Shadow in the Desert (Shadow SEALs #3) - Becca Jameson Page 0,3

was in desperate need of a cut. “How do you know all of this?”

“I have my ways.”

Ajax groaned.

“What happened to the rest of the team if they didn’t die in the explosion?” Ryker asked.

“No one was in that rubble. None of you had breached the building yet. You two were the only ones knocked unconscious. Everyone else was taken hostage in the ambush. Your backup team was moving in fast, so the rebels had no choice but to evacuate and leave your bodies behind. They probably weren’t certain if you were alive or dead, but in any case, they didn’t have the time to take two unconscious bodies.”

“Unbelievable,” Ajax murmured.

“I agree. Whoever fucked up this mission went to a lot of trouble to clean up after themselves.”

“If the backup team rescued us, why haven’t we heard from any of them?”

“They are still active in the mission, and they’ve been told neither of you survived. After loading you two into the helicopter, they never saw you again.”

Ryker cleared his throat. “This is insane. Both of us were told the rest of the team was dead. Who could be that cruel?”

Ajax agreed. It had been the most hellacious three months of his life. He’d spent it believing not only his entire team was dead, but that it included Ryker. A man he’d considered a brother since they met when Ajax was twelve.

Ajax had yet to go home to Indiana to face the foster parents who brought him into manhood because he couldn’t stand the idea of confronting the heaviness in his soul. On top of that, he was too embarrassed. He’d been told the reason that mission failed—the reason Ryker had died—was because he hadn’t followed protocol. He’d been fucking led to believe that he had disgraced his team and the SEALs. He had been discharged “other than honorably.” Returning to face his foster parents was the last thing he’d wanted to do.

“I don’t know the answer to that yet, but believe me, I’m working on it. In the meantime, I’m hiring you two to go back and get your team.”

Ajax flinched. “Hiring? What if we decline.”

“You won’t.”

Serena set the two folders she was carrying on the table, separated them, and eased them across the surface, one toward each man. A phoenix stared back at him as though the ancient Egyptian bird could see all the way to his damaged soul...daring him to look inside.

Ryker opened his first and after a moment, he whistled between his teeth. “That’s a lot of money.”

“Yes. You have a unique set of skills, not to mention motivation.”

Ajax opened his folder and lifted both brows. Ryker wasn’t kidding. He could do a lot with that kind of money. “You realize I’ve been discharged. I no longer work for the US Navy. Who the heck are we working for?”

“Me.”

“And you aren’t going to tell us who the hell you are?”

“No. It’s safer this way.”

“For us or for you?”

“Yes.”

Great.

Ryker groaned.

Ajax turned to look at him, lifting a brow. They were either in this together or not at all.

“Fuck,” Ryker muttered.

Ajax agreed. It wasn’t as though they could tell this woman they would not be willing to go in and rescue their own men. He turned back to face the phone. “What’s the plan?”

“Pull your shit together, lay off the cookies, and be prepared to travel in two weeks.”

“Who’s paying for all this?” Ajax asked.

“I am.”

“How will we know where to go or what to do?”

“Serena will be traveling with you. She’ll be told when and where to meet up with my contact when you arrive.”

“What?” all three yelled at once.

For Ajax, the thought of this soft woman in the pencil skirt traveling to fucking Ethiopia with him was preposterous. She obviously worked hard to be taken seriously. Standing tall. Keeping her expression tight and serious. All business. But his instinct told him she was more like a dandelion underneath the fake exterior.

That wasn’t the most shocking part of Charley’s announcement, however. The part that made Ajax lift both brows and glance at Serena was that she too was obviously blindsided by this news.

“Charley,” Serena began, “at no time did you mention me traveling with these gentlemen.” She was clearly just as uninterested as Ajax was. Traveling to Ethiopia was dangerous under normal circumstances. He would have his guard up the entire time. And that would be when he was in populated areas surrounded by civilians.

As soon as he left civilization to hunt down his squad, the last thing he’d