Almost Forever (24 page)

This book is dedicated to all my Texas fans and family. Even though I no longer live there, I'll always be a Texan through and through. And yes, I say y'all and fixin' to and would rather spend my day with horses than with Brad Pitt.

A SPECIAL THANKS to everyone at the Winery at Holy Cross Abbey in Canon City, Colorado, especially Kylie and Fleur. They were kind enough to give us a detailed tour, explaining all the processes even though they were right in the middle of crushing. If you're ever in the area, be sure and stop by for a wonderful wine-tasting experience. Their Apple Blossom is my favorite, but all of their wines are fabulously delicious.

Also, thanks to the Texas Rangers organization, which provided me with some excellent stats and information. I apologize if I took some liberties to develop the storyline, but I tried to keep their procedures as accurate as possible.

After Love

Almost Forever

After Midnight

Cries in the Night

Deep Night

Due Dates

Killer Date

Worst Date Ever

Life's What Happens

Change the Past

Day at the Beach

Runaway Lover

Forever Love

K
ATHY
C
LARK
has always been a storyteller. She published her first book when she was just four years old….Okay, it was self-published (way ahead of the trend).
The Little Black Horse That Ran Away
was self-illustrated and completely sold out of its first printing. Thanks, Mom!

Years later, Kathy's first official book was published by Dell. Since then she has had a total of twenty-six novels published by Random House, Loose Id, Dell, Crown, and Harlequin and seven novels self-published on Amazon.

Bob Wernly (Kathy's husband) came from a corporate background, which doesn't usually encourage creativity. When he and Kathy came up with the idea for a young adult series, a new team was born. Since 2012 they have written two adult romantic suspense novels in the Austin Heroes series and three in the Denver Heroes series, three new adult romantic suspense novels in the Scandals series (all under the name Kathy Clark), and four YA time travel/romance/mysteries in the Time Shifter series (under the pen name Bob Kat). Their books have been honored with numerous awards, including Best Indie Book of the Year, Reader's Favorite, RITA Finalist, and Colorado Humanities awards.

LoveRealityRomance.com

@93NightWriter

Looking for the next romance that'll give you the feels? Our fantastic selection of books will definitely satisfy.

You've never read bedtime stories like the sensual forbidden fairy tales in Sharon Lynn Fisher's Loveswept debut,
Before She Wakes
. And speaking of debuts, don't miss
New York Times
bestselling author Kelly Elliott's
Searching for Harmony
—a gut-wrenching story of a love that transcends all odds. Vonnie Davis's
Her Survivor
welcomes readers to Wounded Warrior Falls where beating the odds is what it's all about, while
Bound Beneath His Pain
kicks off a deeply sensual new series from Club Sin author Stacey Kennedy
.

Diana Quincy continues her Rebellious Brides series with a tale of forbidden love between a socialite and a scholar in
A License to Wed
. Wedding bells are ringing—and tempers are flaring—as Marquita Valentine's Take the Fall series continues in the sweet and sexy
Hard to Fall.
The Brothers of Mayhem MC ride again in Carla Swafford's explosive novel,
Full Heat
. Ashley Suzanne follows up
Raven
with the next round in her scorching Fight or Flight series,
Cutter
. The third book in Beth Yarnall's Recovered Innocence series,
Reclaim,
is brimming with angst and sensuality. And don't miss the next book in Stacey Lynn's deeply emotional Fireside series,
His to Protect
. Or the story of a war hero fighting to remember the love he left behind in Serena Bell's emotionally charged
To Have and to Hold
.

Then Shawntelle Madison's seductive
Surrender to You
follows two career-oriented friends with benefits. And finally we have a cold case that leads to blazing-hot temptation in Kathy Clark's romantic suspense
Almost Forever
.

Until next time ~Happy Romance!

Gina Wachtel

Associate Publisher

by Kathy Clark

Available from Loveswept

“Advance on my order.” The Homeland Security squad leader spoke to his teams through their headset receivers. “The door is reinforced on both sides, so we're rigging for an explosive entry. Repeat…explosive. Count to three after the explosion before you leave cover.”

