Uncensored Passion (Men of Passion) Page 10

  Feeling the vibration from his cell phone, Trey retrieved it from his pocket and answered with a clipped, “Yes?”

  The firm’s secretary, Sarah, said, “Your call came through this morning, Trey. Thought you’d want to know. Hope I haven’t called too late. I got busy at the office and forgot to call earlier, and it just came to mind and I—ah—kind of wanted to talk to you outside the office.”

  “That’s all right, Sarah. I appreciate your letting me know. So what’s up?”

  “First thing is to tell you that the lady wanted to verify your credentials, which I did and glowingly so.”

  “I figured she might. She’s very thorough. Oh, and by the way, run the usual background check on her, as well, and email me what you find.”

  “Trey, there’s another thing.”

  He caught the worried tone in her voice.

  “What is it, Sarah?”

  “Well, let me preface what I’m about to tell you. I don’t usually listen in to conversations, but I’m glad I did this time. I’m glad the intercom was open and they didn’t know it.”

  “They? You mean the partners?”

  “Yes.”

  “So what did you hear, Sarah?”

  “I like you, Trey. That’s why I’m telling you this. I think you’re a good guy. And I know how hard you work and how diligent you are concerning your job. It galls me that Gavin Johnson seems so determined to slander you whenever he gets the chance and that he’s trying to get you fired. But I suppose you know that, don’t you?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Just between you and me, I can’t stand the man.”

  Trey chuckled. “I understand. He doesn’t exactly make a person feel warm and fuzzy.”

  “He’s a bastard, that’s what he is!” Sarah said curtly.

  Trey was surprised. In all the years he had known her, he had never heard mild-mannered Sarah Upton ever express herself so vehemently.

  “It’s okay, Sarah. I know Gavin hates me. I don’t know why, but I’ve accepted that he does long ago. So what did you hear? Lay it on me. I can take it.”

  “I heard them discussing your case. Gavin said he expected you to fail, and when you did, per their earlier agreement, you were to be terminated. And Rob said that yes, they had tentatively agreed to that, but on thinking about it, he wasn’t sure firing you would be in the best interest of the firm. Joyce agreed, saying that you were a decorated war hero and definitely an asset to the company. And besides, you knew what you were doing, had always concluded each case given you to the firm’s advantage. She said you seemed to be a born leader, which was probably why you had been so good in Special Forces.

  “Gavin said you weren’t as good as the hype that you probably started yourself, and some medals were given to the wrong people. He said the true heroes never got mentioned, only the ones who crowed the loudest. And then this next part kinda floored me.”

  “Really? What was it?”

  “Joyce McClary said she was confused, since he was the one who had searched you out and recommended they issue an invitation to join the firm.”

  “What? Are you sure she said that, Sarah?”

  “Yes. I’m sure. I thought that was strange, too, given the way he’s always putting you down. Then Gavin said he had his own reasons at the time, and since he had gotten to know you, to know how arrogant and hypocritical you are, he realized his initial assessment was right, that it was time to cut you loose from the firm and that …”

  When Sarah paused, seeming too angry to continue, Trey prompted gently. “Go on, Sarah. What else?”

  “Well, he said he was looking forward to passing the word on to other PI firms so they wouldn’t make the mistake of hiring you.”

  “Damn!”

  “My sentiments exactly. Then Joyce said she thought that was too harsh, to say the least, and Rob agreed. Then Gavin said they didn’t know what he knew about you. Then he gave them an ultimatum. If you bungled this assignment, as he felt sure you were destined to do, either you would go, or he would.

  “They were all silent for a while, and I could sense their uneasiness, their reluctance before they finally agreed. My guess is that they don’t want Gavin to leave. I know he has a lot of money sunk into the firm, so he would pull that out, and we all know how money talks. Just wanted to give you a heads-up. I didn’t want you to be blindsided by this.”

