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  CHASING TOMORROW

  Copyright © 2017 Ann Heathman

  All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

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

  Published by Windswept

  an imprint of BHC Press

  Library of Congress Control Number:

  2017933229

  ISBN-13: 978-1-946006-56-1

  ISBN-10: 1-946006-56-4

  Visit the author at:

  www.annheathmanauthor.com &

  www.bhcpress.com

  Cover, interior book design,

  and eBook design

  by Blue Harvest Creative

  www.blueharvestcreative.com

  Deny Tomorrow

  Capture Tomorrow

  This book is dedicated to

  the men and women

  of the U S Navy SEALs

  and their families

  in appreciation for

  the amazing sacrifices

  they make in order to keep

  our country safe.

  Thank you.

  Tomorrow is the next step in life—

  not the next stop in life.

  ~ Debasish Mridha ~

  NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

  What the hell is going on?” Dan Miller burst unannounced into the office of network executive Steve Shine. “I’m in charge of security for our personnel. No one’s going to tell me who I have to take on my security team. This is a bunch of bullshit!”

  “Ah, yes, excuse us, please,” Shine said to the secretary standing beside his desk.

  “Not a problem.” The startled assistant gathered her papers and exited the office.

  “Now what’s this all about?” Shine turned his attention back to Miller. “You barge in here unannounced, bellowing like a gored bull. This better be good because I have better things to do than listen to you bellyache.”

  “Security for Arianna Garrett and our foreign journalist team. That’s what it’s about. Everything was arranged, and then I get a memo that says she’ll have a personal bodyguard going with her.” He threw a copy of an email on the desk. “What I want to know is, who approved this?”

  The network director pointed to a chair. “Maybe you better have a seat.”

  “I don’t want to have a damn seat,” Miller wheezed, leaning across the desk. “I just want some answers. We’re a week away from flying to Germany to cover the refugee crisis, and I get this notice telling me I need to make accommodations for an additional private security guard. A guy I’ve never seen, never met, didn’t authorize, and don’t want. What I do want is to know who authorized this?”

  Shine started to answer, but Miller stopped him. “Wait! I think I know. Let me guess. This has something to do with that pantywaist boyfriend of hers, doesn’t it? I knew it. I knew he’d try to interfere. Well, I have news for him. I run this department. He’s not going to tell me who I can and cannot have on my security team.” Miller slammed his fist on the desk and kicked the chair. “That’s bullshit!”

  “Okay. Okay. Calm down, Dan.” Shine rose from his chair and glared at him. “Sit down and listen.”

  Miller plopped into a chair, a look of frustration on his face. “Come on, Steve. Back me up here. You gotta fix this.”

  The executive sat down and glanced at the memo. “I’m afraid I can’t do anything about this. Someone has a lot of pull. This directive came straight from the top.”

  Miller sighed heavily. “Well, it’s wrong. Just wrong. What is she…some little prima donna who we have to baby? Dammit! She works for us. We call the shots, not the other way around. I have a good team assembled for this trip. I’m even going with them. Why the hell do we need another bodyguard?”

  “I do not know,” Shine said, picking up his phone to ask the secretary to step back in. “I do not know, but it doesn’t matter because this guy is going with you, so I suggest you make the most of it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get back to the matter I was working on before you so rudely interrupted me.”

  Miller jumped out of his chair and waved Shine off as he walked to the door, nearly bumping into the secretary. “Not gonna turn out well. There’s going to be problems. Mark my words. Someone’s going to regret this decision.” He left the office, slamming the door behind him.

  TINLEY PARK, ILLINOIS

  “I NOW pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  The Methodist Church of Tinley Park, a suburb of Chicago, was packed to the brim as Tony Soto enveloped his bride, Lisa Calder, in an enthusiastic kiss to the thunder of joyous applause from the guests.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” the minister continued. “I present to you, the new, Mr. and Mrs. Tony Soto.”

  More applause and church bells pealed as the happy couple exited the church to the recessional music of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro.

  Arianna Garrett, maid of honor, slipped her arm into the crook of best man, Zach Acevedo’s arm, and followed the newlyweds down the aisle. The two couples had been close friends for two years, so today was an exciting day for everyone.

  “Congratulations, Lisa.” Arianna hugged her tight as soon as they reached the vestibule. “I’m so happy for you.”

  Zach slapped Tony on the back and gave him a hug. “You did it, man. Congrats. You chose a hell of a woman.”

  “Thanks, buddy. Now, it’s your turn to tie the knot.” Tony nodded toward Arianna.

  “Uh, yeah,” he said, a bit of hesitation in his voice. “Maybe, but she’d probably turn me down.”

  Tony laughed and joined his bride in the receiving line. “Not a chance,” he yelled back over his shoulder. “Not a chance.”

  Arianna pulled Zach along to their assigned place in line to greet the guests. “What did he say?” she asked.

  Zach leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. “Nothing. Just something about biting the bullet.”

  Arianna chuckled and gave him a slight shove. “Oh, I see. Is that what we’re calling this occasion? You guys are so romantic. You take my breath away.”

