Operation: Endeavor (When The Mission Ends) Read online

  Operation: Endeavor

  When the Mission Ends Book #2

  by Christi Snow

  Published by Christi Snow

  Edited by Sarah Negovetich

  Cover and eBook Design by AM Design Studios

  Copyright © 2013 Christina Snow

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 1481035614

  ISBN-13: 978-1481035613

  This book is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, events, or incidences come from the author’s imagination and are not meant to portray real persons or events.

  Texas Tech University and Lubbock, TX are real places, but again they are used only as settings in this very fictional world. Any similarities are purely coincidental.

  Dedication

  This book is for my siblings:

  Daniel & David

  (yes, they’re twins who just happen

  to be four years younger than me)

  I love you guys.

  I know you’ll always have my back…

  And then give me a hard time about it later.

  Acknowledgments

  A huge thank you to my family: Ben, Jacob, and Kat. You guys have been my biggest cheerleaders and support and you rarely complain when we have frozen dinners…again. I love you three more than anything!

  Mom, this is my official apology for not calling as much as I should and for the scattered conversations when I do. You’ve been wonderful to let me ramble on about Colton and Penelope and simply the up’s and down’s of doing what I do now. Thank you for always being there, for always listening, and for always doing a last-minute read when I need another opinion. I couldn’t do this without you!

  My betas… Girls I love you for the support you offer and the advice you give. This book has changed so much since you originally read it. I hope you still like it. Thank you to: Amber, Amy, Anso, Jennifer, Kara, Kim, Aunt Marcia, Michele, and Mom. Sabrina = proofreader extraordinaire!

  And to my real life version of the Abilene Authors… I love all you guys from SAW (San Angelo Writers). We may not have a Tony, but we sure do have a LOT of fun! Nikki and Ben, your feedback on this book was INVALUABLE. Thank you for the time and effort you put into your feedback. It helped so much.

  I’m a lucky girl. I had two wonderful editors work with me on this book: Sarah Negovetich and Mia Downing. Because of you two, this book is so much better and I owe you so much for that! Love you two and that you always kept me giggling, even while looking at the never-ending edits.

  Sarah’s favorite phrase: “What does that look like?”

  Mia’s favorite: “Show more, go deeper.”

  Finally, thanks to you, my readers!

  I was completely overwhelmed by your support on Operation: Endgame.

  I hope that you love Operation: Endeavor just as much!

  Books In This Series

  When the Mission Ends Trilogy

  Book #1: Operation: Endgame

  September 2012

  Book #2: Operation: Endeavor

  January 2013

  Book #3: Operation: Endurance

  April 2013

  Book #.5: Before the Mission Begins

  Valentine’s 2013

  Contents

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Books In This Series

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Author's Note

  About the Author

  Prologue

  22 Years Ago

  The Chapel - Fort Hood, Texas

  Ten year old Colton stumbled down the hall of the chapel and worked to keep a tight rein over his emotions. Tears battered at his insides, trying to get out. He wouldn’t cry. If he started, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to stop. Don’t think about it, he berated himself. Don’t think about his parents lying dead in the next room.

  He needed to focus on the twins. Chris and Cassie were only six years old, too young to understand why mom and dad weren’t coming home. Not that he really did either, but that didn’t matter. Not now. Now, he needed to be there for them. But first he had to find them. They were always wandering off. The twins lived in their own little imaginary world where only the two of them were invited.

  He started to turn the corner of the hall, but two female voices stopped him.

  “It’s just so sad. Those poor kids. What’s going to happen to them?”

  “I heard their grandfather, Lora’s dad, is coming to get them, but as far as I know, he doesn’t even know the children. He and Lora were estranged. He never approved of her marriage to Major Robertson.” The women murmured their disapproval. “There’s nowhere else for them to go. There aren’t any other relatives willing to take in all three of them. You have to wonder about a man his age living by himself. How is he going to handle three young children?”

  That ball in the pit of Colton’s stomach started spinning. Estranged? Colton had no idea what that word meant, but it couldn’t mean anything good. A grandfather? He didn’t think they had any grandparents still alive. Who was he and why hadn’t he ever met him? And now they were supposed to go live with him?

  The women continued talking as they wandered down the hall, but their voices were too quiet now for him to hear any more. He peered around the corner toward their retreating backs. He still had no idea where the twins were and needed to find them before they all got into trouble. They were his responsibility now and losing track of them wasn’t acceptable.

  He gritted his teeth and looked in the doorways, searching. Finally, at the third door, he heard whispering in the back corner.

  Creeping in, he approached the voices, just in case they didn’t belong to the twins. But as he got closer, he realized it was Cassie he heard. She was crying and Chris comforted her. Colton swallowed the lump in his throat as he crouched down beside them. He hated how helpless he felt when she cried.

