A SEAL Wolf Christmas

Chapter 4

When Bjornolf reached Anna at a low crouch behind a bank of ferns, he found her safe, his own heart hammering with worry for her. He tried to catch his breath as he drew close to her to see what she was observing.

She bowed her head in greeting as his arm brushed against hers, having to touch her like a wolf would and have the reassurance she truly was all right before he looked further into the matter that had concerned her.

Two men were attempting to drag a young native boy of maybe eight or nine with them. The kid was kicking and hitting and biting. She motioned to Bjornolf that she wanted him to draw the men’s attention so she could take them out and the boy could get away. “Involved with Wentworths,” she whispered.

One of the men said to the other in Spanish, “Where the hell are the Wentworths? I thought we were supposed to be done with this business by now. And be paid. Get that kid out of here.”

Bjornolf was planning on being the one to attack the men—and keep one of them alive for questioning—while Anna drew their attention instead, but before he could do anything, the men slapped at their necks, released the boy, and collapsed in dead heaps on the ground. The boy glanced in Anna and Bjornolf’s direction, gave them a big smile and a wave, then tore off into the jungle.

“Shit,” Bjornolf said under his breath.

“What just happened?” Anna whispered to Bjornolf. “I thought we could wound one and question him.”

“Poisoned darts, hunters, natives in the area,” he whispered into her ear. He jerked his head toward the path he’d taken, telling her that they needed to get back to the team.

She nodded, thanking him silently, but he could tell she was just as disappointed as he was that they couldn’t have learned more from these men—now that they needed to question them concerning what the Wentworths were up to, and not just eliminate the threat.

Bjornolf admired her for attempting to rescue the boy and alerting the team for help, not jumping in to do this by herself. It showed a side of her that she tried to hide behind her camouflaged suit of armor. He swore she flushed a little under all that camo paint when the boy smiled and waved at her.

Sighing, he hated leaving her to continue to provide security for the team, hated that every time he thought she might be in danger, his heart would nearly stop. Everyone had a mission on the team. For now, his was transporting the little girl. He still didn’t like that he’d have to let Anna fend for herself, no matter how good she was at her job.

When he returned to the group, Hunter gave him a quizzical look. Bjornolf couldn’t tell him in front of the family how they had overheard that the men knew something about the Wentworth’s kidnapping. Bjornolf instead gave Hunter a thumbs-up, and he took the girl in his arms again. First chance they had, either he or Anna would let Hunter know what had happened.

The team traveled with the family for four more days through the jungle in the same manner as before—sleeping with guards posted, eating and drinking all together, and keeping a low profile. At the end of the fourth day, they reached the outskirts of a village and, before anyone saw them, they scrubbed the camo paint off of each other with soap and water from a nearby river, not wanting to give the villagers the impression that they might be trouble.

Anna smiled when Elsie scrubbed the paint off Bjornolf’s face, dragging a wet soapy cloth this way and that over his skin. He exaggerated his expressions of pain and surprise, groaning and moaning, making Elsie giggle. He caught Anna’s gaze and grinned at her. Leaving the girl to her mother, Bjornolf advanced on Anna.

As he closed in on her with a feral gray wolf’s heated look, she felt her body temperature elevate in the steamy heat.

“You didn’t quite get all your makeup off,” he said, pulling a cloth out of his sack and soaking it with a container of soapy water. He stood too close—way too close.

She gave him a skeptical look, not wanting to believe him, but since she didn’t have a mirror, she wasn’t certain. The parents were washing their kids’ faces and Wentworth’s brother was working on his own, but her team watched Bjornolf as he washed her face.

Feeling her cheeks heat, she folded her arms and silently entreated him to hurry it up.

But he didn’t. He took his time wiping every inch of her face, her lips, her ears, and neck so gently, she didn’t think he could have removed anything.

When he was done, she said, “Let me see the cloth.”

His eyes widened a bit. “You don’t trust me?” he asked with feigned innocence.

She knew he was all pretend when he was balking at showing her the cloth. She stretched out her hand, raised her brows, and waited.

He let out an exaggerated sigh and handed the cloth to her. “See, what did I tell you?”

A faint green cast covered a section of the white cloth, and one dark brown smudge colored another spot. This time she sighed audibly. “Thanks. Good job.”

“You’ve got to learn to trust your partner,” he said.

She looked at him, trying to read the meaning behind his words. She swore he was trying to tell her something.

The show over, Hunter moved the group through the village to a couple of cabanas that he had rented—all the buildings decked out in Christmas lights, decorated Christmas trees sitting in front of some of the windows. Despite the Christmas decorations, the jungle atmosphere reminded them they were still far from home.

