The most dangerous threats of all…

Partway through her third deployment to Bagram, Army nurse Lt. Erin Kelly is burned out and headed for a well-deserved leave back home in Montana. But when a mysterious stranger shows up and unintentionally drags her into harm’s way with him, she suddenly finds herself an unwitting target of the U.S.’s number one high value target: the notorious American-born terrorist known as Rahim. Now stuck in a CIA safe house with the sexy operative, it’s impossible to ignore the explosive attraction between them…or to forget that death is stalking them both.

Are the ones you don’t see coming.

CIA operative Wade Sandberg is a man caught between worlds. He’s spent the past three years living deep undercover amongst the enemy, infiltrating the network of the U.S.’s most wanted terrorist—until the kidnapping of a high-ranking American official forced him to blow his cover. Officially sidelined from the investigation to bring down Rahim, Wade knows he’ll never be able to work in the region again. When he’s sent back stateside with Erin, keeping his hands off her proves to be even harder than making the transition back into western civilization. And when Rahim takes his revenge by unleashing a devastating attack on U.S. soil, Wade will do everything in his power to protect the woman he loves and destroy the man who’d once trusted him with his life.

Another powerful book that brings home the facts of war and terrorism.

If you’ve been reading these books you’ll remember Erin from all the hospital visits the others have made. She’s an Army nurse, and she can fight as well as heal, with the healing being more of a priority for her. In this book she’s ready to head home for some R&R looking forward to seeing family and riding horses.

Wade was instrumental in the rescue of the Secretary of Defense, Maya and Jackson from the vicious hands of the terrorist Rahim. Unfortunately Rahim isn’t taking this betrayal lightly and has plans for Wade and everyone he’s been in contact with.

After a run in with Erin when he goes to see Jackson, Wade prepares for his trip stateside. He’s not sure how he feels when he arrives at the transport to find Erin already there. Apparently they would be traveling stateside together. At least that was how it initially appears.

Then things go FUBAR at the last checkpoint on their way to the airport.

This is a favorite scene.

While security made up of Afghan police and military inspected the forward vehicles, a guard came over to collect their travel documents. Wade watched the man’s face carefully as he checked the photo in his passport and glanced up to study him. When he handed it back and moved on to Erin’s without further investigation, Wade allowed himself to relax a little. The guard finished his check and waved them forward. Once they passed through the gate without incident, Wade eased back against the seat and placed his hands on his thighs, away from the grips of the concealed pistols. He watched in the passenger side mirror just to assure himself there was nothing funny happening behind them and no one following them.

“Something wrong?” Erin asked him.

“No.” He didn’t want to worry her, but he couldn’t let his guard down until that plane lifted off the tarmac in Kabul. Rahim had an extensive network and there was no telling who might be a threat out here.

She studied him for a moment longer, as if she wasn’t sold on the denial, then went back to staring out her window. Wade stole a glance at her profile. The curve of her cheek looked so soft and smooth, and that dusting of freckles across her nose was downright adorable on her. When she turned her head and caught him staring, he felt himself flush, but she didn’t seem annoyed or offended. Rather, she let her gaze travel over his face for a moment before meeting his eyes, and if he wasn’t mistaken she seemed to like what she saw.

“Can I ask you something?”

He might be rusty when it came to making conversation, let alone with a woman, but in his experience when a female phrased a question like that, it was gonna be really damn personal. Since he was going to be trapped beside her for the next long while, there was no escape except to be rude and shut her down, which he didn’t have the heart to do. Digging deep for the forgotten social niceties his mother had drummed into him as a kid, he answered. “Sure.”

“I assume you’re not current military, so what are you? A contractor?”

Close enough. “Yeah.”

Those intelligent eyes kept cataloguing his features and he knew she was studying him from the perspective of both a soldier and a medical professional. He was pretty sure she’d already figured out far more about him than she was letting on.

“Bet it’s been a while since you ate American-style food, huh?”

Yep, definitely putting it all together in that pretty little head. He nodded in acknowledgement and braced himself for more questions, the inevitable lies he’d have to feed her to protect his identity, but she surprised him by letting it go to stare out her window once more.

They rode in silence for the next forty minutes until the convoy began to slow when they reached the next checkpoint, the last one before they hit Kabul. Wade watched as the military guards approached the vehicles. This time a few of the soldiers climbed into the back of the supply trucks ahead to inspect the cargo. He could see two other guards talking to the driver and passengers of the lead Humvee. The taller of the two guards sent to inspect the first vehicle talked to the occupants for what seemed a lot longer than necessary, and by the time he and his partner turned and headed toward their vehicle, Wade’s instincts were already humming.

