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  Burning Lies (Special Forces: Operation Alpha)

  Air Force Fire Protection Specialists Book 4

  Jen Talty

  Contents

  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

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Jen Talty

  Books by Susan Stoker

  More Special Forces: Operation Alpha World Books

  To Susan Stoker. Thank you for inviting me into such an amazing world. You are an inspiration to us all.

  And to Casey Hagen. Thank you for answering the phone each and every time I call. You are my writing rock.

  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.

  © 2018 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.

  Blurb

  Air Force Senior Fire Protect Specialist, Brayden “Brodie” Welch is at the height of his career and up for a promotion. He knows he’s going to get it until the unthinkable happens.

  A fire on base takes the life of one of their own and Brodie becomes the center of the investigation.

  When Air Force Investigation Officer Harper Dawson first meets Brodie Welch she sees him as the sexy as hell, but clean-cut boy next door type. That is until his missing gas can is found at the fire that took the life of a fellow Air Force fireman. Now Harper finds herself having to arrest the man she’s falling in love with.

  Harper doesn’t want to believe, but the evidence against Brodie is too damaging to ignore.

  However, when the investigation takes a dark and dangerous twist, Harper finds herself relying on Brodie. Together, in the burning ruble, they uncover lies so devastating it will change the direction of their lives.

  Chapter 1

  “Wake up. Your birthday is over.”

  Brodie Welch groaned as he rolled to his side, pulling the covers over his head, ignoring his roommate and fellow Air Force Fire Protection Specialist, Declan Rivers.

  “Bug off,” Brodie managed to say even though his lips stuck together like dried cotton.

  “It’s your turn to mow the lawn,” Declan said with a sarcastic laugh.

  “What are you, my wife?” Brodie had moved in six months ago when Declan’s long-time girlfriend moved out and moved on, leaving Declan with a broken heart. Even if he acted like the break up was no big deal, Brodie knew better. He and Declan had gone through the Air Force Academy and Fireman Training together and Declan was more like a brother than a friend.

  “No woman on the planet would have you, especially in this condition. You look like shit.”

  Brodie glanced at his knuckles and then cupped his bruised cheek. He hadn’t gotten into a fist fight since high school, so at thirty-four, he was more than out of practice, but that asshole, Jonathon Battle deserved a good punch. Not just for his rude comments to the newest member of his team, but in general, he was a cocky son-of-a-bitch and certainly not a team player. The few times Brodie had to work a fire with Jonathon, he hadn’t felt safe and that meant people could die. Firemen had to put their lives in the hands of the man standing next to him and be responsible in return. Something that didn’t happen with Jonathon.

  Currently, Jonathon had been moved to a desk position for thirty days because he’d failed to follow protocol, the mind-numbing monotony just making him more of a dick.

  “I feel like death.” Brodie sat up, resting his back on the headboard and stared at Declan, who stood in the bedroom doorway looking like the front cover of the latest Fireman and Puppies calendar. Brodie’s memory might be a little fuzzy from last night’s celebration, but he knew Declan had tossed back more than a few. “I’m getting too old for this shit.”

  “I’m sure Jonathon’s face looks worse than yours.”

  “I hope he gets transferred, but I don’t wish that asshole on anyone.” Brodie rubbed his forehead, but he knew the only thing that would cure his hangover was a greasy bacon cheeseburger with a fried egg and a gallon of water. “How are you not hung-over?” Brodie asked.

  “Oh, trust me, I am. I made love to the porcelain God for a good half hour early this morning. I forced myself to take a hot shower and then I went and got us breakfast.”

  “You are the fucking man,” Brodie said, pushing back the covers as he found his shorts. His feet hit the floor, and his vision tripled. A wave of nausea rolled from his fuzzy brain to his sloshy gut. He pressed his hands against the wall to steady himself. “I used to be able to handle my liquor.”

  “At least you didn’t trip and land face-first in the cake,” Declan said, shaking his head.

  “Poor girl.” One of the last things Brodie remembered was helping the newest member of their team, Becca Knowles, back to her rental four blocks away on Avocado Street in the quaint neighborhood of Satellite Beach. He’d tucked her into her bed and stumbled back to his house with a bottle of Jack Daniels that Becca had told him to take because she never wanted to see it again.

  And she was a whopping twenty-five years old, so one might think she could party like a rock star.

  “We should go check on her.” Brodie blinked a few times as he stepped into his shorts, hiking them up over his hips.

  “I already did. She’s headed out for a run. Asked if we wanted to join her.”

  “To be young again.” Brodie slapped Declan on the shoulder as he pushed past him, heading toward the kitchen. The three-bedroom ranch they leased from a wealthy family who had at least a half-dozen houses in the neighborhood that had all been leased to military personnel. His people. “Do we have coffee?”

