Trouble on Two Legs Read online

  Special Operations

  Trouble on Two Legs

  All of her life Elizabeth had hidden what her mother called "her gift." Teased as a child for being able to communicate with animals, she believes that she will never find anyone who will accept her and not treat her as some kind of freak. When she stumbles onto a drug transaction and gets herself kidnapped, the one man who drives her crazy must come to her rescue and together they must try to stay alive.

  Gideon Walsh is a former Navy Seal who had seen his fair share of violence and depravity in his life. When he comes home from a mission and finds that Elizabeth is in trouble, he will move heaven and earth to save her. Gideon knows that she is the one woman for him and when he finds her, he will claim her for his own.

  Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal

  Length: 61,375 words

  TROUBLE ON TWO LEGS

  Special Operations

  Etaine Avery

  EROTIC ROMANCE

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Erotic Romance

  TROUBLE ON TWO LEGS

  Copyright © 2015 by Etaine Avery

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-63259-143-2

  First E-book Publication: March 2015

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Trouble on Two Legs by Etaine Avery from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Etaine Avery’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Etaine Avery’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  Thanks to my sister who has always been there and encouraged me, even when I didn't think that I was worth caring about. I love you, Sis.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  About the Author

  TROUBLE ON TWO LEGS

  Special Operations

  ETAINE AVERY

  Copyright © 2015

  Chapter One

  Darkness settled over the valley as the sun set behind the mountain ridge. Although it was spring, when the sun went down there was still a chill in the air here in northern Colorado. A small group of men huddled together to try and keep warm. A large truck sat nearby with the rear doors open as if waiting for something. An older model SUV was parked on the other side of the truck. The men were all dressed in black, and no one said a word. The only sounds were the crickets and frogs at a nearby creek. Finally, one of them spoke.

  “He’s late.”

  “Don’t worry. He’ll be here,” replied another of the men. They spoke in Spanish, their language of choice.

  “He should have been here by now.” This man was impatient and edgy. It was clear that he was in charge of the small group. He was stocky with dark hair and eyes. It was easy to see that he was armed under his black jacket, as were all the men. The others looked around anxiously.

  “He’ll be here. You worry too much, Joaquin.”

  “And you don’t worry enough. If this shipment doesn’t get through, Manuel will have all our heads mounted on a stake. I for one do not intend that to happen.”

  The others began to fidget. Joaquin couldn’t shake the feeling that they were not alone. He kept glancing around but couldn’t see anything in the darkness.

  Finally, a young man on his first assignment with the group yelled, “I hear a truck coming!”

  “Quiet! We don’t want any unwanted company tonight, Diego,” Joaquin said.

  “No one is out here. This place is so far away from everything that only the wolves and coyotes will know that we have been here,” Esteban responded.

  “I’m not taking any chances. So keep your mouths shut and let’s just get this shipment through to the next stop.” Joaquin was more anxious than usual. Things hadn’t been going well for their boss, Francisco Mariposa. Many of their recent shipments had been confiscated either by the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, the Border Patrol, or by sources unknown. The Mariposa family was not happy, and when the family wasn’t happy, people died. The death toll on both sides of the border was high and rising every day. Joaquin knew that it was pure luck that this shipment had made it all the way to Colorado. He was hoping that with this new route, things would go smoother and the violence would calm down.

  Just then they heard the truck coming closer, and all eyes turned toward the sound as it rambled through the trees on what was supposed to be a road of sorts. It entered the valley on the far side from the men and slowly rolled its way toward them. It was an older vehicle, but it had a Colorado plate on it to make it less likely to be noticed. When the truck came to a stop Joaquin stepped up to the driver as he descended from the cab. “You’re late.”

  “I know,” the driver said, almost asham
ed. “There was trouble at a weigh station but I managed to talk my way around it.” He held his hand up as he spoke and rubbed his fingers together in the international sign for money.

