Playboy (The Trident Series II: BRAVO Team #4)

CHAPTER EIGHT

Gabby sat at her desk, staring blankly at the mound of paperwork in front of her. Desk duty was the last thing she had wanted, especially when the rest of her team was out in the field, conducting ops.

She let out a long sigh, spinning her pen between her fingers as she tried to stave off the boredom that threatened to overwhelm her.

The only positive to her being sidelined was that she had gotten to spend time with Playboy a lot over the last week and a half. His team was off rotation, so he had been free most evenings as well.

Almost every evening, they’d find themselves together, whether it was having a simple dinner or meeting up at a public spot and just talking. One night, they’d met at the beach and sat in the sand, exchanging embarrassing stories about themselves. That night had been full of laughter. Another evening, they met at the spot near the Air Base and watched the fighter planes take off and land. They talked about everything and nothing, and that night, she realized how much deeper their bond had grown in such a short time. Despite the chaos in her life, those moments with him had become the silver lining—something she hadn’t anticipated but now cherished more than anything.

She glanced at the clock, wishing the time to move faster. It felt like the minutes were crawling with each tick of the second hand, mocking her as she sat there doing nothing. She’d filled out every form double-checked every report, and now she was running out of busy work to keep herself occupied.

“I’m going to lose my mind,” she muttered to herself, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. Maybe if she just—.

The sharp ring of the phone on her desk made her jump, and she quickly reached for it, hoping for any excuse to break the monotony.

“Petty Officer Allen,” she answered, trying not to sound too eager.

“Allen, the CO wants to see you in his office,” Graham’s assistant told her.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she sat up straighter. “On my way,” she replied, hanging up the phone and practically leaping out of her chair. Finally, something to do , she thought to herself.

She made her way down the hall, her pace quickening with every step. As she reached the door to Graham’s office, she paused for a moment, smoothing down her uniform before knocking and entering. Her eyes immediately landed on Vice Admiral Alley, seated in one of the chairs across from Graham. The sight of him made her want to roll her eyes, but she resisted the urge.

She wished that Graham’s assistant would have given her the heads up that the “pigeon” was in the building. She and the team, including Captain Graham, gave Vice Admiral Alley the code name shortly after he became their boss. They gave him that name because whenever he “flew” into their base, he always ended up shitting on everyone—well, more so her.

His presence so soon after his last visit during the competition put her on edge, especially now knowing that the prick had tried to sabotage her final event at the competition. She was still pissed off over that, but incidents like that only fueled her determination to succeed and make him eat dirt.

Just like what she had done with the trophy she won at the competition. She made sure it was displayed in the lobby of their building so every time the fucker walked thru the front doors, it was the first thing he saw.

“Have a seat, Allen,” Graham said, his tone neutral, though she could sense some underlying tension in the room.

Gabby took the offered seat, trying to keep her expression neutral as well, though she could feel the annoyance simmering beneath the surface.

“We just got word from an air patrol,” Graham began, his gaze steady on her. “A narco sub was spotted approximately twenty miles off the coast of Virginia heading north. Since your team is already assisting with another situation, and the other two teams are currently engaged elsewhere. We’ve called in one of the SEAL teams from Little Creek to assist with this. The Coast Guard Station in Virginia Beach is sending up their helo for aerial support as well as sending two of their forty-fives as backup and to help with offloading any contraband found. There is a cutter en route, but it is going to take them some time to get there.”

Gabby’s pulse quickened with excitement, as she was pretty sure they’d tap her for aerial support—after all, she’d won the last competition, proving she was the best shot they had if anything went wrong.

But just as quickly as the excitement flared up, it was snuffed out by Alley’s voice, dripping with condescension. “Don’t get too excited, Allen. You’re still technically sidelined for two more days. However, because we are short-handed at this precise moment, and we need all available personnel we can muster up, I’m allowing you to participate in a limited capacity.”

Limited capacity? What the fuck was that? She thought to herself.

“Wherever I can help out, I’m happy to assist,” she told him, taking a diplomatic approach to the situation.

“I glad to hear that, Petty Officer Allen,” Alley said with a smirk. It was as if he was taunting her.

Thankfully, Captain Graham stepped in, easing some of the tension in the room.

“Allen, the Vice Admiral asked that you be assigned to pilot the boat with the SEALs.”

Gabby clenched her jaw, resisting the urge to argue. She could tell that Graham wanted to push back against Alley’s decision, but with Alley outranking him, there wasn’t much he could do. She could feel her anger rising, but she forced herself to remain calm. It wasn’t worth it to challenge Alley, not here, not now.

“Yes, sir,” she bit out, keeping her voice as level as possible. Inside, she was seething.

Piloting the boat? She thought to herself. Sure, it was an important role, but she’d been hoping for something more hands-on, something that would utilize her complete skill set.

Graham gave her a sympathetic look, clearly unhappy with the situation as well. “Get your gear and be at the pier in fifteen minutes. The SEALs are already en route.”

