Gabe: The Alvarez Security Series Read online

  Gabe

  Alvarez Security Series

  Maryann Jordan

  Gabe (Alvarez Security Series)

  Copyright © 2015 Maryann Jordan

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Design by: Andrea Michelle, Artistry in Design

  Editor: Shannon Brandee Eversoll

  Format: Paul Salvette, BB Ebooks

  ISBN: 978-0-9864004-2-1

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Acknowledgements

  Author Information

  Dedication

  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

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  First and foremost, I have to thank my husband, Michael. Always believing in me and wanting me to pursue my dreams, this book would not be possible without his support. To my daughters, MaryBeth and Nicole, I taught you to follow your dreams and now it is time for me to take my own advice. You two are my inspiration.

  My best friend, Tammie, who for nineteen years has been with me through thick and thin. You’ve filled the role of confidant, supporter, and sister.

  My dear friend, Myckel Anne, who keeps me on track, keeps me grounded, and most of all – keeps my secrets. Thank you for not only being my proofreader, but my friend. Our friendship has grown and changed and you mean more to me than you can imagine.

  Going from blogger to author has allowed me to have the friendships and advice of several wonderful authors who always answered my questions, helped me over rough spots, and cheered me on. To Kristine Raymond, you gave me the green light when I wondered if I was crazy and you never let me give up. MJ Nightingale and Andrea Michelle – you two have made a huge impact on my life. Anna Mychals, EJ Shorthall, Victoria Brock, Jen Andrews, Andrea Long, A.d. Ellis, ML Steinbrunn, Sandra Love, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  My beta readers kept me sane, cheered me on, found all my silly errors, and often helped me understand my characters through their eyes. A huge thank you to Denise VanPlew, Sandi Laubhan, Barbara Martoncik, Jennifer Alumbaugh, Anna Mychals, Danielle Petersen, Shannon Brandee, Stracey Charran, Leeann Wright, Lynn Smith, Kelly Williams and Tracey Markin for being my beta girls who love alphas!

  Shannon Brandee Eversoll has been my editor for the past five books and what she brings to my writing has been amazing. She and Myckel Anne Phillips as my proofreader gave their time and talents to making Gabe as well written as it can be.

  My street team, Jordan Jewels, you are amazing! You volunteer your time to promote my books and I cannot thank you enough! I hope you will stay with me, because I have lots more stories inside, just waiting to be written!

  My Personal Assistant, Barbara Martoncik, is the woman that keeps me going when I feel overwhelmed and I am so grateful for not only her assistance, but her friendship.

  The cover was created by my dear friend, Andrea Michelle with Artistry in Design, and her talent is evident in every detail. Thank you for working with me, planning with me, laughing with me, and understanding me.

  As the owner of the blog, Lost in Romance Books, I know the selflessness of bloggers. We promote indie authors on our own time because we believe fully in the indie author community. I want to thank the many bloggers that I have served with, and who are assisting in promoting my series.

  Most importantly, thank you readers. You allow me into your home for a few hours as you disappear into my characters and you support me as I follow my indie author dreams.

  If you read my books and enjoy them, please leave a review on Amazon. It does not have to be long or detailed…just that you enjoyed the book. Reviews are essential to indie authors!

  Author Information

  Maryann Jordan

  I am an avid reader of romance novels, often joking that I cut my teeth on the old bodice rippers. I have been reading and reviewing for years. In 2013, I created a blog, Lost in Romance Books, to promote and showcase indie authors. In 2014, I finally gave in to the characters in my head, screaming for their story to be told. From these musings, my first novel, Emma’s Home, The Fairfield Series Book 1 was born.

  I am a high school counselor having worked in education for thirty years. I live in Virginia, having also lived in four states and two foreign countries. I have been married to a wonderfully patient man for thirty-two years and am the mother to two adult daughters. When writing, my dog or one of my four cats can generally be found in the same room if not on my lap.

  Please take the time to leave a review of this book (on Goodreads, Amazon). Reviews are the lifeline for indie authors.

  Feel free to contact me, especially if you enjoyed my book. I love to hear from readers!

  Facebook:

  www.facebook.com/authormaryannjordan

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  www.facebook.com/lostinromancebooks

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  Email:

  [email protected]

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  www.maryannjordanauthor.com

  Dedication

  When my parents retired, they decided to remain active devoting a great deal of time to the homeless population in our area. They sat outside a restaurant every Wednesday night to pick up the bread that had not been sold so they could take it to their church where on Thursday nights it was served with dinner to the homeless.

  Over the years, they hauled and delivered thousands of pounds of bread that would have been thrown out and gave it to those less fortunate. This book is dedicated to them for their selfless acts and for all who work for the betterment of others.

