Ride Out the Storm

By Monette Michaels

“The tough, protective heroes you’ve been waiting for. Fans of Maya Banks’ KGI, Susan Stoker, and Lexi Blake will love Monette Michaels’ Security Specialists International series.” —Cherise Sinclair, NY Times and USA Today Bestselling Author.

They escaped the cartel in Mexico.

Three months after a dangerous and chaotic flight to freedom, Dr. Anton Vasilov and his new wife Lucia have settled into the small-town life of Osprey's Point. Courtesy of SSI, Anton now runs the town's sole medical practice. Trained chef Lucia is cooking part-time at Earl's Diner.

They believe they've finally found a safe haven from Lucia's vicious uncle and his cartel henchmen.

Gaining the town's trust might take longer.

Although the isolated lakefront community welcomes the new chef, Anton isn't as lucky. The year-round residents, mostly hardened military vets, have a harder time accepting him. Anton is determined to gain their trust and be part of the town, because he and Lucia have a baby on the way.

However, their safe haven may not be safe, after all.

Worry creeps into their newfound happiness when a stranger comes to town. Has the cartel found them? As the SSI operatives and vets consider tactics, Anton formulates his own plan. Because the ex-Russian special forces soldier will do whatever it takes to protect his wife and unborn child.

Fighting for their lives and their home, Anton and Lucia must ride out the storm one more time.

“Ms. Michaels' writing is tight, the dialogue is witty and it deserves to be on your "MUST READ" list.” –John Matteson, Goodreads.

Read all of Monette Michaels' series:

Security Specialists International
1 - Eye of the Storm
1.5 - Stormy Weather Baby
2 - Cold Day in Hell
2.5 - Storm Front
3 - Weather the Storm
4 - Storm Warning
4.5 - Hot as Hell
5 - An Ill Wind
6 - Firestorm

The Prime Chronicles
1 - Prime Obsession
2 - Prime Selection
3 - Prime Imperative
3.5 - Prime Claiming
4 - Prime Target

The Gooden and Knight Mysteries
1 - A Virtuous Vampire
2 - The Deadly Séance

• Language: English
• Publisher: Monette Draper
• Release date: May 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781733481724

Monette Michaels

A Hoosier born and raised, Monette still lives in the heartland near Indianapolis, Indiana. Married to her college sweetheart and soul mate, she has one son. After many years of practicing law, Monette found that all the clients, opposing counsel, and the problems she handled ignited the need to write fiction. So she started writing – first, romantic suspense/thrillers featuring alpha-male heroes and kick-ass heroines, then adding a touch of paranormal and sci-fi -- and, eventually, a sexier side (as Rae Morgan,) writing paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Monette Michaels is the author of the top-selling Security Specialists International series featuring former military heroes operating a private security firm. Eye of the Storm (Book 1) was an EPPIE finalist. Her Prime Chronicles series is science fiction romance set in the far reaches of the Milky Way galaxy and book one in that series, Prime Obsession, was also an EPPIE finalist. Fans of Monette Michaels describe her writing as "full of romance, alpha males, strong female roles, sci-fi and steam," with "witty dialogue" and "MUST READ" books. Her "characters are believable" and her books are "yearly reads" that they "come back to again and again." Monette (and Rae) loves to hear from her fans. E-mail her at [e-mail]. Visit her at: Website: www.monettemichaels.com FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/authormonettemichaels Twitter: https://twitter.com/MonetteMichaels Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/monettemichaels/

Book preview

Michaels

Published: 2021

ISBN: 978-1-7334817-2-4

Published by Monette Michaels. Copyright © 2021, Monette Draper

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Editor: Marci Clark

Cover Artist: April Martinez

This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

They escaped the cartel in Mexico.

Three months after a dangerous and chaotic flight to freedom, Dr. Anton Vasilov and his new wife Lucia have settled into the small-town life of Osprey's Point. Courtesy of SSI, Anton now runs the town's sole medical practice. Trained chef Lucia is cooking part-time at Earl's Diner.

They believe they've finally found a safe haven from Lucia's vicious uncle and his cartel henchmen.

Gaining the town's trust might take longer.

Although the isolated lakefront community welcomes the new chef, Anton isn't as lucky. The year-round residents, mostly hardened military vets, have a harder time accepting him. Anton is determined to gain their trust and be part of the town, because he and Lucia have a baby on the way.

However, their safe haven may not be safe, after all.

