Zane: Phoenix Squad, #1

By Dakota Rebel

I serve at the pleasure of the president…and at his complete annoyance.

 

When the secret service identifies a credible threat against the life of President Spencer Thomas, they have to call in outside help for protection, because they believe the threat is coming from inside the West Wing.

 

Neither President Thomas nor I are thrilled with the situation, but I joined my black ops squad to protect and serve my country, and my president, against all threats, foreign and domestic. So I'll be right here, as close to him as possible, until that threat is neutralized.

 

But the more time we spend together, the more I start to wonder…how close is too close?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dakota Rebel
• Release date: Dec 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223891949

Book preview

A logo for a book Description automatically generated

Blurb

I serve at the pleasure of the president…and at his complete annoyance.

When the secret service identifies a credible threat against the life of President Spencer Thomas, they have to call in outside help for protection, because they believe the threat is coming from inside the West Wing.

Neither President Thomas nor I are thrilled with the situation, but I joined my black ops squad to protect and serve my country, and my president, against all threats, foreign and domestic. So I’ll be right here, as close to him as possible, until that threat is neutralized.

But the more time we spend together, the more I start to wonder…how close is too close?

Copyright

© 2023, Dakota Rebel

Zane

Published by: Supernova Indie Publishing Services, LLC

Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

Wanna hang out?

NEWSLETTER -

I know, every author in the world wants you on their newsletter. And I do, too. I send them every Sunday and they are mostly just funny little dives into my life. Plus, if you sign up I’ll send you a totally free book.

JOIN THE SQUAD –

If you really, really like me and want to legit hang out with me, come on over to the Rebel Squad on Facebook. I’m in there way more often than I should be, but we have a really great time. Lots of dirty memes, sneak previews and cover reveals. Plus, when I want input on what to write next, or what to include in a book, that’s where I go. So come on in! We’d love to have you.

Dedication

I don’t usually do dedications, because I don’t know that anyone reads them. But as I was writing this book, I lost a reader…a friend.

Holly Jones has been with me for years and I have treasured her friendship more than I ever properly expressed. But I hope she knows how much I loved her.

If you’re reading this, please take it as a sign to tell your friends that you love them. Tell them a lot. Make it weird. Because one day…Well, just make sure that the people that you love know how very much you love them.

Tomorrow is not promised to any of us.

Rest well my darling girl. I will miss you forever and love you even longer.

Chapter One

~Zane Cameron~

How was the jungle? Jack Sinclair asked, clapping me on the back as he not so subtly shifted us closer to the door.

Hot, I said, falling into step with him. And wet. And dark.

Yeah, he chuckled softly. You got a minute?

You’re the boss, I reminded him, following him out of the reception that was being thrown to celebrate the successful end of my team’s six week mission to extract a group of soldiers that were lost in a jungle warfare training exercise in the middle of Brazil.

Great work out there, Zane, Jack continued as he headed down the hall toward his office. Seriously. And you got it done with the B-Team.

Just doing my job, sir, I assured him. It wasn’t exactly a Phoenix level extraction.

Hell, we hadn’t had a mission in years that required the full assembly of our ghost squad, and that was probably a good thing. We were more of a save the world team than a save some kids from their own stupidity team.

Don’t sir me, he complained, rolling his eyes before turning to unlock his door and usher me inside. Not when it’s just us.

Whatever you say. I dropped into a chair across from his desk and waited as he settled into his seat.

You want to debrief? he asked.

Nah, I can do that with signal tomorrow, I said, waving a hand dismissively between us. It was as easy in, easy out as it could be.

Modest as always. You been home yet? he asked, raising an eyebrow as he raked his gaze over my unshaven face.

Nope, I admitted. I showered and changed here. I was afraid if I went home I’d fall into bed and not resurface for another six weeks. I blew out a sigh. I fucking hate the jungle, Jack.

I know you do, he agreed. And God knows you’ve earned some rest.

