Unrelenting Love Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Title Page

  Acknowledgements

  Dedication

  About the Black Swan Series

  About This Book

  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

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Author's Notes

  About the Author

  Unrelenting Love

  Copyright © KaLyn Cooper, 2016

  All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

  This ebook is a work of fiction. While references may be made to actual places or events, the names, characters, incidents, and locations within are from the author’s imagination and are not a resemblance to actual living or dead persons, businesses, or events. Any similarity is coincidental.

  This ebook is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. No part of this work can be reproduced or sold by any person or business without the express permission of the publisher.

  Unrelenting Love

  Book 1 Black Swan Series

  KaLyn Cooper

  Acknowledgements

  I’d like to thank my critique partners: contemporary and historical author Vikki Vaught, contemporary author Deborah Grace Staley, and romantic suspense author Monette Michaels for all your guidance and plotting assistance. My thanks to Marci Boudreaux for her formatting genius. Thank you, Devin Govaere for seeing this book from another perspective and forcing me to make it better. My sincere thanks to Laura Perkins for sharing insights into the Navy and whose combat boots appear on the cover. My thanks to the awesome reader Anna Drago for giving me her husbands boots so I could have the cover I envisioned. Thanks to Barbara Cooper of Village Photography and Valerie Tibbs, I have this beautiful cover! Last, but not least, I thank my husband who helps add colorful language, realistic scenes and demonstrates Alpha male characteristics every day.

  Dedication

  I dedicate this book to the women who have fought for our country, for their battle is on many fronts, their challenges often unimaginable. Many leave their children and families to work and train side-by-side with men who all too often do not see them as equals. These are some of the strongest women in the world.

  About the Black Swan Series

  Rara avis in terries is Latin for “a rare bird in the lands.”

  In the ancient world, it was believed that the landing of a single black swan created a change that would affect the entire world.

  Fact: A woman can get a man alone within hours

  ...and kill him in seconds.

  Fact: Men always underestimate beautiful women.

  Fact: The military doesn’t do anything without years of successful

  training, most often completed in secret.

  Fact: In February 2013 the United States military opened combat

  roles to women, but no woman has “officially” been trained in

  military Special Operations.

  Dear Reader,

  If you are new to my books…Welcome!

  A stand-alone story, Unrelenting Love is a contemporary novel that is the first of many adventures the Ladies of Black Swan will undertake.

  Team leader, Katlin Callahan is reunited with her old high school friend, Alex Wolf. Look for more of their on-going relationship in every Black Swan book.

  Thank you for purchasing Unrelenting Love. If you enjoy this book, consider purchasing:

  Explosive Combination, Harper Tambini’s story. Although not a member of the Black Swan team, she trained with the five women, but chose the ATF rather than Homeland Security.

  Explosive Combination is available on:

  Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Explosive-Combination-KaLyn-Cooper-ebook/dp/B00IR2H0WO

  Check out my Cancun Series

  Christmas in Cancun

  Conquered in Cancun

  Captivated in Cancun

  Claimed by a SEAL – Crossover with Cat Johnson’s Hot SEALs on Kindle World

  I always appreciate hearing from readers so please Like/Follow me on social media:

  Website: www.KaLynCooper.com

  Email: [email protected]

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kalyn.cooper.52

  Blog: http://kalyncooper.wordpress.com/

  Pintrest: http://www.pinterest.com/kalyncooper/

  Twitter: @KaLynCooperbooks

  Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7920863.KaLyn_Cooper

  Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/kalyncooper

  Always,

  KaLyn Cooper

  Chapter 1

  “Operations Control.” The man’s voice was expectant, ready to handle anything she threw at him.

  “Lady Hawk confirming extraction site,” Katlin Callahan spoke quietly into the tiny headset attached to the encrypted satellite phone clipped on her duty belt. She glanced up and down the nearly empty city street, alert to the armed men she and her team passed who might be listening. She was going to get pissed if Homeland Security had changed their exit plans…again.

  The Iraqi afternoon heat baked her body under the mandatory abaya that covered her, shoulders to toes, in black cotton, but it also conveniently hid her weapons and survival gear. The niqab covered her long blonde hair, and its thick veil screened her alabaster face and blue eyes. It was a great disguise since it allowed her team of five American women to move freely within the warring country—as freely as a group of women could move in any Muslim-controlled region.

