Dagger (SEAL Team EAST Book 6), page 1
DAGGER
SEAL TEAM EAST
BOOK 6
ZOE DAWSON
Dagger
Copyright © 2025 by Karen Alarie
Cover Art © Robin Ludwig Design, Inc.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Created with Vellum
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Squad Glossary
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
Epilogue
Glossary
About the Author
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’d like to thank my beta readers, reviewers and editor for helping with this book, especially Lisa Fournier for her excellent help. As always, you guys are the best.
For those who broke the ocean in half just to make it home and still found love in a hopeless place.
Inspired by Gideon, Rihanna, and Nayyirah Waheed’s “Salt.”
SQUAD GLOSSARY
Ruckus’s Squad – Tier 2 Operators
Books 1-8
Lieutenant Ruckus “Bowie” Cooper
Ashe “Kid Chaos” Wilder
Wes “Cowboy” McGraw
Thorn “Tank” Hunt – MWDs: Echo and Bronte
Ocean “Blue” Beckett
Arlo “Scarecrow” Porter
Orion “Wicked” Cross
Jude “Hollywood” Lock
Fast Lane’s Squad
Books 9-16
Ryuu “Dragon” Shannon
Errol “Pitbull” Ballentine
Atticus “Hemingway” Sinclair
Max “Mad Max” Keegan – MWD: Juggernaut, (Jugs)
Oliver “Artful Dodger” Graham
Neo “2-Stroke” Teller
Zach “Saint” Bartholomew
Lieutenant Ford “Fast Lane” Nixon
Rock’s Squad
Books 17-24
Lieutenant Adrian “Rock” Lane (Previous CO)
Milo “Professor” Prescott
Lieutenant Elias “Joker” Jackman (Current CO)
Zephirin “Gator” LaBauve
Callen “Blitz” Berenger
Andrew (Drew) “D-Day” Nolan
Mateo “Zorro” Martinez
Sam “Buck” Buckard
Dakota “Bear” Locklear – MWD: Flint
Iceman’s Squad – Tier 1 Operators
Books 1-8
Master Chief Christopher (Kit) “Iceman” Snow
Boyce “Preacher” Carmichael
Remington “GQ” Nash
Jayesh “Kodiak” Lyta
Archer “Hazard” Booth
Cooper (Skully) “Skull” Sullivan – MWD: Bonesaw (Bones)
Carter “Boomer” Findley
Kelly “Breakneck” Gatlin
Tex’s Squad - Tier 2 Operators
Books 1-8
Lieutenant Michael “Tex” Penn
Angelo “Bondo” Zane
Matthew “Easy” Hitchcock
Bale “Shark” Maddox
Shane “Twister” Reeves
Kade “Dagger” Hollis
Christian “Brawler” Beckett - MWD: Beast
Jae “Flash” Shaw
To anyone who’s had an impossible love and overcome it. Fly like the phoenix, and bend like water.
1
Cole Innovations, Downtown Virginia Beach, Virginia,
Quinn Cole ran her finger along the crisp edge of the court petition that would change her life, and his forever. She imagined his reaction when he got served. It was everything she had envisioned. Everything she had clawed her way back from hell to create.
Kade “Dagger” Hollis, Quinn’s brother-in-law, Navy SEAL, and the man who had ruined her life, wouldn’t be blindsided. He was too sharp for that. But he sure as hell wouldn’t have expected her to make the first move.
A part of her had wanted to be there when he read the papers. To watch his expressive, unreadable face shift. His jaw go tight.
To see him angry.
She exhaled slowly, running a hand down the front of her blouse. Brian had always said angry people made mistakes.
Brian’s last words to her, No matter what happens, don’t forget me, had been offhand, sweet at the time, but they had settled in her heart like a vow. Forgetting him would be a betrayal of her husband’s memory, and if she let go, then who was left to remember him?
Deep down, she wanted Kade Hollis to make a mistake.
Because he had taken everything from her.
But that was about to change; the days got better, especially when she was working, and her hard work had paid off. She stood in the heart her office, her design, her resurrection. Sunlight poured through floor-to-ceiling windows, bouncing off polished steel and warm oak. The architectural firm she’d built from nothing was alive around her, employees moving with purpose, clients in and out, the hum of industry filling the space.
She’d clawed her way through Cornell’s architecture program, brutal, unrelenting, the kind of crucible that broke most before their second year, and she hadn’t just survived it. She’d thrived. Fifteen-hour studio marathons, collapse-then-repeat weeks, the endless churn of critique and revision until the work was more than good. It was visionary.
On her desk, another thick pile of paperwork sat next to the court petition. The large black letters spelled out: US Embassy, Caracas—Final Contract Documents. Cole Innovations had beaten out several bigger, better-established competitors to land the job of designing the new embassy in Venezuela.
