Advance to the Rear (Strike Force Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Books by Desiree Holt

  Title Page

  Legal Page

  Book Description

  Dedication

  Trademark Acknowledgements

  Prologue

  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

  Read more from Desiree Holt

  More exciting books!

  About the Author

  Totally Bound Publishing books by Desiree Holt

  Single title

  Crude Oil

  Beg Me

  Down and Dirty

  Interlude

  Intermission

  Four Play

  Game On

  Swingtime

  Party of Three

  All Jacked Up

  Top or Bottom

  Rodeo Heat

  Night Heat

  Cupid’s Shaft

  Trouble in Cowboy Boots

  Strike Force

  Unconditional Surrender

  Lock and Load

  The Sentinels

  The Edge of Morning

  Night Moves

  Dark Stranger

  Animal Instinct

  Mated

  Silent Hunters

  Cat’s Eyes

  Pretty Kitty

  On the Prowl

  Corporate Heat

  Where Danger Hides

  Double Deception

  Masquerade

  Erector Set

  Erected

  Hammered

  Nailed

  Antholgies

  Night of the Senses: Carnal Caresses

  Christmas Goes Camo: Melting the Ice

  Treble: Trouble at the Treble T

  Subspace: Head Games

  Bound to the Billionaire: Made for Him

  Three’s a Charm: Double Entry

  Collections

  Heatwave: Summer Spice

  Feral: Black Cat Fever

  Clandestine Classics: Northanger Abbey

  Strike Force

  ADVANCE TO THE REAR

  DESIREE HOLT

  Advance to the Rear

  ISBN # 978-1-78686-450-5

  ©Copyright Desire Holt 2019

  Cover Art by Cherith Vaughan ©Copyright February 2019

  Interior text design by Claire Siemaszkiewicz

  Totally Bound Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.

  Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

  The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

  Published in 2019 by Totally Bound Publishing, United Kingdom.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors’ rights. Purchase only authorised copies.

  Totally Bound Publishing is an imprint of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

  If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book”.

  Book three in the Strike Force series

  Two wounded souls discover each other on a romantic getaway…until an imminent terrorist attack turns their world upside down.

  Marc Blanchard’s short, ill-fated marriage and the death of Nikki Alvarez’s fiancé sent them both to very dark places, causing them to close their hearts to future love of any kind, the risk of devastation more than they were willing to face.

  But Fate likes to play tricks on people, like bringing these two badly wounded souls together at their most vulnerable and showing them the possibility of a future.

  A romantic getaway is supposed to help them find the answers…until they stumble onto a plot of a major terrorist attack. Before they can contemplate a future together, they have to save their own lives—and those of several thousand others.

  Dedication

  First and foremost, to Joe Trainor, my favorite deputy, whose knowledge and plotting skills are invaluable as always. To Nikki Strathmann, his significant other, for the use of her name and her knowledge as a nurse. To Margie Hager, beta reader extraordinary and total best friend. And to Maria Connor, the very best VA an author could have, as well as the perfect friend.

  Trademark Acknowledgements

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  AK-47s: JSC Kalashnikov Concern

  AT&T Center: Spurs Sports & Entertainment L.L.C.

  Colt: Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC

  FaceTime: Apple, Inc.

  Freeman Coliseum: Bexar County, Texas

  General Atomics: General Atomics

  Glock: Glock Ges.m.b.H.

  Google: Google, Inc.

  Heckler and Koch: Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK)

  San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo: San Antonio Livestock Exposition, Inc

  Sikorsky MH-60 M Black Hawk: Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

  Stetson: John B. Stetson Company

  Uber: Uber Technologies Inc.

  Prologue

  Marc Blanchard took another swallow of his beer and wondered just how much it would cost to cab or Uber back to Slade’s ranch. He supposed he could call Teo, Slade’s foreman, but he hated to put someone out just because he had turned into the most antisocial person on the planet. Maybe he could just find a corner to hide in until the party started to break up. See if one of the guys could haul his ass back to the ranch.

  Maybe not. It looked like everyone was into this party except him. Slade was all into an intense conversation with a hot woman and seemed oblivious to anything around him. Beau Williams, their Delta Force team’s sniper, was being his usual hot-guy self with some people near the bar. And Trey, well, Trey was surfing the crowd, not spending too much time with anyone.

