Separation Zone Read online

  Contents

  Title

  Separation Zone (Immortal Ops) © Copyright 2015, Mandy M. Roth

  Suggested reading order of books released to date in the

  Mandy M. Roth Featured Books

  Separation Zone (Immortal Ops)

  Praise for Mandy M. Roth’s Immortal Ops World

  Immortal Ops Series and PSI-Ops Series Helper

  Dedication:

  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

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  The Raven Books’ Complimentary Material

  King of Prey: A Bird Shifter Novel by Mandy M. Roth

  Separation Zone

  (Immortal Ops)

  by

  Mandy M. Roth

  Separation Zone (Immortal Ops) © Copyright 2015, Mandy M. Roth

  First Electronic Printing March 2015, The Raven Books

  Trade Paperback Printing March 2015

  Cover art by Natalie Winters, © Copyright 2014

  Edited by: Suz G.

  Final Line Edit by: Jinxie

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  All books are copyrighted to the author and may not be resold or given away without written permission from the author, Mandy M. Roth.

  This novel is a work of fiction and intended for mature audiences only. Any and all characters, names, events, places and incidents are used under the umbrella of fiction and are of the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events or places or locales is merely coincidence.

  The Raven

  Published by Raven Books

  Raven Books and all affiliate sites and projects are © Copyrighted 2004-2015

  Suggested reading order of books released to date in the

  Immortal Ops Series world

  Immortal Ops

  Critical Intelligence

  Radar Deception

  Strategic Vulnerability

  Tactical Magik

  Act of Mercy

  Administrative Control

  Act of Surrender

  Broken Communication

  Separation Zone

  More to come (check www.mandyroth.com for new releases)

  Mandy M. Roth Featured Books

  Immortal Ops Series

  Immortal Ops

  Critical Intelligence

  Radar Deception

  Strategic Vulnerability

  Tactical Magik

  Administrative Control

  Separation Zone

  Area of Influence

  Desired Perception

  Carnal Diversions

  Zone of Action

  PSI-Ops Series (Part of the Immortal Ops World)

  Act of Mercy

  Act of Surrender

  Act of Submission

  Act of Security

  Act of Command

  Act of Passion

  Act of Engagement

  Act of Pride

  Act of Duty

  Immortal Outcasts (Part of the Immortal Ops World)

  Broken Communication

  Damage Report

  Wrecked Intel

  Isolated Maneuver

  Intelligence Malfunction

  Shadow Agents Series & Crimson Sentinels Series (Part of the Immortal Ops World) Coming Soon!

  Separation Zone (Immortal Ops)

  Book Seven in the Immortal Ops Series

  Tiger-shifter Jonathon Reynell has spent a chunk of his immortal life serving his country. As an I-Op, his life revolves around the next mission, the next natural high. A soldier sent into the deadliest of combats, he didn't expect immortality to be an issue, to live on while everyone he knows and loves dies. When the toll begins to show and he finds himself at the bottom of another bottle, he decides to go back to his roots, back to his home to clear his head. Rock bottom is not where he expected to be when he found his mate with a rose in hand and his name on her lush lips. Tori is the very definition of perfection and beauty. She’s also in the crosshairs of the enemy. And if there is one thing this sniper knows, it’s that his sights are the only ones that should be set on her.

  Praise for Mandy M. Roth’s Immortal Ops World

  Silver Star Award—I feel Immortal Ops deserves a Silver Star Award as this book was so flawlessly written with elements of intrigue, suspense and some scorching hot scenes—Aggie Tsirikas—Just Erotic Romance Reviews

  5 Stars—Immortal Ops is a fascinating short story. The characters just seem to jump out at you. Ms. Roth wrote the main and secondary characters with such depth of emotions and heartfelt compassion I found myself really caring for them—Susan Holly—Just Erotic Romance Reviews

  Immortal Ops packs the action of a Hollywood thriller with the smoldering heat that readers can expect from Ms. Roth. Put it on your hot list…and keep it there! —The Road to Romance

  5 Stars—Her characters are so realistic, I find myself wondering about the fine line between fact and fiction...This was one captivating tale that I did not want to end. Just the right touch of humor endeared these characters to me even more—eCataRomance Reviews

  5 Steamy Cups of Coffee—Combining the world of secret government operations with mythical creatures as if they were an everyday thing, she (Ms. Roth) then has the audacity to make you actually believe it and wonder if there could be some truth to it. I know I did. Nora Roberts once told me that there are some people who are good writers and some who are good storytellers, but the best is a combination of both and I believe Ms. Roth is just that. Mandy Roth never fails to surpass herself—coffeetimeromance

  Mandy Roth kicks ass in this story—inthelibraryreview

  Immortal Ops Series and PSI-Ops Series Helper

  (This will be updated in each upcoming book as new characters are introduced.)