“Anna, you’ll stay with the mother and the kids tonight. Paul, Allan, the two of you also. The Wentworth brothers will stay with Bjornolf, Finn, and me,” Hunter said. “Better protection for all concerned.”

“I want to stay with my wife,” Wentworth said, looking cross and obviously used to getting his way.

“Sorry, Mr. Wentworth,” Hunter said, his tone curt, not the least bit sorry. “You’re under my orders until we drop you off safely at the embassy. After that, it’s your decision.”

“Honey, do as he says,” his wife said as she held her kids’ hands. “They got us this far without any of us being hurt.”

He gave her a murderous look. Anna saw a flicker of relief on the woman’s face when her husband didn’t get his way.

Hunter was clearly giving Anna a chance to question the mother without the husband being present. Paul and Allan slid looks in Bjornolf’s direction. His expression was neutral, but he was totally annoyed. Bjornolf couldn’t stop thinking about staying with Anna at the hut, and he definitely didn’t like the idea of being in a separate cabana away from her. All his protective instincts were on overdrive.

He loathed the idea of Anna being out of his sight, and that was beginning to annoy him, too. Bjornolf thought of himself as a quintessential loner, and now he was anticipating a mission with a partner. If that wasn’t bad enough, the partner was someone he was getting way too personally interested in.

Before bedding down for the night, Hunter sent Bjornolf and Anna to buy meals from a local eatery. The owner of the cabanas had recommended three of them. Eating at the others was at the customers’ risk. They chose one that looked a little less rustic than the others. Small wooden tables filled a flagstone patio surrounded by rough, yellow stone walls topped with white Christmas lights. More lights wound around vines and hanging plants, while the smell of arepas wafted outside. Friendly chatter and the clinking of bottles of beer filled the air. Chickens clucked and pecked at bugs scurrying around on the pavers. A donkey brayed in the distance—adding to the South American– style holiday ambience.

Anna surveyed the surrounding area again, watching for any sign of danger while they waited for their meals. Bjornolf caught Anna looking at him, which made him smile a little. Garbed in civilian clothes to fit in with the other tourists, Anna wore a jungle-print, see-through blouse over a green tank top. A pair of black jeans and heeled boots were a lot sexier than the combat ones she’d had on, though he knew she could use those boots as weapons. He had to admit anything she wore looked damned good on her. She appeared as beautiful as the colorful birds and flowers of the jungle, he thought.

She quickly looked at the patrons again. Like any good operative, she’d been observing the patrons as well as the jungle. When their gazes collided, he watched her cheeks flush. All fresh and clean, she fairly sparkled. Her auburn hair hung in damp curls around her face, her green eyes widened a bit when Bjornolf continued to look at her, taking her in, every delicious part of her.

He’d never seen her dress in anything but camouflaged clothes, or on that last mission when he’d first run into her—close-fitting black for cat burglar–type operations—so this was a new look for him. The colors were still dark, but he couldn’t pass up another look at the sheer blouse that hinted at a playful suggestiveness. She might not be suggesting anything, but he liked to believe she was teasing him a bit.

“What?” she said, casting him an annoyed glance, arms folding defensively over her chest.

“You look nice.”

Her mouth opened as if she was about to give him a smart-assed reply, then she closed it, eyes narrowing.

“Really,” he said. He wanted to tell her that it was okay to accept the compliment, that it wasn’t demeaning or anything for someone who tried so hard to be just one of the guys. “Really nice,” he said, in a way that meant his appreciation of her beauty had nothing to do with wanting to get her into the sack.

Not that he wouldn’t love that, but he hadn’t meant the compliment in that way.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice sounding a little suspicious.

Okay, so maybe the appreciative look he gave her did border on lingering, and definitely indicated that he was interested.

“Señor?” a young dark-haired woman called, coming up to him and handing him the bags of food, the spicy scent making his stomach rumble with anticipation.

“Muchas gracias,” he said, thanking her.

His mouth was watering, too, but that had more to do with the way Anna looked than anything to do with the food.

Anna quickly took some of the bags, then they left the eatery.

“So… about the sleeping arrangements…” Bjornolf began.

She glanced his way before they crossed the narrow dirt road. “What about them?”

“I couldn’t help but notice that both Allan and Paul jumped right in to protect the woman and her children,” he said, unable to keep the sarcasm from his voice. He knew they also wanted to protect Anna, though he wouldn’t say so because he figured that wouldn’t set well with her.

She smiled at him, the warmth of that wicked expression going straight to his groin.

