Chapter 1 Amazon Jungle, Colombia Despite being deep in the jungle on a life-or-death mission, Bjornolf Jorgenson couldn’t rid himself of the refrain of “Jingle Bells” playing over and over again in his head. He’d just come from an assignment in snowed-in Minnesota where he’d heard the song. For now, he was shadowing his favorite retired SEAL-wolf team and one female operative in action, and Christmas should have been the furthest thing from his mind. Their mission: rescue a kidnapped family. His mission: watch the team’s back. They were getting paid as private contractors. He was doing it as a favor to Meara. Neither her brother, leading the operation, nor her mate, serving as one of the team members, would appreciate that she’d asked Bjornolf to watch over them. So he was serving in a covert way, which he preferred over any other. Bjornolf was also doing this for Anna Johnson, who had intrigued him during their last hot encounter. Straight ahead of him, she was keeping low as she made her way through the jungle with the rest of the team. It was dusk, and high above them in the canopy, the cacophonous cries of black howler monkeys sent a jarring noise through the trees, warning other monkeys that this was their territory. The air was heavy with moisture and the scent of fragrant