“Passports,” the guy said to Thompson in heavily accented English as he scanned the interior. His gaze fell on Wade and he paused for just a fraction of a second before taking their ID from Thompson. Wade kept his attention riveted on the man as he perused the documents and glanced up at Erin before swinging his eyes back to Wade. “Wait here,” he told Thompson, and motioned for his partner to come over. They stood far enough back from the truck that Wade couldn’t hear what they were saying, but it was clear from the surprise on the second man’s face that whatever the first one said meant bad news. Ahead of them, the first Humvee and both supply trucks started through the checkpoint.

“Taking their sweet fucking time clearing us, aren’t they?” Thompson muttered in annoyance. Being isolated from the rest of the convoy was definitely cause for concern.

The first guard said something into his radio that Wade didn’t catch, then turned and headed for the guardhouse. When the second guard stared at them and held up a hand to make sure they stayed where they were, the alarm in Wade’s head started blaring. Something was definitely wrong.

Move.

He cursed in Pashto and jerked forward to grab Thompson’s shoulder. “Get us outta here.” Erin stiffened and shot him a disbelieving look but Wade didn’t take his eyes off the second guard.

Thompson cranked his head around to gape at Wade, opening his mouth to say something, but Wade cut him off. “Right fucking now,” he snarled, just as more guards exited the little building building and started toward them, weapons at the ready. Erin sucked in a breath and froze in her seat. Wade didn’t look at her. “Holy shit,” Thompson blurted as he realized what was happening, then started the truck and gunned it in reverse. His whole body tense, Wade stared through the windshield as the guards burst into a flurry of activity. Swinging them around in a hard J-turn, Thompson stomped on the accelerator and tore back the way they’d come, already on the radio to the lead vehicle, now trapped on the opposite side of the checkpoint. “They’re coming after us—getting us outta here.”

“Oh, shit,” he heard Erin breathe as she ducked down and put a hand on the weapon strapped to her thigh.

Looking back through the passenger window, Wade saw two black pickups tearing after them, a gunner in the back of each manning the mounted rifles there. He whipped around to check their six o’clock. Beyond the barricade, the soldiers in the rest of the convoy were all being hauled out at gunpoint and ordered onto their stomachs on the ground. Over the radio Wade could hear the shouts and confusion going on, and the message was clear: they were on their own.

Wade faced front and leaned forward a little to peer out the windshield as they tore down the two-lane highway. “Get us off this road,” he snapped at the driver.

“And go where?” Thompson demanded, jaw tight, fingers clenched around the wheel.

“Where they can’t follow. More of ‘em will be coming at us from the northern checkpoint now too.”

Swearing, Thompson glanced once in the rearview, saw the trucks coming at them, and veered off the main road. The big vehicle bounced and bucked as it tore across the dry, open plain. Over the radio, the response from Bagram came back. Stand by. “Got any ideas?” Thompson demanded.

The only two options were left or right. “Head for those hills.” Wade pointed left, to the northwest.

“What about mines?” Erin said in a tight voice, her body tense. She had her weapon in her right hand, her left one gripping the door handle so hard her knuckles were white.

Wade took in her pinched expression, how pale she was. A foreign feeling of guilt settled in his chest. He’d done some fucked-up things in his time undercover, but knowing he’d put her in this potentially lethal situation because Rahim was targeting him made him feel badly. “Shouldn’t be a problem here.” Unless they ran over an IED buried in the ground.

“So, toward the hills. And then what?” Thompson jerked the truck to the side to avoid a clump of boulders.

“We see what happens.”

Erin cranked around in her seat, mouth thinned as she stared out the rear window. “I think they’re gaining on us.”

Wade swung around to look. Yeah, and at this speed, in another few minutes those gunners would have them within range. He turned back to search in the distance ahead of them, scanning the terrain for a better, faster route. There wasn’t one.
Cross, Kaylea. Danger Close (Bagram Special Ops Series Book 4) (pp. 25-30). Kaylea Cross. Kindle Edition.

When they finally make it back to Bagram, Erin learns the severity of the situation she finds herself in and who Wade actually works for.

In spite of everything Erin finds herself falling for Wade, and then there’s the close confines of the safe house they eventually get to.

Nothing is going to fall into place easily, not Rahim, not the traitors among them, not even the beginning relationship.

There’s a lot of action, hold your breath scenes, some laughter, lots of tears and a romance that survives it all.

I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

5 Contented Purrs for Kaylea!

Kaylea Cross

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards and has been nominated for both the Daphne du Maurier and the National Readers’ Choice Awards. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and family.

Security Forces Lieutenant Maya Lopez is right at home in a war zone: she’s been fighting all her life. A hard-won commission in the air force has brought her to Afghanistan, and if she plays her cards right, she could end up with an FBI job. It won’t be easy, but that just makes her more determined.