Damn straight I did. Extractions in deep jungle cover were a nightmare, regardless of how much I wanted to downplay it to my boss. And we’d gone in with no idea where those assholes had wandered off to. We didn’t know if they’d been captured by some kind of militant group, or if they were just lost.

Thankfully, the soldiers really had just lost navigation during a training drill and we hadn’t had to battle our way out. Well, not against a foreign army or anything. But there’s no such thing as waltzing out of a jungle. It’s a fight to get in and it’s a fight to get out.

I was tired, sore, and despite my shower, I still felt filthy with bugs, dirt, and God knew what else.

Well, I hope you had someone available to water your plants, Jack teased.

I don’t have plants, I said coldly. Why am I here?

We’re throwing a party for you, he answered.

Cut the shit, I said. You know what I mean.

I have an assignment for you, Jack admitted.

No.

Zane, listen—

No. I shook my head emphatically. My plane landed two hours ago. You can’t seriously expect me to jump into a new—

I can and you will, Jack said firmly, cutting across me before I could really get an argument going. I know it’s not ideal, and if there were anyone else I trusted with this, I’d call them. But I don’t.

What if I hadn’t made it back yet? I challenged him. Wouldn’t you have called Everest?

Then I’d have sent a second team in to pull you out, he said. Yes, you and Everest are joint command, but I need you for this. Not him.

We stared at each other across the desk and suddenly my heart was hammering in my chest. He wasn’t kidding. Which meant this was something huge.

I’m not so full of myself as to believe that I’m the best operative that Joint Special Operations Command has, but I know I’m damned good. Which was why I was often given the honor of tasks that seemed impossible. And from the solemn look on my boss’ face…he was about to honor me once more.

Damn it, I muttered. What’s the job?

I can’t tell you here, he answered cagily. It’s not secure enough.

Your office in the JSOC headquarters isn’t secure enough to tell me my assignment? I didn’t bother trying to hide the shock that I was sure had to be showing on my face.

No.

So, where are we going?

You own a suit?

No.

We’ll make it work.

Good grief, what the hell was Jack getting me into now?

Chapter Two

~Spencer Thomas~

Ten-hut! one of the duty officers shouted as the door to the Situation Room opened and I stepped inside with Toby Jax, the head of my secret service detail.

Everyone already in the room jumped to their feet and I motioned for them all to sit down again.

I’d been president for over a year, and I still couldn’t get used to people standing up every time I walked into a room. It was weird. But I’d been assured that there was no getting around it, so I just urged them to take their seats as quickly as possible.

My gaze traveled around the room, stopping when I reached a man I didn’t recognize still standing, leaning against the far wall, his own stare hard as it locked on mine.

He was difficult to miss. Besides being tall, broad chested and completely menacing in appearance, he was wearing jeans and a waffle-weave Henley, which looked completely out of place in the sea of brass buttoned uniforms and three-piece suits worn by everyone else present. His scruffy beard and unkempt hair didn’t help him blend in either.

President Thomas, Jack Sinclair said, motioning to the almost disheveled looking man. This is Zane Cameron.

I nodded to the man, who inclined his head slightly.

Can I know what this meeting is about now? I asked, turning once again to Toby. You drag me down here at o’dark-thirty in the morning, won’t tell me anything and all of you have been acting squirrelly as hell for weeks.

Sir, Toby said gruffly, nodding toward one of the duty officers. We’ve intercepted some worrisome correspondence over the past couple of weeks.

The duty officer, Cliff I think, but these damned kids all look the same to me with their buzz cuts and pressed uniforms, clicked on a remote control and the big screen that usually held a map of North America suddenly filled with screenshots of what appeared to be emails.

At first, we weren’t really sure what we were seeing, Jack said, pointing toward the monitor. But then the messages started getting more detailed and we couldn’t deny any longer that this a clear and present danger.

Okay, I said slowly, turning to Toby again. What’s the problem?

Sir, Toby said. We believe these are threats against you.

Okay, I said again. I’m the president. I get threats every day. You ever watch the news?

No sir, Toby said firmly. "These are actual threats. This