Free Chica Bella by Carly Fall

 
     
    Chapter One
     
     
    Landon “Blackhawk” Walker moved through the small airport of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in step with the wave of honeymooners and families making their way to the doors leading outside.
    “ Señor , you need a cab?”
    Landon gazed down at the man and gave him a small smile. “No thanks, man.”
    He scanned over the heads of the people in front of him, confirming he was going the right way.
    That’s how he had gotten the nickname “Blackhawk” from his fellow Navy SEALs. At six foot four, his solid two-hundred-and-thirty-pound frame hovered over everyone like a helicopter, hence the name Blackhawk.
    Just ahead of him the doors slid open, and he got a brief blast of ocean breeze. Inhaling deeply, he couldn’t help but compare the air in Cabo to where he had come from in Afghanistan.
    In Cabo, it smelled pure and fresh. In Afghanistan, not so much.
    He’d completed his fifth tour of duty. With the government relying more and more on clandestine operations to win the war, men and women with his skills and training were in high demand. Another year—eight months and eleven days, to be exact—of his life spent in a place where he never got clean because of all the dirt, a place that reeked of garbage and death most of the time, a place where a soldier had to be on high alert every minute of every day, awake or not.
    To say it was draining would be an understatement, and this particular tour had been especially difficult, so much so that he wanted out of the SEALs, as well as the Navy. He was done with military life.
    Eventually he arrived at the sliding glass doors that lead to his definition of freedom.
    Looking around at the drivers holding signs with names on them, he finally found a sign that said Walker. The man holding it was short and thin with a headful of black hair, his white shirt with his company emblem standing out against his brown skin.
    “I’m Walker,” he said to the man.
    “Mr. Walker, I’m José. I’ll be taking you to your hotel.”
    “Lead the way, José.”
    Landon followed the man to the van. He climbed in when José opened the door, throwing his duffel bag onto the seat in back and stretching his long legs out the length of the bench he sat on. Leaning his head back against the window, he fought the urge to close his eyes. Although he had been stationed in San Diego for a month after his tour in Afghanistan, he couldn’t shake the exhaustion.
    The homecoming had been typical for him. He didn’t have any family as he was an only child, and his parents had been killed in a plane crash seven years ago. His fellow SEALs received hugs and kisses from loved ones while he collected pats on the back from strangers and embraces by sweet old ladies with tears in their eyes.
    The past month, he had tried to relax. He’d hit the beach, gotten drunk, sobered up, worked out until he was physically able to do no more, but there was still the nagging feeling he couldn’t shake: his time in the SEALs was over.
    That hadn’t gone over well with his commanding officer.
    Landon recalled the conversation from four days ago. He had walked into his C.O.’s office without an appointment, but because he and Landon were friends beyond their rankings, Marty had seen him right away.
    “It’s time for me to go, Marty,” Landon had said after a few minutes of small talk. “I’ve given seventeen years, and I’m done.”
    Marty rubbed his lean face, his blond hair cut in a high and tight. “Dammit, Landon. You’re one of the best snipers I’ve got. I need you with us.”
    Landon shook his head.
    “You know as your C.O. I can’t say no to you leaving, but as a friend, I’m asking you to stay.”
    “I really feel like my time is done.”
    Marty exhaled and stared out the window for a moment. “Look, we’re supposed to ship out in two weeks. I’ll see what I can do about getting you replaced, but you know how fast they’re rotating us in and out. If I can’t find someone