Free Surrendered (Heart of a Warrior Series Book 3) by Kariss Lynch Page A

we’re here for that Kahuna guy everyone keeps talking about?”
    “Maybe.” Nick shrugged. “Looks like we are about to find out.”
    They entered a stark room with scratched walls and floor. Maps hung on several surfaces, and his team had spread out around a couple of white folding tables in one corner of the room. White. He still couldn’t figure out why they tried to maintain the clean white in the desert. War made everything dirty, no matter how you dressed it up.
    Several men shuffled, creating a clean path to the corner where a blonde woman with piercing, cold blue eyes took in the room. Eyes that immediately locked on Nick.
    Nick swore.
    Jake, Nick’s CIA buddy, stood next to her. He lounged against the wall as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but his alert gaze told a very different story.
    “Relax, Hawk.” Micah appeared at his side, his hand like iron restraining Nick. Nick took a deep breath, summoning a calm developed from years of discipline. No battles were won in the absence of cool emotions.
    “I’m relaxed.”
    Nick didn’t have to look at his best friend to know he was smirking. “Relax more. Your muscles are wound so tight, I could beat someone to death with your arm.”
    Nick took another deep breath, forcing every muscle in his body to release one by one. With each conscious choice to relax, tension fled, putting Nick firmly back in control. Micah removed his hand but stayed close.
    Within seconds, Jake appeared at their side.
    “A heads-up would have been nice,” Nick greeted his friend.
    “From murderous to bored in two minutes flat. Quite impressive.”
    “Don’t play games with me, Jake.”
    The man’s gaze drifted to Janus, his usually coifed hair falling limp in the heat. His white t-shirt clung to his skin and his thick gray pants prepared him for hiking in the desert if the situation called for it. “She’s under strict orders not to speak with you.”
    She was nothing. No one. Just another informant. Just another criminal providing information in exchange for money or a lighter sentence. In her case, maybe a new yacht.
    Nick knew he’d better keep his emotions in check. Micah and Jake watched him. He didn’t need to look in X’s direction to know Senior Chief’s sharp eyes gauged every nuance. Nick knew how to get the job done. He knew how to engage an enemy without fear because he believed what he fought for carried more weight than fear. He could forget this woman.
    His mother.
    He would forget.
    Nick nodded. “Let’s get this over with and send her packing.”
    “Let’s get started,” X’s voice boomed above the noise. The room descended into a restless quiet that came when adrenaline and focus kicked into full gear.
    Jake took his place at the front of the room with X. Nick and Micah settled in near Titus, Colt, and Jay. Nick found an odd comfort in knowing they were aware of the full story and still trusted his loyalty, his capability, completely. He relaxed even more, his mind hanging on every detail.
    “All right, listen up, ladies. This is Jake. He’s going to share a bit of intel with us, then we’ll dive into op specifics.”
    Jake clasped his hands behind his back, his alert gaze roaming over the group. “We recently received information that a known Russian businessman is selling weapons to our friends in the Taliban. As you know, they are always trying to reform and grow new cells. However, this time, we believe he may be about to make the biggest deal in years. Without his second in command”—Jake nodded to Janus—“he is vulnerable. We want to make him even more so. We have an informant that will tell us the location where the next meeting is to take place, but the informant will only speak with this woman. We call her Janus.” A few eyes floated to Nick before landing back on Jake. “We need to meet with the informant, learn the location of the meeting, and take out this cell before they have the chance to get any more weapons. We