  Trey digested all she’d told him in sober acceptance before saying, “Thanks, Sarah. I appreciate your keeping me in the loop.”

  “What is it between you and Gavin, Trey? What was he talking about, your being a hypocrite and insinuating your medals weren’t deserved?”

  “Damned if I know! He had it in for me the minute I signed on, Sarah. It makes no sense to me at all that he was the one who was responsible for bringing me into the firm. That really blows my mind. And so far as what he has against me, I’ve never figured that out. If you do, let me know.”

  “I’ll do some more checking on that,” she said conspiratorially.

  Trey smiled. “You do that, but don’t put your job in jeopardy, Sarah. Again, thanks. I owe you one.”

  “I just might collect one lonely night,” she teased. “Now do a good job on this assignment, kiddo. I kinda like seeing your face around here.”

  “I will. Goodnight, Sarah.”

  “Night, handsome.”

  Trey dropped the phone in his pocket, finished off the drink, and ordered another one. As he sipped it, he wondered, what the fuck does Gavin have against me? And what does he think he knows about what happened during my war years?

  CHAPTER 14

  Special Forces secret mission in Karbala—Seven years earlier

  Captain Trey Cameron was known as one of the toughest team leaders of the Army Special Forces units. It was common knowledge that his unit was considered a well-oiled machine, capable of carrying out seemingly impossible missions with an unequaled no-man-lost record, and that Trey was the reason why.

  Trey’s men never wondered why he was so hard on them. They knew it was because he carried the heavy responsibility for getting them in, doing the job assigned to them, and getting them back out alive. And no one questioned his dedication or the fact that he had their backs. He was always the first into the fray and the last to leave, and only after ensuring his men were all accounted for. So if he wasn’t particularly liked, he was damned well respected.

  Everyone making it out alive was indeed Trey’s top priority. He prided himself on the fact that he had never lost a member of his team.

  In the beginning, when he was training them prior to their first covert mission, Trey had demanded nothing short of mental alertness, driving them until he was certain they were combat ready and knew the necessity of following orders without hesitation. He knew that sometimes split-second timing was all that stood between a man’s living and dying.

  When they were dispatched to Karbala after the 2007 incident when four American soldiers were abducted and killed, their assignment was to dig in and wait to be contacted by an informant who could give them the intel about the leaders behind the abduction and killing of those soldiers.

  Against his protestations, Trey was assigned a female interpreter of Iranian descent. Though he had never voiced his disapproval of women in the fighting zones—not even in interpreter roles, as her primary assignment would be—knowing it would be considered politically incorrect, Trey firmly believed they didn’t belong there. Especially not in a Special Forces operation. Besides, Trey felt he knew enough Arabic to get by.

  But when he took his concerns to his CO he was told in no uncertain terms that Lieutenant Dorri Haines was not only fluent in the language, but was the only person the informant trusted because of some past history—which was classified. This made her uniquely qualified and necessary for this particular mission. Plus, the CO bit out, “Special Forces should be able to cover her pretty ass just like any other member of their team.”

  With no option afforded him, Trey
grudgingly accepted Dorri into his unit. She was young, only twenty-three, and pretty, with intensely dark eyes that Trey realized from the get-go followed him everywhere. He did his best to avoid her, because he feared she seemed to have a kind of crush on him. That was definitely something he didn’t want to encourage, an unacceptable distraction he didn’t need or want.

  So when she more or less cornered him one night and said she wanted to talk with him about her home and family and why she had volunteered, he cut her off. Being brutally frank, he told her she was just another soldier to him and he didn’t want to know her personal history.

  After that episode, he didn’t care that she now disliked him—as long as she respected him as head of the unit and carried out orders.

  Only years later, following the incident that was destined to have long-range repercussions, would Trey come to know the details of Dorri Haines’s life.

  * * *

  Dorri Aleia had been orphaned at age five. She was adopted by the Haines, a wealthy, childless American couple, when she was six.