  Every square foot of space in the living room, family room and kitchen seemed to be taken up by people who didn’t look at all like they’d be moving any time soon.

  Fuck.

  He should have just been his usual douchebag self, dug in and told Slade he wasn’t going to the party unless ordered to. He knew Slade—all the team—was worried about him. Hell, he was worried about himself, too, but he didn’t know what to do about it. He’d crawled into a dark place to escape the destructive memories that he lived with and he couldn’t seem to free himself of it. The only place he could block them out was
on a mission, but hell, they couldn’t do that three hundred and sixty-five days without a break.

  He dumped his empty bottle in the trashcan next to the bar and plucked a full one from the big cooler by the patio door. He stood for a moment in the open doorway, scanned the patio and, seeing no one, headed for a bench in the far corner. He sat with his back to the house, blocking out light and sound and wrapping himself in the familiar cloak of misery.

  He took a swallow of beer and stared at the thick trees in the back yard. Maybe he could hang himself from one of them.

  Okay, asshole, enough with the self-pity.

  Jesus. He was getting so he couldn’t even stand himself. If he could just bleach that picture of Ria, high on cocaine and tumbling naked in bed with their next-door neighbor, maybe he could find a way to get on with his life. But it seemed the image was burned into his brain.

  Everyone had told him to back away from her. Slade Donovan, his team leader, was always right on the money. Too fucking bad he hadn’t listened to him. It certainly showed how bad his judgment sucked. As devastating as the marriage had been, the divorce hadn’t been any better. She had tracked him down between missions and caused scenes so outrageous and embarrassing he’d finally had to have her arrested. Thank the lord he had a tough attorney who had taken care of everything so he didn’t even have to go to court.

  But since then he just hadn’t been able to pull himself out of that hole he crawled into between missions. Which again made him question why the hell he had allowed himself to be talked into coming to this party. Did his teammates think sticking him in a social situation would be some kind of miraculous cure? Or did they worry that if they left him alone he might think suicide wasn’t a bad choice?

  He sighed and tried to figure out the best way to slide out of tonight’s situation without putting up with a whole raft of shit from his teammates. A strange noise coming out of the darkness pierced the edge of his consciousness. At first, he thought it was an animal, like maybe a cat, that had gotten itself up a tree or something. But then he realized it was the sound of someone crying. What the hell?

  Setting his beer bottle on a nearby table, he stepped off the patio and headed into the little copse. He hadn’t gone five steps before he nearly tripped over a female sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree. And doing her best to contain the sobs that were shaking her body.

  Oh, fucking swell. Just what he needed.

  But all the misery he’d suffered hadn’t wiped away his sense of decency so, sighing, he crouched beside her.

  “Is there something I can help you with?”

  He tried to get a good look at her, but the lights didn’t reach this far and tonight there wasn’t a damned star in the sky. All he could make out was long blonde hair covering her head like a shroud because she was bent over, her face buried in her hands. For all he knew, she could be someone’s kid out here having a meltdown.

  “Hello?” He touched her arm, just a brush of his fingertips. “Can I do anything for you?”

  She just shook her head, her body continuing to shudder with her quiet sobbing.

  Well, there was no damned way he was just walking off and leaving her.

  Come on, asshole. Figure out what to do.

  Being as gentle as possible, he pried her hands away from her face and brushed the smooth thickness of her hair back. When she raised her face to him, he felt like an elephant had kicked him in the stomach. Her eyes might have been swollen from crying and her cheek stained with rivers of tears, but this was no kid. This was a woman with such simple, classical beauty that it stunned him. It was hard to make out details, but he didn’t miss the thick lashes that sparkled with her tears, or the full, sensuous lips.

  “Come on,” he urged. “Let’s get you off this ground. I think we can find a better place for you to sit.”

  She resisted at first, then gave in to the pressure of his hands helping her to rise. When she was standing he realized she was taller than he’d thought, only a couple of inches shorter than he was, and slender. Something about her attitude gave her the appearance of being much smaller

  “I don’t want to go back inside.” The words were little more than a whisper.

  “Yeah? Well, guess what? Neither do I. But let’s go sit on that bench over there. We’ll be out of everyone’s glide path.”

  What the hell am I doing? The last thing I need to do is to help a woman falling apart. I can hardly help myself.