  “I’m not your wife, remember? But I made a pot.”

  “Thank God for small favors,” Brodie mumbled, scratching his head, the cobwebs starting to fade into the distance. The smell of bacon and meat filled his nostrils, easing his sour belly. “I’m starving.” After getting a mug and filling it, he sat at the table and pulled open the to-go container, his stomach turning over with one big growl.

  “What do you think of Becca?” Declan asked.

  That got Brodie’s attention. Declan had been on an anti-woman campaign for months, saying he’d never get involved again. But Declan was a one-woman man, and everyone knew it. He just had shit taste in the ladies.

  “I think she’s smart and a great addition to our team,” Brodie said.

  “I know a few teams who are glad they didn’t get assigned a female.”

  “And they are all sexist assholes. Women make for some great first responders.” For years, Brodie had to help his twin sister, Madison, fight for what she wanted and now she was a Deputy Chief Fireman in their hometown in Vermont, but she still had to deal with the misconception that being a woman meant she couldn’t save lives and fight fires. �
��But that’s not why you’re asking, now is it?”

  “She flirted with me last night,” Declan said as if that were a horrible thing.

  “I know. She wanted you to walk her home, but you were nowhere to be found.”

  “Truth be told, I was hiding from her.”

  Brodie lifted the burger and took the largest bite he could stuff in his face. Whoever created hang-over food should be given the Pulitzer or something. He closed his eyes, enjoying the way the grease rolled down his throat. The bacon crunched between his teeth, and the fried egg exploded like a mini orgasm in his mouth.

  He nearly choked at the off-color thought.

  “Why the hell would you do that?” Brodie asked before taking another bite.

  “I think she’s pretty damn incredible, but so fucking young, and I work with her. What the hell am I doing even thinking about it?” Declan shoved a French fry into his mouth. “Besides, I listened to her talk about the last guy she was involved with, and I’m not sure I want to walk into that mess.”

  “Not to sound like your future Crew Chief, but it’s never a good idea to be involved with someone you work side by side with.”

  “I can’t believe you got Ace’s job.” Declan had always been good at taking the first opening in changing the subject. If he wanted to talk more about Becca, he would.

  “I can’t believe Ace is going to be Department Captain. Hard for me to picture him in a desk job.” For as long as Brodie had been stationed at Patrick Air Force Base, Ace had been his Crew Chief.

  “I think with his wife pregnant with their third kid, he’s feeling his mortality,” Declan said, diverting his gaze to the ceiling.

  Brodie knew without a shadow of a doubt, Declan wanted a wife, kids, and the white picket fence.

  Hell, so did Brodie, but he’d yet to find a woman that took his breath away and made him want to do something crazy like ‘put a ring on it.’ So, until that day happened, if it ever did, he’d enjoying being a bachelor.

  Though, he would do his best to avoid a hang-over from now on.

  “I better go mow the lawn before my roommate has a cow.” Brodie downed two large gulps of coffee, thankful it wasn’t scalding hot. Grabbing the rest of his burger, he headed toward the back door and paused. “Thanks for a great birthday, man.”

  “Anytime.”

  Brodie stepped into the garage and hit the clicker. The warm sun filtered through the opening. With hurricane season behind them, the temperatures had started to drop, but that didn’t seem to stop the lush green growth of the grass yet. He pushed the lawnmower out to the driveway, noting a white SUV parked at the house across the street and one door down with the hatch open. That place had been empty for the last two months since it sold. Someone told him that the new owner wouldn’t be renting it out, but moving in. Only no one had moved in yet.

  Bending over, still staring at the house, he snatched the cord just as a woman in a pair of white shorts, showing off tanned legs that went on forever, graced his vision Her black tank top hugged her mid-drift and breasts, showing off her tight abs and her curvy top. Her dark hair flowed over her shoulders. She peered over her large-rimmed sunglasses and waved. Her smile socked him in the chest.

  He pulled the rip cord on the mower with manly gusto, ready to show her his awesome stud status but instead, he yanked in an awkward direction and fell over backward.

  “Fuck,” he said with a moan as he landed on his ass on the concrete driveway.

  “You okay?” the woman asked as she raced across the street.

  “I’m fine.” Only his bruised male ego took a major hit.

  The woman stood over him, holding out her hand. “So, you’re Air Force Fire Protection.”

  “How’d you know?” he asked as his lungs deflated. He tried to suck in another breath, but it seemed for the first time in his life—a woman stole it.

  She tapped her chest, right above her damn perfectly round womanly curves. “I recognize the tatt.”

  He’d forgotten he was in only his shorts. Taking her hand, he jumped to his feet, only he didn’t allow her to help. He just wanted to touch her skin.