  LISA HAD wanted to be married in her hometown, a suburb of Chicago. She also wanted her wedding to be unique, so she chose the TV show, Mad Men, as her wedding theme. Being a designer and a creative person, with the help of a wedding planner, she worked hard to pull it off.

  At first Arianna couldn’t imagine what such a wedding would look like, but she watched and listened with fascination as Lisa’s plan for the event took shape. Beginning with wedding attire, Lisa chose tea length dresses with retro pearls and birdcage veils for the bridesmaids. Many of the girls had fashioned their hair into pin-up faux bobs and French twists, but Arianna had her hair styled in Betty Draper’s signature waves for the big day.

  The groom and groomsmen sported slicked back hair and skinny ties. Lisa had found some typewriter key cufflinks for Tony to present to the men in the wedding party. And finally, the wedding invitations had even encouraged the guests to channel the retro sixties attire of the Mad Men TV show.

  Lisa had searched all over and finally found the perfect venue for the reception. In their town was a hotel which had been updated but had retained the sixties motif. Although not the ideal setting for most modern day weddings, the retro look of the hotel ballroom was perfectly suited for the Mad Men theme.

  As guests entered, instead of a traditional guest book, there was a vintage typewriter w
here people could type a personal message as a greeting. In another area of the reception, an “office bulletin board” had been set-up where friends and family could also leave messages for the bride and groom. These would become cherished remembrances for Tony and Lisa of their wedding day.

  Another cool feature of the reception was a photo booth with a long couch, next to an accessory bar. Some of the accessories included bow ties, cigarettes, mustaches, retro glasses, bright red lipstick lips, skinny ties, and martini glasses. The wedding photographer had set up a camera with a remote control so guests could snap shots of themselves in funny poses, wearing these accessories.

  “This is hilarious,” Arianna said, standing with Lisa and Tony as they watched their guests don some of the paraphernalia and snap a photo. “You’re going to end up with a ton of super fun photos of your wedding day. I love this idea.”

  “Yep. That was the plan.” Lisa grabbed Zach and Arianna by the hand. “Come on, you two.” She led them to the sofa, pasted a mustache on Zach’s face, put a fake cigarette in his hand, and handed Arianna a martini glass. “Okay, guys. Smile. Say cheese.”

  Everyone laughed as Zach and Arianna hammed it up for the camera.

  “Okay, that’s enough.” Zach ripped the mustache off and stood up. Looking at Tony, he said, “And don’t you even think about trying to blackmail me with any of these photos.”

  Tony laughed. “Would I do that to you, my buddy, my best friend?”

  Zach shoved him and said, “You do and there’ll be all hell to pay.” He grabbed Tony and said, “Come on. You need to buy me a drink.”

  “Oh, gosh,” Arianna said, as the men walked away. “I never thought you’d get Zach to be in one of those pictures. I believe him when he says he’d kill Tony if he flashed those shots around of Mr. Serious, Zach Acevedo, hamming it up like that.”

  Both women laughed. Capturing pics of Zach in such a whimsical mode had been a real coup.

  The wedding planner approached Lisa, “Time for you to toss your bouquet. I need you over here on the dance floor.”

  An announcement was made, and all the eligible girls gathered around in anticipation of the big toss. The girls clapped and counted it down. Lisa tossed the bouquet, and it came right toward Arianna. Just as she was about to snag it, however, another girl jumped in front of her and snatched it away. Arianna knew it was silly, but she felt a moment of disappointment at not catching the bouquet.

  Zach and Tony stood off to the side watching, surrounded by several of their former Navy SEAL buddies. When one of the brothers got married, they all celebrated in a big time manner. To be on the safe side, a shuttle service had been booked to return reception guests back to their hotels if necessary.

  “You might want to slow down on that drink, my friend,” Zach cautioned, as Tony downed a second shot. “Too much of that and you’ll be leaving your bride high and dry tonight.”

  Tony slugged him in the arm. “Not a chance, buddy.” They clinked their glasses together and made a toast.

  “Here’s to a long and happy marriage,” Zach said.

  “Thanks, man.”

  While Tony was enjoying a moment with the guys, Lisa and Arianna sneaked away to the powder room to have a chat.

  “This is one of the most unique receptions I’ve ever been to, Lisa. When I get married, I want you to help plan my wedding,” Arianna said as she looked in the mirror and touched up her lipstick.

  Lisa hugged her. “It’s only a matter of time, I’m sure. Zach is head over heels in love with you.”

  Arianna shrugged. “Yes, I know he loves me, but I’m not sure he feels what he does for a living is conducive to being married and having a family.”

  “Has he told you that?” Lisa asked, touching up her hair.

  “No. It’s just something I’ve surmised.”

  “Well, don’t fret about it. If Tony can ‘bite the bullet’, I’m betting a proposal from Zach isn’t far behind.”

  “Hmm, maybe, but let’s not talk about that tonight. This is your day. Honeymoon in Bora Bora? That sounds fabulous.”