  “We need to make up the time or there’ll be hell to pay.” Joaquin turned to the small group of men standing around waiting for instructions. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s get this shipment loaded onto the other truck so we can get out of here.”

  The men rushed forward and began transferring the cargo.

  They worked continuously for the next few hours until the last of the cargo had been transferred. As Esteban closed and locked the doors, Joaquin stood back and looked around the area with a cigarette in his hand. He blew out a plume of smoke with obvious agitation. He knew that something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. Off in the distance a lone wolf began to howl.

  “Joaquin, we’re finished. Time to go,” Esteban stated.

  With a look around, Joaquin tossed the cigarette and began moving toward the truck. “Esteban, you drive and, Diego, you ride shotgun. The rest of us will follow in the SUV.” As he climbed into the passenger front seat, Joaquin took one last glance around the valley. His warning signal was still going off, and it was never wrong. That was how he had stayed alive so long in this game of cat and mouse with the U.S. authorities. He would be glad when he was able to hand over this shipment to the next runner. “Let’s go,” he told the man who had climbed in the driver’s seat of the SUV.

  Within minutes both the truck and the SUV began moving through the trees and brush surrounding the valley. The other truck moved off also but in the opposite direction. The men with Joaquin were breathing a sigh of relief as they moved into the tree line, but Joaquin knew that it wasn’t over. There was something or someone out there. He could feel it. Things were about to go south and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

  Hidden in the trees downwind from the gathering of men and machines a lone, small figure watched and waited. No sound was made. No breath could be heard. There was nothing that might give away the person’s position. As the vehicles moved off the dark figure began a slow, methodical course paralleling the truck and SUV. Because of the trees and underbrush the vehicles had to move slowly to avoid crashing into anything. That made it easier for the lone figure to keep up with them. Off in the distance the howl of a wolf could be heard, the sound lonely and sorrowful. Only the individual tracking the trucks seemed to understand what the howl was relaying. It was hardly a sad commentary. The breeze carried sights and sounds that most people would never understand. But this person knew what was traveling on the wind. With a tip of the head, the dark figure let out a long deep howl in answer to the wolf. To anyone within hearing distance it sounded exactly like two wolves howling at the moon. Except in this case, they were exchanging information on the movements of the men that were up to no good. It was going to be a long night and danger was in the mountains. All of the creatures that made their home there were warned to keep low and out of site. Nothing and no one would be safe until the dirty business of these men was done.

  Chapter Two

  Elizabeth knew that she was playing a dangerous game of hide-and-seek, but she really didn’t have a choice. These mountains were her home and all of the creatures that lived here were like family. She protected them and they protected her. It hadn’t been easy for her as a child. When she first realized that she could communicate with animals she thought that everyone could. She’d never forget the day her mother told her that she shouldn’t talk about her “gift” to anyone outside of the family.

  “Sweetheart, people won’t understand. They can be cruel and mean to people that are different.” Yeah, that was an understatement. The first time someone found out about her ability she made sure that everyone knew and Elizabeth became the freak of the entire school and the brunt of a lot of pranks. Names like “Doctor Doolittle” and “weirdo” were some of the kinder things that she was called. She began to spend more and more time with animals and less with humans. After all, the animals didn’t judge her or call her names.

  After high school Elizabeth decided she just couldn’t face going to college. Her brother Heath had talked her into it by suggesting that she go to college in Florida with their cousin, Leigh, who had some unique abilities herself. It turned out to be one of the best times that she had ever known. Leigh was not just a cousin. She was a good friend who understood what it was like to be different. They hit if off from the beginning. No one in Florida knew of her “gift” except for Leigh, and she understood how Elizabeth felt. Together they looked out for each other. Their time at college was some of the happiest that Elizabeth had known.

