Call Sign: King

Call Sign: King BLACK SKY OPS BOOK TWO LIVIA GRANT ©2023 by Black Collar Press and Livia Grant. All rights reserved. No part of the book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Call Sign: King by Livia Grant Published by Black Collar Press Don’t miss a Livia Grant release! Sign up here >>> New Release Newsletter EBook ISBN: 978-1-958062-16-6 Print ISBN: 978-1-958062-17-3 Cover Art by Deranged Doctor Design Editor: Dayna Hart This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Blurb He got cocky. Let his guard down. Now the love of his life is paying the price. For a moment he'd forgotten there were men who wanted him dead. Men who lived their lives in the dark, who could reach out of the shadows he used to live in, and he'd been naive to think the light inside her would keep her safe. She was too bright to hide away though, made for the spotlight, and he'd felt warmer just by being near her... then everything went cold so fast. In a breath she was gone, in the hands of his enemies, and he'd seen first hand what happened to women who crossed paths with the Volkov Bratva. They'd touch her, hurt her. She'd be afraid, suffering. All because of him. All in the name of vengeance. But that was their mistake, because in the maddening darkness her absence put inside him, a beast was sleeping... and they woke him up. Now everyone will pay. Black Sky Ops - Danger for Hire This network of global mercenaries stay in the shadows, going on the impossible missions no one else will take. The elite soldiers of Black Sky Ops aren’t afraid to break the rules as long as it’s for the greater good — and the paycheck is high enough. But sometimes the line between right and wrong gets blurry, especially when protecting the people they love. A special thanks to the readers who have been (not so patiently) waiting for years for this book. Your frequent emails and messages of encouragement helped me finally get this story across the finish line. I hope you enjoy reading Ryder & Khloe’s story as much as I’ve loved writing it. And Corinne and Karen, thanks for alpha reading for me. Your early feedback helped SO much! Contents Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-one Chapter Twenty-two Chapter Twenty-three Chapter Twenty-four Chapter Twenty-five Chapter Twenty-six Chapter Twenty-seven Chapter Twenty-eight Chapter Twenty-nine Epilogue About Livia Grant Also by Livia Grant Black Collar Press Chapter One RYDER “Alright, gentlemen. Let’s get this whack-a-mole crossed off our list. I have a date tonight I don’t want to be late for,” Tank said much too cheerily. “You have a booty call tonight. Call it what it is,” MacGyver groused loud enough to be heard over the helicopter engine. “You’re just jealous. I can’t help it you’ve chosen to live the life of a monk,” Tank replied, pulling his facemask down to shield his sly smile. “I’m no monk. I just prefer to know a woman’s first name before I fuck her.” The entire team, crammed into the back of the Huey, chuckled until Reaper chastised his men. “Kill the locker room talk, boys. Don’t forget about Arrow.” Ryder Helms watched the rookie member of their team, Abigail ‘Arrow’ Powell with interest. He’d been anxious to see how his newest sniper would handle being thrown into the middle of the all-men crew. “Don’t censor yourself on my account,” she answered, pulling her own gear on as she added. “I’ve been known to hook up with a hot stranger a time or two myself, although to be fair, that was before I gave up tequila.” Even Ryder chuckled at her casual comeback, relieved that his gut had been right. Despite her proven talent, more than one of the members of his elite team had voiced concerns about adding a female to their squad, worried it would throw their close camaraderie out of balance. So far, those worries had been unfounded. “Five minutes until the drop zone,” Thunder announced from the flight deck. “Just heard from Saigon. The B-team is already on the ground.” The last thing he wanted to do was distract the team before their mission, but Ryder couldn’t let the pilot’s comment stand. “There is no A or B team. I told you assholes, come up with names for the squads if you want, but A and B are out,” he said with authority. “Fine. Let’s go with good and bad,” Tank countered. “I prefer experts and apprentices,” MacGyver added, grinning at the round of laughter from his crew members. Ryder shut down the laughter. “How about employed and unemployed? The next asshole to disparage any member of Black Sky Ops will join the latter group, effective immediately.” Ryder felt a slap on his back from the man sitting next to him. “Lighten up, King. It’s all just fun and games,” Gabriel ‘Reaper’ Gonzales countered, clearly more comfortable bantering with the boss since he was the team leader and had been one of Ryder’s first hires three years ago. “Don’t make me regret expanding the North American BSO operation. I’ll lighten up when we get both teams safely back to The Ranch. In case you forgot, what we do is dangerous, which means once we lift off the ground and are enroute, all rivalries disappear, and we become one team.” Christ, even to his own ears, he