Charlotte

  Charlotte (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)

  Finding His Destiny Book One

  Angela Rush

  Contents

  Foreword

  Note to the reader

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  More Special Forces: Operation Alpha World Books

  Books by Susan Stoker

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  © 2019 ACES PRESS, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this work may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the publisher except for brief quotations for review purposes as permitted by law.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please purchase your own copy.

  Dear Readers,

  Welcome to the Special Forces: Operation Alpha Fan-Fiction world!

  If you are new to this amazing world, in a nutshell the author wrote a story using one or more of my characters in it. Sometimes that character has a major role in the story, and other times they are only mentioned briefly. This is perfectly legal and allowable because they are going through Aces Press to publish the story.

  This book is entirely the work of the author who wrote it. While I might have assisted with brainstorming and other ideas about which of my characters to use, I didn’t have any part in the process or writing or editing the story.

  I’m proud and excited that so many authors loved my characters enough that they wanted to write them into their own story. Thank you for supporting them, and me!

  READ ON!

  Xoxo

  Susan Stoker

  Note to the reader

  Hello, thank you for taking the time to read my book. If you are a fan of Susan Stoker’s SEAL of Protection series, you will recognize some of the characters in this story. I have tried to be true to her characters as much as possible. However, I am not Susan. She is an amazing author and I hope that I have given Wolf’s team and their women justice in my story telling.

  I want to give full disclosure. This is a work of fiction. I have no military background or ties to the military. This book is intended to be for entertainment only. I will warn you I may not always use the correct terms true military personnel would use and my characters take more liberties than a true member of our nation’s great military would do in a real-life situation. While I have tried to research and use correct rank, chain of command, and terms I will not say that those of you who are intimate with the military may not find me lacking.

  I respect our men and women who have taken the oath to protect our country and our rights as citizens of this amazing country that we are privileged to live in. I am so thankful for all who have served and their families that serve along side them. As civilians we often go about our day not thinking about their daily sacrifice.

  May God Bless America and wrap a layer of protection around our brave men and women that serve both at home and abroad. Remember Everyone Deployed. May they all come home.

  About the book

  Charlotte Williams a 42-year-old widow of 5 years with 2 adult children is heading out for a medical mission trip to Guatemala with a group of co-workers. She meets a group of Marines at the airport prior to leaving. She hasn’t even considered dating since the death of her husband, but when she meets the tall, dark, and handsome Marine, she begins to reconsider her celibacy, however she won’t ever see him again, right? She doesn’t even know his name.

  Jordan “Hawk” Jackson is a 46-year-old Marine Special Ops soldier and leader of his team. He has been burned badly in his first marriage being left to raise his son on his own 16 years ago. He had felt something was missing in his life but couldn’t put his finger on it until he met a beautiful stranger in an airport café while traveling for a new mission. He suddenly wanted to have this woman, but he didn’t even know her name. He wouldn’t ever see her again anyway, right?

  Destiny had other plans. While raiding a suspected compound of an evil drug lord in the Columbian jungle, Hawk finds Charlotte beaten and bound lying on a jungle path, thrown out like trash. His protective instincts kick in and he is determined to keep her safe no matter the cost.

  Can Hawk protect her from the forces that would keep them apart and drag her back into Hell? Only time will tell if Destiny will let them find the happily ever after they long for.

  Thank you

  To Susan Stoker - Thank you so much for the opportunity to tell this story and your willingness to allow me to include your very awesome characters in my book. You are an amazing author with a seemingly endless number of stories to tell. Each one engaging and educating. I love how you not only tell a love story, but also give us insight into many social issues that plague our great country and world in general. I will be forever grateful to you for this amazing opportunity to put my story in print.

  Thank you to my family and friends for the encouragement and patience while I was writing and revising and revising this book. It has been a dream of mine for many years to put my ideas into print and I am forever grateful for your support during this endeavor.

  To my husband, Johnny thank you for all your love and support during our marriage and especially during the recent trials in our lives. We have had good times and bad, but you have always been a source of love and support. I am so thankful to have you in my life, by my side, and in my heart.

  To my children, Beth, Erin, and John thank you for loving your crazy mother and tolerating her being distracted and engrossed in her books. You are all amazing and I am proud to be your mother. Please don’t ever hold back and reach for your dreams, they can come true.

