Page 1 of Undefeated Love
CHAPTER1
“Good morning, Ladies.”Katlin Callahan, code name Lady Hawk, stretched her stride to catch up with the other two Navy lieutenant commanders on her team: Grace Hall, known as Lady Eagle, and Nita Banks Callahan, called Lady Harrier during missions. With them were Army Major Tori Denton, nickname Lady Falcon, and Air Force Major Lei Lu Sorensen, whose handle was Lady Kite.
These five women were the first to proudly break the glass box military women had been forced into. They not only broke ceilings but sides and floors when they surpassed all training thrown at them through the highly secret Joint All-Female Special Operations School.
But the Ladies of Black Swan had graduated several years ago and proven themselves worthy of the title special operators during missions all over the world while working for Section 7 of Homeland Security.
During the past several years, they’d rarely been asked to wear their uniforms to work. In the email last night, they’d been instructed to do exactly that this morning.
Nita pulled down her skirt that seemed to creep up with each step. “I wasn’t sure I was going to fit into this uniform this morning. I don’t quite have the same body that I did before we started in the JAFSOS.”
“Mine doesn’t exactly fit the same either,” Katlin admitted. She wondered how much weight she’d put on since she had her traumatic brain injury a few months ago. She hadn’t been able to work out as vigorously as before, but she also hadn’t been able to eat anywhere near as much as she used to. Most days, she couldn’t keep all three meals down. Dr. Tobias, her neurologist, had assured her that was normal for her stage of recovery. She just wasn’t as sure as he was.
“Mine fits fine,” Grace smiled smugly. She slid a glance to Lei Lu.
“Mine too, but with all the scuba diving Shakespeare and I have been doing lately, that’s a full body workout.”
“Oh, shut up,” Nita snapped. “I don’t want to hear about all the fun in the sun you have with your new man. I have a toddler and a tiny tot who demand my attention the minute I get home. Once they’re in bed, that’s the only place Daniel wants me.”
“La La La La La.” Katlin stuck her fingers in her ears. “I don’t need to hear about your bedroom escapades with my brother.” She swung her arm around her sister-in-law and kissed the top of her curly head. “But I still love you.”
Nita threw her arm around Katlin’s back. “It’s so good having you back on the team. We missed you.”
“I missed you guys, too.” She glanced around the group as they dropped their arms. “That goes for all of you.”
The five women turned the corner toward the designated conference room and smiled in unison. Coming from the other direction was Black Swan Team Two, their younger counterparts.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Army Captain Kayla Scarlatto, team leader, welcomed as they exchanged handshakes. Under other circumstances, they may have hugged. Inside the halls of Homeland Security, they were expected to maintain the utmost professional demeanor, especially in a busy hallway filled with agents.
“Does this mean you’ve been transferred to Homeland?” Tori asked excitedly.
Navy Lieutenant Kira Frost shrugged. “We don’t know. We were ordered to show up in uniform at that conference room at eight o’clock this morning.”
“Same.” Lei Lu looked at her watch. “We have a few minutes.”
“My three cups of coffee this morning are warning me to take advantage of this ladies’ room.” Air Force Captain Mia McCormick headed two doors down the hall.
“Sounds like a good idea. I’d hate to embarrass myself and have to leave in the middle of the briefing my first time at Homeland.” Army Captain Ashlin Cartwright disappeared into the same door.
When Navy Lieutenant Piper Knight didn’t follow them, Katlin decided to pull her into their conversation. “Any idea what you guys are doing here?”
“None.” Piper stepped in closer to the other women and lowered her voice. “Do you think since Jack Ashworth is gone, they decided to pull us under the same umbrella as you?”
“Maybe, but we don’t have any idea whether they’ll keep us here or move us completely under the Joint Special Operations Command.” Until this moment, Katlin had wondered if it was just a rumor or if Jack Ashworth had truly retired.
Katlin sincerely hoped that he’d left Homeland Security and found a more peaceful life elsewhere. Secretly, she wondered if he’d taken Nikkole Chernakov with him. Or if her doppelgänger had killed Jack and set up the ruse that he’d retired. She had plenty of reasons to eliminate the man who had used her to replace Katlin in his life, right down to his attempt to implant her with Katlin’s eggs fertilized by Jack. The man was insanely obsessed with Katlin.
As soon as Mia and Ashlin returned to the group, as though by unsaid agreement, they all entered the conference room. Each team took one side of the table. Before they could sit down, Marine Major General Ava Standish entered the room.
All ten women came to attention.
“Take your seats.” General Standish walked to the head of the table and hit a button darkening the windows so no one could see in. “Ladies, we are all here in uniform today as a reminder of who you work for: the United States military. Black Swan Team One, except for your recent time in Quantico, or when USSOCOM pulled you for a specific mission, you have been at the beck and call of Homeland Security Section 7. As I’m sure you’re aware, the former director has resigned. This morning, the Director of Homeland Security will be announcing that I am taking over as acting Director of Covert Operations while they undergo a thorough interview process. I’ve been told it might take a year or even longer.”
Oh, my God. Aunt Ava is my boss. Although she’d been before on several different occasions, such as while undergoing training at the JAFSOS, which she helped create, this was different. She could now order teams into the field anywhere in the world.
The general took a drink of water. “As my first act as DCO, I’m moving Black Swan Team Two under my command with the approval of General Lyon at USSOCOM. You all know me but more important, I know you. I don’t know any of the other Section 7 teams. Until I’m comfortable with them, your two teams are going to get the most important missions.”
Katlin slid a glance down the line of her teammates. They had a hundred percent mission success rate since they’d been brought under the control of Homeland Security over two years ago…until their last mission when they’d been paired with an all-male team. Several of the men had been severely injured, all because of bad intelligence ending in an ambush. The dual team leader had been killed in action. Katlin had been pinned inside the armored SUV and had received a traumatic brain injury, pulling her out of active-duty missions. Today was her first day back on full duty.