  “I have you at one click out, moving west toward the Marine encampment.” The man’s voice in her ear bud brought her back to the current situation. “No change in plans at this time. Base commander has been informed and is expecting you. Proceed as ordered.”

  Thank God for small favors. She was about to close the conversation when he continued. “Hold for Director of Ops.”

  What the fuck does he want?

  Dread piled onto her tired body as the tech had threw more on her insurmountable load. She released a long sigh. She could handle her boss.

  Katlin glanced at the other four women on her team who literally surrounded her. She smiled. As always, they had her back. They waited on a street corner while a caravan of allied troops in Hummers passed then scurried across the rutted Fallujah street. She glanced
down the row of sun-bleached shops that struggled daily to provide goods and services to people tired of decades of war.

  As her team strode past a recently bombed building, she watched a pre-teen boy scavenge for blocks that remained somewhat rectangle. He’d take them to his parents’ home to replace ones falling apart from too many bullet holes, or if he was homeless like thousands of other children, he’d sell the formed concrete to someone for scraps of food. At least he’d eat today.

  The physical and emotional devastation tore at her soul. She was glad her own country had never known the perils of war. She was in the Middle East to be sure no one would bring this unrest to the United States, as their target had threatened.

  “Report,” Jack Ashworth’s baritone voice commanded. Katlin could picture him sitting straight-backed behind his immaculately clean, hand-carved mahogany desk at Section 7 in D.C.—in cool air conditioning—as he controlled agents all over the world.

  She looked down at her dusty military boots and the bottom eighteen inches of her robe, which was covered in the gray powder that permeated every surface in that part of the world. She yearned for a long hot shower, followed by hours of sleep that wasn’t interrupted by gunfire or bombs. Soon, she promised herself.

  “Mission accomplished. Target eliminated. You already have the video feed. I’ll upload the after action report on the way home.” She didn’t try to hide the pride in her gravelly voice.

  “Great work, Lady Hawk. Get some well-deserved rest then get Black Swan in the sky tonight,” he ordered, referring to their sleek black Gulfstream 550 jet.

  “Yes, sir.” Her team chatted in Arabic to cover her conversation with headquarters as the five women rounded the next corner.

  “I’ll see you in the morning.” Jack’s voice held a hint of excitement.

  Damn it.

  “No, sir.” Her boss was the last person she wanted to see after this mission, or ever. “We’re not headed to D.C. We’re slated for five days off, and I have plans in Miami. The whole team has decided to stay there for a few days.” She knew that would piss him off, but tough. He was the main reason she avoided her office. The fact that Washington, D.C. was filled with too many personal ghosts was another.

  “Fine.” The word was gruff, almost childish in its indignant tone. She heard a few clicks over the secured line and wondered if they had company on this call or if Jack was up to something.

  “Private conversation, please, Kat.”

  Christ no. Not here. Not now.

  Then she realized what he’d called her. Katlin never permitted anyone to call her by a pet name, least of all Jack ass. There were only two men she had ever allowed to shorten her name, her father and her best friend since high school. Her father had passed away three years ago, and she hadn’t spoken to Alejandro Lobo since he’d handed her the flag that had draped her husband’s coffin.

  No. Don’t go there. She had to shove all thoughts of Alejandro and the cheating bastard she’d married, Tyler Malone, into a box and never open it again. Okay, that was impossible, but she could at least seal it up for now.

  “Katlin…you still there?” Jack asked impatiently.

  Damn it, yes. Of course she was still there. Section 7 had all the best and newest toys available to international operatives like her. Dropped calls never happened to them because they had priority use of satellites.

  She squinted and clenched her jaw, fearing their next conversation would not only be private, but personal. There were dozens of things to do before she could get her team out of Iraq. She didn’t have time for this conversation.

  But he was her boss. At least for another two years, she was committed to serving the United States government as a Navy officer. She had to go where they sent her and do whatever they asked of her. She would do her duty and not complain. Katlin Callahan was no quitter. That was evidenced by her success as the top graduate of the secret special operations training she and her team had endured. As for Jack, she could handle him.

  “Yes, sir, private.” The rest of her team couldn’t hear him through her ear bud, and it didn’t matter. She shared everything with the four women who had become the sisters she’d never had…almost everything. Some secrets could never be told.

  “Kat,” he said in a warm seductive voice, “when you get back to D.C., I need some time alone with you. We need to talk about us.”

