“Okay, I’m just saying.”
Wolf smiled, leaned over, and kissed Caroline. “What time is this thing tomorrow?”
Caroline smiled hugely and Wolf eased down next to her onto the mattress again, letting Caroline snuggle into his chest once more. He never got tired of her affectionate nature, and the way she would immediately throw a leg over his, and how she’d curl into his side the second he lay down.
“Well, it’s supposed to start at two, but I’m sure the others will trickle in as they can get there. Jess is always late, but I can’t blame her. It has to suck trying to get two babies out and ready and gather up all the stuff she needs to bring with her. I swear, I’ve never seen so much baby stuff as she and Kason have!”
Wolf chuckled. “Yeah, and where did she get all that baby stuff?” He felt Caroline smile.
“Okay, me and the girls might have gone overboard two years ago, but Sara was the first baby born to any of us and we wanted to make sure Jess and Kason had everything they needed. Besides, it’s still getting plenty of use with John.”
“I think they certainly have everything they need, and then some,” Wolf said with a short laugh.
Caroline poked him. “Hush.”
They were silent for a moment, then Caroline asked softly, “Are you sorry we don’t have kids?”
“No.” Wolf’s answer was immediate and sincere. “I’ve never felt the urge to have kids like a lot of men have, and as I’ve told you before, I like having you to myself. If that makes me selfish, so be it.”
“You don’t get asked by the others when you’re having kids?”
“Nope. They know where I stand. And Ice, they’re our friends, they couldn’t give a shit if we have them or not, as long as we’re happy.”
“It’s just that…”
Wolf squeezed Caroline. “I know. We’ve been over this. Screw society. I know many people don’t think we’re normal if we don’t have kids. That we should be popping them out by now. But there’s no rule book that says we have to have children if we don’t want them. Besides, you’re kept busy with everyone else’s kids. I know you babysit every chance you get.”
“I love them, but I also love being able to give them back.”
Wolf smiled and kissed the top of Caroline’s head. “Go to sleep, baby. You have to work in the morning, I’ve got PT, and then we have to survive the craziness that will be Brinique and Davisa’s adoption party. I have a feeling you girls went overboard.”
Caroline didn’t answer, but Wolf felt her smile against him. Yup. They totally went overboard.
“Love you, Matthew.”
“Love you too, Ice.”
Chapter Two
Alabama Powers stood next to her friend, Summer Reed. Summer held her sleeping daughter, April, in her arms and they watched Brinique and Davisa screeching and jumping in the playhouse they’d rented for the party.
“They seem to be doing good,” Summer said quietly.
“Yeah. For the most part they are,” Alabama said easily. “Brinique sometimes still cries at night and Davisa has the occasional nightmare, but they’ve eased up a lot over the last few months.”
“You’ve done an awesome thing, Alabama.”
Alabama shrugged. “I’ve always wanted children, but growing up the way I did, I knew there were tons of kids out there who needed to be out of horrible home situations. Adoption is really the only way I want to have children.”
“I love that Christopher didn’t even blink when you told him you wanted to adopt.”
Alabama smiled and looked over at her husband. He was standing by the bounce house watching his girls with a protective stance she knew would never really fade. “He didn’t. I brought up fostering to him first, and he was a hundred percent in from the get-go. I know I’ve told you this already, but the very first call we got for placement was for Brinique and Davisa. Their mom was a drug addict and they were left to fend for themselves most of the time.”
Alabama turned to Summer, getting worked up in her annoyance, repeating a story that Summer had heard many times. “When Child Protective Services showed up at their house for the first time, Brinique was only four and she was wearing a T-shirt of her mom’s because she didn’t have any clothes of her own. She stood over a naked Davisa and screeched, not letting the male officer get anywhere close to her.” Alabama shuddered. “I can’t stand to think about why, at four, Brinique felt she had to protect her three-year-old sister from a man.”
Summer laid her hand on Alabama’s shoulder. “Easy, girl. You’ve got them now. They’re safe.”
Alabama smiled at Summer and stated fiercely, “Yes, they are. And they’re gonna stay that way.”
The two women looked down at Davisa, who’d wandered over to where they were standing. She put her hand on Alabama’s pants and tugged lightly. Alabama immediately kneeled down so she was eye level to her little girl. “Yes, sweetie?”
“Can I hold the baby?”
Alabama looked up at Summer, who smiled. “Of course. Come on, let’s go sit over here.”
The trio moved to a ring of chairs that had been set up. Alabama helped her daughter sit in one and Summer gently put April in Davisa’s arms. “Hold on tight. I know she’s only six months old, but she’s heavy.”
The women watched as the five-year-old carefully held the baby. Davisa didn’t say anything for the longest time, she simply studied the infant carefully. Finally, she looked up in wonder. “She’s so pale.”
Summer supposed compared to Davisa, who had beautiful, warm chocolate-brown skin, April was very pale.
“Do you think my mommy would’ve wanted me if I was pale too?”
Alabama immediately kneeled down next to the little girl who was officially declared “hers” just that morning by the judge. Before she could speak, Abe was there.
He scooped up the little girl and the baby all together and sat in the chair and held the duo in his lap. Brinique had followed her dad over to the women and scooted up next to the chair as well. Summer stood back and watched one of her best friends in the world and her husband’s teammate have a beautiful moment with their new daughters, feeling as if her heart would burst.
Abe put one arm around Brinique standing at his side and held his daughter to him, being careful not to jostle baby April. “Your birth mother didn’t deserve you. And I’m not saying that to be mean, it’s the truth. She had two of the most beautiful daughters on the planet, who she didn’t take care of. She was selfish and only wanted to do what she wanted to do. Children are precious and parents have a responsibility to them to make sure they’re fed, safe, and loved.”
Abe looked his children in the eyes as he spoke. “You had a rough start to life, but you know what? You’re a Powers now. You’re mine. You’re Alabama’s, and you belong to every one of the men and women here today. We’re one big family. You’ll never be hungry again. You’ll never be neglected again.” He looked at Brinique. “You’ll never have to worry about scary men coming into our house and hurting you or your sister. We love you. You’re ours. Forever. I wouldn’t care if your skin was purple or green or that it’s darker than mine. It’s what’s inside that skin that I care about.”
“What’s inside our skin?” Davisa asked softly.
Without hesitation, Abe answered. “Your heart. Your blood. Your mind. You. You are inside your skin. And that’s why I love you. And that’s why Alabama loves you. And that’s why everyone here loves you. Got it?”