  PROLOGUE

  The air was thick; the wind swirled the dust up from the ground threatening to choke the men moving through the darkness. The night-vision goggles provided as clear a view as possible, but visual cues were limited. But that was all right. Each man in the Special Forces Team knew what to do in any circumstance. The dust storm would only confuse the enemy…not them.

  Gabe Malloy trusted his brothers implicitly. There was no one he would rather be with than them at this moment. Their team was tasked with the missions that often involved search and rescue and right now, they were sent in to rescue the son of a local chief, sympathetic to the United States. He had been snatched from his home, after his father led an insurgence team against the enemy and was being held virtual hostage with his son kidnapped.

  Locating the building, team leader Captain Tony Alvarez gave the order to move around to
the side. Each man brought their own specialties to the group but were all cross-trained to perform every duty when needed. As the Medical Sergeant, Gabe would not be the first in the building, but with the condition of the child unknown, he had to be ready for anything.

  Jobe, their Weapons Sergeant, moved to the back of the mud-brick building, scaling the wall to the roof. In a minute, he reported the visual he was obtaining. There were two boys in the room. One was the identified target and the other…wearing a suicide bomb vest.

  Fuck. Gabe knew that he was not the only one of their team with that thought. In fact, he would bet that all twelve men had that on their minds at the exact same instance.

  Tony and Assistant Commander, Chief Warrant Officer Bryant, quickly coordinated the rescue movements. Their Engineer Sergeant scaled the wall to where Jobe was located, to gain a visual as well. Eliminating a child was never what any of the men wanted to do, but if there was no other way, they would follow their mission to the letter.

  Gabe’s twin brother, Vinny, passed him heading to the roof as well. Trained as a Weapons Sergeant, he was also their back-up Medic. Vinny quickly aimed and shot the boy wearing the suicide vest with a tranquilizer. It would not knock him out completely, but would give them just enough time to grab the chief’s son and make their escape. The child slumped to the ground unable to move and the others quickly entered the building, securing their mission.

  As last man out, Gabe’s eyes swept the inside of the building landing on the child still laying on the dirt floor. The boy’s dark eyes showed fear…and resignation. In a flash, Gabe realized that the child would die, knowing the insurgents would not let him live for failing to alert them to the rescue. The boy, who could not be more than ten, slowly moved his hand toward his vest, his eyes locked on Gabe’s.

  Gabe started toward him, but training took over instinct as the order for him to evacuate immediately came though his ear-piece. Turning, he ran out just before the explosion demolished the building behind him and shook the ground. Knocked to the dirt, he quickly pulled himself up and ran to the rendezvous, each man identifying their location and condition. They all made it out and he could hear the Communications Sergeant calling for their transport.

  He could not help but do a visual scan of his eleven brothers, just to make sure they were all right. Vinny was in place, treating Jobe who took several wood splinters in his shoulder and neck, the latter causing quite a bit of bleeding. Gabe took over and quickly stopped the bleeding while Vinny checked out the terrified rescued boy.

  The helicopter landed and the team members jumped on board, securing their mission, and taking off just as the insurgents were coming over the hill firing their weapons at the team.

  The men were quiet until in the air and on their way back to base. The adrenaline that flowed with a successful rescue was palatable. Gabe continued to sit quietly, ignoring the pointed looks from Vinny and Tony.

  They landed and were met with military personnel who whisked the child away and the twelve brothers-in-arms moved into their headquarters for the debriefing. Several hours later, the men made their way back to their barracks for showers and food before sleep. The others, still high on their success, hit the showers quickly, but Gabe found himself haunted by the eyes of the other boy. No matter how much he studied the enemy, he would never get used to their using children to try to kill them.

  Vinny, his twin always in tune with him, walked over. “You okay, man?”

  Gabe began stripping off his dusty, sandy fatigues. Rubbing his dirty hands over his gritty face, he sighed. “Yeah.”

  Tony walked into the room, looking at the identical twins in front of him. Gabe saw the captain give a head jerk to Vinny, who nodded and left the room toward the showers.

  “Problem?” Tony asked. The captain was a man of few words.

  “No, Sir,” Gabe answered honestly.

  Captain Alvarez said nothing but continued to stand in front of Gabe. Knowing the captain was not going to leave unless he was satisfied, Gabe sighed.

  “Saw his eyes, Sir. Right before I realized he was going to detonate.” Silence filled the room, neither man saying anything. “Fuckin’ hell,” Gabe cursed, shaking his head.

  Looking up into Tony’s hard face, he saw the understanding eyes of his commander. “I’ll never get used to them using kids, Sir.”

  “Good,” came the captain’s clipped response. “You do your job. You do it better than anyone else. You take out the enemy when ordered. But…,” he speared Gabe with his penetrating stare, “you never forget that you care.”

  With that, Tony walked out of the room leaving Gabe alone with his thoughts. The room quickly began filling up with his teammates, scrubbed clean and ready to eat. Not wanting to miss their company, he hustled down the hall to the showers, letting the hot water pound his muscles and sluice over him. Washing away the sand is easy. Wish I could get that fuckin’ image out of my mind as easily.