Piper McDonald, from the Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings, had notified her she had won the bid. That was a monumental day for her firm’s reputation, securing a high-profile international project. It was an even bigger day for Quinn herself, because it was proof that she could stand on her own two feet again.
Yet it carried a weight she couldn’t ignore. Caracas. The city where Brian had died. The city that still made her hands shake if she thought about it too long. Dagger had been part of the mission, though he never told her much. Just enough to haunt her.
Her desk phone chirped, snapping her out of her thoughts. She pushed the speaker button. “Yes, Diane?”
Her receptionist’s voice came through bright and clear. “Mrs. Cole, your ten o’clock called. They need to push the meeting to ten-thirty.”
Quinn exhaled slowly. “Thanks, Diane.” She hung up, brushing her fingertips over the court petition again. She had one goal. Get her children back, and she’d taken steps the day before to start that ball rolling. It had been six months of AA of trying to heal, of mending broken relationships, and the first amends she’d made were to them. Elijah and Ezra. Her stoic, sweet, honest, and beloved twin boys whom she loved beyond reason. But she’d failed them. She took a hard breath. She couldn’t go back and fix the past. The only thing she could do was fight to reclaim her future with them.
She felt like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a creature forged in fire, stronger for the burn, but not untouched. Some feathers still hadn’t caught. The heaviest, most flame-resistant of all was the loss of her children. That one never left her.
Work gave her purpose. A goal to reach. A place where people could belong, expand, build. Her firm gave the receptionist a way to feed her family. But for Quinn, it was something more, an extension of wonder. Like a child, she had always dreamed in structures, knowing even a single line could shape a world. When her friends played with paper dolls, Quinn was designing their houses.
She couldn’t be proud of her company without thinking about what it had taken to get here. Without her husband and children, she’d had so much time to fill, not like when she’d been married, and Brian had not exactly disapproved. In fact, he would smile when she spoke about her dreams for her firm, but there was always a quiet skepticism in his eyes, like he was waiting for her to grow out of them. He told her he admired her ambition, but his actions never quite matched his words. He called her dream, a little company. You’re incredible, but you don’t have to prove anything. You’ve got me.
She heaved a breath, and in that hushed space, resentment crawled in. Not anymore, Brian. You left me alone. Who am I now?
Then there was Dagger. The thoughts came to her before she could shut them down. He had never looked at her with doubt. Never told her to slow down. Never suggested she was reaching too high. You built this from nothing. No one gets to tell you it’s not enough. She clenched her hands around her chair arms, pushing back that thought. They were barely on speaking terms now…all because of you.
While the days were tolerable, there were the nights, those silent, aching hours when
The phone beeped once more. Diane’s voice returned. “Piper’s on the line, says she’s got a quick update.”
“Put her through,” Quinn said, forcing a calm she didn’t entirely feel. She picked up the phone. “Piper. How’s your day going?”
“It’s nuts,” Piper said with a tired laugh. “I just wanted to thank you for being such a dream to work with. I owe you a drink.” Quinn stiffened at those words, but she released a breath. “I’m heading out to Caracas tomorrow to get everything situated. I have a lead on a great resident project director. It was a job just getting that nailed down. When will you be arriving again? I have it in my notes, but they’re buried.” There was an apologetic laugh.
This trip was going to be hard. Caracas still echoed with loss, but she wasn’t going there to mourn. She was here to build something out of the ruins of the life she’d lost, and the woman she used to be.
I love how determined you are, baby, but don’t burn yourself out.
She had burned herself out, day after day, to get where she was, and if he was still alive, she wouldn’t have this contract. Brian was a good man, respected, trusted. He was steady, intelligent and devoted to his job. She had loved him, truly. But love and support weren’t always the same thing. He had been trying to protect her from disappointment, from failure. But Dagger had dared her to rise above it. When she’d been working for a small three-man firm, she’d gone for a big contract and Brian had thought she should scale back, but Dagger had said, That’s not who you are.
“Quinn?”
Shocked to feel tears running down her cheeks, she quickly brushed them away.
“Sorry. I’m leaving on Friday, and I understand how you’re frazzled, but the project is in good hands.” Quinn pressed her lips together, ignoring the knot in her stomach. “I’m prepared, Piper. I’ve got a security contractor lined up for the trip. David Langford from Aegis Force Solutions.”
“Oh, I’m glad you took my advice,” Piper said, sounding relieved. “We’re definitely recommending additional security. Things are tense there, but I’m sure you already know that. If you need anything at all, give me a heads-up. I’m happy to coordinate from our end.”
Quinn ended the call and set the phone down with precision. She was ready, at least, she would be. There was no room for emotion, no time for ghosts.
She clicked the intercom again. “Diane, can you get David Langford on the line, please?”