  “Jack,” she said firmly as she tamped down her anger, “you are never to call me Kat. Do you understand? No one calls me by that nickname.” Well, no one these days. “You may address me as Ms. Callahan, Katlin, or my code name, Lady Hawk. That’s it. And there is no us, so there’s nothing to talk about. You’re my boss, which makes it inappropriate for us to be having this conversation.”

  “You were my wife—”

  “Pretend wife,” she interrupted, “during an operation.” An undercover op she’d regret the rest of her life.

  “Yes, during an op, but you felt the connection we made. We’re good together.” His voice became tender. “I understand you and what you need. We belong together.”

  No. None of that was true for her. “Well, obviously, if my acting abilities were good enough to fool you, it’s no wonder the bad guys fell for it.” She trailed her teammates around the next corner and down a mobbed street filled with cart-pushing vendors who called out to anyone passing their makeshift store.

  “Skip Miami and come to home to D.C. so we can talk about this,” he asked, somewhere between a command and a plea.

  No fucking way.

  The last time they’d been alone together, he’d almost…No.

  She didn’t have time to think about that dreadful evening.

  Then a flash ran through her analytical brain. Was this a test? Was some Section 7 shrink listening in on this conversation, trying to determine if she could handle the personal pressure added onto the professional shit she was trying to accomplish? That would be just like them.

  Concentrate on getting the hell out of here.

  As the women broke though the crowded marketplace, Katlin scolded, “Jack, this is neither the time nor place to have this discussion.” That was professional, in case someone else was listening. “We’re still in a hostile situation and a mile from a safe base.” She took a deep breath and told Jack honestly, “Besides, it’s a family thing I have to do in Miami, and I’m looking forward to it.” She wasn’t going to explain that it was her goddaughter’s birthday and she’d missed too much of the little girl’s life already. He could use that personal information against her someday, and knowing him, he would.

  Lady Harrier grabbed her hand and squeezed it hard.

  What the hell? Women holding hands in this country was not unusual, actually, it was a highly acceptable practice, but her teammate holding her hand…in public…never.

  In an Iraqi dialect of Arabic, Lady Kite started talking loudly about babies and giving birth, as though she’d pushed out a few. Then Katlin saw the two local policemen moving closer to them. Machine-guns crossed their bodies, one hand rested on the grip, index finger extended down the action, only millimeters from the trigger. The men had taken a great deal of interest in her team.

  “Trouble. Lady Hawk out.” She disconnected the signal as much to end their on-going personal battle as to discontinue the current conversation.

  In the local language, Katlin added to the conversation. “Oh, when I had Bizhan, he was such a big baby. I was in labor for hours.” Saying those words hurt to her very soul because she would never know what it felt like to carry a child within her body.

  She kept her gaze cast downward, not only because eye contact with men was forbidden but she was afraid they might catch a glimmer of her blue eyes through the veil. The brown contacts had irritated in the desert dust so she’d removed them hours ago. That might have been a bad decision since the streets were filled with men and women hurrying to reach home before sunset.

  As they passed the uniformed officers, she watched the younger one
scan her body as though he could see through her abaya. He couldn’t, but she slid her gloved hand into the side slit and rested it on her holstered Smith and Wesson Shield. She glanced around, planning an exit strategy in case they were stopped.

  “As your midwife, your delivery wasn’t bad,” Lady Harrier, the team medic, extolled, “but there was a lot more anionic fluid and blood than we expected. You really should have emptied your bowels when you first started your contractions. Feces is common during delivery, but you had more than normal.”

  Katlin watched the two men turn away with pinched faces. It took every ounce of waning strength she had to withhold the burst of laughter that tried to escape. Damn, she loved these women. Leave it to Lady Harrier to play on a man’s aversion to the maladies of womanhood.

  The five women slipped easily through the darkening streets to the U.S. Marine Corps camp. As they approached the outer guard post, Katlin spoke loudly in English when the young Marine brought an M4 rifle to his shoulder.

  “Captain Calloway and team returning,” she announced using her cover name for this op. She lowered her niqab so he could see her white face as she dug handfuls of hair from under the abaya and flipped thick golden strands over the traditional Iraqi outer dress. Her teammates followed her lead, exposing their faces and hair, an act local women would never dare. They would be killed for it.

  “Ma’am, may I see some ID, please?” He then spoke quietly into his communication system.

  “Certainly”—she looked to his rank then embroidered name over his pocket as she held her hands out where he could see them—“Lance Corporal Framer. I’m going to reach into my pocket and get it.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”