  Though she had been raised in America, she had never forgotten that somewhere in the same area where she was to be deployed, she had an older brother, Abdul, for whom she had been searching diligently online for years. She had answered thousands of e-mails, hopeful that one of those Abduls would be her long-lost brother.

  Only two weeks prior to her deployment, she had finally made contact with an Abdul who convinced her he was, indeed, her brother. They began an everyday e-mail exchange of information.

  Dorri confided in Abdul that she was soon to be deployed with a Special Forces unit and would be close enough for them to reconnect at last. He had readily agreed, urging her to keep in touch and let him know exactly where her unit would be. He promised he would find her.

  Knowing Captain Cameron wouldn’t approve of her fraternizing with what he considered the enemy, as soon as she could after arriving, Dorri informed her brother of the location of their secluded position outside Karbala, swearing him to secrecy. They arranged a time for the rendezvous.

  With the trusting naiveté of an anxious sibling, Dorri thought nothing of it when Abdul asked questions. She readily accepted his explanation, that he was curious about his long-lost sister’s life. Questions like, how many were there in her Special Forces unit? Who was in charge? What was their mission and could he be of some assistance? And finally, could she slip him in so they could spend quality time catching up and could he offer his help to the captain of her unit? And lastly, would she come out to meet with him, to finalize their meeting in the camp?

  By the time the unit was covertly ensconced in their secret compound for two days, Dorri took the opportunity to sneak out to meet with Abdul.

  Corporal Jerry Finley, after seeing Dorri slip away from the compound, informed Trey, who was waiting for her when she returned. He was barely able to contain his rage as he asked, “Where have you been, Lieutenant?

  Squaring her chin, Dorri nervously launched into the explanation of having been adopted as a child but later finding her brother was alive. She reminded Trey that she had tried to talk to him about her brother before, but he had refused to listen. She went on to say that the two of them had been e-mailing each other before her deployment.

  “And you know for a fact that he is your brother?”

  “Of course I do. I’ve been searching for him for years. And like I said, we’ve communicated online and you can’t imagine how wonderful it is, finding him again.”

  “What have you told him?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Does he know our location?”

  “He’s my brother, Captain Cameron! He is not a terrorist,” she protested vehemently.

  Incensed, Trey demanded, “And you know this how? We are at war with these people. Have you forgotten that?”

  “I just know I am of Iranian descent—one of ‘these people,’ as you say. Do you think I am a terrorist?”

  “I think you’re very foolish and too damned trusting, Lieutenant Haines. You have no definitive proof this man you’ve been in contact with is actually your brother, do you? Do you realize you have put this unit in jeopardy? We are here on an important mission! Our location is supposed to be top secret. What you have been doing is cause for a court martial.”

  “What I realize is that you never wanted me on your team to begin with and will probably take this personal decision I have made as an opportunity to get rid of me!” she said pithily.

  “You’re right. I didn’t want you on my team, but not you personally. I didn’t want a female on this mission at all. And that was for your protection, whether or not you choose to believe it. But that has nothing to do with your gross breach of security.”

  “Abdul is not a terrorist!”

  “When are you to meet him again?”

  “He’s coming here tomorrow. If you give him the chance, he will prove to you how mistaken you are about him when you speak with him. He could be of great help to us, I know, and he said he would be willing to do that. He knows the area and the people.”

  Trey blanched, suddenly realizing the gravity of what she had just said.

  “He’s coming here tomorrow? Am I understanding you right, Lieutenant? He knows you’re here with a Special Forces team? He knows we’re here on a covert assignment, and he knows our exact location?”

  “Yes.”

  “And just when are you expecting him?”

  “In the morning.”

  Not trusting himself to say anything else to her, Trey walked away. He called an impromptu meeting of the men and informed them of what he believed would turn out to be a serious situation the next day.

  “Keep a close eye out. Expect anything. If I’m right about this, and my gut tells me I am, we can expect fireworks in the morning.”

