Page 1 of Croatia Collateral

Chapter 1

Dax Franklin stepped into the bar in Zurich, Switzerland, and glanced around, searching for the familiar face of Ace Hammerson, former US Navy SEAL, more affectionately known as Hammer.

He’d worked with Hammer on a couple of joint missions between his Navy SEAL team and Dax’s Marine Force Recon crew on the coast of Somalia. The man was brilliant, methodical and as tough as they came. When he’d called Dax out of the blue to offer him a job with the Brotherhood Protectors, Dax hadn’t hesitated.

The brotherhood, established by former Navy SEAL Hank Patterson, had a reputation for hiring only the best of former military special operations types, and word had spread that they were getting jobs done, providing security, extracting hostages and uncovering human trafficking operations.

Dax had been honored that Hammer, head of the newest branch of the Brotherhood Protectors, had looked him up as a potential addition to his growing international team.

The timing couldn’t be better. Dax had left the Marine Corps after the US government had done a shitty job of pulling the military out of Afghanistan. Dax had been working with Afghan informants. Left behind, they’d suffered when the Taliban took over the country.

Since leaving the military, he’d bounced around different jobs, trying his best to fit into the civilian world and failing miserably. He wasn’t cut out to sell life insurance to out-of-shape couch potatoes or to be a substitute teacher to a bunch of entitled high school kids who were disrespectful and lazy.

Dax hadn’t trained hard and survived deadly combat situations to sit quietly behind a desk.

Hammer’s call had been a godsend, along with an all-expenses-paid trip to Switzerland. How could he say no? At the very least, he could hear the man out and decide whether he wanted the job. All while surrounded by the beauty of Switzerland.

After thoroughly scanning the room’s dark interior, Dax headed for the bar, slid onto one of the stools and ordered a local beer.

His first set of instructions had been to meet with Hammer at the Brotherhood Protectors International office in downtown Zurich.

Those instructions were superseded by a text message from Hammer’s cell phone, changing the meeting location to the bar. He’d just landed in Zurich and turned on his cell phone when the message had come through. Because he was getting in so late, he was to drop his luggage at the hotel and meet Hammer at the bar.

Dax had taken a taxi from the airport to the hotel where he’d checked in. He’d taken the time to shower, shave and dress in clean black slacks and a black button-down shirt. He’d wanted to make a good impression on Hammer, figuring their jobs as protectors could mean escorting dignitaries or wealthy clients. Hammer knew Dax could apply camouflage; he didn’t know Dax would wear decent civilian clothing to match whatever situation was required.

He'd known a lot of military guys who looked sharp in uniform but couldn’t pair the colors in their civilian clothing.

The bartender delivered the beer and turned to fill an order for a waitress.

A waft of perfume reached him seconds before a woman in a red dress slid onto the barstool beside him.

Dax lifted his mug and tipped beer into his mouth as he studied the lady beside him out of the corner of his eye.

Black hair fell around her shoulders in inky black waves. The dress was an eye-catcher with thin straps and a plunging front neckline that dipped almost to her belly button. A long slit ran from her ankle to the top of her thigh, exposing a beautiful, toned leg with a well-defined calf and thigh.

Dax’s sister would have called the dress go-to-hell red and would have asked the woman where she’d gotten it. He cringed at the thought of his little sister wearing something that revealing.

Not that Ginny couldn’t have pulled it off, and she wasn’t a little girl anymore, but he wanted to remember her as the tomboy with a single braid hanging down her back, wearing jeans and a faded T-shirt with her favorite band emblazoned across the front.

Ginny had driven him to the Washington Dulles International Airport the day before, kissed him on the cheek and wished him luck.

“Find a pretty girl, date and let yourself fall in love again. Lana would’ve wanted you to get on with your life.” She’d patted his cheek. “Besides, I want nieces and nephews before I turn forty.”

“I could say the same for you,” Dax said. “When are you going to settle down, marry and have half a dozen children?”

Her lips twisted. “You know how I feel about all that.”

“Right. It’s not for you.” He shook his head. “How do you know until you try it?”

“I’m too set in my ways. I like that I don’t have to answer to anyone, and I can fly anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat. I was hoping you would have all the kids so I could love on them when I wanted and hand them back at the end of the day.”

The familiar tug at his heart was a painful reminder that a wife and kids hadn’t been in his cards. Oh, he’d had a wife.

Lana.

Beautiful, sweet, and gentle Lana had wanted at least four children. After several heartbreaking miscarriages, the doctor discovered she had endometrial cancer. It had spread fast into other organs and parts of her body.

She’d gone from the disappointment and grief of losing a baby to full-on treatment for cancer. In a few short months, she’d been gone.

---