“Yes, sir,” Gabby repeated, standing up with a sharp nod. She didn’t spare Alley another glance as she turned and left the office, though she could feel his eyes boring into her back.

As she made her way to gear up, she let out a slow breath, trying to shake off the frustration. It wasn’t the assignment she wanted, but at least it was an opportunity to be back on the water.

After stopping by her locker to pick up her gear, she walked down to the pier. She noticed that one of the lines on one of the boats had come loose.

She set her gear down and bent over to retie the line. Just as she was finishing up, she heard a wolf whistle come from behind her.

She rolled her eyes. Of course, it wasn’t the first time she’d been whistled at on the docks, but it never got any less irritating. Seriously? I’m tying knots here, not walking a runway.

She half wondered if it was the SEAL team she was driving for. Now that would be awkward, she thought to herself. But then another thought hit her, and it made her skin crawl. What if it was Cruz and his team that she ended up paired with?

Gabby shook her head. If these guys put half as much effort into mission prep as they do into being cavemen, we’d be unstoppable.

She straightened up slowly and took a deep breath. As she turned around, fully expecting to give some cocky, flirtatious SEAL a piece of her mind, her eyes widened when they locked onto Playboy and his team standing there.

It took a few seconds for the shock to wear off, and when it did, her irritation quickly turned into amusement as Playboy shot daggers toward Nails, whose face was beet red, while the others were all laughing.

She couldn't help but laugh, shaking her head. Of course, it was Nails, she thought.

◆◆◆

Playboy stepped out of the SUV and glanced around the Coast Guard MSRT station. He had been hoping to spot Gabby out and about, though he knew she was most likely in one of the buildings chained to a desk, as she liked to say.

Depending on how long this little operation took, maybe he would catch her as she got off work.

They all grabbed their gear and started walking toward the pier that was lined with boats.

Jay Bird stretched his arms overhead as they walked and talked about the Thursday night football game. “I swear, if the Dolphins blow it tonight, I’m never betting on them again.”

Bear grunted. “They’re gonna get wrecked. It’s in their DNA.”

“I don’t care what anyone says. They’ll turn it around,” Nails chimed in.

“Keep dreaming,” Playboy muttered, his thoughts still elsewhere.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle cut through the air. “Now that’s a sight I can get behind,” Nails said, grinning.

Playboy looked toward where Nails was staring and saw a woman in a Coast Guard uniform was bent over near the end of the pier, adjusting something on a boat.

“Not again,” Bear groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Dude, it’s too early for this,” Jay Bird added.

“I swear, Nails, you’d flirt with a mailbox if it had legs,” Aussie added, rolling his eyes.

But Playboy’s attention sharpened when the woman stood up. His heart thudded in his chest.

“Gabby…” Playboy whispered, surprised to see her. But then he turned his attention to Nails as he narrowed his eyes.

Nails blinked, looking between Playboy and Gabby, then turned red as a tomato. “Oh, hell. Playboy, I didn’t—”

The rest of the team erupted into laughter.

“You were hitting on Gabby!” Bear barked, slapping Nails on the back.

Jay Bird couldn’t stop laughing. “That’s priceless!”

Gabby looked as shocked as Playboy felt, though there was a hint of amusement in her eyes. She walked over, hands on her hips. “Didn’t know I’d be the highlight of your day, Nails.”

Nails rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, sorry about that. I—uh—didn’t know.”

Playboy smirked. “You’ve got great taste, at least.”

Gabby raised an eyebrow at him, clearly amused by the whole situation. She walked closer, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Hey, boys. Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Nails here didn’t expect to see you either,” Bear joked, elbowing the red-faced SEAL.

Playboy cleared his throat, getting serious. “I didn’t expect to see you out and about.”

Gabby’s lips curled into a smile. “As a matter of fact, I’ll be your captain today. I’ll be escorting you boys to and from today’s excursion.” She said, giving him a playful wink.

Jay Bird laughed. “Oh, this just got interesting.”

“Captain, huh?” Playboy smirked.

“Damn straight,” she teased. “Now hurry up, or you’ll be swimming after the sub on your own.”

More laughter followed as they boarded the boat, but Playboy couldn’t shake the mix of pride and excitement swirling inside him. Gabby was tough—he knew that better than anyone—but getting to see her in action was going to be something else.

◆◆◆

Gabby gripped the wheel of the boat, her focus honed in on the open waters ahead. The ocean was calm, but her thoughts weren’t. Being paired with Playboy’s team was ironic. She hadn’t expected to see him today, much less in the middle of an op.

She’d run countless ops like this, but having Playboy and his team on board added a new layer of tension she hadn’t expected. Not that she wasn’t used to working with special operators, but this was different. This was personal. But this was their life now, balancing dangerous jobs and their growing relationship.

As she drove, she glanced back at him occasionally, watching him go over the mission details with the team. He was all business, his face set in that determined way she found sexy. It was just one of the many things she admired about him.