“Hunter made the assignments. But… you wanted the job?” Her brows were raised, her eyes wide with innocence, but he knew she was feigning that virtuous look.

“Nah,” he said, “but Finn or Hunter could stay with them, and you and I could eavesdrop on William and his brother again.”

“I doubt they will say anything more to each other. At the hut, we were apart from them on the porch so they probably figured we couldn’t make out anything they said. They may be a bigger threat to our mission than the mother and kids are. That means you should stick with them. The reason I was asked to come along was to offer female companionship for the mother and to be a surrogate mother for the daughter and the son, should their mother have died.”

That was the first he’d heard of the role she was supposed to play. He really hadn’t thought she wanted to be around the children. But if the battle had gotten out of hand, she would have stepped in to mother them. That put a different spin on her part in the operation. He would like to see how Anna interacted with the children.

Lively salsa and pop music began to drift from a couple of bars catering to locals and foreigners alike, while Christmas carols played somewhere off in the distance as Bjornolf escorted Anna to the cabana where she’d stay the night. Allan opened the door to let her in.

Bjornolf took the opportunity to lean over and kiss her ear, still annoyed they were able to stay with her and not him. Wouldn’t it be better for Anna and him to spend more time together before they had to play the role of husband and wife on the next mission?

He wondered if Hunter had already told her about it.

“Sleep tight, Anna,” he whispered, and he saw a shiver go through her.

She smiled at him. “I will miss sleeping with you tonight,” she teased, winking at him.

What the hell. He needed a good night’s sleep for as much time as they’d have to sleep. He moved the bags of food to one hand, quickly slipped his arm around her back, and kissed her. He felt her tense ever so slightly. Not enough to stop him, and she didn’t make any move to shove him away.

His mouth covered hers, and she kissed him back, tentatively. He licked the seam of her lips, pressed his body against hers, and showed her what she did to him, even if she wasn’t going to encourage his kiss.

A small smile curved her lips, and the most devilish sparkle lit her eyes as she looped her arm around his neck, the bag of food resting on his back, and kissed him as if the world would end tonight. He growled against her mouth, feeling the way her rigid nipples pressed against his chest, her tongue sliding into his mouth, probing, tasting, teasing him.

“Ahem,” Allan said. “Our food is getting cold.”

Bjornolf expected Anna to pull away, and she did move her arm down from around his neck. But instead of stepping inside the cabana, she handed the bags to Allan, her gaze still on Bjornolf.

Freed of the bags, she wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed him again. “For helping us out back there.” Then she pulled away and said, “Night.” She closed the door to the cabana and he heard the lock click.

He wanted to howl! He stood staring at the door for a minute, still wondering how he’d gotten so damned lucky. He’d thought it was going to be like the first date he’d had when the girl had slipped inside her parents’ home before he had a chance to give her a kiss. Only Anna was one hot she-wolf.

He chuckled and headed next door. Next time, he’d plan the logistics better so he didn’t have his hands full of anything but Anna. Finn unlocked the door for him, and Bjornolf left the food on a table while Hunter gave them the guard schedule. They ate the spicy tamales and mango-pineapple cranberry sauce—typical South American fare for the holidays—and drank the beer, and then it was time to sleep. Bjornolf took first watch.

Afterward, Hunter took Bjornolf’s seat at the window while Bjornolf lay on his sleeping bag by the door. But he found sleep wouldn’t come. He finally got up and looked out the window, watching the cabana where Anna was staying, unable to quit worrying about her.

Still observing the street, Hunter said to Bjornolf, “Sleep. You already had guard duty. You need to be well rested for tomorrow. The women will be all right. Hell, you couldn’t have gotten much sleep last night.”

Bjornolf frowned at him. “I don’t need much.”

“Anna is a big girl, and she will be just fine.” Hunter continued to watch their surroundings.

Bjornolf smiled to himself. He saw Finn watching him from his sleeping bag, nodded to him, and retired to his own, wishing he was sleeping on Anna’s bag and smelling her delightful scent instead.

Still feeling her lips swollen from Bjornolf’s hot kiss and wishing she could have had a lot more, Anna climbed into the double bed nearest the window, thankful that both Paul and Allan insisted she take the bed—while the mother and kids slipped into the one closest to the wall of the cabana.

Anna turned to Helen Wentworth. “What are your plans for Christmas?” she asked softly so she wouldn’t wake the kids.

The woman turned around on the bed and looked in Anna’s direction. The room was dark, but because of Anna’s wolf vision, she could make out the woman’s facial features perfectly.

