Wild Hearts (Novella) (9 page)

“And how hot and muggy the weather is,” Knox added.

“Yeah, buddy, but nothing like the deserts and jungles we’ve been in.” Risk took in his comrades. Rath was the most closed. Julian was probably reluctant to get that close to his family in Orlando. Knox was hard to read, as usual. Saxby was bending his straws about eight ways. Risk recognized the call to adventure sparking in his eyes. Or maybe it was the hot women.

“I called the references, too,” Sax admitted. “Just out of curiosity. One was a woman who’s been with the agency for a year.”

“Figures you’d get the female reference,” Risk grumbled, but inside he was getting excited. If one of them signed on, eventually, they’d all sign on. He knew these guys better than anyone, even his own family. Being shot at, covering each other’s asses with gunfire, and hauling an injured comrade out of a hot zone bonded people faster than anything. “You’re intrigued. Admit it.”

Saxby narrowed his eyes. “The last time you had that look in your eyes, we assaulted a compound in Laredo, Mexico.”

Knox nodded. “Those so-called references could be Justiss’s friends, his girlfriend.” Ever the cynic.

Risk honed in on his likely cohort, Saxby. “What else you got to do? Aren’t you tired of all those women fawning over you like you’re a lap dog? Ooh,
Chihuahua
. Don’t forget, I’ve seen it.” Risk had gone home with Saxby on leave once. It was as sickly sweet as the delicious pecan pie and whiskey lemonade Sax’s mom had plied them with. That was one time when Risk didn’t jump into compete mode. No way was he dangling his rod over someone else’s pond. Saxby was like the freaking king of Cole, especially since the town was named for his family.

“Yeah, yeah. I worked at the grill company for a while, unfortunately getting my daddy all excited, thinking I was going to settle in. I might have stayed if he’d taken the reality-show deal. One of the networks wanted to turn us into the latest family-business reality show.” He waved his hand marquis-style. “ ‘Hot and Sultry Grillin’.’ Or maybe ‘Smokin’ Louisiana.’ What do you think?”

Julian snorted. “Better than ‘Washing Dirty Money.’ ”

“Or ‘Rifle Travesty,’ ” Rath added. “In a takeoff of
Duck Dynasty
. The best rifle company no one’s ever heard of.”

Sue brought a tray and set down the plates without having to ask who ordered what. “Need anything else, boys?” She was looking mostly at Sax, but she swung that smile back at Risk, too.

“I’m good,” Risk said, picking up a piece of crispy bacon.

“I’ll bet you are,” she murmured as she headed off.

“Bet you fifty,” Sax said, digging into his country-fried steak.

“She might do you both at the same time,” Knox said, a bit of humor creeping into his expression. “You could save your money.”

Risk and Saxby both made a face. “Two women,” Saxby said, “sure. With another dude … no way.”

Damn, how they’d gotten sidetracked. Risk dropped his fork on his plate, making a loud clatter. “I’m thinking about my future, not my dick. Can we focus here? I’m going down to talk to Chase so that maybe I can get some purpose back to my life. Who’s with me?”

Rath shook his head as he shoved a forkful of mashed potatoes into his mouth.

Risk turned to Julian. “Purpose. Escape. Action. Doing the right thing. Everything we joined the SEALs for. We can have it again. You in?”

“Mountain Man and I are going down to Rod’s. Remember him? He owns a bike shop and hasn’t taken a vacation in two years. We’re going to spell him so he and his old lady can take off for a week. Go play in Justiss’s playground and let me know what happens.”

Risk could accept that. He focused on Saxby. “You’re getting soft, buddy. Spoiled.”

“Soft?” Saxby pulled up his T-shirt and thumped his knuckles against his six-pack. “You call this soft?”

“I sure don’t.” Sue had come up with a pitcher of iced tea, and she was practically drooling.

Risk was glad he hadn’t taken the bet. But honestly, his head wasn’t in
that
head. He needed more than a roll in the sack.

“Why, thank you, darlin’,” Sooch drawled, giving her his whole attention, just like he always did with the ladies.

She filled his glass first, then the others. “How’s dinner?”

“Hot and tasty,” Sax said in his deliberate way that always made the woman on the receiving end blush. Sue was no exception.

Damn, the boy had definitely gotten soft … in the brain, anyway. His focus would be on getting laid and not on his future, and Risk wanted to get to Miami tomorrow, now that he’d made his mind up to go.

Sax leaned back with a sigh and watched Sue sashay back to the kitchen. “She is hot. And I bet she’d be tasty.”

The guys gave a general consent, too busy filling their pieholes to comment further.

Sax blew out a long breath and turned to Risk. “I did get soft the first month I was home. Ate every kind of pie available, drank whiskey lemonade, and slept till noon. A week ago, I lost interest in it all. I found myself in the gym crunching until my abs burned like one of our grills. I ran for five hours straight. I even blew off a date, forgot all about it as I ran and ran and ran. That’s the best I’ve felt since the defuckle. And at the end, I realized I need something more than the cushy corporate life. I can’t reenlist, don’t want to go into law enforcement, so I called Chase.”

“And?”

“Told him I was thinking about it, asked some questions. I liked what he had to say. I’m in.”

Risk gave him a nod, even though he wanted to jump up and holler. He shifted his attention to Knox. “What about you, Maverick? The three of us can go down and do training and orientation together.”

Knox leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest like he was going to be a big fat
no
. “You can drop that bulldozer look. I talked to Justiss last week. I’m already scheduled to fly down the week you’re there.”

Risk felt as though he’d been sucker-punched. But in a good way. He traded a high five with Knox. It would be only a matter of time before Julian and Rath signed on. Then the team would be together again. And he knew they were going to kick ass.

