Third Time's the Charm (1Night Stand)

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by fines and federal imprisonment.

Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Third Time’s the Charm

Copyright  2016 by LJ Garland and Debbie Gould

ISBN: 978-1-68361-135-6

Cover art by Mina Carter

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

Look for us online at:

www.decadentpublishing.com

Decadent Publishing Recent Releases

King of Her Heart by TL Reeve

Mr. Hotness by Marci Baun

Catch Me by Heather Long

Rolling in Sin by Kayleigh Malcolm

Craving His Love by Kayleigh Malcolm

What You Want by Landra Graf

Learning Curve by Melissa Kendall

Too Good to Be True by Deanna Wadsworth

So Not a White Knight by Starla Kaye

Treasure Me by Heather Long

Unexpected Gifts by Sarah and Shannen Brady

Out of Orbit by Thea Landen

Awake: Unsleeping Beauty by Louisa Bacio

If You Can’t Stand the Heat by Taryn Kincaid

The Ambassador’s Daughter by Venus Cahill

Safe at Home by Wendy Burke

Double Down by Desiree Holt

All I Want by Eden Ashe

Also by LJ Garland and Debbie Gould

Sins of the Mind

In My Sights

Explosive Conditions

Do No Harm

By LJ Garland

Dead or Alive

By Debbie Gould

Second Chance

Dear Reader,

This is the final story in our Pararescuemen series. We decided our guys should go out with a bang—literally. After much discussion, we decided Jason’s story needed to be a little different from the others. After all, he’s been call the kid and computer whiz by his team, so it was time for him to show them what he’s really made of.

As for Jason’s perfect match, Madame Eve went all out. She chose very carefully the woman who could keep up with him in bed and out. Did she work her magic? We certainly think so!

We hope you enjoy Third Time’s the Charm as much as we enjoyed letting our creative beasties out of our brains to run wild on page. We love hearing from our readers!

Blog: http://www.garland-and-gould.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garland.gould.7

Twitter @LJ_Garland1 & @DebbieGould

Email: mail.garlandgould@gmail.com

Dedication

To the men and women who risk their lives every day to make the world a safer place. We thank you.

Third Time’s the Charm

Twice, Senior Airman Jason Moore let The Fixer, a maniacal bomber who’s fixated on destroying the Pararescuemen team, slip through his fingers. Last time, he was the hero for holding the killer captive. Now, he’s the goat for letting the guy escape…again.

He’s got it bad….

Every member on the team has found love through Madame Eve, but Jason dreams of hooking up with the sexy FBI agent who stormed in with a warrant for his laptop. He can’t get the curvy Black-Irish federal agent—or the Glock she pointed in his face—out of his thoughts. Ghost, Bobcat, Diz, and Raven, they all say she’s out his league. Handing him Madame Eve’s card, they tell him he needs to get his head out of his...well, you know, and back in the game. Fine, Madame Eve it is.

She’s got it bad....

Special Agent Flynn Carmody has been focused on her career since the day she joined the Bureau. She doesn’t have time for the picket fence, 2.4 kids, or the minivan...or, for that matter, falling in love. She spends every waking moment keeping the country safe. When her partner comments how she’s wound so tight she just might pop and suggests a one-night stand, she decides he may be right. A single encounter of hot, sweaty, no-strings-attached sex might help relieve her pent-up stress and help her focus on getting her career back on track.

Everything’s going bad....

When Jason and Flynn at last meet, passion explodes—along with almost everything else around them. The Fixer has plans for the couple. After all, he has a reputation to uphold, which means people must die. It’s what he’s paid to do, and he’s very good at his job. But with Flynn at Jason’s side, can they bring down the bad guy and prove Third Time’s the Charm?

Third Time’s the Charm

A 1Night Stand Story

By

L.J. Garland & Debbie Gould

Chapter One

How the fuck did that bastard get away…again? Senior Airman Jason Moore stuffed his hands in his shorts pockets and took a deep breath, the salt-laden air filling his lungs. Gentle waves rolled into the shore, the foam-lined water creeping over the sand to within an inch of his sneakers. Usually, the sea air calmed him, gave him perspective, but with all the shit surrounding him and his team, the ocean had little effect. Guilt and anger over the escape of the bomber rode him hard. He’d fucked up big time.

Hey, Jason. Junior Lieutenant Kyle Raven Alvarez came up next to him. There’s no run scheduled today.

I know. The team usually jogged five miles on the beach several times a week. How’s the captain? Emily and the baby?

He frowned. She lost a lot of blood. Could’ve been worse if those damn FBI who busted in had screwed around longer. The doctors are watching her. Touch and go, Captain said. He’s with her now. I’m taking Lis with me to visit later.

How is she? Jason grimaced. If he hadn’t let the bomber escape the first time, he wouldn’t have kidnapped Lis, and she wouldn’t have ended up stabbed in the chest.

