SEALs of Honor: Swede Read online

  SWEDE

  SEALs of Honor, Book 4

  Dale Mayer

  Books in This Series:

  Mason: SEALs of Honor, Book 1

  Hawk: SEALs of Honor, Book 2

  Dane: SEALs of Honor, Book 3

  Swede: SEALs of Honor, Book 4

  Shadow: SEALs of Honor, Book 5

  Cooper: SEALs of Honor, Book 6

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  About the Book

  Complimentary Download

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Author’s Note

  Complimentary Download

  About the Author

  Also by Dale Mayer

  Copyright Page

  This is the 4th book in the SEALs of Honor action and romance mystery series. It is Eva and Swede’s story.

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  COMPLIMENTARY DOWNLOAD

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  Chapter 1

  Swede hunkered down behind the massive tree. Who knew they grew to this size in Mexico? In this rebel infested part of the woods, he and his team were after a new breed of terrorists. One that was possibly linked to the Middle East. Like hell anyone needed that. It was a good thing Mexico was cooperating with the US on this one. Joint efforts were always more effective.

  No one wanted to see terrorist training camps set up on this continent. Better to destroy them while still young and unorganized.

  Voices off to the left had him sliding deeper into the brush. Footsteps approaching followed by raucous laughter and snarky comments about several women in the compound. Swede frowned.

  He hated to think of any woman forced to be in there with these assholes. Still, the team needed to make sure they captured the top man alive. He had valuable information.

  The two rebel soldiers walked closer, their conversation easy to hear.

  “Horse rescue. What bullshit.”

  “Hey, they can come rescue us. We could use the distraction.”

  “Don’t let the commander hear you. We’re supposed to be in hard training.”

  “I know. We have thirty men training here. We could use a few more women. Who’s going to miss a couple of do-gooders like the women at the hacienda?”

  A new voice joined them. Harder. Colder. Angry. “Not happening. No one is to know we are here. Kidnapping a couple of women, when you already have several available, is not in the cards.”

  “Sorry, Sarge, we were just joking,” the one man said in low tones.

  “And for that ill placed humor you will report to the commander this afternoon for special orders,” Sarge said, his cold voice turning soft, lethal.

  Swede winced. Yeah, these first two men were low on the hierarchy and likely knew little but the other man…now he could be useful. But the one the team really needed was this “commander.”

  The voices marched away as the men straightened up and hurried back to the camp. Swede knew they’d been watched for days now. A second infraction and they’d likely go for a short walk in the woods, and no one would know what happened to them.

  The sarge’s voice changed as he made a phone call. Swede listened as the sarge followed the men and made a report. “No sir, they are on their way back. I know the hacienda is out of bounds, but there are a number of horses there and strangers.” He nodded then added, “You can’t stop the men from thinking about the women.”

  Silence.

  Swede looked through the bushes.

  “Right,” the soldier said. “It would make a good training exercise.” With that, he shut off his phone.

  A single raptor cry sounded overhead.

  Swede tilted his head to the side and smiled. Hawk was on the move.

  Swede pulled back and waited for the next signal.

  When it came it was not what he expected. The first cry was repeated followed by two short bursts of the same raptor cry. Frowning at the message, Swede eased back several more yards. They were supposed to be grabbing these assholes, not retreating.

  Under the cover of heavy growth, he waited until Shadow slipped to his side.

  “What’s up?” Swede asked in a low voice.

  “Hawk has learned something about a group of civilians close by who are trying to round up a small group of horses being shipped today.”

  Civilians? What the hell. Swede closed his eyes. Damn it. They couldn’t pull off the op if civilians were in the area. It was bad enough the rebels already knew about the civilians, the women, but he didn’t want these people to know about the rebels. Or about his team of SEALs. That was not in the cards.

  “Is the op cancelled?”

  “Stalled while we figure out how close the–”

  Just then the sound of running hooves raced toward them.

  And galloped past at top speed.

  Swede wanted to cheer the horses on, except the horses were in rough shape. Ribs visible and bony skulls covered by rough hides that looked dull and sickly. Shit. These horses needed the rescue. He couldn’t imagine where they were going or who was a part of this, but he hated to see any animal in trouble. Even exhausted and worn out these animals could cover a lot of ground fast.

  An odd crooning cry rent the air. More like a cowboy call to the horses.

  The horses calmed, circling around Swede and Shadow’s hiding spot, their panic stilling, their movements slowing. Two mounted riders came into view, corralling the horses between them and persuading the animals to turn back the way they’d come. One of the riders continued to croon to the horses.

  Swede and Shadow stood in silence, letting the horses do their thing. They weren’t in danger and both were animal lovers. Hell, Swede was bigger than some of these poor things.

