Page 36 of Protecting Talia

The next morning she slept late and didn’t have time to head over to the apartment before work. Eventually she would make it there, but today was her first day back driving deliveries, and she needed the extra money. Driving deliveries meant she would be busy all day long, but she’d missed so much work, she felt the need to pick up a few hours.

Midway through the day, she checked her email and saw that she had three interviews at the end of the week. Maybe one of those jobs would pan out, and she could stop getting home at midnight. Being with Zip had given her hope, and that hope had convinced her she would find a better job. Once she wasn’t working until midnight, she and Zip could make a better future together. At least she hoped they could.

23

Zip allowed himself to think about Talia on the flight overseas, but once they landed, he switched off that part of his brain. Talia would be home once he returned, but to make sure he returned, he had to turn it all off.

They were getting briefed, then would load into a helicopter and fly out to a carrier where they would load into their rubber raiding rafts and sneak into the country. Their operation was risky, but most SEAL operations were.

After going through the steps one more time on the aircraft carrier, they loaded onto the rafts, thankful they had skilled boat operators who could get them exactly where they needed to go, almost to the inch of where they asked to land.

They were headed inland about ten miles and would make their attack close to morning. They’d contemplated going in on a helicopter, but their target would run if they knew anyone was after them. There wasn’t an option to fly in closer. This guy was bad and had to be taken out.

After they’d run almost the entire distance, they paused to rest. Back home, Kevlar’s team was watching

Rider came over and sat next to him. “You ready?”

Zip nodded. “Sure am.”

“Good. Hop said he’s set. You two are going in first.”

Zip stood and stretched. He and Hop would set up on a hill and provide sniper fire. A part of him wanted to be in on the action, but not everyone could go in close.

Hop nodded as he approached, and they took off together, going the last half mile quickly. They were set up in less than five minutes, and the rest of the team followed. He watched, ready to take out anyone who put up resistance.

“Looks like you have two tangos coming in fast from the west. Driving a van,” Kevlar said over coms.

Zip was glad Kevlar’s team was on overwatch. It helped when they had guys they trusted watching their back.

“Got it,” Hop said.

Zip kept his eyes on the compound as Hop adjusted and fired one round, stopping the van dead in its tracks. There wasn’t time to celebrate because their team was moving in.

Zip saw someone on the north side of the complex moving fast. He took the guy out. Blink was informing their guys moving in that someone was on the east side.

“Got it,” Hop said over coms.

They were moving parts of one machine dedicated to the mission. He trusted his crew to get the job done. They were the best of the best, and Bud, Trip, Rider, and Q proved it with how fast they moved in and took care of the target. He and Hop took out enemy combatants as they scurried away. A few of them raced to the area where his team was located, but with Kevlar’s team on watch, he and Hop were able to keep everyone safe.

Getting out would be just as difficult as getting there had been, but now the sun would be up. They planned to move unless someone learned of their activities and followed them.

The team was almost back, and Hop put away his sniper equipment first, then Zip took care of his. It would take more time to leave than it had to arrive. It was just how missions like this went. They would have to be careful and not get caught.

He was sure people living in the surrounding area knew something had gone down. Hopefully, none of them were the curious type.

Once he had his equipment put away, they took off with Kevlar’s team still watching. They’d gone about a mile when the warning went out. A group of armed men in trucks were headed their way. They would have to find somewhere to hunker down and wait until darkness. Out here in the open, they were sitting ducks. They just had to keep their heads on a swivel and pray nothing went bad.

24

Talia woke up early and headed to her old apartment, ready to finish her move. She hadn’t unpacked anything just in case Zip wanted her to actually live somewhere else. She didn’t think he wanted that, but they hadn’t discussed where she would go once she felt better.

The apartment had been her slice of freedom. Moving here had meant something. Too bad her landlord’s son was a prick. There was no way she could stay, not after what he’d done.

After loading her last box, she went upstairs and took one last look around. She had a letter ready to stuff in the drop box at the front door of the restaurant and would shove her keys in there, too. No way would she ever come back here. Dave could just be mad once he learned she had moved out.

She was about to walk out the door when it swung open. Fear shot through her before she turned. Then she spun and saw her sister standing in the doorway. The fear turned to anger.

“What are you doing here?”

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