  Immortal Ops (I-Ops) Team Members

  Lukian Vlakhusha: Alpha-Dog-One. Team captain, werewolf, King of the Lycans, mated to Peren Matthews (Daughter of Dr. Lakeland Matthews). Book: Immortal Ops (Immortal Ops)

  Geoffroi (Roi) Majors: Alpha-Dog-Two. Second in command, werewolf, blood-bound brother to Lukian, mated to Melissa “Missy” Carter-Majors. Book: Critical Intelligence (Immortal Ops)

  Doctor Thaddeus Green: Bravo-Dog-One. Scientist, tech guru, werepanther, mated to Melanie Daly-Green (sister of Eadan Green). Book: Radar Deception (Immortal Ops)

  Jonathon (Jon) Reynell: Bravo-Dog-Two. Sniper, weretiger, mated to Tori Manzo. Book: Separation Zone (Immortal Ops)

  Wilson Rousseau: Bravo-Dog-Three. Resident smart-ass, wererat, mated to Kimberly (Daughter of Culann of the Council) Book: Strategic Vulnerability (Immortal Ops)

  Eadan Daly: Alpha-Dog-Three. PSI-Op and handler on loan to the I-Ops to round out the team, Fae, mated to Inara Nash. Brother of Melanie Daly-Green. Book: Tactical Magik (Immortal Ops)

  Colonel Asher Brooks: Chief of Operations and point person for the Immortal Ops Team. Mated to Jinx, magik, succubus, well-known, well-connected madam to the underground paranormal community. Book: Administrative Control (Immortal Ops)

  Paranormal Security and Intelligence (PSI) Operatives

  General Jack C. Newman: Director of Operations for PSI, werelion. Adoptive father of Missy Carter-Majors.

  Duke Marlow: PSI-Operative, werewolf. Mated to Mercy. Book: Act of Mercy (PSI-Ops)

  Doctor Jam
es (Jimmy) Hagen: PSI-Operative, werewolf. Took a ten-year hiatus from PSI. Book: Act of Surrender (PSI-Ops)

  Striker (Dougal) McCracken: PSI-Operative, werewolf.

  Miles (Boomer) Walsh: PSI-Operative, werepanther.

  Captain Corbin Jones: Operations coordinator and captain for PSI-Ops Team Five, werelion.

  Malik (Tut) Nasser: PSI-Operative, (PSI-Ops).

  Colonel Ulric Lovett: Direction of Operations, PSI-London Division.

  Immortal Outcasts

  Casey Black: I-Ops test subject, werewolf, mated to Harmony. Book: Broken Communication.

  Weston Carol: I-Ops test subject, werebear.

  Miscellaneous

  Culann of the Council: Father to Kimberly (who is mated to Wilson). Badass Fae.

  Pierre Molyneux: Master vampire bent on creating a race of super soldiers. Hides behind being a famous art dealer in order to launder money.

  Gisbert Krauss: Mad scientist who wants to create a master race of supernaturals.

  Walter Helmuth: Head of Seattle’s paranormal underground. In league with Molyneux and Krauss.

  Dr. Lakeland Matthews: Scientist, vital role in the creation of a successful Immortal Ops Team. Father to Peren Matthews.

  Dr. Bertrand: Mad scientist with Donavon Dynamics Corporation (The Corporation).

  Dedication:

  To the brave men and women who serve in the armed forces. You give your all for our freedoms. Please know, there are many of us here thinking of you all, praying for your safety. To the loved ones of those who are serving and have served. To the veterans, for all you’ve done in the past for us. To the “troop greeters” who stop everything to see our troops off and to welcome them home—thank you for being a voice and face for many and for doing what we all should do.

  To my readers for sticking with me for the past eleven years and for loving the men of the Immortal Ops World all along the way. Thank you so much!

  Last but not least, to Suz and Jinxie for righting my wrongs. Thank you!

  Chapter One

  One Year Ago…

  Exhaling slowly, Jonathon Reynell looked through the scope mounted on his sniper rifle. It was more than a tunnel to what lay beyond. To him, it was a third eye, an extension of his body. He’d formed a bond with it, much as he had with his rifle. In truth, it was any sniper rifle, any scope. The weapon ended up being an extension of him. Part of his very being. There were points in his past when Jon had even spoken of his various weapons in his sniper data books as if they were living and breathing. To him, they were. His data books were filled with more than any human could ever handle reading. He still only filled them out because of habit, not necessity, as everything he was involved in was past the point of being classified.

  He and his teammates simply did not exist in the eyes of the government.

  Jon maintained his position, his body relaxed, the need to move or adjust his body far removed from his thoughts. He was trained to remain in one position for however long the mission took. If that meant lying in his own urine, then so be it. Thankfully, this mission hadn’t, as of yet, come to that. While it was commonplace for him, it wasn’t for the man next to him, looking through a pair of binoculars, watching their target as well. And Jon already caught enough crap about the times he’d been forced to do whatever needed to be done in order to remain in place, unmoving for days at a time.

  Sniffing the air, he caught the scent of the target and the beast within him roared, wanting the kill for itself and to hell with a weapon. He’d once again denied himself a much needed shift, to allow the tiger he was one with to run freely, to feel the bite and to taste the blood of its kill. Once the mission was complete, he’d see to it that he ran free in shifted form. It would sate his beast for a time.

