No more lies, p.1
No More Lies, page 1
No More Lies
Onyx Black Ops
Wendy Justine
Published by Wendy Justine, 2024.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
NO MORE LIES
First edition. August 30, 2024.
Copyright © 2024 Wendy Justine.
ISBN: 978-1999212476
Written by Wendy Justine.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
No More Lies (Onyx Black Ops)
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Epilogue
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About the Author
This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
No part of this book may be used, stored, reproduced or transmitted without written permission from the author. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people.
Content Disclaimer: This book has sexual content, references abuse, profanity and violence which may be offensive to some readers and is for readers of 18 years or older.
Thank you to LZ Edits
Thank you to Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs
Real men have flaws.......and they own up to them.
NO MORE LIES: ONYX BLACK OPS - BOOK 4
Being married to a military man isn't easy, but what happens when the truth comes out?
Diane Williams had carefully planned her life. Become a lawyer. Make partner at a prestigious firm and help the people who needed it the most. Marrying Steve and getting pregnant might have delayed her plan, but finally she was here at the swanky law firm, living the dream. Except it was more like a nightmare. In a life where her husband is a hero and their friends and family seemed to be living their best lives, hers is falling apart.
Steve loves the family he’s made with Diane. She’s an amazing wife, mother and now, a lawyer. Her dream seems fulfilled. Except she isn’t happy and as much as he tries, she won’t talk to him.
When a routine custody case with a Russian businessman collides with an Onyx Black Op, the Williams family are threatened. The tension between Diane and Steve reaches a breaking point and they are forced to face up to what is happening between them.
As the threat escalates, a potential terrorist attack in their hometown is imminent, and Diane’s life is in danger. Steve is suddenly in a race against time to find his wife.
The clock is ticking. On the op. On his marriage. On Diane’s life.
Can he prove to her he can be the husband she deserves before he loses her forever?
Chapter 1
“Execute.”
Hearing his team leader’s command, Steve opened the fire exit door. Raven team filed through without a sound. Onyx Black Ops commanded by Captain Sam Harrison, was an elite, classified arm of the military that reported directly to the White House.
The team was in Islamabad, penetrating the luxury hotel owned by Omar Aziz. Omar and his brother Hakim led Reborn, a Middle Eastern terrorist organization with a huge axe to grind against America, and a personal grudge specifically with Raven.
Ahead of Steve, Dexter Dawson, the Raven team leader, held up his black-gloved hand and the team stopped, still and silent in the shadows of the fire stairwell on the thirtieth floor of the hotel.
“Raven 5 and 6, cover the north stairwell. 3 and 4, take the south near the elevators. 2, with me.”
Tyler, the team’s medic, and Mackie, their tech specialist, positioned themselves at the north stairwell. Steve, as the team’s explosives expert, and Donnie, primary sniper, headed to the south stairwell. Ryan, Dex’s second in command, prepared to enter the penthouse suite with Dex.
The current mission was recon only. Omar Aziz had not been seen at the hotel in more than three months. Hakim had captured Tyler and shared a little too much information with him before Raven had effected a rescue. Hakim had gotten away, and the brothers appeared to have gone to ground.
Steve glanced back, seeing Dex and Ryan entering the room. This felt like a damn waste of time. It had taken way too long to get the green light to search the hotel. He’d bet his right arm nothing worthwhile was inside Omar’s suite. Omar, his daughter, and his grandson were long gone. The daughter, Asma, was married to Reyes Lazir, another Reborn soldier, who was currently in a US black site. Onyx had captured him after he murdered a SEAL team and captured one of their own.
They would sweep all rooms, looking for any lead to the Aziz family’s new location and proof of their connection to Reborn. Onyx were eager to end Reborn’s reign of terror once and for all, but Washington needed solid evidence before they would authorize their leader’s capture.
“We should have come here fucking weeks ago,” Donnie whispered, putting a voice to Steve’s own thoughts.
“Yeah. I hear you. I don’t see someone as smart as Omar leaving us a forwarding address.”
Donnie grunted in agreement.
Steve remained still; his eyes stayed on the elevator while Donnie covered the stairwell. With any luck, they would wrap this up and be home tomorrow. He planned to take some time off as soon as they got back to focus on his family. Or to be more exact, his marriage.
Diane and their beautiful eight-year-old daughter, Megan, were his world. He would never have made it as a SEAL, and now as an Onyx operator, without Diane. All through, EOD training, BUDs, the long deployments, Diane had been his rock. One he needed more than he could ever have imagined. He was forever grateful to have found her.
But things had started to change. In the past few months, he felt an ever-increasing distance between them. He’d tried to talk to her, but she kept blaming her work. The fact that she didn’t want to talk about it made Steve think Diane might not be telling the truth, might instead be regretting her choice of husband. They’d been married nine years; had his job gotten to be too much for her? He knew Megan could be a handful, even if she was a happy child. Taking some time off, maybe he could show Diane she chose right and make sure she understood exactly how much she meant to him.
