The Admiral's Bride
HIS MISSION……was to pretend that Zoe Lange, beautiful young scientist–nearly half his age!–was his new bride. Former Navy SEAL Jake Robinson was sure that his romantic years were behind him, but for God and for country he would look into Zoe's beautiful dark eyes, kiss her senseless, hold her as if he would never let her go…and then, when the job was done, do just that.The only problem was, with each hour in Zoe's company, the stakes were becoming higher. The game more real. And the dangers within their "honeymoon" chamber more and more apparent….
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For Nancy Peeler.
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Contents
Vietnam, 1969
Sergeant Matthew Lange had been left to die.
His leg was badly broken and he had shrapnel embedded in his entire right side. It hadnât hit anything vital. He knew, because heâd been hit hours ago and he wasnât dead yet. And that was almost a shame.
His morphine wasnât working. He not only hurt like hell but he was still alert enough to know what was coming.
The soldier next to him knew, too. He lay there, crying softly. Jim was his name. Jimmy DâAngelo. He was just a kid, reallyâbarely eighteenâand he wasnât going to get any older.
None of them were.
There were a dozen of them there, United States Marines, hiding and bleeding in the jungle of a country too small to have been mentioned in fifth-grade geography class. They were too badly injured to walk out, but most of âem were still conscious, still alive enough to know that sometime within the next few hours, they were going to die.
Charlie was coming.
Probably right before dawn.
The Vietcong had launched a major offensive yesterday morning, and Mattâs platoon had been one of several trapped by the attack. They were now God knows how many clicks behind enemy lines, with no chance of rescue.
Hours ago, Captain Tyler had radioed for help, but help wasnât coming. There were no chopper pilots insane enough to fly into this hot spot. They were on their own.
But then the bomb droppedâclose to literally. Well, at least it would be dropping literally, come morning. The captain had been ordered out of the area. He was told that in an attempt to halt the Vietcong, the Americans would be napalming this very mountain in less than twelve hours.
There had been twenty injured men. Theyâd outnumbered the uninjured by more than two to one.
Captain Tyler had played God, choosing the eight least wounded to drag out of there. Heâd looked at Matt, looked at his leg, and heâd shaken his head. No. Heâd had tears in his eyes, not that that helped much now.
Father OâBrien had been the only one to stay behind.
Matt could hear his quiet voice, murmuring words of comfort to the dying men.
If Charlie found them, heâd use bayonets to kill them. He wouldnât want to waste bullets on men who couldnât fight back. And Matt couldnât fight back. His right arm was useless, his left too weak to shoulder his weapon. Most of the other guys were worse than he was. And he couldnât picture Father OâBrien picking up someoneâs machine gun and giving Charlie a mouthful of lead.
No, bayonets or burning. Thatâs what their future had come down to.
Matt felt like weeping along with Jimmy.
âSarge?â
âYeah, Jim. Iâm still here.â Like Matt mightâve walked away.
âYou have a family, donât you?â
Matt closed his eyes, picturing Lisaâs sweet face. âYeah,â he said. âI do. Back in New Haven. Connecticut.â He might as well have said Mars, it seemed as far away. âI got two boys. Matt, Jr., and Mikey.â Lisa had wanted a little girl. A daughter. Heâd always thought thereâd be plenty of time for that later.
Heâd been wrong.
âYouâre lucky.â Jimmyâs voice shook. âI donât have anyone besides my ma whoâs gonna remember me. My poor ma.â He started to cry again. âOh, God, I want my maâ¦.â
Father OâBrien came over, but his calm voice didnât cover Jimmyâs sobbing. The poor bastard wanted his ma.
Matt wanted Lisa. It was the stupidest thing. When heâd been there, back in that stifling little crummy two-bedroom apartment in one of the worst neighborhoods in New Haven, heâd thought heâd go absolutely mad. He hated working as a mechanic, hated the way his money was already spent on groceries and rent before he even brought home his paycheck. So heâd re-upped. Heâd told Lisa heâd reenlisted for the money, but the real truth was heâd wanted to get the hell out of there before he suffocated. And heâd left, even though sheâd cried.
Heâd married too youngânot that heâd had a real choice about it. And heâd liked it, at first. Lisa, in his bed every night. No need to worry about getting her pregnant, since heâd already done that. Heâd loved the way sheâd grown heavy with child, with his child. It made him feel like a man, even though at twenty-two, fresh out of the service, heâd been little more than a child himself. But when the second baby had come right after the first, the weight of his responsibilities had scared him to death.
So heâd left. Heâd come here, to Nam.
It was much different from his first tour, when heâd been stationed in Germany.
And right now all he wanted was to be back in Lisaâs arms. He was the stupidest fool in the worldâhe didnât realize how much he had, how much he truly loved that girl, his wife, until he was hours away from dying.