“I'm not cut out for this shit,” Luke Archer whispered as he and another agent huddled behind a dumpster. He worked out regularly and thought he was in good shape, but his breaths were labored after sprinting fifty yards from their MRAP vehicle. Of course, he was carrying over thirty extra pounds of gear including a standard AR-15 weapon with three thirty-round clips. His helmet had no ventilation holes, and it felt like his brains were boiling inside the rigid shell. Sweat drizzled down his forehead and burned his eyes.

Luke glanced over at his teammate, Willie Driver, a ten-year field veteran of the border protection division of Homeland Security. Willie's years along the Arizona border had conditioned him for hundred-plus-degree days and hot summer nights. He looked cool and calm while Luke was sweating like a pig in a slaughterhouse.

“Welcome to my world, Archer.” Willie chuckled. “My relatives came from Africa and picked cotton in Mississippi, so this is a day at the beach. I thought you were born here.”

“I lived the first eighteen years of my life in the Austin area, but it didn't feel this hot back then. Maybe that global warming stuff is right.”

“That's bullshit. I'll bet the average temperature hasn't changed two degrees since you were a kid. DC has made you soft.”

Luke grinned and didn't try to deny it. “Having to wear my jacket in the office when the AC's too cold is a bad day.”

“How long has it been since you were out in the field?”

Luke shrugged. “I haven't ever actually been in the field. I'm more of a desk agent, studying maps, analyzing chatter on the Internet, and following leads. I never thought a program analyst would end up squatting on hot concrete, huddled up behind a stinking dumpster that hasn't been emptied in a month. What the fuck have these guys been eating?” He pushed his fingers under his face shield in an attempt to divert the sweat from his eyes.

“Then why are you here?” Willie asked, ignoring Luke's discomfort.

“This is my project. I've been following several terrorist cells that seem to be converging on Austin,” Luke explained. “Since I have contacts here and I'm familiar with the area, I wanted to be involved in the ground game.”

Willie chuckled. “You're in the real world now, DC. How does it feel?”

“I'll let you know,” Luke promised wryly.

“Alpha Team in position,” a voice on the radio in Luke's earpiece reported. “Charges have been set.”

“Do we have eyes on the creek side?” Having scoped out the area on Google Maps, Luke knew the building was on the edge of a slow-moving stream whose banks had eroded from occasional floods until there was almost no land left behind the warehouse.

“Negative,” Willie responded. “It'd be like jumping off a three-story building. Nobody's that crazy.”

“Charlie Team in position.” Another voice chimed in from the other side of the building.

“Bravo Team ready,” Willie reported, then added, “If there's an ice machine inside, our DC visitor wants to shove some down his pants, sir.”

Luke could see Willie's smile through the thick polycarbonate face shield.

“Tell our DC kid we'll let him buy after this is over,” the squad leader replied. “Stand by.”

“Thanks, Willie. They're already after me on my expenses since coming to Austin,” Luke responded with pretended dismay. “I'm sure they'll love getting a big bar bill.”

Willie shrugged off Luke's concern. “Not my problem. By the way, I like the imported beers.”

“Heads up.” The squad leader's voice rushed through the earpieces. “Here we go. Three charges…one on each hinge, one on the door latch. Three…two…one!” There was a scramble as he and his partner joined Luke and Willie behind the dumpster, just seconds before he pushed the button on the remote detonator.

An explosion pushed dirt and debris from the front-door area of the building at terminal velocity. Even though they were protected from the blast, the guys automatically ducked and grabbed their helmets with their free hands.

“Impressive,” Luke started to say when a second, even louder explosion filled the air. Luke felt the ground vibrate, and the large trash dumpster jumped, lifting the barn door–sized lids, allowing a wave of rancid odors to permeate his mask.

“Go!” The squad leader commanded, and all three teams converged on the front door of the two-story brick warehouse.

Weapons at the ready, the five team members followed the squad leader through the hole where the front door used to be. The door had blown into the building and was embedded halfway through the wall ten feet inside. The air was thick with smoke and debris, and flashlights attached to the weapons were the only illumination inside the darkened warehouse.

“Bravo, check out the second floor,” the squad leader ordered.

“Roger,” Willie confirmed.