A moment later, David’s deep voice filled her office. “Quinn, I was about to call you myself. My team’s all set for Friday. I’ll have everything from transport to lodging locked down. As we discussed, I’m on the same flight out, so I can escort you to the airport if that helps.”
“That’d be perfect,” Quinn said, tapping a pen on her desk. “I appreciate the thoroughness, David. Aegis is covering me and my people, right?”
“All of you,” he confirmed. “Nobody travels alone. I’ll see you Friday morning, bright and early.”
When the call ended, Quinn released a silent breath. David’s involvement should have made her feel in control. Should have reassured her that she had the right people in place, that her team could do their jobs without interference. Then why did it feel like she was still bracing for impact? It was nerves. She respected his expertise, trusted his judgment, and he was an ally sanctioned by the State Department. Nothing to worry about.
“See you then.” A flare of sunlight lit her desk, casting a flicker of gold across the court petition. For a moment, it looked like something new was being born. But Quinn wasn’t a myth. She had enemies. One of them was standing on the other side of this fight.
There it was again. That nagging in the back of her mind, and it was getting annoying. She pushed it away with both hands, stubbornly refusing to entertain those thoughts. It’s holding you back from completing the program and from getting that sobriety chip, but the thought of even approaching him, uttering those words, made her freeze inside. Releasing her anger? No, that was too scary. Besides, he’d betrayed her. He’d taken her children.
To save them…from your negligence. Not wanting to accept that thought, she filled with flame.
Yet, the thing that mattered most still wasn’t hers.
But that wasn’t the only reason she felt strong today. She had earned this moment. Not just because of her firm, not just because of the contract she’d landed against bigger, better-established firms.
She had fought through the wreckage of her past, one brutal step at a time.
Six months. The chip would be hers soon. A solid, tangible mark of her fight, a mile marker in her battle with the bottle. It was more than a symbol. It was proof. Proof that she wasn’t that woman anymore. The one who had fallen so far that her children had been taken from her. She also wasn’t Brian’s wife anymore, even if she carried his memory in her heart.
The worst part? He’d been right. That truth scorched her more than any insult ever could. She wanted to hate him, but beneath the burn, bitter and sharp, was a grudging respect. Dagger had protected her boys. Even if it was from her.
She owed him that apology, but something inside her resisted. She didn’t dare examine that something. Because if she did, it would change everything.
She could detect the barest of sound. A deep, rich fluid voice, not demanding, but commanding, and her whole attention shifted to her doorway. Even before Quinn caught a glimpse of him, she sensed the shift in the air. The space around her, usually so heavy with her own tension and restless energy, suddenly felt charged with a subtle coolness. It wasn’t a physical chill, more like a hushed promise that something formidable had entered her orbit. In the quiet thrumming beneath her ribs, was presence unlike any other, calm but potent, a steadiness that seemed to siphon the wild heat from the room. Even before Dagger came fully into view, Quinn knew he was there, moving closer. Every nerve alive with danger, and for a split second, she wavered, as if testing the contours of this unfamiliar, unwavering current. The door to her office opened.
She didn’t flinch, even as he seemed to suck all the air from her lungs. Before she could control herself, Quinn felt as though her rage and passion swirled inside her like a vortex. She could sense the heat of her emotions scorching the air, daring him to come too close. Keeping him at bay felt safer. He couldn’t see the hurt behind her fury if he never breached the fiery perimeter she’d built.
Dagger stood in the doorway, tall and composed, as if he owned the ground he walked on. She’d never gotten used to how silent he could be. One moment, the space was hers. The next, he’d arrived, bringing a sense of steady energy that felt like cool water skimming over burning sand.
Quinn took in the sight of him and had to swallow an unexpected surge of apprehension. His shaggy hair was honey and bark, threaded with subtle copper highlights that caught the light whenever he moved. Pale green eyes the color of sea glass assessed her calmly, the stark color nearly shocking against his tanned skin. His brows were drawn slightly, and for a second, it reminded her of Brian when he was trying to soothe her, manage her emotions with steady hands and soft words. But Dagger’s gaze wasn’t the same. He wasn’t managing anything. He was looking at like he saw her.
Dagger’s thick lashes and slight hook to his nose gave him a rugged appeal. A neatly trimmed beard and mustache framed an enticingly full bottom lip. Beneath his clothes, Quinn knew there was a body honed by real-world training, a Navy SEAL who moved with confidence and lethal ease. His stance was all conqueror, the hot blood of the conquistador moved through his veins, as though it lent him an innate, quiet intensity.
At first, his calm demeanor struck her as an indifferent judgment on everything she was feeling. Had he already dismissed her as too volatile, too wild, too broken? The possibility ignited her anger. Glaring accusations, warnings at him, anything to keep him at arm’s length. If he was here to test her, she’d meet him with raw heat.
