Page 7 of Rescuing Brinley

“Yeah, we are.”

“When do you start? How much time do we have to move to Fairbanks?”

Cypress grinned. “Two weeks.”

“Two weeks! Holy crap! We need to get started! Find an apartment, hire movers, pack our stuff⁠—”

“Breathe, Brin. My new boss has it under control. She’s sending me numbers for some available apartments and moving companies. I’m so excited! I mean, this is exactly why I got my graduate degree in climate studies. I’ll get to study the permafrost day in and day out. I’ll get to see the impact of warmer winters and summers on glaciers firsthand, and hopefully guest teach at the university there.”

“That’s so awesome, Cy. I mean it. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thanks. You gonna be okay moving your business to Alaska?”

“Of course. You know I can work from anywhere.”

Cypress grinned. “This is gonna be so great.”

“Yup.”

“Love you, bestie.”

“Love you too.”

“Let’s get packing! We have a life in Alaska to get to!”

CHAPTER ONE

Four Years Later; Present Day

“I have your new assignment.”

Dash “Shadow” Carlson sat in the small room on the Fort Wainwright Army base in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the rest of his Delta Force team, waiting to hear what they’d be doing next.

Their duty station was unusual for a Delta unit. The base was home to the 11th Airborne Division, but Shadow and his teammates had been sent here to conduct arctic training for units that cycled in and out, and so they would be closer to places like Eastern Russia, North Korea, China, and anywhere else that might need a rapid deployment team of special forces operatives.

Shadow hadn’t thought he’d enjoy being here. He was raised in Arizona and wasn’t used to the extreme cold that came with living in Fairbanks. But after a bit of adjustment, he found that he loved the area. It was rural, beautiful, and, when outfitted properly, the cold wasn’t that big of a deal.

He’d recently had a conversation with his mom, who couldn’t understand why he actually liked living in Alaska, and he’d said it was a lot like living in Arizona in some ways. When the temperature got too extreme—cold instead of hot, as in Phoenix—people stayed indoors. In the summer, when it was nice, was when everyone got outside and went camping, hiking, biking, enjoying the temperate weather as much as possible. When it was cold, they hunkered down inside where it was warm.

Arizona was similar, except people stayed inside quite often in the summer, when the temps soared above a hundred and ten, and indulged in outdoor activities more in the winter, when the weather was ideal. His mom would never be a fan of the cold, however, and would probably never come visit him in the winter, even though that’s when things like the Northern Lights were the most active—and the most beautiful thing he’d ever witnessed.

But Shadow understood. He wasn’t a fan of visiting her in the summers in Phoenix either, so he guessed they were even.

Realizing his mind had wandered, Shadow turned his attention back to Lieutenant Colonel Zamora, the man in charge of their team. He was a former Delta operative himself, and Shadow and the rest of his team highly respected the lieutenant colonel and trusted him with their lives.

“As you may or may not know, Vice President Roling’s daughter, Ayla, has been participating in beauty pageants her entire life. And just because her father was elected to the oval office doesn’t mean she’s going to quit. There’s an international pageant in Fiji next weekend. Both VP Roling and his wife will be traveling to the island to watch their daughter compete. And you all have been slated to go with them and work alongside the Secret Service to make sure the entire family stays safe.”

Delta Force operatives had acted as bodyguards for high-risk or important personnel in the military and government in the past, so this wasn’t exactly a surprise…but a beauty pageant? How the hell dangerous could that be?

Shadow kept his thoughts to himself. As a member of the US military, he went where he was ordered and did as he was told. As did his team—to a point. None of them would ever follow an order if it meant hurting American citizens. They were loyal and loved their country to a degree few would understand, but that was where they drew the line.

“A beauty pageant? You’ve got to be kidding,” Atlas mumbled.

He was the youngest on the team and hadn’t been a Delta for as long as the rest of them.

“I’m not kidding,” Zamora said sternly. “If the VP and his wife want to go and watch their daughter compete, that’s what they’ll do. It’s our job to make sure they’re safe while they’re doing it. Period. They could be watching a Ping-Pong tournament or participating in a Pokémon event, and our mission wouldn’t change. Not that there’s anything wrong with either of those things…I’ve got Pokémon Go downloaded on my own phone.” He grinned slightly. “I’m just saying, it doesn’t matter what the person or people are doing—it’s your job to make sure they get back home alive.”

“Yes, Sir,” Atlas said, sounding properly chastised.