Worry creeps into their newfound happiness when a stranger comes to town. Has the cartel found them? As the SSI operatives and vets consider tactics, Anton formulates his own plan. Because the ex-Russian special forces soldier will do whatever it takes to protect his wife and unborn child.

Fighting for their lives and their home, Anton and Lucia must ride out the storm one more time.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks go to my critique partner Cherise Sinclair for always zeroing in on what needs to be done to make my book better. Also, thanks to my long-time beta-readers, Debbie Kline and Valérie Samouillan, for being there for me.

This book would never have gotten done without the last minute help of Marci Clark, editor, who graciously worked me into her busy schedule.

And, finally, thanks to April Martinez for another striking cover.

Dedication

To my husband and son.

Chapter 1

June 19th, Osprey's Point, Michigan

Anton entered the kitchen and found his wife Lucia humming as she fixed him one of the breakfast specialties she planned to try out at Earl's Diner where she cooked part-time.

Lucia looked up from the stove and smiled. "Mi esposo, your breakfast is almost ready."

She sounded happy. His heart filled to overflowing with love and the knowledge she, and the child she carried, were safe now in their new home. While there was still the potential of danger from Lucia's crazy uncle, Jaime Aznar, El Hacha, and his right-hand man, Raimundo Chavez, El Halcón, there was no immediate danger. And their friends at Security Specialists International would warn them and protect them if the danger became more emergent.

Did Duff call and make an appointment about his medication? she asked.

"Nyet." A hard no.

Lucia's back stiffened.

Anton cursed silently. His answer had been abrupt, filled with his frustration and a sense of failure. While Dugan Duff MacKay and his friends had accepted Lucia into the community because of her cooking, her beauty, and her sweetness, they barely tolerated Anton. And it rankled.

"Moy goluba… My dove was a common Russian endearment, but it also held a lot of significance for Anton. Lucia had brought peace and love into what had often been a hard and chaotic life prior to meeting her. …Duff and his friends have not accepted me yet. Give them time."

SSI's chief of its eastern branch, Risto Smith, had told him that Duff and the other year-round locals didn't much care for anyone new who moved to the area. Mayor Earl Blackhawk, who was the owner of the diner and the town's largest landowner, had added that the men generally tended to keep to themselves and not to take their standoffish attitude personally.

Since SSI and Earl had jointly hired Anton to run the sole medical clinic in town, at the very least, if not their friendship, he'd like to earn their trust as a physician.

My boys will learn to trust and appreciate you as I do.

Boys? Anton snorted. "Lucia, those men are wolves. I think part of the reason they dislike me is because you're my wife. All of them, Duff, especially, would steal you from me given a chance."

Many of the year-round residents were ex-military, some of them former SpecOps soldiers. The kind of men he'd want to back him up in a fight, but never have as an enemy. Anton understood these men better than they knew, because he'd been one of them before he'd attended medical school.

A plate filled with colorful and delicious-smelling food in her hand, Lucia shook her head. "They have no chance, mi amado. She placed his food on the center island. I fell in love the moment I met you."

It had been the same for him. At the time he met her, Lucia, a chef in Mexico City, had come into the emergency room where he'd been in his last months of residency. As he'd put four stitches into her hand, he'd fallen for her sense of humor, her stoicism—and the beauty and sweetness which had won over Duff and his war-hardened friends. Since she'd been a patient, it would've been unethical for him to ask her out. But, thank fate, Lucia had invited him out for coffee after his shift. From that day forward, they were a couple. After escaping Mexico, they were wed with their new SSI friends as witnesses. That had been the happiest day of his life.

Anton, come sit. Eat.

He didn't sit. Instead, he went to her, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her. As always, she melted into his touch, her baby bump, still small even though she was about six months along, nudged him. "How do you and the baby feel, dushenka?"

Wonderful. She rubbed her cheek over his chest. Happy. Safe in your arms.

Anton massaged her lower back as he took a deep breath, inhaling the flowery scent of her shower gel underlain with her unique musk. I wasn't too rough this morning, was I? You need only—

Never. You made beautiful love to me. She blushed, which he found endearing because they'd been lovers for almost two years now. "I love your rough. And the many orgasms you give me helps my back."

"Well, then, we must make sure I give you a lot more orgasms, da? He kissed her again and only reluctantly broke away. She had to get to work, and he actually had some patients coming into the clinic today. What am I having for breakfast? It smells delicious."