  Chapter 1

  Charlotte

  Working my way down the concourse of the international airport is proving to be more difficult than I anticipated. My left shoulder flies backward as a very large and obviously in a hurry businessman in his three-piece suit slams into me as he passes me, dragging his rolling suitcase behind him. I’m here three hours early for several reasons. First, I want to beat the rush hour traffic as I am on an early flight. Second, I like to make sure I have plenty of time to get through security and not have to rush for my terminal gate. Third, I just need some time to myself.

  Being widowed at the age of 37 due to the unexpected heart attack of my husband in the middle of the night was not something I had been prepared for. Now at 42-years-old I have been feeling like half my life is over. What have I done with it? What great accomplishments have I achieved? Yes, I have two wonderful, successful children, but I feel like there was so much more I could and should do. So, at the ins
istence of a colleague, Dr. Jones, I have decided to take off work for a few weeks and go on a medical mission trip to help people in foreign countries receive much needed health care.

  I have grown up and lived all my life in a small town in Kentucky, this is all new to me. Traveling out of country is an entirely new experience. Add the fact that I’m not traveling with any family is very out of character for me. My children are grown and have been living on their own for few years now. Without someone at home needing my full attention and support, the empty nest syndrome has hit me hard. I suppose that is why I felt the need to venture out of my comfort zone and seek adventure.

  Dr. George Jones (yes that’s his real name) is the leader and organizer of this expedition. We have been acquaintances for a while now. He is tall around 6 feet with short blond hair and sky-blue eyes. He keeps his slightly round face clean shaven. He is a little overweight by most standards, but not to excess. He moved to our little town of Deer Run, Kentucky about 3 years ago to replace a retiring doctor. He has asked me out a few times and despite me turning him down, he has remained friendly. He’s a nice enough man, but I’m just not interested in him. If I am honest, I haven’t allowed myself to even think about being interested in anyone. Dr. Jones has been talking about taking a Doctors without Borders trip since he arrived in town. He spent several years in the Peace Corps right out of high school and goes on a mission trip with his church group every year. He has built this trip up in our minds as our life’s great work, to help those in poorer countries that would not otherwise have access to healthcare.

  I’m traveling with some of my co-workers on this trip. JoAnn Walters is a nurse that works with Dr. Jones. I have known her since high school and we even attended the same nursing school. Lisa Winters is also a nurse and the last member of our party. She is my closest friend. We are soul sisters. We were brides’ maids at one another’s weddings. I was there for her during her divorce and she was my shoulder to cry on with I lost my husband. We have raised our kids together and know each other so well.

  Our group left a few days early so we could take a couple of days to sightsee in California before heading south. I have enjoyed my short stay here in San Diego during the lay over on our trip to Guatemala. It might not have been a good idea to come to the airport alone, but I needed the time to myself. Other than my friendship with Lisa, I have been a bit of a loner, after becoming a widow. This group trip is going to push my limits of socialization. It’s only been 2 days and my nerves are starting to fray. JoAnn and Lisa mean well, but they are smothering me. They think we must do everything together. Dr Jones has been over the top to want us to stay together, too. Perhaps he thinks we will get into some mischief if he doesn’t keep an eye on us. I’m hoping it’s because he feels responsible for us girls since he organized the trip, and not because he is hoping to wear me down into dating him.

  We did get a little crazy at Karaoke last night at a bar. I was the DD even though we were taking an Uber. Someone needed to be sure we made it back to the hotel safely and to be honest I wasn’t comfortable letting my guard down. I’ve never been much of a drinker anyway and being in a strange town drunk was not my idea of a good time. However, we had a blast singing our hearts out and since no one there knew us, we could be totally crazy. We sang several country songs from Miranda Lambert to Loretta Lynn. Aces’ Bar and Grill was very nice, and the patrons encouraged us. I think they thought we were all hammered. Everyone had a hoot at us singing coal miner’s daughter since we were from Kentucky and had that southern accent.

  We got several encouraging remarks from a table of men that had to military. They were all handsome and buff. I mean we are talking major muscles, here. They all looked like predators ready to stalk their prey. There were a lot of military guys around since this is a military town.

  “Charlotte, the blonde hottie with the black t-shirt at that table over there is checking you out,” JoAnn squeals loudly. “You should go talk to him.” Joann elbows me in the ribs a little harder than was necessary. Before I could formulate a reply, Dr. Jones jumps in.