Wild on You
(Spring 2014)

Rick (Risk) Yarbrough

Risk Yarbrough has always been an adrenaline junkie. Always the first to jump into a situation, he’s the first to join the Justiss team. He thinks he needs danger to feel alive, but he has no idea that the biggest thrill of all is taking a chance with love.

Wild Ways
(Spring 2014)

Julian Cuevas

Julian fought his destiny as a member of a crime family by joining the SEALs. Exiled from the Navy, he hits the road on his Harley to relish nothing more than fast riding and faster women. But smoky bars and meaningless encounters don’t fulfill his need for purpose. The Justiss Alliance does, along with a woman in danger who thinks the last thing she needs is a sexy Latin savior.

Wild Nights
(Fall 2014)

Saxby Cole

The only commitment that laid-back Southern charmer Saxby has ever been able to make is to the SEALs. As much as he loves women, he follows a long line of Cole lotharios who swear that monogamy just isn’t in their blood. And Sax is inclined to agree—until he meets the one woman who resists his sexy smile but can’t resist his offer of help.

And the rest of the guys …

Knox Logan

A childhood tragedy scarred Knox’s heart, leaving this cowboy emotionally numb. Joining the SEALs, and now the Justiss Alliance, is his way to atone for his past. But his future holds the one woman who can break through his armor and bring him to life.

Chase Justiss

Landing on the downside of justice trashed Chase’s illustrious career and left his life in ruins. He’s carefully constructed a new identity and found a new purpose—The Justiss Alliance. Everything in his world is under his perfect control … until he meets the woman who throws everything out of balance.

Rathmusen (Rath) Blackwood

Rath has one thing on his mind: finding out who corrupted their SEAL mission and making that person pay. Stubborn, driven, and angry, he’s not above using the man’s daughter to get him to fess up. But when she’s taken by the cartel leaders, the game completely changes.

You’ve probably heard that authors have characters who pester them to tell their stories. Well, for me, it was an
author
pestering me. I started writing romantic suspense novels under my real name, Tina Wainscott, in 1995. As I evolved into more paranormal elements, I shifted to my pseudonym, Jaime Rush. And while I’ve had a ball exploring psychic abilities, dragons, and angels, Tina has been simmering on the back burner. Finally, she said, “Enough! I want to write good old-fashioned romantic suspense again.” You do know that we writers are the crazy people who listen to the voices in our heads, right? So it should be no surprise that we have multiple personalities as well.

I set the muse loose and told her to find me some guys. I mean, some ideas. Here’s what she came back with: five sexy SEALs whose careers are in tatters when a covert mission goes awry. An agency whose sole purpose is to attain justice for those who can’t, even if it means playing outside the rules. The rather mysterious man who runs the agency. And, of course, women who give them all a run for their money. This was a way I could honor our military heroes, as well as fix some of the wrongs in the world—at least on paper.

I hope you’ll take a wild ride with me and my SEALs!

Photo: © Kelly MacDonald Photography

Tina Wainscott has always loved the combination of suspenseful chills and romantic thrills. She’s written fourteen romantic suspense novels, as well as ten paranormal romances as Jaime Rush. Losing her nephew, a Marine, in Afghanistan made her realize that military men are really the perfect heroes. Not only during the war but also once they’re home, as they try to stitch their lives and souls together. And so was born The Justiss Alliance, an agency where these men can find purpose, honor, and love outside the war zone.

For contests, sneak peeks, and more, visit
www.TinaWainscott.com
. For more on her paranormal romances, go to
www.JaimeRush.com
.

The last time Rick Yarbrough got into this limo was right after the Navy court hearing that had made him and four members of his team officially ex-SEAL. The man who provided that limo, Chase Justiss, had offered all five of them an intriguing job opportunity. Six and a half weeks later, Risk was an operational member of the Justiss Alliance. They were unofficially called J-Men, because two of Chase’s operatives had a thing for some cult-classic movie called
J-Men Forever
.

Risk, Saxby, and Knox had undergone a week of orientation and training at Chase’s Miami estate, nothing compared to the grueling thirty months of becoming a SEAL. Then again, they already possessed most of the requisite skills.

Chase leaned forward from the limo’s plush interior and shook his hand. “Welcome to your first mission, Risk.”

His new boss even remembered his nickname.

Chase was tall and lean, civilian, with a whiff of former military to his bearing. Government, he’d said, but was otherwise obtuse about his background. Or his reason for starting an agency that masqueraded as a private security firm.

Risk released his grip. “You haven’t told me what it is yet.” Which was odd, now that he thought about it. Though he was used to being given only bits and pieces of an upcoming mission, that was the military, after all.

“I didn’t want to scare you off.”

Risk rubbed his hands together. Oh, buddy, this was going to be good. “Fill me in.”

What had sold Risk on joining was the Justiss Alliance’s real purpose: obtaining justice for those who couldn’t get it through normal channels. The government and law enforcement agencies had their limitations, after all.

Chase stretched out his long legs across the interior of the limo. “Some of our jobs come from government agencies that need off-the-record help. But as I said, some come from private citizens. I’ve known General Wunder a long time.”

Which couldn’t be that long, considering the guy was in his late twenties, like Risk, maybe early thirties at the most. “Does this involve military matters, then?” He wasn’t sure how he felt about sticking his nose in anything military. To be fair, his team had taken on the covert mission knowing full well that if they failed, the government
would deny any knowledge of their infiltration; elected officials certainly would not admit to sending in a SEAL team to assassinate the leader of an organization aiming to shut down the violent cartels in Mexico. Nevertheless, anything military still left a bitter taste in Risk’s mouth.

“Not at all. The general’s retired. This is a private security detail assignment.”