  Chris looked up at him with anguished eyes. Colton reached for him, but Chris shook his head vehemently. “Leave us alone. We’ll be there in just a minute.”

  Colton stumbled back to the door to wait for them, trying not to let the rebuff hurt. He wrapped his hands around his stomach to control the shaking of his body. He’d give anything right now for a hug from his mother. But she would never hug him again. He gritted his teeth again. Not gonna cry. Not now.

  The twins always turned to each other before they turned to him. He knew that. He shouldn’t let it bother him. But in this case, they were all in this miserable circumstance together. They needed to let him help. The twins walked up behind him and Colton clenched his jaw to get his anger, fear, and hurt under control. They were scared enough already.

  He turned to the
m and asked gruffly, “Are you guys okay?” He watched them. They were still young enough that they looked identical despite being the opposite sex. The only difference between the two of them was their hair. Cassie’s was flame-red and Chris’s was blond. Right now both of them also shared identical red-rimmed, sapphire blue eyes.

  “We need to get back before someone starts looking for us.” He looked down the hall and Colton’s stomach sank at the sight of his father’s commander coming toward them. At first glance, the commander didn’t look happy, but when he spotted them, his face softened.

  As he walked up, the tall man looked at them kindly even as he quietly admonished Colton, “We’ve been looking for you three. We need to get started and I need to introduce you to someone.”

  Colton looked beyond the Colonel to where an old man stood observing the three of them. Colton immediately stood up straighter and reached for Chris and Cassie. As they approached the man, Colton watched him. He looked at them unsmiling, but his blue eyes were kind.

  “I’m sorry we weren’t there, sir,” Colton said to the Colonel, but then he nodded his head at the man. “Is that our grandfather?”

  The Colonel looked at Colton in surprise, but nodded. “Yes.”

  Colton stretched out his right hand toward the man. “I’m Colton.” He drew his siblings up beside him. “This is Chris and Cassie. This is hard for them.”

  The man cleared his throat as he said, “This is hard for all of us. I’m your grandfather. Your mom was my daughter and I hope you three will come live with me. I’m sorry this is the first time we’ve had a chance to get to know each other.”

  As one, the twins grabbed hold of each of Colton’s hands. He squeezed them in reassurance and swallowed his own fear and uncertainty. He had to be strong for them. “Do you live here?”

  The man shook his head. “No, I live in a town further north of here called Lubbock. Have you ever heard of it?”

  Colton nodded. “Yes, we went to a Texas Tech football game there last year.” Hurt flashed in the old man’s eyes, but Colton didn’t know what he’d said wrong.

  The man cleared his throat. “Well, from here on out, it’ll be your home… with me, if that’s okay with you three.” He looked at the three of them questioningly.

  The twins began to cry. He couldn’t blame them as he wanted to do the same thing, but they didn’t have any other choice. Their parents were dead and no matter how much they wanted it to, that circumstance wasn’t going to change. Going with this man was the only way they’d be able to stay together. They didn’t know their grandfather, but he had nice eyes. That would have to be enough.

  “Yes, sir. We appreciate you taking us in.” Colton looked down at the twins and tried to give them a brave smile. They would make the best of it, the three of them together. He was the oldest. He’d be strong. The twins needed that from him.

  Chapter 1

  Present Day

  Lubbock, TX

  “Dammit, Colton. Leave me the fuck alone.” Chris leaned on his crutches glaring at Colton. The effort it cost him to simply stand there showed in the paleness of his features and the sweat on his forehead, despite the cool March day.

  Colton ground his teeth together and mentally counted backwards. He was not going to lose his temper with Chris. Not this time. It had only been three months since Chris was rescued. A rescue from a madman who’d tortured and starved him for over six months. All things considered, he was doing pretty well. But pretty well wasn’t good enough. Finally, after weeks of infection and possibility of amputation, his doctors were able to fix his knee with a host of surgeries. Everyone was relieved, but all that pain and effort wasn’t going to do any good if Chris didn’t start putting an effort into his rehabilitation.

  Even without the rehabilitation, Chris was young and his body was beginning to recover, but his mind wasn’t. That worried Colton. They had to break through this lousy attitude of his. Colton understood Chris had been through a lot, but he couldn’t deal with this belligerent and defeatist attitude.

  “Chris, if you don’t work at your physical therapy, you aren’t ever going to fully recover. You’re lucky you even have your leg. Why can’t you be grateful for that and use it? You’ve got to start doing the exercises. I’ll do them with you. If you want, we could even head over to the gym…”

  Chris interrupted, “Fuck! Don’t you get it? I don’t want your help. I don’t want your pity. I want you to leave me the fuck alone!”

