Free Special Ops Exclusive by Elle Kennedy

no shortage of details. “The ULF cell claimed that the virus was engineered in the United States, and that our government authorized the testing of it in San Marquez. They said we killed hundreds of their villagers.”
    “We did.”
    Nick’s matter-of-fact response sent her eyebrows soaring. “Are you serious?” she demanded.
    He turned his head to meet her surprised gaze, nodded, then focused on the stretch of highway up ahead. “The first test site was Corazón. It’s a remote village in the western region of San Marquez. My unit and I were sent there to extract an American doctor who was supposedly being held hostage by the ULF rebels, but when we got there, the doctor was already dead. So were all the villagers.”
    “They were killed by the virus?”
    “Yes, but we didn’t know it at the time. My unit showed up to find Hector Cruz and his fellow rebels burning all the bodies.”
    Rebecca blanched. Before she could stop it, the image of Jesse on fire flashed into her head, and her mind cruelly conjured up the acrid stench of smoke and flesh. It was so real she could swear she was smelling it in the SUV, and she had to take a deep calming breath before she fell apart again.
    “What happened afterward?” she asked, trying to focus on Nick’s story.
    “Cruz got away, and we were recalled back to the States for debriefing. We were all operating under the assumption that Cruz and his men had killed the Corazón villagers.” Nick’s profile hardened. “But then my teammates starting dying. One accidental death after the other. It became obvious that someone was trying to eliminate us, but we didn’t know why. When there were only three of us left, we decided to skip town and hide out until we could figure out why we were being hunted.”
    She wrinkled her brow. “And you tied it to the Meridian virus?”
    He nodded again. “The Corazón villagers died from the virus. We think someone in the government wanted to shut us up, get us out of the way in case we gave too much thought to what we saw in that village.”
    “Who’s we?”
    “Me. My unit’s captain, Tate. And Sebastian, another soldier. We’ve been moving around this past year, trying to make sense of it all. A couple of months ago, the virus was released in a new test site, another San Marquez village called Valero, and soon after that, one of the scientists responsible for creating the virus sold a vial of it to the ULF cell. Sebastian was actually part of the assault team that raided the terrorists’ hideaway.” Nick chuckled, but he didn’t sound the slightest bit amused. “Someone in the Department of Defense decided to thank Seb by infecting him with the virus.”
    Her eyes widened. “Your teammate died from the virus?”
    “No, he’s still alive.” Nick’s jaw tensed. “Sebastian’s girlfriend accidentally ingested the water instead, but luckily she was administered the antidote in time. But the attempt on Seb’s life told us that whoever authorized the creation of the virus still wants us dead.”
    “But why? The virus is common knowledge now,” she pointed out.
    “Yeah, but the identity of the person who green-lighted the project? That’s still up for grabs, and that bastard knows my men and I won’t rest until we track him down.”
    The lethal tone of his voice sent a shiver up Rebecca’s spine. She studied his rigid profile, intrigued by the contrast between his handsome good looks and volatile expression. This man was a warrior. It was easy to forget that when you looked into those warm eyes, when you admired those classically chiseled features.
    That cold shiver dissolved into a rush of warmth the longer she scrutinized Nick Barrett. His white T-shirt outlined every delicious ridge of his tight six-pack, and her fingers itched to stroke that hard, broad chest. To run through his messy brown hair, which looked so soft to the touch. She couldn’t believe she was capable of getting aroused at a time like this, but