  He grinned. This was a new one. As operations went, all kinds of things could go wrong, but a band of horses hadn’t happened before.

  Another mounted rider broke through the dense brush. A woman. Her gaze was intent as she checked out the trees, looking for any horses that might have been missed.

  Her gaze floated past both Shadow and Swede. Swede recognized the moment she realized something was different, and her gaze zinged back to stare at the spot both men stood.

  “Swede?” she asked in shock. “Shadow?”

  Ah shit.

  Swede felt Shadow’s start of shock. It was damn near impossible to see the two men on a good day, but when they were hidden like this – there was no way she should have seen them. That she not only saw them, but recognized who they were…

  That was seriously bad.

  Especially when neither knew her.

  The woman, a hat pulled low, scarf up over her chin and nose, nudged her horse closer.

  How the hell had they been seen?

  “It is you, isn’t it?”

  The men melted farther into the shadows. The horse she rode bucked slightly, not happy with the situation.

  The woman gasped. “Oh shit. I’m so sor
ry. I’ll leave now.”

  She spun her horse and urged him away. In seconds the horse and rider had disappeared into the trees following the same path as the other horses.

  Swede turned slowly to look at Shadow.

  “Did you recognize her?”

  “With the scarf, hat and oversized shirt – hell no.”

  Chapter 2

  Eva kept her head down as the branches whipped past, catching at her hair. She’d given the horse its lead, knowing he’d take her back to the ranch. She could only hope the other horses were moving toward the correct destination. They had three trailers lined up to haul the animals to special flights that would take them to two separate locations in the US. A special horse rescue on a large scale that would help these animals before someone felt it was a kindness to shoot them instead.

  Her body relaxed into the saddle, but her mind…oh good Lord. She couldn’t even begin to fathom what she’d seen, who she’d seen and why.

  She must have mistaken it. Knowing they were a long way behind her by now and she shouldn’t be able to see them any longer, but unable to help herself, she twisted in the saddle and looked behind her.

  No sign of them. Of course not. She’d been traveling in the opposite direction for the last fifteen minutes. One thing she did know – if she’d seen what she’d seen – if those two men were really here – her brother, Hawk, was here, too. And that combination meant trouble for someone.

  Someone in this area. Crap.

  Why here? Why now?

  She wanted to be a long way away from them. At home, when Hawk and his brothers in arms came to visit – that was a different story. When they were working, doing what SEALs did, she wanted no part of them.

  Just thinking about the reasons why they could be here made her skin crawl. She urged her poor horse into a gallop. Anything to get back faster.

  Up ahead was the hacienda she’d arrived at yesterday. She’d come as a volunteer to help move these animals. With over thirty being moved, extra hands were a help. And she’d known April, the coordinator and a vet herself, for years. She’d been facilitating animal rescues around the globe for just as long. She was as worldly as Eva was a hometown girl.

  But they’d become fast friends. It was because of April that Eva had done the little traveling that she’d done. It was good for her and she’d enjoyed every minute of it – but she loved that moment when she walked back into her house and realized she was home again.

  There was also the problem of leaving her own rescued animals at home. The Bangor brothers, Peter and Paul, often stepped in. While Mia, her best friend who lived on the property, was around she helped out when she could. This time however, Eva was planning to be gone a little longer. She had hoped to fly the horses to their new homes and help them settle. There were multiple veterinarians on this project to help the horses stay calm and minimize the stress of their new world. So she wasn’t as necessary to the success of this project as they were. And there was no doubt that the animals were being well cared for, yet Eva had been involved in this project for a long time from afar. Finally getting to meet the animals had been great. Now she wanted to see this through to seeing them all settled.

  Still, having SEALs in camouflage outfits in the woods just a few miles away terrified her. Why were they here? And had she blown their cover?

  She hoped not. That was major. A lot of time and planning went into each and every operation. Operations that were highest security, yet somehow she found herself in the middle of one.

  She’d seen the surprise on Shadow’s face when she’d recognized him. He always lived in the shadows even in society. Always quiet. Always off to one side in social settings. Not an introvert but reserved. The strong silent type. Unlike the mountain, Swede. He always had a girl on his arm except for the time he came to the ranch with two. That had pissed her off. She’d love to like him as a person, but his relationship style kept getting in the way. The rest of Hawk’s team were great though. And Hawk was around a little more now that he and Mia, her best friend, were an item. The two of them had been through a hellish nightmare during which time Hawk saved Mia’s life and in the process they’d fallen in love.

  Eva could feel her heart choke up over what her friend had been through. Mia had recovered – and faster than anyone had expected. With Hawk being very attentive, it was no wonder. And they were ideal together. Eva grinned thinking about the shy quiet Mia who, because of her search and rescue job, forced herself into caves, even though she hated them, paired up with her big strong tough brother. But it worked. Eva had always hoped for such a relationship for her friend and never thought it would happen for her brother.

