Page 3 of Attraction

Kat sighs and leans on the desk. Taking a deep breath, she fights with her furious internal voice, which now enraged is trying to overwhelm her.

“Just focus and stay calm. You knew this bullshit was going to happen so just ride it out. It’s going to be fine.” She closes her eyes and sighs.Really?…Kat, what in the hell are you doing here?

Chapter 2

House Number-fifteen—located at the far side of the base in a private cul-de-sac where most of the team operators live. White front door and gray slat cladding a two-bedroom house—pretty standard for this grade of military accommodation.

Standing on the step Kat takes a deep breath ready to knock when suddenly out of the blue she is overcome by a hot flush, struck by an unexpected bout of nerves. Lowering her hand, she takes another breath, turns around she walks quickly down the stone path that leads back to the street.

Now standing motionless on the sidewalk she looks again at the house. She closes her eyes and takes a moment to settle her thoughts.

Oh my God… c’mon Kat, what the hell’s wrong with you? Just knock on the fuckin’ door.She sighs, not exactly sure what’s making her so nervous but she’s filled with an uneasy tension — like she’s expecting something to happen. Maybe she’s tense because all the way here she’d worried how he’d respond. Would he like her? Or like Master Chief Jackson, would he be resistant, stubborn, and abrasive?

Looking toward the sky, Kat sees that the sun’s fading fast, bringing with it the cooler darkness of evening. The street’s quiet and the lights lining the sidewalk slowly flicker on.

Kat takes another deep breath and smiles: it’s heading into her favorite part of the day—the night.

Still smiling, Kat looks up. The scattered clouds have disappeared and now the light from the full moon dominates the star-sprinkled sky—it instantly calms her.

Then pulling the elastic-tie from around her hair, she loosens the tight bun and releases her blond locks. Raking her fingers through their length, allowing her curls to fall softly around her shoulders. Then, with renewed confidence, she strides toward the house. She shoulders the heavy duffel on her arm, takes two small steps up, and knocks.

“Yeah, yeah… just hold up!” The deep-gravelly voice calls from inside. “I’m just comin’ … likeliterally.”

Kat prepares, wiping the small pearls of sweat from her brow. “It’ll be okay,” she reassures herself. “It’s just a couple of days until they can find you somewhere more permanent.” Waiting patiently, she tilts her head from side-to-side easing the knot of tired tension from her neck.

* * *

Kat never expected to get this post, and so wasn’t really prepared when Commander Bailey told her, “Pack up your shit Kat. You’re shipping out!”

The very next day, she was sitting on a bus traveling here and the last thing on her mind, at that nervously exciting moment, was a place to stay.

She had applied so many times to DEVGRU and the SEAL units for any and every post that required medical qualifications—even those beneath her level of expertise. At first, her commander, Bailey, would laugh at every application she made but eventually, his laughter faded, and instead he’d sigh with a resigned pity. He could tell how determined she was, but he could also see her disappointment each time a rejection came back. But even he acknowledged she deserved this and that she really was overqualified for her current posting. But what could he do?

“Kat, you’re a great medic, but why the hell would you keep doing this to yourself?”She’d shrug and he’d grin before reluctantly submitting another of her requests.

It got to the point that he’d even follow them up and using his position and rank to push each one just a bit further up the chain, desperately hoping that at some point someone somewhere may notice her determination. But still every time, despite even his best attempts, they would come back:Rejected!And fresh out of ways to show his sympathy, he’d just repeat the line—“Sorry Kat, not this time.”

This time it was different, and he choked on his lunch as the acceptance call came through. In his office he leaned back in his seat, cocking an eyebrow as he looked at her and asked. “Are you sure that this is what you want?”

“Mm-hm.” She nodded—though it was a lie. She wasn’t sure but having made it this far, there was no turning back. This had always been the last desperate attempt, a roll of the dice—afuck-it-allmoment to accomplish the one thing she’d always dreamed of throughout her career—being a medic on a special operations team.

Still, despite her elation at the acceptance even she couldn’t understand why a black-ops team like Wolf had a post that no one else applied for. It made no sense. After all this was the very best that the military offered, the elite-of-the-elite, a top-class specialist unit.

Information on the post was classified, so she still wasn’t clearexactlywhat it was she’d signed on for and naively, with her limited security clearance, she tried to check it out. She was curious about what the posting entailed, but she came back with virtually nothing. The little snippets she did find out came mostly from rumors and gossip. The post had remained vacant for over six months. The team leader, Darius Jackson, whilst by all accounts, a fearsome warrior was also ‘a complete ass.’ She was warned not to cross him because, “if he doesn’t like you, then you’re out.”

She’d also spoken with other special forces’ medics and even though they were more field qualified than her, they wouldn’t apply, which made her even more curious.Why did no one else want this post as much as her?

The rumors made her apprehensive, but then again, this was covert operations and it was all she’d ever dreamed of. She’d imagined so many times what it might be like to be on one of those teams. But she also knew the odds of them accepting her, a woman, would be almost zero. But despite all the reasons not to, she applied anyway, and with the call sign—WOLF—she knew it couldn’t be more perfect.

Standing here now, she can’t recall if it was her or Commander Bailey that was more surprised when she was accepted.

“Kat, this is black-ops. Hell, even I don’t know a damn thing about what they do.” Bailey sighed—the worried look on his face, he was like a man whose daughter had told him she was marrying a mafia boss. “Are you sure this is what you want? Just say no before I make this call.”

But, like before, she nodded she was sure and then, with barely enough time to pack her stuff, she was on her way.

Leaving money with an acquaintance to cover bills and the final rent on her apartment, she then took her cat and gave him to the woman across the street. It didn’t really matter, the damn cat didn’t like her anyway, always hissing and snarling any time she came into the room. Being honest, he already spent most of his time over there anyway—so much so, that when she dropped it off the woman was surprised that he wasn’t really hers. The fact was she hated the cat andBootshated her, so her leaving it behind suited them both.

Then, without a word to anyone about where she was going, she crammed her clothes into a canvas-duffel, placed her precious medical books and some chosen possessions into a cardboard box, and left.

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