“The usual. Christmas party at the company. Open a present Christmas Eve with the kids. The rest of the presents Christmas Day. You know. Because Santa will have left their gifts after they’ve fallen asleep that night.”

“Yeah,” Anna said, forgetting that was the way it was supposed to be.

“You?”

Anna only wanted to ease Helen into talking about what was going on with her husband and his brother. She didn’t want to get drawn into a discussion concerning her Christmas plans. Which meant avoiding the holidays as much as possible. “Haven’t decided yet. So what do you have to eat?”

Helen took a deep breath and expelled it. “Turkey, ham, sweet potatoes… too much food, really.”

“Yeah. Wreaks havoc with a diet.”

Helen smiled a little.

Now for the tough part. “So what were you doing in the Amazon exactly?”

Helen didn’t say anything. Paul was watching Anna, a frown furrowing his brow. Anna didn’t expect the woman to know what her husband and his brother were up to, but if Helen had heard anything at all suspicious or out of place before they were taken hostage, she might have a clue.

“One of the major firms my husband owns has to do with pharmaceuticals. He had a business trip down here, and he wanted to take the family on a vacation at the same time. I would have preferred somewhere else, honestly. My idea of a pleasure trip is visiting the Swiss Alps or the Riviera. He said we’d have a fun adventure.”

The mention of a business trip surprised Anna. “So he had some business meetings before you all took the trek into the jungle?”

“Yes. A couple of meetings. The cottages had a swimming pool. I took the kids swimming. We were there a day before we went on the trip into the jungle.”

“Who all knew you were going to be here?”

“Everyone. It wasn’t a secret.” The woman closed her eyes, then opened them. Her eyes shimmered with tears.

Anna glanced at Paul. He was still watching Anna, his eyes meeting hers, waiting for her to say something that would encourage the woman to speak the truth.

Time to drop the bombshell. “I know that we weren’t supposed to rescue you.” Anna let that information sink in.

Helen’s heartbeat kicked up another notch. She was barely breathing, as if she was afraid she’d give her rattled emotions away.

“My team knows, too,” Anna added, to emphasize that they weren’t about to be bamboozled by William Wentworth.

Helen swallowed hard, then bit her lip.

“You don’t want to lose custody of your children,” Anna prodded, shifting the focus so abruptly that Helen’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean?” Helen asked, trying to sound innocent, her words choked by unshed tears.

More silence. Heavy pauses were important, unsettling to someone being interrogated. The time gave the person being questioned a few seconds to reflect, to sweat, to make mistakes.

“We came here to rescue you, but your husband and his brother had some other agenda. We were set up, Helen.”

“No,” Helen gasped.

Anna studied her, unable to ascertain whether the outburst meant Helen couldn’t believe the team had figured that out, or that she hadn’t known what was going down.

“If anyone on the team dies during this mission, it’s on your and your husband’s and his brother’s heads.”

Helen had turned into a statue, her expression horrified.

“You’d be an accessory.”

“I didn’t know anything about it,” Helen said hastily.

She hadn’t denied that her husband and his brother had set the whole situation up, Anna noted.

“Until when?” Anna asked.

Helen didn’t say.

“At the hut where we stayed several days ago?” Anna asked. Had Helen heard her husband and Jeff whispering that night? “Before that? When you were first taken hostage? When did you know this was a setup?”

Helen backtracked as if she’d finally managed to get a grip on her thoughts. “They didn’t set this up. We were with tour guides on a trek through the Amazon to see the kinds of plants my husband uses in his pharmaceuticals. They… the men… barged through the jungle and killed our guides.”

“You weren’t with a group of other tourists?”

Helen turned up her nose. “Of course not. We always have private tours when we go on vacation.”

“Okay, well, we know your husband and his brother are involved in something underhanded. Just be forewarned that if we get you and your family out alive, the team isn’t letting this go.”

The woman’s face hardened. Then she finally said, “You won’t discover anything more than what really happened.” But she didn’t sound sure of herself. She turned her back to Anna and settled down to sleep.

“Your kids could have been shot and killed. They could have died.”

Helen didn’t say anything. Anna was dying to know what she was thinking, feeling. Anna let out her breath, exasperated that she couldn’t get a confession out of the woman.

If Helen hadn’t known, or only suspected something more was going on, she might try to speak with her husband about it sometime soon. Paul, Allan, and Anna would watch William and Helen’s interactions tomorrow. One way or another, they’d eventually learn the truth.

“Maybe you don’t know what this is all about,” Anna said. “For your sake, I hope not.”

Let Helen try to sleep on that.