Special Forces: Operation Alpha
Delta Force Generation Next Book 2

By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Jen Talty

Aaliyah Rose has spent the last year dealing with the judgments of others. She can handle the finger pointing. Even the name calling. But what she can’t handle is the fact she did what any other human being would have done in her shoes and Huck knows that, yet he won’t forgive her, much less give her the time of day. So, when her cousin, Jayme Caldwell calls her and tells her that Huck Duncan is stationed at the same base as her husband, Aaliyah hops on the next plane to Texas. It’s time that Huck faces the truth on how and why his brother died.

Huckleberry “Huck” Duncan fell in love with the wrong woman and because of that fact, his brother is dead. However, he can forgive Aaliyah for her hand in his brother’s death. But what Huck can’t forgive is her lies. That is until he’s faced with the truth and those facts collide with a past he’s been trying to forget.

Aaliyah needs to talk to Huck, he doesn’t know the whole truth about his brother’s death. She’d had no choice, she wasn’t going to survive that night but there was more to it. When her cousin Jayme tells her he’s stationed in Texas at the same base as her husband Rocket she knew it was time.

Huck attends the party at Rocket’s along with many of his team members. For the first time he really feels he’s found family among the teams. What he didn’t expect was to be blind-sided by Aaliyah and the information she gave to him.

This is a favorite scene.

Someone pounded at the door. He glanced at his watch. It was only nine in the evening. Not horribly late, but no one ever stopped by at this hour. He stood and meandered toward the door. He glanced through the peephole.

Aaliyah.

She saved him the trip to apologize in the morning. He pulled open the door and turned. “Want something to drink?” He didn’t bother to glance over his shoulder. He just went straight for the mini bar next to the small galley kitchen in his tiny one-bedroom apartment. He took two wineglasses and poured from his favorite bottle of red, which he knew she’d like. He searched his brain for the right words. He so sucked at this kind of stuff. His ex-wife had made sure he’d have trust issues for the rest of his life.

Of course, what happened with Aaliyah hadn’t helped. But that was an entirely different story.

“You’re not going to kick me out,” she said as more of a statement than a question, which he found amusing.

“You came all this way to say something to me and I’ve learned you don’t give up that easily.” He handed her a glass and then sat back down on the sofa.

She joined him on the other end, curling her feet up under her butt. She pointed at the audio device. “You haven’t destroyed it yet.”

“I ended up listening to some of it.”

“Why?”

“I have no fucking clue,” he said. “If I could raise my brother from the dead and kill him all over again, I’d do it.”

“Can’t say I blame you for that thought.” She raised her glass. “He was a prick.”

“For the record, the story he tells on how our mother died, is how he killed our father. Though, not that I want to ever defend Sawyer, our dad wasn’t any better than our mom. It was a shitty childhood all around. If a week went by without one of us getting a black eye, it was a hell of a good week. The difference, though, was that Sawyer became like them.”

“I’m glad you can see the difference.”

He’d always understood he wasn’t like the rest of his family, but sometimes the guilt over what he’d done ate him alive from the inside out. “The fact that I could walk away from you knowing that Sawyer was going to lay his hands on you, makes me no better.”

“Oh, my God. Fucking stop with that shit.” She glared at him with daggers shooting from her eyes as if they were machine guns. “Sawyer wasn’t going to let you stay, and you knew that. He practically shoved you out the door.”

“I suppose that’s true.” Huck rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry I reacted the way I did. I believed Sawyer was fucking with me.”

“But you knew enough not to share that audio recording with anyone or tell even Rocket about it, though you certainly shared a lot of other information with him and Jayme.”

“They knew about Sawyer. Hell, Jayme even met him. I had to tell them that part, but the rest wasn’t my business to tell anyone. You might think I’m a lying, two-faced bitch, but—”

“I don’t think that.” He took her wineglass and set both down on the coffee table. “Considering the things I’ve done in my past, I should have been more understanding and I shouldn’t have treated you the way I have this past year.” He tucked a few pieces of hair behind her ears. “Tell me what you’ve been up to.”

She smiled. “I moved, for one.”

“Where to?”

“Upstate for now,” she said. “It’s temporary while I look for a job, but I couldn’t stand living in the city a second longer.”

“I don’t blame you there. I hate big cities. What kind of job are you looking for?” It felt good to let all the heavy stuff go and just talk. He’d forgotten how much he enjoyed being with her and listening to her voice, and right now, he didn’t want that to end. So, he’d keep asking questions until she said it was time to go.

Only all he could think about was kissing her and that was something he didn’t think would be a good idea. If he started, he wouldn’t want to stop.

“I don’t want to go back to sales, so I was thinking a behind-the-scenes job. Maybe data analyst or something. I’m good with numbers. But I’ve been out of the workforce for a few years so it might take some time.”

“Do you have a headhunter helping you?”

“I do.”

“And where ideally would you like to live— work?”

“Anywhere but New York,” she said with a nervous laugh.

“Would you consider Texas?” Why the fuck would he ask that? It wasn’t like he wanted to get involved, but she did have family here and it was her hometown, so it made sense.

“Absolutely. But who knows where I’ll find the right job.”

“You’re smart. You’ll find something.” He stared at her for a long moment, unsure of what to ask next. He’d had so many questions pop into his mind ten minutes ago, but now his brain was blank, except for a bunch of thoughts that he was too terrified to entertain.

But only because if he did, there would be no turning back this time. There wouldn’t be any games. They knew each other’s deepest, darkest secrets. There was no past to be afraid of. No lies to be hidden. No skeletons to fall out of the closet. Only two people who were attracted to each other.
Jen Talty. Shielding Aaliyah (Kindle Locations 654-697). Aces Press, LLC.

While Aaliyah has come to terms with everything, Huck still has a way to go.

These two belong together, but first Huck needs to find all the answers he’s been hiding from.

Lots of intrigue and plenty of sizzle in this engaging tale.

5 Contented Purrs for Jen!

Jen Talty

Welcome to my World! I’m a USA Today Bestseller of Romantic Suspense, Contemporary Romance, and Paranormal Romance.

I first started writing while carting my kids to one hockey rink after the other, averaging 170 games per year between 3 kids in 2 countries and 5 states. My first book, IN TWO WEEKS was originally published in 2007. In 2010 I helped form a publishing company (Cool Gus Publishing) with NY Times Bestselling Author Bob Mayer where I ran the technical side of the business through 2016.

I’m currently enjoying the next phase of my life…the empty NESTER! My husband and I spend our winters in Jupiter, Florida and our summers in Rochester, NY. We have three amazing children who have all gone off to carve out their places in the world, while I continue to craft stories that I hope will make you readers feel good and put a smile on your face.