  * * * *

  Gideon Walsh was tired and really looking forward to a few days of rest. This last mission had been exhausting with all the tracking and recon he had to do trying to find the new drug runner routes that the Mexican drug cartels were using. Being on constant alert for trouble had cost him, and now he just needed a break. Gideon was an expert tracker. He could follow anything over any terrain. His special talent had brought him to the Navy SEALs, where he served with Heath McLogan and Heath’s brother, Malcolm. When the brothers left the SEALs, Gideon and several other members of their team had followed. Heath and Malcolm also had some special talents that worked well for them in the teams. Both could communicate telepathically, although there was a limit to how far away they could be from the person to whom they were speaking. It came in handy on operations. Now they ran a Special Forces operation that took on jobs no one else could do. Hostage rescue, infiltrating drug cartels, and whatever else the government needed done but couldn’t sanction publicly. It was a hard job, and it didn’t come cheap. Heath managed to keep them all well trained with the latest and greatest techno toys, and when they were not out on a mission, several of the team members crashed at the McLogan ranch.

  Gideon couldn’t wait to get there for a hot meal, a warm shower, and a soft bed. Not necessarily in that order. His thoughts also turned toward Elizabeth. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to see her at home or not. She was trouble on two legs and was always getting into one mess or another. She didn’t have to go looking for trouble. It just seemed to find her. He’d never forget the time that she had come across some hunters poaching wolves in the mountains. She had taken them on alone and managed to get pictures of them doing their illegal hunting. Instead of hightailing it out of there to go for help like she should have, she decided to sabotage the traps that the hunters had set. She almost got caught! If her horse, Shizzada, had been any slower she would have been caught. As it was, Heath, Malcolm, and Gideon had luckily been working with the cattle on the northern range when Elizabeth came riding out of the trees with the hounds of hell after her. They were able to capture the poachers but not before shots were fired and Elizabeth was almost hit. Every time Gideon thought about that day his heart almost stopped beating. He didn’t understand how or why Elizabeth got to him the way she did. One moment he wanted to strangle her for something, and the next he wanted to snatch her up and kiss her until neither of them could breathe. Why did she affect him this way? No woman before or since had the ability to drive him to such extremes. It was frustrating as hell!

  As he pulled up to the house he noticed that all the lights were on in the living room. It wasn’t that late yet, and he figured that there would be some kind of welcoming committee. He was the last of the team to arrive home because he had to debrief the government officials on the new routes the cartel was using.

  Carlos Olizado and Ian McCallister should have returned two days ago. The others had headed for various places unknown to recoup after what had turned out to be a several months-long mission. It felt good to be back, but Gideon’s internal alarm system was blaring. Now what was up? Couldn’t he just come home for some R&R without trouble meeting him at the door? And why did he think that it involved Elizabeth? He didn’t know how he knew, but he just knew she was in trouble and he needed to find her be
fore she got hurt.

  He bounded up the front steps two at a time, and the front door opened before he could reach it. A large figure stepped onto the porch and greeted Gideon.

  “How was it?” Malcolm McLogan asked.

  “Long and monotonous. What’s up?” Gideon asked.

  Malcolm gave a heavy sigh, not the least bit surprised that Gideon had picked up that there was trouble.

  “It seems like my little sister may have gotten herself mixed up with some trouble again. She was out in the mountains and hasn’t checked in like she was supposed to. We’ve had reports from some of the surrounding ranchers that some unusual traffic has been seen in and out of the national forest.”

  “What has that to do with Elizabeth?” Gideon almost dreaded the answer. He knew that Elizabeth would want to know who was coming and going in the mountains. She would want to make sure that the animals were protected.

  “Well, you know Elizabeth. She wasn’t about to wait for the authorities to check things out, so she took off while Heath and I were working on the south range. When we got back and found her gone, Heath tried to make contact. He managed to reach her before she got out of his range and set up a time for her to check in. That was an hour ago and still no word.”

  “Damn it! What the hell was she thinking going off on her own? You’d think she’d learned her lesson the last time!” Gideon was furious. All he could think about was finding her and giving her the spanking of a lifetime. He was never going to reach old age at this rate.