The elevator light came on. Twentieth floor and climbing.
“Boss, this is Raven 3, Elevator is on the move.”
“Copy that. Handle it quietly if you need to.”
“Got it,” Steve said. The elevator was still climbing. Twenty-five, twenty-six. Quietly meant they did not want to wake up any other hotel guests. Raven had not been invited here, and the Pakistan authorities would not take kindly to their presence. This floor was off limits to guests, so either housekeeping or security could be on their way up. Twenty-seven, twenty-eight. Steve and Donnie flanked the elevator doors and waited. Twenty-nine.
The elevator stopped on twenty-nine. Steve glanced to Donnie, who moved back to the stairwell to ensure whoever had got off on twenty-nine was not coming up the stairs.
“3. Sitrep?” Dex asked.
Steve waited a beat for Donnie to signal the stairwell was clear. The elevator remained on twenty-nine.
“All clear,” Steve confirmed.
“Alright we’re done. Move to exfil.”
Raven retreated, leaving the same way they came. Forty minutes later, they were in the air.
“So, did you get anything?” Steve asked, sitting next to his team leader.
“Wherever they’ve gone, they didn’t take much with them. Personal belongings are all still there. No electronics. A few papers. Not sure they mean anything. But we got photos.”
“Waste of time then.” Steve grunted.
“Had to be done. If they come back. We’ll know,” Dex said. Planting a couple of bugs had been part of the op.
“Listen, Dex, when we get back, I need-”
“Sam wants a word.” Ryan interrupted him, holding out the satellite phone.
Dex took the phone and stood up. “Be right back, Steve.”
Ten minutes later, Dex returned, motioning for the team to gather around.
“We’re being re-tasked.”
“Where we headed?” Donnie asked.
“North Korea.”
The team fell silent. North Korea was one of the most dangerous places in the world. Getting caught on the ground there would lead to severe ramifications.
“Mackie, set up the laptop. Sam will do the brief in ten,” Dex said. “It will be a HALO infill, so make sure your packs are ready. Good news is it should be a twenty-four-hour turnaround.”
The team dispersed, but Dex stopped Steve’s path.
“You were about to ask me something?”
“No, it’s fine. It can wait until we get back home.
It wasn’t fine, but there was no point bringing up his personal problems now. The whole team would have to be front side focused for this one. North Korea was no joke.
His marriage was just going to have to wait a little longer. Again.
DIANE PULLED INTO THE parking lot of Tequila’s, the Mexican restaurant where she was meeting the girls for dinner. It had been a hell of a week, and it wasn’t over yet. After a ten-hour day at the office, she was tired, ready to go home and crash, but Kelly had insisted she join them. Diane knew her friend would have come to her house and dragged her there. Forcing a smile, she entered the restaurant. Immediately, she spotted the girls at a table on the far wall.
“Diane! It’s been too long!” Kelly jumped up and hugged her.
“I know, sorry. Hi, Sophie, Mira.” Diane smiled. These women were her friends, and guilt swept over her as she realized she hadn’t seen them in, jeez, at least a couple of months. She settled into a chair next to Kelly, who waved the waitress over to order.
The girls got their drinks and relaxed into easy conversation. Kelly lived with Dex. Mira had recently got together with Tyler. Both Kelly and Mira worked intel for Onyx and supported both teams, Raven and Nyx. Sophie, head of the ER at Westside hospital on the naval base on Coronado was head over heels with Ryan.
Diane was the only one married to a Raven team member. She met Steve when she was eighteen and they had been together ten years, married nine, and had a beautiful eight, almost nine-year-old daughter, Megan. Neither of them had planned to have a child so quickly, but fate had other ideas.
“Hey, are we boring you?” Sophie said with a grin.
“No of course not, just been a long day.” Diane smiled.
“Work still busy? We haven’t seen you at any of the team barbecues for a while?” Kelly asked. She and Dex often hosted barbecues for the teams but lately Steve had been going with Megan while she worked.
“I know, work has been crazy. If I want to make partner one day, I have to put in the hours right now.” She had said the same thing to Steve over and over the past several months, not wanting to discuss it further.
“All work and no play. That’s not good, Diane.” Mira wagged a finger at her, teasing.
“It won’t be forever. I’m working on a big case. Once that’s done things should ease up a little.” She kept telling herself and Steve exactly the same thing. Just a little longer and she’d feel better. Except the weeks kept slipping by and she felt her marriage slipping away.
“Good, because we miss you. Us girls have got to stick together.” Kelly raised her glass, and they toasted in agreement.