The radio crackled to life. “Vessel sighted, heading north,” came the voice from the lookout helicopter hovering above them.” The pilot rattled off the coordinates. They were about six miles out. Flipping on the lights and sirens, Gabby pushed the throttle to full speed as the other two Coast Guard boats followed her lead.

As they closed in, Gabby saw the helicopter circling. Joker stood next to her, looking through a pair of binoculars.

“I’ve got a visual!” Joker called out and pointed.

Gabby looked and spotted the hatch in the distance as it powered through the water. Her pulse quickened. It was showtime.

“Get ready!” Bear called out to his team.

As they came up behind the sub, they could all see the dark shape of the sub now, looming just beneath the water’s surface. But it wasn’t stopping.

Gabby reached for the radio. “This is the United States Coast Guard. Stop the boat! I repeat, this is the United States Coast Guard. Stop the boat!”

“They’re not listening,” Joker muttered as the sub continued at full speed.

“Do it again,” Bear ordered.

She grabbed the radio again as she tailed the sub.

“This is your final warning. Stop your vessel immediately!”

The sub ignored them and kept moving.

“They’re not going to stop,” Jay Bird said.

“Then, we’re going to have to force them,” Bear said. He looked at Gabby. “Pull up along their starboard side.” He then looked at Nails. “You and I are gonna have to jump on while the others provide cover in case that hatch opens before we can get to it.”

Gabby radioed to the other boats what the plan was. One of the other Coast Guard boats was going to pull up along the other side to provide support should it be needed.

“All right, let’s do this!” Bear said, and everyone disbursed to get into position. Gabby felt her stomach tighten, but she kept her focus.

With a nod from Bear, she maneuvered the boat with precision, keeping pace with the sub as it barreled through the water, refusing to surrender. Her heart pounded in sync with the roaring engine beneath her feet.

As soon as she brought the boat into position alongside the sub, she heard one of the guys call out. “Go, go, go!”

In a flash, Bear and Nails leaped from the deck of her boat onto the slick, rolling surface of the sub. The ocean swelled around them, waves sloshing over the top of the sub, forcing the two SEALs to brace themselves to keep their balance. Gabby’s eyes stayed locked on the two SEALs as they crept forward, Bear leading the way as they approached the small hatch. She could hear them over comms. Their voices strained as they shouted for the operators inside to stop the sub.

“Stop the boat! U.S. Navy!” Bear bellowed, his voice fierce against the roaring wind and waves.

Nails pounded his fist against the metal hatch, his voice just as sharp. “Shut it down now!”

The sub didn’t slow. Gabby’s heart raced, each second dragging into an eternity as the boat refused to stop, surging forward through the churning ocean. For a terrifying moment, she thought the operators inside would rather die than surrender.

“Come on,” Gabby muttered under her breath, her grip tightening on the wheel as she fought to hold her position alongside them. The boat shifted beneath her, waves rolling and rocking it, but she held steady.

Then, finally, the sub powered down. The sudden stillness in the water sent an eerie vibe through Gabby. It was like the calm before the storm.

The rest of the team stood at the railing, covering their teammates with their weapons drawn, their eyes scanning for any threat. Overhead, the helicopter continued to circle and hover with a sniper ready to take out any potential threat.

Bear and Nails exchanged a quick glance, weapons drawn as the hatch slowly creaked open, the metal groaning in protest. Gabby’s breath hitched as the heavy lid lifted, revealing the dark interior of the sub.

Nails yanked the hatch fully open, his weapon trained on the men inside. "Get out, now!" he ordered, his voice cutting through the air.

The first man hesitated, but he had no choice. Bear and Nails didn’t give them a chance to think twice. They grabbed the two occupants by the arms, dragging them out of the sub and onto the top as the other SEALs began swarming the sub with their weapons drawn, ready for any resistance.

As the two sub crew members were cuffed and moved onto one of the other Coast Guard boats, Playboy and Jay Bird entered the sub.

Gabby’s heart raced, knowing there could still be danger lurking inside the sub. After a few minutes, though it had felt like hours, Jay Bird radioed in an “all clear.”

A wave of relief washed over Gabby as she exhaled, realizing she had been holding her breath.

After they had the sub secured and tied up to one of the other boats, the team prepared to assist with unloading the contraband.

Gabby looked on as the guys stowed some of their gear and congratulated each other. Playboy, at that moment, looked at Gabby and met her gaze. He grinned as he walked toward her.

“Nice driving, Captain,” he teased.

Gabby smirked. “Just doing my job, sailor.”

He leaned in closer, and Gabby’s heart rate spiked.

“I could kiss you right now,” he whispered so only she could hear.

Please do! The voice inside her head screamed though it would be very unprofessional.

And as if he knew what was going through her mind, he gave her arm a gentle squeeze and then whispered, “Later,” before winking and walking back to his team.

Oh, he was playing dirty by teasing her like that. She grinned. Two could play that game. And one day, she would return the favor.

Shaking her head, she reached for the radio to report in. The mission, at least for the moment, was a success.