By
USA Today Bestselling Author
Dale Mayer

Sophia met Wade a few years back, and the last she heard from him was he’d be back to take her out to dinner—and never saw him again. Having spent several years in the meantime working with Merk and his team in Texas, when Terk called for her help, Sophia jumped at the opportunity to go. Even if Wade didn’t get it, she knew a connection worth trying for when she felt it.

Wade is weak, helpless, his abilities damaged, after the attack on Terk’s team. Seeing Sophia, the woman he fell in love with at first sight, is a sock to his gut. His defenses are already down, and he knows it will be impossible to keep her at arm’s length a second time.

Wade must bring her closer, protect her, especially after their team was shattered from the initial attack, and subsequent attacks haven’t eased—not with the world slowly realizing that not just Terk survived the attack but so did a few of his team …

At the end of the last book, Damon and Terk got Wade out of a dangerous situation. In the process Wade’s brother, who was on the wrong side was killed. Now Wade is at their new headquarters, still weak and recovering.

Since they needed more help especially on the computer end, Terk invites Sophia from Levi’s team to join them. Merk brings her in, and Wade is very surprised to see her. They have a bit of a history stemming from a conference they both attended about a year ago. They were supposed to meet for dinner, but Wade was called for a mission and never contacted her again.

There’s a computer-based attack, and Sophia gets a glimpse at just what this team can do. Tasha explains that the reason they had to stop is that Wade was in there chasing and blocking the intruder.

There’s a definite connection between Sophia and Wade and Sophia is determined to see where it can go. To that end when they collect her bags, she puts them in Wade’s room while he’s sleeping.

This is a favorite scene.

When he opened his eyes the next time, he wasn’t alone. Sitting in his room, whether he wanted her there or not, was Sophia.

She walked closer and sat down on his bed and picked up his hand. She whispered, “How are you?”

“Ask me later.”

“I got it. Tasha said you were in the computer?”

He opened his eyes and then nodded. “Yeah, it was me.”

“That was freaking amazing, but how?” she asked. “And since you did whatever you did, nobody has been back.”

“Which is why I did it,” he explained, “but it tired me out.” He didn’t explain what he did, why, or even how, and he could only hope that she would let it slide. Some things were just too complicated to explain. And the stuff his team did? Well, it needed to be parsed out in bits, or it could overload a person.

She patted his hand gently, and he relaxed, shifting on the bed. “You’re still in a lot of pain?”

“Not so much. I was in a coma for a few days. Since I came out of it,” he added, “everything has just been really taxing. Not the same. Senses, nerves on overload, that type of thing.”

She hesitated before speaking. “I don’t know anything about this stuff, but did they do something to you while you were in that coma?”

His eyes flew open, and he stared at her. “Like what?”

She winced. “I really don’t know because I have no clue what we’re talking about here,” she admitted. “It just seems plausible to me that, while you were in such a vulnerable state, they might have done something.”

“No … and the reason I can say that with any degree of certainty is because I know that Terk kept up security around us the whole time.”

She stared at him and blinked. “Like the whole time? Guards and everything?”

“Well, not quite the security that you would imagine”— Wade grinned—“ but someone was watching over me. Terk is pretty amazing.”

“I know. I’ve heard … things from your team,” she shared, “but nobody ever really explains anything.”

“That’s because you’re on a need-to-know basis. Terk doesn’t involve himself very much with each of these scenarios, unless there’s actually a problem, in which case he jumps in and warns the appropriate people. The team doesn’t discuss our particular skills much, so a very limited number of personnel has access to substantial information.”

“I can sorta understand that. The compartmentalization cuts down on who can find out what— not among us. In case we’re caught. Okay. That rings true and makes sense now,” she agreed.

“When I was at Levi’s place, one time Terk said something to Ice that worried her. She didn’t go out that day, but I don’t really know what was behind it all.”

“You don’t argue with Terk when he shares insights like that. He’s just way too right too damn often.”

“And that’s kind of scary too,” Sophia murmured.

“Very, but when you have somebody who can give you an inside scoop, you take it, and you make it work for you.”

“Got it.” Sophia nodded. “Do you want something to eat or drink?”

“As much as I want to say no, I probably should,” he admitted.

“Well, feel like getting up? Or I can bring you something to eat. Any preferences for what you want me to get for you?”

He rolled his eyes at that. “I’m not an invalid.”

“No, but you’re exhausted, and, if there’s anything I can do to help, I’m more than happy to.”

And she had said it in such an honest way that he nodded. “Sorry, not trying to be a prick here,” he apologized, “I’m just tired.”

“And I understand that part.” She sighed. “I might not understand a whole lot about this, but I’m getting there. What I do see is an exhausted man whose reserves have been spent doing something that I couldn’t help with, even if I wanted to. So, if getting you some food is in any way a help,” she explained, “I’m happy to do it.”

“Good luck with that. You’ll probably have to fight Tasha for food.”

Sophia chuckled. “Oh my God, does she still eat like a horse?”

“Two horses,” he replied instantly. “Honestly I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“She’s beautiful inside and out,” Sophia noted, with a smile. “We’ve been friends for a long time, and that is a friendship I value.”

“It’s a good thing,” he noted, “because, when it comes to things like that, around here, our relationships are about all any of us have.”

She nodded. “I really do understand that.”

“Good,” he agreed, “because it’ll be tested. Everything you have ever believed will be tested. Then, when you finally think you’ve got it, it’ll all get thrown up in the air, come back down as something completely different, which you may no longer recognize.”

She stared at him, considering his words. “You know something? Life was getting boring before anyway. I’ll go get you some food, and I’ll come back as soon as I can.” She stood and walked out.

Wade remained in bed for a moment, only to look over his room and see her bags. She really had brought them over, apparently waiting for him to say yes or no. He frowned at that, wondering if they could get past everything that had gone on before. Was there any reason not to go in that direction?

She was already here; she was already in danger, and, if he were honest, he didn’t want her to be anywhere but here. With that, he got up and made his way to the bathroom. When he returned, he tossed her bag on the spare bed and laid back down again.

When she walked in a little bit later, she smiled at him. “Good news! Tasha didn’t eat all the food, so I guess it’s your lucky day after all.”
Dale Mayer. Wade’s War (Kindle Locations 530-577). Valley Publishing Ltd.

One of the problems they are having is getting someone alive to question. That appears to be getting worse as they actually talk to kids hired to harass Sophia when she was bringing back groceries.

Implants and drones are the weapons being used against the team, they have to find the source and shut it all down.

Lots of action, suspense and I really love the way the relationship between Sophia and Wade progresses.

5 Contented Purrs for Dale!

Dale Mayer

Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).

She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!

To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.