  “Yes, I’m so excited. Just the two of us and a full week of pampering and ‘other things’. I can’t wait.”

  “Oh, yeah…other things,” Arianna said with a giggle. “But hey, I’m afraid I’ll be gone by the time you guys get back, so you’ll have to tell me all about it when I get home.”

  “That’s right. You’re off to Germany in a week to start your new job as foreign correspondent for NBS. Have to say, I’m a bit concerned about your safety.”

  “Really? The network has security, and Zach is sending Raul along with me. I’ll be one of the best protected journalists on the planet.”

  “Just the same. Be careful. Times have changed. Europe is not as safe as it used to be. That’s one reason we’re not honeymooning over there. The other is, I think I caught wind of the fact that the men have another assignment coming up just about the time you’re leaving.”

  Arianna sighed. “They never say for sure, do they, but that seems right? This is the longest they’ve been home in a while. Time for them to ship out. I’m almost glad I’ll be gone. Maybe I won’t miss Zach as much.”

  “And I’ll be working in my design studio.” Lisa smoothed her dress in place. “Hopefully that will take my mind off Tony’s absence.”

  A moment of melancholy passed between them before Arianna finally said, “Well, we can’t dwell on this now. Come on, Mrs. Soto. Time to rejoin your husband and all your guests. Your prince awaits.”

  TINLEY PARK, IL

  Arianna couldn’t remember ever seeing Zach intoxicated, but his best friend had just gotten married, and he and all the SEAL brothers practically drank each other under the table. Now, as they were being driven back to their hotel, Zach’s hands roamed up and down Arianna’s body, and he slurred words of adoration concerning her beauty and how much he loved her. His touch caused her body to tingle all over, but it was with much regret, she realized, touching was all there would be tonight. She was pretty sure as soon as his head hit the pillow, it would be lights out.

  At the hotel, she held him steady as they made their way to their suite. Once inside, she undid his tie and unbuttoned his shirt as he fumbled with the zipper of her dress. Clothes half on and half off, they fell on top of the bed where he pulled her close, draped his leg over hers, and quickly fell asleep.

  “Oh, well. There’s always tomorrow,” she mused as she snuggled up next to him and settled in for the night.

  As the sun rose in the morning sky, Zach woke with a start, sat up straight in bed, alert and on guard. Then, slowly realizing where he was, he lay back down and moaned, “Ooh, my head. I think I drank too much.” He massaged his temples, hoping to relieve the splitting headache which consumed him.

  Arianna retrieved a couple of aspirins from her purse and then poured him a glass of water. “Here ya go, party boy. Maybe these will help.”

  Zach popped the pills in his mouth and downed the glass of water. “Oh, man. My head is pounding.”

  “Can I get you anything else?”

  “Absolutely,” he said, patting his side of the bed. “Come here.”

  “What?” she asked, pretending she had no idea what he was hinting at.

  He pulled her back into bed and cuddled up around her. “Just give me a minute, okay?” He yawned and before she knew it, he had fallen back asleep.

  She chuckled to herself. What’s a girl to do? She drifted off to sleep with him and woke an hour later to find him looking a bit pale but much recovered from his night of heavy drinking.

  Pulling her close, he said, “I hope I didn’t ruin your evening by over indulging.”

  “You were purring along just fine until about an hour before we came back to the hotel. I must say, you and Tony were in rare form with all your Navy buddies. You were having a great time, but I think you had one shot too many.”

  “It feels like it.” He pulled her close and gave her a kiss. Things had just started
to heat up, when suddenly he looked at his watch. “Oh, shit! Look at the time. I forgot. We’re supposed to meet at Lisa’s house for brunch and gift opening.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her along into the shower. “We need to get moving.”

  It would have been a quick in and out if Zach hadn’t noticed the hand-held shower, hanging overhead. He set the shower to a pulsating, massage setting and pressed it strategically against Arianna’s pelvic area. Then, he lowered his head and sucked greedily on one puckered nipple, all the while circling the water massager back and forth between her legs.

  “Mmmm,” Ariana moaned, instantly aroused. We’re going to be very late to the brunch.

  THE FAMILY and a few close friends gathered around as Tony and Lisa opened their wedding gifts. Zach popped a couple more aspirins and washed them down with a large glass of juice, hoping to get rid of the last vestiges of the previous night’s hangover. It had been a great celebration, but a still nagging headache reminded him of why he rarely over-indulged. Also, he disliked the out of control feeling of being under the influence but on the occasion of his best friend’s wedding, he had allowed himself one night of craziness.

  He tried to feign interest in the gift opening as he kept checking his phone. He expected a call any minute from Veritas, his CIA contact, who would provide him with details of their next mission. His group existed outside military protocol, engaging in operations at the highest level of classification. Most of their ops were even outside the boundaries of international law. To maintain plausible deniability when things went wrong, records of their ops were rarely kept. The government paid him handsomely for his services, but then, why not? He and his team bore all the risk. He felt they earned every penny they were paid.