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On the run and under fire
Providing medical relief in a war-torn region helps Alex Peters forget his past and focus on the job—delivering babies. Less easy to overlook is his blonde comrade-at-arms, who knows nothing of the trouble he’s running from. Katie McCloud makes the assignment bearable, although her perky innocence proves to be an arousing distraction. Then, as combat explodes around them, their only option is flight.
A kindergarten teacher seeking adventure, Katie hoped this humanitarian mission—and the mysterious, sexy doctor sharing it—would push her out of her comfort zone. With Alex, she starts taking tantalizing risks and becoming the survivor she knew she could be.
But back on U.S. soil, Alex and Katie face a new threat, and this time they’re the target. Forced into close confines, neither can believe the other isn’t the intended mark. With only each other to depend on—and suspect—Alex and Katie can’t avoid the simmering attraction between them. But to stay alive, they’ll have to trust more deeply than ever before….
RT Book Reviews raves about Cindy Dees
Night Rescue
“Dees’ exciting, action-packed story speeds along on all cylinders, with a smoking-hot pair at the center of it all. Your fingers will get exercise as they rapidly turn the pages of this compulsively readable tale.”
Flash of Death
“Dees brings readers into an action-packed world, with superhuman operatives. Add to that a sympathetic heroine and a sizzling romance, and this is a book you can’t put down.”
Deadly Sight
“Dees crafts the perfect blend of romance and suspense with her latest story featuring members of the special ops group Code X. A solid, suspenseful plot, tormented, vulnerable characters and beautiful, compelling writing will keep you turning the pages.”
The 9-Month Bodyguard
“There’s action and hot attraction galore in this addition to the Love in 60 Seconds series. Dees does a terrific job of advancing the overall series while lending her unique talent to her vibrant individual contribution.”
Close Pursuit
Cindy Dees
This book brings my writing journey to date full circle to where it began with a love story based on a real person’s tragedy. It seems fitting, then, that I dedicate this book to those who have been with me since the beginning.
To my family, who’ve put up with this crazy writer’s life and kept me laughing.
To my literary agent, Pattie Steele-Perkins, for keeping me sane and talking me down off bridges.
And to my BWFF—Best Writing Friend Forever—Jade Lee, for sharing everything else.
I couldn’t have done it without you guys.
Contents
CHAPTER ONE
KATIE MCCLOUD STUDIED the barren valley at her feet and shook her head. Mars. It looks like freaking Mars. Who’d have guessed anywhere on Earth looked like this? Of course, she’d had to go to the foothills of the Himalayas at the intersection of Nowhere and Uninhabitable to find it.
She ducked inside the makeshift shelter tucked between two giant boulders and looked around. It would be a tight squeeze for two people and their gear. But this trip wasn’t about having all the comforts of home. She really was trying hard to think of it as a grand adventure, but her personal pep talk wasn’t sinking in at the moment. Her brother had promised it would be like primitive camping. Maybe if she was primitive camping in hell.
“Come help me,” her partner-in-crime, Alex Peters, called low from outside. She slipped out just as a cloud of dust rained down on the opening. Coughing, she batted the local gray grit out of her hair and glared at him on the hillside above her. “What are you doing?”
“Camouflaging our tent.”
“You didn’t have to camouflage me.”
A rare smile crossed his face. “You do want us to remain hidden, right?”
“Well, yeah,” she groused. “If they find us, we’ll be killed.”
Which was pretty crazy if she stopped to think about it. And which was why Katie was trying hard not to stop and think about it. Her brothers did this kind of stuff all the time, and everything always turned out fine. How tough could it be? She’d spent most of her adult life insisting to all of them that she could do the same sorts of wild things they did. And getting laughed at for saying it or, worse, patted on the head like some kind of cute puppy. This was her chance to prove she was the real deal once and for all.
Her confidence temporarily bolstered, she joined Alex on the steep slope above their little hideaway. She stumbled on rolling gravel, and his hand shot out to grab her elbow and steady her. As always, her pulse leaped at the contact. Surely he knew how totally hot he was. If he did, he didn’t give any hint of it as he let go of her arm and turned his attention back to hiding their tent. She gathered up an armful of scrawny, dead weeds and scattered them across the canvas surface.
“Too