Healing. A smile filled Raven’s face—Jason didn’t know exactly how the guy got his call sign, but figured it had to do with his black hair and dark eyes. We’re going to look at houses next week.

Jason lifted an eyebrow. That was quick. Marriage?

He chuffed a laugh. Moving in together. But I do have my eye on a ring I think she’d like. He toed the sand. One step at a time, I guess.

Yeah. Jason stared out over the ocean again.

God he loved Navarre Beach, his job as a Pararescueman helping people, working with technologies he seemed to mesh with on a deeper level than the average techie, and the guys he worked with. His teammates. His brothers. He didn’t have any siblings, so Colin, Bobby, Zeke, and Kyle had become his family.

He’d worked his ass off during The Pipeline—a two-year process where pararescuemen proved their worth in swimming, running, medical training, weapons, close combat, hand-to-hand combat…. Damn, the list went on and on. But when he came out the other side, he was the best soldier he could be, ready for anything. After all, they lived by their creed, These things I do, that others may live. He’d repeated it to himself on day one and every day since.

As the last to join his team at Hurlburt Field, he’d had a lot to prove. Being the youngest didn’t help matters. They all saw him as the kid. He wasn’t a kid, but age didn’t change anything in their eyes. Though, lately, he’d begun to prove his worth.

If that damn bastard hadn’t escaped again…. Jason ground his teeth.

You tighten your jaw any more, and you’ll crack a tooth. Kyle turned to walk along the beach. What’s up?

Sorry about Lis. I swear, I was on his trail around Lake Allatoona, and his tracks just disappeared. He sighed. If I hadn’t lost the bastard in Georgia, none of this would’ve happened.

Dude, if it wasn’t him, the guy behind this would’ve sent somebody else. Kyle shook his head.

But then we had him again at the warehouse where you saved Lis and Diz disarmed that IED I was standing on. Bobby never should’ve trusted me to watch him.

Hell, man. He ran a hand through his hair. The asshat had set the building to blow. He tried to kill us all.

Yeah.

Kyle rounded on him, his eyes narrowed. What aren’t you saying?

God, the guilt ate at Jason. He needed to tell someone. He couldn’t hold back from the truth any longer. It wasn’t the bomb that let him escape.

What do you mean?

Right before the explosion, he asked me if I knew what time it was. Question like that, you’d think I’d know something was up. But, like an idiot, I went to tell him to shut up.

And then?

He head-butted me.

Shit.

I was seeing stars then that damn bomb went off and threw me against the building we were standing next to. He met Kyle’s eyes, his dark expression unreadable. The whole team went flying from the impact. And while I tried to breathe, I saw him. He shook his head, the fucking scene playing through his head for the millionth time. The asshole knew what was coming and was ready for it. He was still on his feet when I looked up. Then he grinned, bent over, and just…jumped backward over his tied hands. I mean, Bobby put that zip tie on him tight. But, next thing I knew, his hands were in front of him. The guy had even given him a little half-assed salute, but he sure as hell wasn’t sharing that. Then he ran, and I chased him.

And I chased after you, Kyle said. Found you in that condemned building at the end of the street.

Yeah. I’d chased him inside. His ears had still been ringing from the explosion. I caught sight of the guy bookin’ it across the floor. Then he jumped on top of an old piece of machinery and leapt up to the next floor.

What?

You know, like some parkour ninja maniac. I chased after him, but then he jumped out a window. By the time I found a way outside, he was gone. Fuck me. Okay, so I told him. Now comes the fallout.

Damn, Jase. Kyle’s phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and tapped the screen. Yeah?

He’d hoped getting the truth out would make him feel better. It hadn’t.

Okay. On the way. Kyle stuffed the phone back in his pocket. That was the guys. They have something to tell us and need us to meet them at Hellenback.

Okay. He turned to head back to where he’d parked his car.

Now. Raven took off at a lope. Let’s go.

Jason jogged to catch up. But Hellenback is close to eight miles from here.

Guess you’ll get your run in today after all. Raven took off, his long stride eating up the ground. Move your ass, Moore!

Chapter Two

Jason jogged to the popular military hangout, Hellenback. Sweat coated every inch of his body, and his shirt and shorts were soaked. As he joined Kyle on the sidewalk, he spied the rest of the guys at a corner table planted in front of a big screen TV. He grimaced. He didn’t relish rehashing with the entire team how the bomber escaped him a second time—the first at Allatoona Lake in Georgia, and again at the tobacco warehouse. This guy was seriously pissing him off.

Let’s go, kid. They’ve almost finished the first pizza. He moved in front of him, opening the door and making a beeline for the table.

Jason lifted his chin, took a deep breath, and followed. The moment he stepped over the threshold, icy air enveloped him, causing his sweaty skin to prickle while the scents of beer and garlic