"My chilaquilas with mi Tia Sofia's verde sauce. Lucia giggled. I am thinking I will get even more proposals from Duff and the boys when they eat this. But I will turn them all down, because I love you. My brave, gorgeous hunk of man. Her smile disappeared and she placed her hand over his heart. You are every bit as dangerous as any one of them. If they knew this, they would accept—"

He shook his head. "No, dushenka. Risto and Earl felt it would be better for them to see me as a doctor, not a former soldier. Many of these men have post-traumatic stress disorder and moved to the Upper Peninsula to hide in the relative wilderness. The fact they come into town at all is a measure of their respect for Earl, Risto, and Risto's people on the island. My military service in Russia might seem like a threat to them."

Anton's years in Spetsnaz, the Russian special forces, were behind him. Yet, those years had given him the skills to follow Lucia, his then fiancée, when she'd been imprisoned on her uncle's remote compound and to infiltrate the cartel leader's employ. Once there, he'd plotted on how to free them both.

Russia, war, Mexico, and the cartel were in their past. Osprey's Point was their future. The locals would either accept him or not.

You have a good point, she said. However, I will keep working on Duff. If he accepts you, they all will. He is the alpha in that group.

Yes, he is. Anton sat at the counter and picked up his fork. But singly all those men have dominant tendencies. Do not be fooled.

"I'm not. I recognize an alpha when I see one. After all, mi gran hombre fuerte, you are one. Lucia retrieved her plate of food and sat next to him. Do you have any patients today?"

"Da. He took a bite of the egg dish and hummed his appreciation. Delicious. He took another bite, before he answered her question. I am beginning the semi-annual physicals for the SSI operatives."

SSI and Earl as mayor had equipped Anton's clinic with state of the art radiologic and laboratory equipment. Anton could do full workups without the men leaving Osprey's Point. SSI's owner, Ren Maddox, had wanted someone with Anton's military and medical background to treat their operatives. Earl had wanted Anton, because he understood what a soldier had gone through and would be more observant toward not only the long-term physical consequences of old wounds, but also toward the PTSD many of the area veterans suffered. But he could only do so if the stubborn vets would give him half a chance.

That is good. Lucia rubbed his back. With the summer season beginning soon, Earl said you should see a lot of walk-in patients because of the summer residents and visitors. I am betting by the end of the summer, Duff and the boys will be coming to your clinic also.

He wouldn't hold his breath. Duff and his friends avoided him as much as they could and only acknowledged him when he was with Lucia, Earl, or one of the SSI operatives.

How long will you be at Earl's today? he asked.

I am working over lunch. I should be able to leave around two. Do you need me to help in your office?

No, no office work today. With so few patients, he could handle all the record-keeping himself, for now. I was thinking of taking you shopping for baby things so we could start fixing up a nursery. Her squeal of excitement had him grinning. Then I wanted to take you to dinner.

I would love that. Lucia turned on her stool to face him. Callie told me about this cute little shop that has baby furniture and other baby items. She wrinkled her brow. But it is not close by.

The isolation of Osprey's Point was one of the things Anton liked about it. With only one road leading in and out of town, it would be hard for an enemy to enter the town without being noticed. But remoteness did cut the residents off from the advantages of living in a large city with shopping and entertainment venues.

Lucia—Anton picked up her hand and gently massaged the back of it with his thumb—"Callie told Risto you were beginning to worry about setting up the nursery. So she asked him to talk to me about this need of yours. Why did you not come to me, moy goluba? I will always make time for you and our child."

I know, Anton. But we are just starting out here. I want to make sure the locals know you are available to them. She leaned into him and kissed his chin. Earl is so happy to have you here. The town needed a doctor for so long. I don't want to— She shrugged. I guess I want to make sure we become so much a part of the local scene they will renew your contract forever. I can see us growing old here.

I can also. However, you have not endured a winter here yet. This latitude is very much like where I am from in Russia. I am used to snow and cold, unlike you. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. I expect you to tell me if you need to move to a milder climate. I want you to be happy.

Anton, as long as I am with you, I will be happy.

Her words, the ferocity with which she said them, went a long way to calming his worries.

This is good to hear, Lucia. But don't ever hesitate to tell me if you change your mind. Ren even mentioned we could go to Colombia with his man, Conn Redmond, in Cartagena.

Lucia shook her head vehemently. No. No.

Fear was in her voice and her eyes. Dermo. He could kick his own ass. Why had he mentioned Colombia?

Lucia grasped his hand and squeezed. "Here is where we need to