Each of the party understood how Verra had felt. There were no secrets among them. When Cobb had acknowledged weeks earlier that no matter how hard he tried to convince himself to the contrary, he was once again in love, Verra had insisted that they stay apart until they were married. After all she had been through at Keradin’s dacha, she needed a delay before this fresh start. She loved this strange man, Cobb, who had saved her life, but it also meant a great deal to her if she waited until they were married. Perhaps that would put it all behind her; perhaps it would erase the pain of the past.
Cobb saw the sense to it, and so did the others—after all, they were all family. And now that Cobb and Verra were legally husband and wife, the others like slightly malicious siblings were conspiring to keep them up all night. It was no different than in years gone by, like the days in Vietnam when they drank the hours away and played juvenile tricks on each other.
They were older now. They would never be the same. But they were going to try to bring back those bygone days once more… when they played those old tricks. Cobb would understand, and explain it all to Verra. It was only one night and they were all alive. It would be a celebration of one more beginning.
Look for these other books from Charles D. Taylor now available or coming soon from Crossroad Press
Boomer
Choke Point
Counterstrike
Deep Sting
Igniter
Shadow Wars
Shadows of Vengeance
Show of Force
Sightings
Silent Hunter
Summit
The Twilight Patriots (formerly published as The Sunset Patriots)
War Ship
Table of Contents
Title Page
LICENSE NOTES
Meet the Author
DISCOVER CROSSROAD PRESS
This book is dedicated most affectionately to my sons, Jack and Ben
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
“We must decide whether we intend to remain the strongest nation in the world. The alternative is to let ourselves slip into inferiority, into a position of weakness in a harsh world where principles unsupported by power are victimized, and to become a nation with more of a past than a future. I reject that alternative.”
WASHINGTON, D.C.
D MINUS 7
D MINUS 6
D MINUS 5
THE SEA OF JAPAN
THE WHITE HOUSE
D MINUS 4
D MINUS 3
WITH THE SEAL TEAM
ABOARD ADMIRAL PRATT’S JET 35,000 FEET ABOVE THE ATLANTIC OCEAN
HENRY COBB
WENDELL NELSON
TOM CARLETON
D MINUS 2
SPITZBERGEN, THE HARBOR
SPITZBERGEN, THE AIRPORT
THE CRIMEA, USSR
ABOARD U.S.S. JOHN F. KENNEDY, SOUTHEAST OF MALTA
ABOARD U.S.S. JOHN HANCOCK
ABOARD U.S.S. JOHN F. KENNEDY
SPITZBERGEN
ABOARD U.S.S. YORKTOWN, SOUTHEAST OF MALTA
THE CRIMEA
D MINUS 1
ABOARD U.S.S. JOHN F. KENNEDY, SOUTHEAST OF MALTA
WITH A U.S. NAVAL PICKET FORCE
SPITZBERGEN
LONGYEARBYEN
ABOARD A HYDROFOIL ON THE BLACK SEA
ISTANBUL
D-DAY
SPITZBERGEN
ABOARD THE CARRIER H.M.S. ILLUSTRIOUS, THE GREENLAND SEA
SPITZBERGEN
ABOARD U.S.S. SARATOGA, FIFTY MILES EAST OF CRETE
ABOARD U.S.S. YORKTOWN
THE WAR IN SPACE
ABOARD U.S.S. YORKTOWN, SOUTHEAST OF MALTA
ABOARD U.S.S. JOHN HANCOCK, ONE HUNDRED MILES NORTHWEST OF BENGHAZI, LIBYA
ABOARD U.S.S. JOHN F. KENNEDY, SOUTHEAST OF MALTA
ABOARD U.S.S. YORKTOWN WITH THE KENNEDY BATTLE GROUP
ABOARD U.S.S. JOHN HANCOCK
ABOARD U.S.S. JOHN F. KENNEDY
ABOARD U.S.S. YORKTOWN
SPITZBERGEN
AFTER THE FIRST SALVO
ABOARD U.S.S. BRISCOE, HEADING NORTH TOWARD THE MAIN BATTLE GROUP
ABOARD U.S.S. YORKTOWN
THE KREMLIN
D-DAY PLUS FIVE WEEKS, A SMALL INN IN THE MARYLAND HILLS
Look for these other books from Charles D. Taylor now available or coming soon from Crossroad Press