  Chris turned quickly to try to get away from the conversation, but he moved too fast and lost his balance. Colton reached to help him, but Chris righted himself and glared at Colton. “I’ve got it. I’m not a complete cripple.”

  Running a hand through his hair in frustration, Colton sighed. “No, you’re not a cripple, but if you don’t start working your leg, you will be. You know what the doctors said. If you want full use of your leg back, you need to build the strength back up. Now, before it’s too late. It’s going to take time and it’s going to take work. That’s why I got out of the Air Force… so I could be here to support and help you.”

  Chris stared down at the floor and spoke low. “No one asked you to do that.” He looked back up at Colton with hard, angry eyes. “You shouldn’t have done that. I don’t want you here. You shouldn’t have given up your career.”

  “Well, that’s too damn bad. That’s what family does for each other. I’m here now and you’re going to have to deal with me. Now, you have two choices. We can work out here or at the gym.” Colton eyed Chris warily. He knew he was pushing him, but someone had to. The problem was Chris’s fuse was getting shorter and shorter.

  Chris clenched his jaw and Colton couldn’t help but notice how gaunt he still looked. He’d lost so much weight and bulk. Three months ago, he’d been a virtual skeleton. He was better now, but still had so far to go to get back to where he’d been before his captivity. His eyes were haunted and the circles under them showed he wasn’t sleeping well. Colton was worried. Chris needed to see a counselor. He’d mentioned it once before and Cassie shot him down because they needed to focus on the more pressing physical concerns, but he thought it was time again.

  Officially, Chris medically retired from the Air Force after they discovered he wasn’t dead. The Air Force provided counseling for him, but with all the vets returning back from the war zone traumatized, the therapists were overworked and he’d fallen through the cracks. Now with his retired status, no one could force him into the counseling sessions. It was like talking to a wall to try to get him to spend some time with a therapist.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Colton told him. Why couldn’t Chris get that through his head?

  They were at a stalemate. Chris wasn’t going to give in. Colton could tell by the aggressive stance he’d taken and the anger flashing in his eyes, but he gave it one last try.

  “Fine, then we’ll do your exercises here.” Colton said softly, and that was all it took for the explosion to occur.

  Chris’s muscles bunched up in anger and he launched himself at Colton. They tumbled to the floor. Colton was 6’3” of pure muscle after spending many hours at the gym pounding weights. Chris’s 6’0” lanky frame, still recuperating from physical abuse, was no match. Right now, though, Chris had anger on his side. Colton was trying hard to subdue him without hurting him. They rolled into an end table, sending the lamp on top of it shattering to the ground.

  It was in that moment, Cassie walked in. “What the hell is going on here?”

  Colton looked up. Chris took advantage of his distraction and punched him right across the side of his face. Colton growled and rolled Chris so that he was astride Chris’s torso. “Goddammit, Chris. Hold still.” He grabbed hold of him so he wouldn’t hurt himself. They were both breathing hard, but Chris was sweating and pale.

  Cassie rushed up behind Colton and shoved him. “Get off him. What the hell are you thinking?”

  Colton slowly moved off Chris to make sure that he wasn’t goi
ng to over-react again. Chris, for his part, didn’t say anything. He just scowled at Colton as Cassie helped him to the couch.

  Colton stood watching Cassie as she coddled Chris. Chris’s chest was heaving with the effort their tussle had taken.

  “He lost his temper again,” Colton explained. “I was just trying to get him to do his exercises.”

  Cassie’s eyes lit up with anger. She rounded on Colton, her temper matching her flowing, fiery red hair. “So you thought it would help to start a fist fight?”

  “Physically fighting with him was never my intention, but yes, he needs someone to push him. Cassie, he’s not going to get better as long as you let him get away with excuses. He needs to work out. He needs to see a counselor. He needs to move forward rather than languishing in this house every day.”

  “He’s sitting right here,” Chris interjected and Colton could see him clenching his jaw in anger, but that was okay. Anger was better than apathy any day. “I can also make my own damn decisions about my own damn life.”

  “Chris,” Colton began, trying not to show his frustration, but Cassie cut him off.

  “Colt, that’s enough for today.” She eyed Chris’s pale complexion worriedly. “Why don’t you take off for a little while and let things calm down around here?”

  Cassie began to clean up the lamp. He knew she wanted to protect Chris, but couldn’t she see she just enabled his bad behavior?

  “I don’t think—”

  She cut him off again. “Not right now. Just go. Give us some time to cool things off around here.” She eyed Chris worriedly.

  “Fine.” Colton shrugged on his jacket and stormed out of the house.

  Chapter 2

  The muscles in Colton’s arms screamed, but he hardly noticed. He focused on the pounding beat of heavy metal pulsing through his ear buds as he counted off the reps. He channeled all his frustration into pushing the weights slowly off his chest. Fourteen, fifteen…