Jackson Thatcher is a protector in all senses of the word. A pararescue jumper with Southern-boy charm, he easily captures Maya’s interest, but her trust is another story. He’s sexy, strong and caring, but she makes it clear she’s no damsel in distress. She’s never relied on any man, and she’s not about to start now.

When Maya and Jackson become pawns in a radical warlord’s deadly game, they find themselves on the run and must depend on each other if they want to make it out alive.

This book is powerful as are the others in this series. These woman are warriors in their own right.

Jackson has been on Maya’s mind every since he cornered her when she was trying to find Ace in ‘Tactical Strike’. In this book we’ll get to know these two and the jobs they do at Bagram.

The book opens with Maya making an arrest, and then going off duty. As she heads to the showers she hears something that shows a whole other side of Jackson.

This is a favorite scene.

Watching him on stage now, she still didn’t know how to read him. It was hard to reconcile the man in front of her with what she knew about his job. Being a Pararescue Jumper was one of the toughest jobs in the military. The training was so ridiculously hard that very few candidates ever graduated from the Pipeline in the first place. At just over three hundred active duty members, their tiny number said it all.

God, the man could sing. Since he hadn’t noticed her, she stayed, eyeing his T-shirt-clad broad shoulders and muscled back as he played. Until that day in the hospital, she hadn’t been able to envision him doing any of the dangerous things PJs did. She could now. That confrontation had been one hell of a wake-up call.

Maya was startled to realize she was smiling. His voice was incredible. Smooth and deep, with no hint of his usual Texas drawl. She’d never have guessed he had a talent like this. The man always surprised her, and it was captivating as hell.

He kept his gaze on the piano rather than the audience, hands gliding across the surface of the keys, that hypnotic voice striking a chord deep inside her. The timbre of his voice was intimate, warming her from the inside out. When the song faded away to the mad applause and screams from the female members of the audience, he looked over his shoulder at someone off stage.

Facing away from the mike, his voice barely carried enough for her to catch the words, “Get enough for sound check?”

His new fans wouldn’t have it. “Encore, encore!” they chanted, even some of the men, clapping and whistling in unison until it seemed like everyone but Maya joined in.

Jackson faced the audience and offered a boyish grin, a little shy, as if he wasn’t used to the attention. Hot.

“One more?”

“More, more!” they chanted.

“All right, one more,” he said in that gorgeous Texas drawl that made her think of long, hot summer nights spent relaxing on screen porches with pitchers of sweet tea and ceiling fans revolving overhead.

But mostly it made her think of long, lazy sex. The kind that would last all night and leave them both sweaty and too sated to move.

She shoved the thought from her head to halt the wave of arousal flooding her veins and refocused on him at the piano. A slight breeze ruffled his short, nearly black hair.

He launched into another ballad, and this time Maya recognized “Danny Boy.” The sad, poignant lyrics drifted into the air, his clear, mellow voice raising goose bumps all over her skin. He had everyone there riveted, including her.

As though he sensed the weight of her stare, partway through the chorus he glanced up from the keyboard. When his bottomless brown eyes locked on hers, he faltered for the barest of moments, a single heartbeat. He recovered fast, and continued gazing right at her as he sang. It felt personal, as though he was singing to her alone. Then he smiled a little. A sexy, secret smile aimed right at her, and her heart fluttered. In that instant, she knew they were both thinking about him pinning her to that wall. About what might have happened if they’d had more privacy and he’d acted on the sexual energy arcing between them.

Damn.

Her stomach did a tiny somersault. Held by the quiet intensity burning in that hot gaze, she was trapped. Couldn’t look away.

A powerful current of sensual heat swept throughout her body, making her tingle all over. The crowd dissolved away as her vision tunneled on him. He was singing to her as his long, strong fingers caressed the keys. Watching those lean, strong hands move, she wanted to feel them drifting over her bare skin just as smoothly, for her body to be the center of that focus. He was both protective healer and lethal warrior. Which would he be in bed? Gentle as his hands were on those keys? Or fierce and demanding, giving over to the unquenched fire she’d seen burning in his eyes that day?

The tantalizing prospect started a curious melting sensation low in her belly.

Jerking herself from her wayward thoughts, she raised one eyebrow at him and gave an impressed nod. His grin widened a fraction before he finally looked away. A strange sense of disappointment hit her and she felt colder all of a sudden, as if the temperature had just dropped.

When the song finished, she was sad to see his performance end. This time he stood and waved at the crowd, that charming smile in place as he shook his head to politely decline their demand for more. Someone else came on stage with an acoustic guitar and set up to play. Jackson hopped down from the stage with an easy, athletic grace she appreciated, and headed right for her. She stood her ground, surprised that her heart was pounding. He made his way through the crowd, pausing only to smile and say a word or two to the people who spoke to him. Thanking them for their enthusiastic compliments, no doubt. Someone had sure taught him nice manners.