  Cursing himself under his breath, he guided her over to the bench and sat them both down so they faced away from the house. When she lifted her hands to her face again and started to lean forward, he brushed back the thick curtain of silken hair that obscured her face. Then he tucked the tip of a finger beneath her chin and tilted it upward.

  Shit!

  Big mistake. Huge mistake.

  There was enough ambient light that he could see the high cheekbones, full lips and slightly pointed chin. But what slayed him were the eyes, a stormy gray that were filled with so much misery that his cold, hardened heart turned over. The pain radiating from her was so visceral he could feel it.

  He paused. “Um, not trying to stick my nose in your business, but maybe if you share what’s causing you so much misery, it will help.”

  She looked at him as if he was crazy. Then she sighed, one that seemed to come from deep inside her.

  Whatever this was, he’d figure out what to say to get her through the next few minutes. He’d bet his misery won over hers.

  “I killed my fiancé.”

  Her tone was soft, faint, but the words went through him like a rifle shot. How was that possible? She was so small, and nothing about her shrieked killer. He took a breath to gather his thoughts together and make sure whatever he said did not come out in an accusing voice.

  “I hear you, but somehow I don’t think that’s right. I can’t see you deliberately taking someone’s life. So what really happened?”

  Again she was silent and the moment stretched out. He wanted to repeat the question, even as a chaotic tumble of thoughts bounced around in his brain.

  Then she sighed. “He was so sick and I couldn’t save him.”

  Okay, it was official. She won the ‘lowest point in life’ contest. He felt like the biggest piece of shit. The pain edging her words was so sharp that for a moment he forgot to breathe.

  Well, asshole, don’t just sit there.

  He dug around in what was left of his brain for some kind of appropriate remark. Something that would not make him look any stupider that he felt.

  “I’m sure you’ve had a lot of people tell you that’s probably not true.”

  Teas rolled down her cheeks, more poignant because she made no sound at all, just shook her head.

  “No, they didn’t? I can’t believe that.”

  She grabbed his free hand and squeezed it so hard he was sure she left fingerprints on the skin.

  “It doesn’t matter.” She said the words in a toneless voice. “Nothing matters.”

  He had let himself become such a hot mess that he’d lost all his people skills. This was going to be a real challenge.

  I’m not a human being anymore.

  He wanted to shoot the words at her, but instead he pulled out his clean handkerchief and blotted her cheeks.

  “I’m a totally neutral person, right? So how about telling me why you think it’s your fault? I’ll bet I can give you an objective opinion.” Assuming he even knew what that was any more.

  She sat there for so long he began to wonder if she’d changed her mind and just clammed up.

  “He came down with a terrible disease.” She recited the words without inflection. “I was his nurse, taking care of him. And he died.”

  Okay, so he didn’t know what to say. He lifted the hand digging furrows in his and held it between two of his.

  “I’m sure there’s a lot more to it than that. But you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t feel comfortable with.” He paused. “Ex
cept your name. How about that?”

  More silence.

  “Nikki. Cynthia Nicole Alvarez, but everyone calls me Nikki.”

  “A perfect name for you. Hi, Nikki Alvarez. I’m Marc Blanchard.”

  She looked at him and a hint of a smile lifted up the corners of her mouth, “Hi, Marc Blanchard. I’ll bet you’re kicking yourself for coming to rescue me in my puddle of tears instead of partying inside.”

  “No, not in the least.” He shook his head. “I’m not much of a party animal anymore.”

  She lifted a delicate eyebrow. “Anymore? Is there a story there?”

  Oh, yeah. There’s a big story. But I sure don’t want to talk about it tonight.

  “A long one and not for tonight. So, are you friends of the people throwing this party?”

  She shook her head. “Some of my friends threatened me with bodily harm if I didn’t show up at least for a little while.”

  He snorted. “We sure have that in common.”

  She studied his face. “You, too?”

  “Uh-huh. It was easier to come along with them than spend an hour arguing. Listen, I’d ask you to go get a cup of coffee with me except I don’t have any wheels.”

  She frowned. “Then how did you get here?”

  “Slade Donovan drove. He’s our team leader. We’re visiting him at his ranch for a few days. But he reconnected with someone at the party and I have no idea what the other two guys are doing.”