Page 5 of Protected By The Green Berets

“Alright,” he responded. “Let’s see the chow hall then.”

As soon as we were out of the barracks—and away from beds—he went back to his jovial self. Determined to keep my guard up around all of them, I followed along after him as he pointed out everything I’d need to know about the base while I was here for the next week.

CHAPTER3

Keller

“Still don’t know why they’re making us take her,” Alden growled as we walked away from Zinnia and Rush.

Something about her made me aware of every move she made. It annoyed me and because of that I was determined to keep her at a distance. “Colonel thinks she’ll be able to help us.”

Alden snorted, giving his thoughts about that. “It’s fucking dangerous where we’re going. No place for a woman.”

I side eyed him. “Plenty of our women go to Iraq.”

“Soldiers,” he corrected. “They’re trained. Agency ghosts are only trained to cause more drama.”

I chuckled. “She’s CIA, Alden, not some CEO Executive. And despite your dislike of them, the Agency trains their people well. The Colonel showed me her file. She can shoot, fight, and theoretically shouldn’t be a burden on this trip.”

“Theoretically,” he repeated, sarcasm heavy in his tone. “Name one time the Agency hasn’t made our life harder.”

“It’s not up to us,” I told him, putting some bass in my tone. If it was, I wouldn’t be taking her along. She was too damn pretty for my liking. My dick liked her just fine. It’d hardened as I’d stood outside her car watching her sleep. Seeing her vulnerable like that had brought out the predator in me.

That was inexcusable. She was forbidden fruit. It was my job to get over to Iraq, complete our mission, and get all of us home alive. Not fuck around with the CIA Agent who was now a part of our group for the unforeseeable future. No matter how much I wanted to.

“If you’re so worried about her,” I told Alden, “then it’ll be your job to make sure she stays safe.”

He stopped walking, staring at me with disbelief written all over his face. “No fucking way.”

I paused and turned my head to look at him. “That’s an order.”

Fury replaced the shock, but he shut it down quickly, a cold mask falling over his features. “Yes, Sir.” His tone added on the worddick, though he didn’t voice it. Alden and I had grown up together. We were cousins and best friends. Despite that I was still his commanding officer and he knew it.

“Good.” I kept walking, knowing he’d fall in line beside me.

“Still think we should leave her behind,” he grumbled once we’d walked a ways.

“I’ll let you make that suggestion to Colonel Williams,” I replied with a chuckle. I understood where my friend was coming from. I didn’t want her coming along either. She was a distraction and that was something my men didn’t need.

I’d been completely on board with utilizing a CIA Operative for this mission, until she’d walked through the CIA Director's door. Now I was trying to figure out a way to get assigned someone else. Someone less attractive, who didn’t give me wicked thoughts every time I looked at her. It was either that or—like Alden suggested—leave her behind.

Alden fell silent beside me, unwilling to argue any longer. He was my right hand. Without him this team wouldn’t run as smoothly as it did. He was also my munitions expert. He made sure we had everything we needed to ensure we won any fight.

We stopped out past the building and watched as two Humvees drove up. Six men piled out, looking exhausted and dirty. They’d been out in the field for five days doing their training. Field exercises kept us sharp while we were stateside, but we ensured that they were just as grueling as when we went on missions. It was the only way to stay prepared.

The men filed past us and I spoke with each one. Finally, Dallas stopped beside me, the last to get out of his vehicle. He was second in charge of this group.

“How’d it go?” I asked.

“Good. Except when Singer accidentally dropped his grenade at our feet instead of tossing it toward the target.”

“Fuck off, I didn’t drop it!” he yelled, then quieter, practically to himself he mumbled, “It bounced off the door frame and landed at our feet…”

We all chuckled at that. Singer was new and had been assigned to Bravo Team a little over a month ago. He was the main reason they’d been out training. It wasn’t uncommon for guys who’d never thrown a grenade to try to chuck it like a baseball. When you did that it had a habit of falling nearby or bouncing off something unintended and rolling back to you.

The kid was in for a fair amount of razzing for that mistake. The harassment units put each other through was an invaluable part of bonding together. Singer was coming into an established group and he’d need to figure out where his place in it was. If they weren’t able to adjust, that was bad for everyone. If a member couldn’t handle a bit of bullying, they didn’t belong in our teams.

We lived life fast and hard and you could die at any moment. We often harassed each other for fun. It was our way of including each other. If you were left out of the teasing, you weren’t very well liked.

---