Maya waited with her arms folded across her chest and her feet braced apart, a half smile on her face as he approached. Part of her was surprised that he’d seek her out publicly after their last meeting, but it didn’t bother her. She didn’t give a shit what people thought or said about her. She’d learned a long time ago not to let that sort of petty crap bother her. Besides, she had a solid rep here with the Security Forces. Her superiors liked her work ethic and dedication. No one would dare accuse her of fraternization with an enlisted if she talked with Jackson here, and she was too smart to get caught if she decided to take things further with him after this.

When he was close enough to hear her, she shook her head slightly in admonishment. “I didn’t know you could sing or play piano.”

He gave a modest shrug, stopping a step away from her. “You know what they say about us PJs. Jack of all trades, master of none.”

She liked his self-deprecating style. Most men she knew went the other way, straight into arrogant asshole territory. He was a welcome change from the chest-beating, alpha male machismo she was so used to dealing with. “Are you part of the concert tomorrow?”

Up close he was even more gorgeous and smelled delicious—a combination of fabric softener and wintergreen. His tan skin held a bronze undertone, maybe from some Mediterranean ancestor. The cut of his high cheekbones hinted at possible Native American ancestry too.

He rubbed a hand over his strong jaw, covered with a few days’ worth of nearly black stubble. It made him look rugged and intensely masculine. Sexy beyond words. “Naw, I’m just helpin’ out to make sure the sound system is working right.”

“Maybe you should reconsider. Looks like you’ve already got quite an enthusiastic fan base.” And groupie base if he wanted one, she thought with a surprising bolt of jealousy.

He ignored the comment, that keen, dark gaze zeroing in on her right cheek. “So, what’s with the shiner?”

She raised her battered right hand to touch the sore spot, now stinging under a new rush of blood that had her whole face turning hot. She never blushed. What was wrong with her? “It’s nothing.”

“Whoa.” Frowning, he caught her hand in a firm but gentle grip before she could pull away. Maya’s pulse leaped, warmth radiating up her arm from the innocent contact. He’d never touched her before, had never attempted it. Not even when he’d had her against that wall and there’d been no one around to see them, and even though he must have known she’d wanted him to.

Maya glanced down to where he cradled her hand in his larger ones. They were broad, long-fingered, the nails clean and short. Strong but gentle hands, capable of saving a life or taking it, depending on the situation. For some reason she found that extreme contrast sexy as hell. Her heart thumped hard against her ribs while she did her best to appear unaffected by his touch. She wasn’t sure how to read the situation.

Was this his idea of an olive branch? An unspoken truce?

“You’ve been fighting.” He tsked.

“Comes with the territory.” His touch felt way too good. She should pull away. God knew she’d thought about him far too often in the past few weeks, wondering what might have happened if he’d made a move on her instead of walking away. She would have wrapped around him and kissed the breath right out of him, buried her fingers in that thick, dark hair. He kept it cut to regulation length, even though he could get away with relaxed grooming standards because of his position as a battlefield airman. It said a lot about his personality.

Raising his head, Jackson gave her a speculative look, a hint of amusement gleaming in his eyes. He lifted one dark eyebrow. “Just what’ve you been doing to yourself, Lieutenant?”

He was only holding her hand and it was still enough to play hell on her nervous system. “Nothing.” Tingles raced from her fingertips to her shoulder. What would happen if she kissed him? Leaned up and pressed her lips to that full, tempting mouth inches above her own? She mentally shook herself. “Just a few angry insurgents and a resistant drunk. But hey, you should see the other guy.”

One side of his mouth curved upward at her attempt at humor. “Yeah, I bet you pack quite a punch.”

The admiration in his voice warmed her inside. She’d fought all her life to earn respect from others, especially men. From what she’d seen, Jackson was all about giving women respect. She had no experience with that sort of man.
Cross, Kaylea. Lethal Pursuit (Bagram Special Ops Series). Carina Press. Kindle Locations (154-228). Kindle Edition.

Maya makes a few decisions here about where she wants things to go with Jackson, hopefully he’d be on board.

A very complicated relationship begins as Maya gives everything but refuses to release control.

Then on a humanitarian mission, everything goes FUBAR.

Very intense, emotional, scary, with vivid interrogation scenes, plus romance including the explosive heat that these two emanate when they are close to each other.

5 Contented Purrs for Kaylea!

Kaylea Cross

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards and has been nominated for both the Daphne du Maurier and the National Readers’ Choice Awards. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and family.