“Well, I can’t wait for the team to get home. I miss Tyler and this was his first op back since his, er, incident, and since we kind of... you know... actually got together,” Mira said smiling.
Diane didn’t press for details on the incident. Steve had mentioned Tyler had a close call, but since she wasn’t a part of Onyx, he hadn’t said much more. Then again, they hadn’t said much at all to each other recently.
“You mean, since you both admitted you are nuts for each other.” Kelly grinned. “I can’t wait for them to get back either.” She winked and the other girls laughed.
Diane felt a pang of envy. She remembered feeling that way. Counting down the days until Steve came home. She was so proud of him and what he did. Anyone that served their country like these men did were true heroes. Yes, it was dangerous. There was always the risk he might not come home, but Diane never dwelled on that. When they first met, he was already enlisted. She knew who he was and what he wanted to do. Not every woman could understand or accept being the wife of a military man, but she did. She admired, respected, and loved that her man was in the Navy, a SEAL, and now been chosen to be part of a unique Special Forces team where only the best of the best made the cut.
She loved Steve. Her feelings for him hadn't changed, but her life had. Over the past twelve months or so, little things started to feel like big things. While she had tried to ignore the thoughts creeping in, they refused to quiet. Instead, she felt unhappy and desperately alone.
Things had gotten even more strained recently with Steve, primarily because her focus had been on work. She had waited so long to be where she was now, a lawyer at a big firm, but she was exhausted and miserable. Hell, she’d barely noticed Steve had been gone other than the extra running around needed to take care of Megan. Each day, she felt Steve and her growing farther apart. She didn’t want that, and she didn't want to lose him, but she wasn't sure how to stop it. Realizing her eyes were moist, she quickly took a drink and blinked back tears before someone noticed. Too late.
“Diane, are you OK?” Kelly asked.
“Yes, something in my eye.” She grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her eyes to deflect the attention. “There you go, got it. All good.”
“How’s Megan?” Sophie asked.
“Growing up way too quick.” Diane smiled at the mention of her daughter. “She’s turning nine next month.”
“Wow. Ever thought of having another?”
Her heart tightened in sadness. “We haven’t really talked about it. I was focused on getting through law school after we had Megan, and then Steve was away so much.” She shrugged, trying her best to dismiss it. Steve wanted another child, used to mention it all the time. She wanted her career. After a while, he stopped bringing it up and they’d never spoken about it again.
“You’re not too old, Diane, you could still have one. And now Steve is with Onyx, he’s home much more,” Sophie said.
“I don’t know, I think we’ve both got used to the idea of having one child. How about you guys? You’re all in love. Are we going to hear any patters of tiny feet?” She wanted to get the conversation off of her life.
Sophie said, “I think Ryan wants his own army.” Laughter filled the table. “I do want kids, but one step at a time. We are thinking about moving in together, though.”
“That’s wonderful!” Kelly exclaimed. “I’m so happy for you both. Who will move where?”
“Not sure. We both rent. I spend so much time on base. Ryan’s place is closer, but it’s such a bachelor pad.” She rolled her eyes, and they all laughed. “Maybe we’ll look for somewhere new. We’ll see.”
“That will be nice. How about you, Mira? Not feeling broody?” Diane asked.
“It’s too soon for me. We’ve only just got together. I like it being the two of us. Dating and getting to know each other.”
“Kelly? You and Dex have been together forever.” Diane smiled at the woman she had been friends with since Steve got onto Dex’s SEAL team more than six years ago.
“We have talked about it, and we both want kids. We will one day, but I’m old-fashioned. I want to be married first.”
“Yeah, why hasn’t he popped the question yet? Or has he?” Sophie looked at Kelly suspiciously.
Kelly smiled. “No, he hasn’t. Neither of us were in a rush to get serious and settle down. We were both focused on our careers. And then, after what happened... Well, we got serious, but I don’t know. We’re kind of taking things one day at a time.”
The table went quiet. They were all aware of what happened. Kelly had been captured, raped and tortured by Reyes Lazir, a Reborn soldier. Dex had been the leader of a SEAL team at that time. He had gone rogue with the team to rescue her, and it almost cost him his career. The incident was confidential, but Kelly had chosen to share it with her friends, needing their ongoing support.
“Well, that fucker is rotting in a cell somewhere,” Mira said in a low voice. “And you guys have moved on and deserve a life together filled with happiness. And marriage. And babies.”
“You’re right.” Kelly raised her glass, and they toasted again. “Let’s order some food.” Kelly grabbed the waitress’s attention, and the women ordered.
“So, what’s the big case you’re working on? Or can’t you say?” Mira asked Diane as they waited for their meals.
“Custody battle. He's a big client, that’s all.” Big enough that failing could cost her the shot at partner and ruin everything.
“That must be so hard. Battling over kids. I can’t imagine.”