  Trey had not slept but had kept watch all night, while his men had reinforced the barricade and went on sniper alert. When he spotted the vehicle in the distance just as dawn was breaking, he warned the men to stay vigilant. They heard the old vehicle laboring toward them before it came into full view.

  It looked as though it might not make another hundred yards as it rattled toward their compound. Through his binoculars, Trey could see that it sat low on the tires, a telltale sign it was weighted down. Having seen enough suicide vehicles to recognize when one was loaded with explosives, Trey recognized it was a rolling car bomb.

  Using the megaphone, he ordered the driver to halt. His men stood ready, lining the makeshift barricade they had constructed.

  Dorri emerged from her tent and ran toward Trey.

  “Captain, what are you doing? It’s my brother out there. I told you he was coming.”

  “He’s driving a car bomb, Haines!”

  “That’s a lie. My brother wouldn’t do that.”

  “I doubt he’s really your brother. You’ve been used, Lieutenant Haines. He got the information from you he wanted, and now he’s probably following orders to destroy us. He’s on a suicide mission.”

  “No. That’s not true!”

  “Stand down, Haines. Return to your quarters. I’ll deal with you later.” Trey turned back to watch the approaching vehicle.

  Shit! The mission is going FUBAR in no uncertain terms.

  He was about to give the order to fire the rocket launcher when to his dismay he saw Dorri gunning a transport around the makeshift barricade, heading out to meet the man she believed to be her brother.

  Cursing, Corporal Finley asked, “Want me to go after her, Captain?”

  “She’s already halfway there, Corporal. Too late.”

  They all watched as Abdul stopped, but only long enough to pick Dorri up when she exited the transport. Through their binoculars, Trey and the others saw them talking, gesturing wildly before the vehicle continued toward the compound. Trey gave the order to shoot out the tires. It was obvious by her wild gestures that Dorri was still arguing with him, and Trey knew she had finally realized her foolish and fatal mi
stake.

  They all saw Dorri struggling to get out of the vehicle and watched in horror as the man struck at her with a knife. She slumped back onto the seat.

  Cursing, Trey had only a split second to make a decision. He knew there was no way he was going to be able to rescue Dorri Haines, even if she were still alive, which he doubted. He had to save his men and by extension, try to save the mission. So he gave the order to fire.

  The sound was deafening, as the rocket detonated the explosives packed into the vehicle, which was a little over a quarter of a mile away at that point. Even dug in and protected behind the reinforced barricade, they all felt the jarring shock of the explosion. They watched the raging fire and the giant plume of smoke in somber acceptance.

  When their ears stopped ringing, it was Sergeant Becker who reassured him. “You did what you had to do, Captain. We all understand. How’re you gonna write it up?”

  “No need to blemish her record, Sergeant. She died in a terrorist attack, trying to talk the terrorist down.” With a look at the other men, he silently sought acquiescence and they answered as one, with nods.

  * * *

  When Dorri’s adopted mother, Margaret, received news of her death she was devastated and inconsolable. She leaned heavily on her brother for moral support because she had just lost her husband to a heart attack three months before.

  Her brother, in a futile effort to alleviate her pain, promised to look into Dorri’s death, and he did.

  He found out that her team leader had been Captain Trey Cameron, considered one of the best, and until Dorri, had boasted of never having lost a member of his unit. And when he was told Dorri had lost her life trying to talk the suicide terrorist down to save her unit, the question that raged in his mind was, why did Trey Cameron send a mere slip of a girl out to negotiate with a terrorist while he himself, supposedly the one in charge, sat secure within their compound?

  Over and over in his mind he questioned it.

  Why hadn’t he gone out there? Sure, Dorri spoke Arabic—her adopted parents wanted her to study it since it was her native language—but, according to what he had discovered in his investigation, Trey Cameron also spoke Arabic. Maybe not as fluently as Dorri, but enough to get by—if he hadn’t been a coward.