  The camaraderie over the meal returned to the crude jokes, laughter, and dreams of beer-nights at bars filled with hot women. That night as the others slept, Gabe lay awake…the dark eyes of the desperate boy right before he reached for his vest haunted Gabe’s thoughts. Give me adults to work with, he thought. But keep kids out of the line of fire.

  *

  THREE YEARS LATER

  Jarring awake, Gabe sat up with sweat pouring off of him. Rubbing his hand over his face, he forced his breathing to regulate, not willing to give into the nightmare. His mouth was dry and his head pounded, both a result of the amount of whiskey he had drunk the night before. A moan startled him as he focused his eyes on the unfamiliar room. Where the hell am I? Glancing down at the naked woman sprawled out on the bed next to him had the memories rushing back.

  His friend BJ’s bachelor party. When the party was ending at the bar, he and a few other single friends stayed, drinking more while scoping out the eye-candy hanging around hoping to catch one of them.

  “Who have you got in your sights, bro?” asked Vinny, knowing Gabe’s penchant for leaving with the most gorgeous woman around.

  Gabe looked at his twin and shook his head. “Just not feeling it tonight.” If he was honest, he had not been ‘feeling it’ for a while. He had watched his detective friends Shane and Matt settle down and marry fabulous women and now BJ was marrying his friend, Suzanne. The constant search for a quick fuck was no longer holding the appeal that it once did.

  “Jesus, you finally slowing down?” Jobe asked, a stunned look on his face.

  “About time,” came the sardonic voice of their employer, Tony.

  With Jobe and Vinny’s attention diverted by the prowling women who approached their table, Gabe glanced over at Tony. His boss smiled as he stood from the table, nodded to the others and then headed out into the night.

  A heavily made-up blonde with huge tits showcased perfectly in a bustier made her way over to Gabe. Sliding down into his lap, she wasted no time expertly maneuvering her ass to bring his dick to life. Throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her boobs into his chest, she drug a long talon down his cheek. “Hey, big boy. You feeling lucky tonight?”

  Oh, fuck it, he thought. Standing, he grabbed her hand and began stalking toward the door. Hearing the hoots from his brothers in the back, he threw up his hand in response as he left with the blonde.

  Now it was the next morning and the sour taste of booze mixed with morning breath had him choking back a gag. How much did I drink? He never stayed with a woman all night so he was surprised that he was still there. Looking down at…what the hell is her name?

  As if on cue, the woman stirred again and rolled over toward him before beginning to snore.

  What looked sexy in the bar with a significant amount of whiskey was no longer what he wanted. Standing up, he grabbed his pants and then shrugged his shirt on.

  Thirty minutes later, standing in the shower at his apartment, he washed off the stench of the bar and the woman’s overpowering perfume. His mind roll
ed back to the times when he was washing off the sand and the stench of death. Of all the missions, none bothered him. Except one. And the dark eyes of the boy. A boy who was not even supposed to be part of the mission. A causality of war is what the report read. But in his mind, the boy would never be a casualty…but a child.

  CHAPTER 1

  The dark night was brightly lit by the chandeliers hanging in the ballroom. Several men in tuxedoes walked around the perimeter of the room, eyes alert, in constant contact with each other through their state-of-the-art communication devices. As employees of Alvarez Security Agency, they took their roles seriously. The owner of the agency, Tony Alvarez, started his security business when he left the Special Forces and hired several of his brothers-in-arms. Their services included private security for special events, installation of security systems, and they worked closely with the Richland Police Department in several cases of search and rescue.

  Tony’s agency had been hired to provide private security at the gala, the celebration of the release of a movie that had been filmed in the capital city. Senators, congressmen, local and state dignitaries, as well as a host of Hollywood moguls, were on site. The men in dark tuxedoes provided the perfect backdrop for the swirl of colors in the evening gowns of the women in the gathering.

  Jobe, uncomfortable in his tux, moved around the perimeter, smiling as he saw Vinny moving among the beautiful actresses in the crowd. His eyes cut over to Gabe, who on the outside looked every bit the Hollywood hunk as the stunning star of the movie clung to his arm possessively. But Jobe knew what his brothers knew—Gabe was on alert.

  Alicia Morgenstern always asked for Gabe to be her personal escort and he had agreed. She saw him the first time she was in town for the pre-filming event. Pissed at her co-star, she assumed hanging onto a gorgeous bodyguard would be the best way to make him jealous. It did not take long for her to quickly pick up on the handsome twins and she did not care which one she claimed. As Vinny was assigned to the director, she had no problem draping herself around Gabe. They fell into the habit of a quick fuck whenever she could get him alone and now that the filming was over, this might be her last time for a while.