All three teams left the reception area and entered a large open warehouse. A steep stairway on the right wall led to what appeared to be offices on the second floor that stretched across the back half of the building.

“Really?” Luke looked up the twenty-foot stairway. The Stairmaster in the gym was a cakewalk compared to that. With his weapon pointed toward the top of the stairs, he headed upward as quickly but cautiously as possible. His heart pounded in his chest, and he hoped the rest of the squad didn't hear his increased breathing. He had never been in a situation like this, and his adrenaline was pumping.

He knew Willie was right behind him, covering his back and making sure there were no surprises waiting for them, and he also trusted the body armor he was wearing. But any breach of an enemy fortress could go wrong at any time.

“Alpha clear.” The squad leader's report came through his earpiece.

A moment later, one of the teams announced, “Charlie clear.”

“Bravo? Report.”

“Bravo on the second floor. Several offices to check,” Willie answered as he jerked the end of his weapon, indicating that Luke should start on the left side while Willie began searching the offices on the right.

They worked their way down the hallway, kicking open any door that was shut, then clearing each room before moving on to the next. They were small and empty except for trash left by past visitors. It took just a few minutes to make it to a large room that ran across over half of the upstairs area. On the side wall was another door that Willie checked out. He spoke into his mouthpiece. “Come in, squad leader.”

“All clear, Bravo?”

“No souls up here, but enough shit to blow up Travis County. This was the heart of the operation, sir. We also have an indoor fire escape.”

Luke wandered around the room, then took his cellphone out and snapped a dozen pictures. The walls were papered with local maps and pictures of naked women that had been torn out of magazines. A center table was blanketed with used coffee cups, overflowing ashtrays, and notebooks filled with some type of Arabic writing. Dozens of boxes, some opened, some not, were stacked against the walls. At one wall, on a large wooden workbench, finished pipe bombs were lined up in a neat row and a pile of unused pipes, end caps, and a container of black powder was on the other end.

“Looks like we interrupted their arts and crafts class,” Willie pointed out wryly.

Across the back wall were a half dozen large windows, and all were open, allowing a rush of fresh air in to dilute the smoke and haze. Luke walked to one of the center windows and removed his helmet so he could wipe the sweat from his face. He looked outside and down. “Fuck!” He pushed his weapon through the window, raised the scope to his eye, and swung in a semicircle as he scanned the overgrown creek below.

The squad leader and another agent entered the room.

“What is it, Archer?”

“They rappelled. They fucking rappelled down to the creek.”

The squad leader hurried to the window next to Luke's. Attached to anchors in the brick walls, five ropes dangled into the underbrush that lined the creek below.

The squad leader barked, “Charlie Team, check out the back.”

A quick look around the room revealed a row of six hooks that they hadn't noticed before. Five were empty. On the last, a rolled rope, a harness, and a pair of gloves still hung.

“One set left,” Willie commented.

“Wonder what happened to number six?” Luke asked.

The sound of muffled footsteps caused everyone to turn toward the side of the room. A Middle Eastern man came through the fire escape door, obviously unaware that the front door had been breached. In his hands were several bags from a nearby fast-food restaurant. When his eyes focused on the roomful of men who were clearly not his friends, he dropped the bags. Soft drinks splashed like small geysers all around him.

“Hands up!” the squad leader shouted. Three red laser dots began jumping around on the man's chest. When he didn't respond, the leader repeated, “Put your fucking hands up…NOW!”

The man fumbled with something that looked like a key ring in his hand. A satisfied smile stretched his lips and he yelled, “Allahu Akbar!”

Luke's field training had never been actually used, but it resurfaced in full force. He focused on the silver object dangling from the man's fingers.

“Grenade!” Luke yelled and fumbled to strap his helmet back on.

A split second later, a shower of bullets opened a gaping hole where the man's heart had been. He crumpled instantly to the floor.

“Holy shit!” Luke said in amazement. He
had
gotten soft in his plush office. His was the only gun not targeted on the terrorist.

A round metal object fell out of the man's hand and rolled across the floor.

Simultaneously, all the squad members turned and scrambled through the short hallway and down the main stairs. They barely made it out the front door before the grenade detonated.