  He hoped.

  The wind carried the smells to him. Sweat. Tobacco. Whiskey. Death. All scents associated with the enemy. A man they’d been tracking for weeks. A man set to die.

  Blood pumped rapidly, so loud in his head it was almost deafening. The prey had no idea it was being stalked, watched from over six hundred feet away. The man would never see his death coming. Never hear it. No one would. It would be silent. Swift. Accurate. Deadly.

  Jon wasn’t alone. His fellow teammate Lance was next to him, lying prone on the ground, doing his best to remain still. He was there to assist in spotting—something Jon rarely had help with anymore. Lance had insisted on accompanying him and Jon had given up trying to argue. Besides, Lance did much better at being quiet and letting him work than Wilson, another of their teammates. Wilson seemed to have an inability to shut up for any real length of time, which never played out well when silence was required. But Wilson was funny, so that was welcome.

  Jon could hear Lance’s heartbeat and knew that somehow his own now matched his friend’s. It was something Jon had perfected decades ago and never thought to question. It was what it was.

  He was what he was.

  Not much he could do to change that now.

  He and his fellow Immortal Ops (I-Ops) had done too many missions together to count. They were more than teammates to him. They were brothers.

  Family.

  The order to take the kill shot hadn’t come. The rest of the team was within the compound, operating in stealth mode, gathering the information they required. No sooner had Jon thought on it than a massive boom shook the area. Black clouds of smoke rose from the far end of the compound.

  “Shit,” whispered Lance. “That can’t be good.”

  “Wilson?” asked Jon.

  Lance snorted. “Totally Wilson. Well, or Roi’s temper got the better of him and he blew something up.”

  “True.”

  “But probably Wilson,” added Lance with a chuckle.

  Jon stared through his scope as his target showed men running toward him, all looking frantic. Holding his finger just shy of releasing the trigger, Jon waited for the order. He wasn’t green-lighted yet, and disobeying Lukian, the captain, wasn’t something Jon would do.

  Lance held his finger to his earpiece, his gaze on his watch. “Copy that,” he whispered softly. He looked at Jon. “Green light.”

  With a small nod, Jon lined up again, his gaze going to his scope, his focus on the target. This was simply part of the job. Part of his duty to his country. One more death at the sniper’s hands. One more sin that was borderline. Not quite black and certainly not white. Was it evil to kill men who did bad things? Men who killed innocents? Was there really any way to justify the taking of a life?

  Bringing his silver cross to his lips, he kissed it, closing his eyes momentarily, ignoring the bite of pain from the silver making contact with his skin. Part of Jon enjoyed the constant reminder of what he was. Of what he’d allowed himself to become.

  He didn’t care that he wasn’t alone. Lance knew Jon’s ritual well enough to not question. His thoughts went to his mother. He didn’t need to be told she’d have difficulty accepting who he was and what he’d become if she were still alive. He’d known her well enough. Yet, he still needed absolution, more from the memory of her than the God he once fully believed in.

  “Forgive me,” he whispered, so soft it carried no further than his immediate area.

  He opened his eyes, took sight, his finger on the trigger. Fake reeds of yellowing grass hung just in line of his peripheral vision. To the human eye, he was nothing more than a piece of the land. Another patch of dried grass, long since starved of rain. His face was painted to match and he could hold his position for days if need be. Never moving.

  There really had never been any hope for the target. From the moment his name crossed the sniper’s path, his death had been imminent.

  Letting out a slow, long breath, Jon pulled the trigger. Once in his life, the recoil would have been something he noticed. He wasn’t that man anymore. Hell, he wasn’t a man, period. He was what they’d made him to be—the ultimate weapon. Something more than human.

  He watched through his scope as the target dro
pped. One shot. One kill. It was all he ever needed.

  He was simply that good.

  The reality of taking another life seeped over him as though he were being bathed in the blood of his victim. Try as he might, he couldn’t shake the feeling. It happened every now and again. Each time he’d rub his skin raw in the shower. It never helped. Only putting thoughts of his sins from his mind seemed to the do the trick. Yet they were always there, just below the surface, waiting to betray him. Waiting to signal to all what he’d become.

  A hired gun. A genetically altered, precision killing machine.

  The metal of his cross burned his skin more and it caught the light of the sun. He tucked it under his shirt, knowing his error for having left it out could have cost his team the mission. It could have reflected light, giving away his position. It was a mistake expected from a rookie, not a professional. Not an expert marksman who had more years under his belt than any other sniper he knew.

  “Kill confirmed,” said Lance, pulling Jon from his thoughts. He touched Jon’s arm. “It was a good kill. A clean shot.”

  The words meant little to him. He felt slightly hollow, as if the toll of his chosen path was carving out a blackness more and more with each passing day.

  Pushing to his feet, Lance cleared his throat softly and then tapped Jon’s leg with his foot. “We’re ready to pull out. Captain says they’re done and heading to us to extract.”

  “Did he mention what caused the explosion?”

  “Nope, but he sounds pissed.”

  The men shared a look and then spoke in unison. “Wilson.”