Military Romance Academy The Series

P R O L O G U E : R E C R U I T M E N T

Undisclosed location

Luke blinked, adjusting his gaze to the dimly lit room once the

black bag had been removed from his head.

"Sorry I had to do that, but I can't let anyone know where we are. Not even you." A deep voice came from behind, which had Luke casting a suspicious glance over his shoulder at a man in a suit.

"And binding my wrists behind my back? What was that for?"

"Had to curb your impulse to yank the bag off your head." The man now held a seven-inch, partially serrated steel blade and circled the chair to remove the flex-cuffs.

Luke eyed the weapon as the man set it on the table alongside a laptop.

The man dropped his focus to Luke's shoes before his attention gathered back up to his face. "Why the hell are you in your dress blues?" He folded his arms and squared his shoulders.

"Why else does one take a C-17 cargo plane in the middle of the night to Dover . . . unless to ID or pay respects to a serviceman lost?" Luke wasn't about to show up in cargo pants and a tee for that.

"Hm." His head crooked to the side ever so slightly.

"Clearly, since men in suits bagged and cuffed me upon landing, this trip is about something else." Luke stood and hooked his thumbs in his slacks pockets, trying his best to maintain his cool. "So, you gonna tell me why your man pulled me from Jalalabad?"

The guy remained quiet for a moment, simply observing Luke as if unsure about him. The feeling was damn mutual. "Speaking of which, you didn't need to give my guy a hard time in J-Bad about leaving. Surely you have confidence in your team to handle the HVT you were recently greenlighted for."

Tension tapped at Luke's temples, pressure building there. "Who the hell are you?"

Few people were privy to commissioned ops led by the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or more commonly known as DEVGRU or SEAL Team Six-so this man had to be high up in the chain of command.

He continued to study him, trying to gauge if he'd seen him before and just couldn't remember for some damn reason. Threads of silver darted through his black hair, and his green eyes tightened as he continued to observe Luke right back.

The guy's chin edged forward. "Your sister's been kidnapped."

An instant coolness frosted his insides as the man's words replayed in his head for a solid minute. "Who took her?"

"Kaleem Rassani."

Silence hung heavy in the windowless room, the only light coming from a low-watt bulb dangling from a thin cord at the center of the ceiling.

Was this an interrogation site?

"Why'd you bring me here?" he asked through gritted teeth, his arms hanging loosely at his sides now.

"Your sister, of course. We thought you'd want to be part of the investigation." He kept his green eyes steady on Luke's.

Neither man blinked.

"For starters, the Feds would handle a kidnapping case." Luke took one step forward. "There's no way a Tier One operative would be pulled from J- Bad to interfere with an FBI investigation." He took another step, the distance dwindling to a foot between them. "Interfere being the key word because I couldn't possibly remain objective. Also, if I found the cocksucker who'd taken my sister I'd slice and dice the pig. And that kind of shit might float during war, but not on U.S. soil."

The guy remained quiet and impassive, his lips a straight line, his face resolute and unreadable.

"Secondly, Kaleem Rassani's dead. I should know since I double-tapped the bastard two months ago outside Ramadi. Two kill rounds fired because

the guy wouldn't put his hands behind his head."

"Anything else you want to add?" he responded with a mock of casualness in his tone.

"Actually, yeah. I'd venture to say you're not a congressman based on your cocksure attitude and posture. And given the SOG S 37-K blade you've got over there, it's safe to assume you were once a Teamguy. How long have you been out of the SEALs? And why the hell are you lying to me about my sister being kidnapped?"

The only door into the room opened a split second later. A spear of light shone through, and his sister walked in.

Luke looked back at the man, and the guy removed a comm from his ear. He assumed his sister had been listening to the conversation.

"What the hell is going on?" Luke sidestepped him and strode across the room, embracing his sister.

It was nice to see her alive and safe, even if he'd known in his gut she hadn't been taken.

When Jessica pulled back, he realized she looked different. There was an unmistakable hardness in her blue eyes. He recognized it because he saw the same look in the mirror every time he viewed his reflection.

"You might want to sit back down." Jessica motioned for the chair, but her eyes were on the man Luke didn't trust right now. And trust was everything to him.

"I'll stand. Thanks," Luke responded.

"I told you he wouldn't fall for it." A kick of sarcasm bit through her words as she stood before the man, her hands settling on her hips.

"He passed the first test, but we'll need to run more," the guy said as if pained by the idea.

"Tests?" Luke pinched the skin at his throat as he faced his sister, a rush of unease gathering up his spine.

Jessica brushed a loose strand of blonde hair off her face. "Can I take point on this?" She directed her question to the man, clearly a superior, which didn't make a lick of sense since she worked for a civilian cyber company.

"It was your idea to bring him in, so yeah, I suppose." He extended his palm. "Will Hobbs."

Luke's eyes widened as he gripped his hand. "The Ghost?"

Will Hobbs had been a legend in the SEALs back around the time of 9/11. The man had basically reinvented what it meant to be a Teamguy. He and Luke belonged to the same exclusive fraternity, which must have been why Luke had sensed a familiarity about him.

It was the job of a SEAL to stay in the shadows, and Will had been a master at that. But the last Luke had heard, Will worked for the Department of Defense.

So, why was he standing before Luke right now, and what was Jessica doing with him?

"I need answers, Jessica."

"I'll be outside when you're ready." Will tipped his head in Luke's direction, but the icy edge in his eyes remained.

Jessica waited for Will to leave and inhaled a deep breath as if she were about to go diving without the proper gear. "So."

"So." He stood before her with his hands tucked beneath his armpits. "I'm not who you think I am," she said softly.

"Yeah, I'm getting that." He cleared his throat and kept quiet after that, waiting for her to drop something seriously heavy on him.

"I was recruited from MIT my last year of school. I went to the Farm when I was twenty-two, and my job at Henly Computers has been a cover ever since."

"You're CIA?" He couldn't believe it. How the hell could his baby sister be government and he not know it?