  “Absolutely not, Charlotte. There’s no telling what kind of diseases you would catch in this town.” Dr. Jones virtually growls at me, as if I would act on Joann’s suggestion.

  “Dr. Jones, let her have some fun.” JoAnn drawls as she leans into him rubbing her breasts on his arm. “She needs to live a little.” JoAnn continues to lean on Dr. Jones and giving him a show with her low plunging neckline.

  “Something Ajax won’t take off.” Lisa smirks at me and then giggles. I can’t keep the laugh from escaping my lips. Because she is most likely correct. Everyone has heard stories about women throwing themselves at military men especially around bases where SEALs and other Special Forces soldiers were located. They wanted bragging rights that they had slept with a badass military man.

  After that fiasco of a conversation, JoAnn and Lisa talked me into singing Miranda Lambert’s “Gun Powder and Lead,” as the grand finale. I really got into it, dancing around while I sang. The crowd clapped when I was done, but I felt like I needed to say something about the song. So, I went into my clinic speech when dealing with someone I thought was a victim of domestic violence. Who knows there might be someone in this crowd tonight that just needs encouragement to ask for help or say something to a friend they are worried about?

  “Thank you all for allowing me to let your ears bleed with my screeching. But I would like to say a little something about the theme of that song. That song is meant to be entertaining, but it carries a serious message. I would never condone the violence this song suggests unless it is in self-defense. If you are in this type of situation, I would encourage you to seek out the help of a friend, neighbor, your healthcare provider, or police officer before you become another statistic in the news. Please get out while you have the chance. And if you are sitting there thinking this will never affect me. Think again, it could be your co-worker, your child’s teacher, or even one of your relatives. Domestic violence spans all social and economic classes. So just be observant and look for signs such as change in behavior, inappropriate clothing for the time of year, and injuries with vague or unreasonable excuses. Speak up even if you feel uncomfortable approaching the subject. It could be the difference in life and death for someone. Thank you for listening, have a good rest of your night.”

  There was a large group of men and women in the back and they seemed to be having a great time. After our crazy karaoke session, I headed to the ladies’ room. I had been drinking Diet Coke like no tomorrow because I knew once we got into South America that would be it for the next few weeks. While I was in the stall, I heard the door open and several women entered the bathroom. They were deep in conversation and didn’t notice anyone else is in there.

  “I will never get used to them leaving to go on missions.” A female voice whined.

  “I know, Summer I feel the same, but we have to put on a brave face for them. We knew what we were getting into when we got with Navy SEALs.” Replied another voice.

  “I really do try not to worry, but I don’t know what I would do without Sam. Caroline, are we all coming to your house when they leave or are we going to Jess’s?” Summer asked.

  “We decided that we would gather at my house that night like always. There are a couple of ladies from the base that are going to keep the kids upstairs while we have a traditional ‘get drunk cause our men are gone party’. Then Fiona and I are going to Jess’s the next night to help with the kids. She has her hands full with the 2 babies so close in age.” Replied Caroline.

  When I finished my business, I left the stall trying not to be in the way of the ladies crowded around the sinks and mirrors as they carried on their conversation. I realized that they were talking to me while I was washing my hands.

  “You should not go to the bathroom alone, especially in a bar. It can be very dangerous.” A beautiful blonde lady said to me. “By the way I liked your version of “Gun Powder and Lead” and the co
mments you made to the audience afterward. So many women suffer from domestic violence and never seek help. I am glad you brought it up tonight.”

  “It is a subject that touches my heart. I have seen too many cases of unnecessary injuries and death caused by domestic violence. If I can help one person get out of a desperate situation, then I have done my job and I can sleep at night.” I replied to the women. “As for coming in here by myself, I haven’t been drinking and I have taken self-defense classes. I know that won’t prevent everything, but I try to be aware of my surroundings.”

  “My name is Caroline. Let us walk you back to your group. We never let someone go to the restroom alone and one of our spouses stands in the hall. We had the misfortune for some of our group to be kidnapped from this very bar while going to the bathroom.” The dark-haired woman named Caroline replied.

  “Thanks for walking me back. I’m sorry to hear about your friends. I hope they are ok.” I said with a big smile. “By the way, my name is Charlotte.”