  His pulse raced with the kind of adrenaline rush he had right before he ran into a burning building.

  “Are you moving in?” Brodie asked, still holding onto her hand and staring into her almond-mocha eyes.

  She nodded. “I’m Harper Dawson.”

  “Brodie Welch.”

  “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, pulling her hand away. “I’ve got to get going. I need to get a few things before the moving truck gets here. I hope to see you soon.”

  “Maybe tonight we can have a drink. Yeah. Stop by. Me and my roommate, Declan, will just be hanging out. Might as well come over for dinner. I mean, who wants to cook while they still have to unpack?” Jesus, he sounded like a fucking moron as he babbled on and stumbled over his words.

  “I have a meeting I have to attend around five, so maybe a drink later on.”

  “Hope to see you then.”

  She nodded, slipping her large sunglasses back on her face. Her hips swayed as she crossed the street.

  Brodie tore his gaze away as he turned his attention back to the lawn mower. Jerking the cord, this time without falling over, the engine turned over once, then puttered out. He tried two more times before he realized the damn thing was out of gas.

  He snatched the gas can from the garage and put it in the back of his pickup before heading back into the house to snag his keys and a shirt.

  Declan still sat at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and scarfing down fries.

  “We need gas,” Brodie said, pointing at the back door that just slammed shut. “And I met our new neighbor. She’s stopping by for a drink tonight. For me, not you, so don’t embarrass me or hit on her.”

  Declan laughed. “Because falling on your ass didn’t shame you enough?”

  Brodie rubbed his bruised ass and winced at the thought. “I’m going to go get—”

  The cell phone on the table buzzed as the song Maggie May belted from the small electronic device.

  “It’s Ace,” Declan tapped the phone, sending it to speaker. “What’s up, boss?”

  “How are you feeling this morning?” Ace asked. He’d left the party long before it had gotten out of hand. Smart man.

  “I’m not dead.”

  “Where’s Brodie?”

  “Right here, boss,” Brodie said.

  “I hate to ask since you both haven’t had a few days off in a long time, but it’s been abnormally busy out there, and we need coverage for a local station.”

  Brodie had never said no to helping out, and he wouldn’t start now. “I can be there in twenty.”

  “I’ll come in with Brodie,” Declan said.

  “It’s an overnight shift,” Ace said.

  “Not a problem, boss,” Brodie said. In three weeks, he’d be Crew Chief, and while that would change his role on the team, it wouldn’t change the crazy hours, or the men and women he had the honor of working with.

  And that was just fine with him.

  Chapter 2

  Harper sat on the front step of her new home feeling a sense of pride that only ownership could bring, but even that couldn’t change that today was the anniversary of the single most painful event in her life.

  She glanced at her phone, which she’d set on the wood plank. The porch needed a fresh coat of paint, and she would enjoy doing all those chores and fix it up projects that came with her new job. Sam “Mozart” Reed had always told her she had a restless heart and she should consider settling down and taking a more stable job in the military, instead of volunteering for every dangerous mission she could get her hands on.

  Her only fear was that she’d get bored. Of course, she had the sexy fireman across the street to keep her eyes occupied. He waved as he jogged across the street.

  “Hey, I’ve got some bad news,” Brodie said, stopping at the base of the porch.

  She tipped her hea
d, staring into those dark eyes that reminded her of the finest warm dark chocolate drizzled over ice cream. “What’s that?”

  “I’ve been called in for an overnight shift, so dinner and drinks will have to happen another night.”

  “It was drinks, and you know where I live.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder. It was a blatant sexual move, and she had no idea why she’d done it.

  “It will be more than drinks because I cook the best steaks in town.”

  “And if I’m a vegetarian?” Someone needed to sew her mouth closed, giving her brain a chance to think through the things that she said.

  “Then I make a mean veggie platter.” He winked.

  “For the record, I enjoy a good piece of meat.”

  His eyes went wide.

  “Your mind just went straight to the gutter, didn’t it?” She really needed to shut the fuck up. Flirting was one thing, but this banter was the kind of shit that got her into trouble.

  “Who? Me? Never. But now that you sent my mind there, I’ll remember what you like.”

  She waggled her finger in his direction. “I think we need to dial this conversation down a notch. I don’t even know you.”

  “I plan on getting to know you,” he said with a smile. “I gotta run, but If you need help at all with the move, come knock on my door, just don’t ask my roommate, he’s helpless.”

  She laughed. “Are you cockblocking your buddy?”

  His mouth dropped open, and his eyes blinked wildly.

  “If we’re going to be neighbors and occasionally have a drink, you should be forewarned, I say exactly what I think, when I think it.”