  But it had.

  And reminded Eva she was alone.

  Not alone as in no friends and family, but alone as in there was no one “special” in her life. And she wanted a partner. Not just anyone though. She didn’t want to settle for second best. Hell, she didn’t want to settle. She wanted what Mia and Hawk had. What she knew several of Hawk’s friends had.

  She had no illusions. She wasn’t looking for a Cinderella scenario. But she’d like someone to stand beside her in the tough times and to rejoice with in the good times. To be there for her when she was down and turn to her when he needed cheering. A partner in all ways for all time.

  What a joke. She wasn’t ever picked for the volleyball team either.

  Neither was life in the habit of dropping huge gorgeous men in front of her.

  Especially ones that looked like Swede.

  Unfortunately.

  *

  Back at camp, Swede listened to the others discuss the options, but his mind was caught on the profile he’d briefly caught a glimpse of, barely seen under the hat.

  Surely it wasn’t the one woman who came to mind. She should be home at the ranch. He glanced at Hawk. Now he’d eased back into a settled quietly happy state of mind these days. It was both sickening and awe-inspiring. Swede knew he was losing his buddies one by one, but at the same time he was gaining some incredible women into his inner-circle. None of these new relationships had impacted the men’s brotherhood. Good thing. The team had always come before the women, in many ways they still did, but it was different now.

  He understood, but not having the same kind of relationship, he didn’t really understand. Inside, deep inside, he admitted he’d like to.

  But didn’t it figure that he’d still be alone. Maybe because he couldn’t identify what he wanted. Except as he stared at the men and remembered their partners, all he could say was he wanted exactly what they had – as in yes please, can I have one too.

  He couldn’t identify the type because he’d never met it until his buddies had. They’d recognized their partners in some inexplicable way. How could he describe something he didn’t know or understand? All he could do was wait in line and hope he was served up a perfect partner of his own.

  Then his mind caught on the one element he’d missed in today’s encounter. Her muffled voice. That tone of voice. The lilt to the voice. The way she raised her voice at the end. And he realized it had been her.

  He spun around and stared at Hawk. “Where is your sister?”

  His voice, the question so at odds with the current discussion, shocked the others into silence.

  Hawk raised his eyebrows as he studied his friend. “At home, why?”

  “Call her,” Swede said urgently. “Please.”

  Shadow made a strangled sound in the back of this throat. “Holy shit, you’re right.”

  Hawk leaned back and stared at the two men as he fished his cell phone out of his pocket. “He’s right about what?”

  “She was the woman who recognized us,” Swede stated. “It took a while but I finally got it.”

  Only Hawk was shaking his head in denial. “No. Can’t be. She’s at home.” Still he pulled out his phone and called her number.

  They all listened, waiting in tense silence. If it was her, the game had changed.

  They c
ould hear the ringing from the phone as it echoed around the room. Finally, just when they thought her voice mail would kick in, she answered. “Hello? Hawk? Is that you?”

  “Hey, Eva.” Hawk settled back with a smile. “How are you?”

  “I’m great,” she said in a jovial voice.

  Swede leaned closer. Her voice was forced. Fake.

  Hawk heard it too. “Are you all right? Alone and safe?”

  “I’m fine,” she said lightly. “At least I think so. But tell me, did I really see what I saw this morning or am I getting old before my time?”

  “What did you see?” Hawk asked curiously, his voice straining to stay calm, his gaze roaming the table and connecting with everyone sitting with him.

  “I thought I saw Shadow and Swede.”

  The others groaned softly. Hawk glared at the men. “Where the hell are you, Eva?”

  “In Mexico,” she said indignantly. “And I’m not following you. We’re moving this large group of horses to several ranches in the US. I came down to help.” She paused, then said, “I told you about it.”

  “You mentioned it in reference to next month – maybe.”

  “Well, April said that Isabella wanted the horses to be moved now, so plans changed a few days ago.”

  “April, of course,” he said sourly. “Can you hop a plane and go home?”

  “No, I’m not going to leave the horses,” she cried. “If there is a problem, you should have warned me.”

  “When was I going to do that when I had no idea you’d planned to come?”

  “Well, I hadn’t planned on meeting you here either…” She paused. “Okay, so what do we do now?” She laughed and Swede swore he could hear her smile through the phone. “I know, you guys can wait on your op until I get the horses safely out.”

  There was a collective snort from the men.

  “Yeah, I hear you,” she said softly, obviously having heard through the phone. “Not going to happen.”

  Swede listened in, grinning. He’d always liked Eva. She had spirit. But she was Hawk’s sister and that was a no no.