Blue Forever (Men in Uniform) by Nina Bruhns Read Free Book Online Page B

Jenson waved it off. “Major Llowell volunteered for this mission. He knew the risks, Commander.”
    She could see Bridger’s jaw work. Just a little. He said, “Apparently he
didn’t
know the risks.”
    Jenson continued to dig his career grave. “The point is, his part of the plan was critical. He was creating a diversion. Drawing fire so your men could sneak in and do the real job.” The navy captain’s eyes narrowed, jumping to all the wrong conclusions at Bridger’s interrogation. “A job STORM Corps already took, along with the hefty government check that came with it. I trust you’re not trying to back out, Commander, now that you see how difficult it’s going to be.”
    The sudden silence was deafening.
    Darcy snorted into it. Aloud. She couldn’t help it. What a freaking ass-hat.
    Bridger darted her a hard look.
    “Sorry, sir. Just slipped out.” She knew better than to smile.
    The job may be complicated, but the team totally had this. Hell, they’d only just started brainstorming. They were damn good at what they did. The best in the world. They’d get that AUV, there wasn’t a doubt in her mind. And the navy knew it, too, or she wouldn’t be sitting here now in the South China Sea getting the rundown on a mission the navy wanted to maintain deniability on.
    “Would you come with me for a moment?” the Commander said to Jenson and strode out of the room without a backward glance. The captain huffed indignantly at being ordered around by a PMC, regardless of his rank, but stalked after him nonetheless.
    “It’s not nice to annoy the clients, sugar,” Quinn said, no doubt referring to the escaped snort, but there was a steel edge to his slow drawl.
    “The guy must not value his balls,” she muttered. “I’d hate to be him right about now. Or the brain trust who gave that order. When the Commander gets back to D.C. it’ll be soprano city.”
    Zane and Jaeger singsonged in unison, “Dog-meat.”
    Clint Walker looked positively grim. “Fuckers,” he growled. “Don’t know about you all, but I am now officially angry.”
    “That makes five of us.” Bobby Lee turned to face them all, his tired eyes burning with purpose. “All right, people, time to get serious.”

8

    DeAnne and Kip had walked for over an hour when they reached the crest of a rise. He halted suddenly and she nearly ran into him.
    “What is it?” she asked, catching her breath. She hoped he intended to stop for a break. He’d been driving them relentlessly on their trek up the mountain, through the dense lower jungles and up into the higher elevations of the evergreen forests above the fields and valleys. She wasn’t used to this much exercise all in one dose. She wasn’t complaining, though. The more distance they put between themselves and those maniacs with the machine guns, the better.
    He just gave her a smile and indicated the view. He slipped off his backpack and to her surprise, pulled out a camera.
    She stepped up next to him in a small clearing at the very top of the rise. People must have stopped here to admire the view for centuries. Heck, millennia.
    He fiddled with the camera.
    “Gee, you really are taking pictures.”
    “Yep. Well, hopefully. The camera was damaged, so I’m still testing it under different conditions. Want to make sure it works correctly.”
    He raised it to his eye, and she turned to the view, taking it all in as he started to click away.
    Before them, the lush, emerald hillside cascaded downward, curving elegantly away from the high, amethyst mountains that framed it perfectly to either side, and dipping down to a crisp, meandering valley. Every acre below the ridge was covered either in a fluttering white blanket of flowering fruit trees, or carved into stair-step terraces overflowing with a patchwork of verdant green fields. The warm breeze carried the scents of peach blossoms and freshly turned soil. Small flocks of birds soared and swooped through the valley calling to one