Beyond Valour

To everyone else, he looked like just another marine in the company.

But he wasn’t. He was a true hero. And her hero. Love smothered her other ragged emotions for a moment. Infused and overwhelmed, Megan stood there feeling her heart open wide to this man with broad shoulders who walked with confidence born from experience. His face was ruggedly handsome. She recalled the unexpected kiss they’d shared earlier. Lips tingling in memory of that moment that had changed her life, Megan looked away. No one could know how she felt toward Luke. He couldn’t know she was falling in love with him. Not now. She had a job to do.

Dear Reader,

I’m thrilled to announce that Beyond Valour opens a new series encompassing many military romances to come. This story features continuing characters from BLACK JAGUAR SQUADRON and earlier romances. Stay tuned for more details on this news!

In Beyond Valour, you’ll meet US Navy hospital corpsman 2 Megan Trayhern, a combat medic and the daughter of Noah and Kit Trayhern. Those who love the MORGAN’S MERCENARIES series will recognize Noah as the younger brother of Morgan. As Megan’s story opens, she’s been deployed to Afghanistan, to a marine corps company near the Pakistan border, a real hot spot. All Megan wants to do is prove women can handle the stress of combat. Her commanding officer orders Luke Collier, also a combat medic, to keep her out of combat situations. Both Megan and Luke are unprepared for the powerful attraction they have for one another. I hope you enjoy their story!

You can always get ahold of me at: www.lindsaymckenna.com.

For more updates on this series and the books to come, drop over and check it out. I love to hear from my readers!

Lindsay McKenna

LINDSAY McKENNA served her country in the US Navy. She was an “air dale,” aerographer’s mate third class, also known as a weather forecaster. And it is from this background that she helped create the military romance subgenre. She writes what she knows. As a romantic suspense author, she likes to combine action with romance. Creator of Morgan’s Mercenaries, a long-running family saga, she stays true to her military roots. She does a lot of hands-on research: she has flown in a P3B sub-hunter, flown a day and night mission in a B-52 bomber, and in a “chase” plane on a test flight at Edwards Air Force Base, and she has interviewed military people up and down the chain of command. She has worked with officials in the Pentagon and was the first romance writer to sign her books in the Pentagon bookstore. Since she was in the navy, she felt it was only right to tell stories about the the US Navy SEALs. Visit her online at www.lindsaymckenna.com.

Dedicated to all the women who have been or are in combat presently, whether the military wants to acknowledge your courage and service or not. To all the women who have been killed in combat, to their families and loved ones, prayers and grateful thanks to all of you for your ultimate sacrifice. Gender should never determine who volunteers out of patriotic duty to defend our country. Only physical strength should be the final determination of whether a woman is fit for combat, duty or not.

“Your number’s up, Luke,” Sergeant Bucephalus warned.

Navy field medic Luke Collier looked up from what he was doing. Their Marine Corps company had just been choppered into Lar Sholtan in the Nuristan Province of Afghanistan. He stopped adding medical items to a cabinet he’d just hung on the wall. As he studied the grizzled thirty-year-old Marine Corps sergeant, his mouth curved. “I’m going to set up a Scrabble tournament as soon as I can, Buck. I know you like to play. And win.”

The sergeant ambled over to the dusty desk where Luke was working. “I know you like your Scrabble tournaments because you win a pot of money, but this has nothing to do with it.”

Outside the room was a small mud-and-rock structure where he and several other men from Lima Company had been assigned to sleep. It also doubled as his medical facility. Luke looked toward the open door. The early June sunlight was strong, shafts entering and making it easier to see around the Afghan hovel.

“What, then?” Luke asked. Tension mingled with urgency because Lima had just replaced another Marine company for the next year. The Afghan village of Lar Sholtan was a dangerous place. The villagers were equally scared of the Taliban and the Marines.

“Sit down,” Buck said, and gestured to a nearby wooden keg. He pushed his fingers through his short brown hair. “I just got done talkin’ with Captain Hall, and he’s one unhappy dude. He’s only happy that this assignment is gonna land in your lap and not his.” He added a toothy grin, revealing that one of his front teeth was missing.

Frowning, Luke stared at the hillbilly-born Marine sergeant. Buck ran the company and had nearly as much power as the captain and the executive officer, Lieutenant Speed. The Kentucky sergeant was the glue between the officers and the one hundred thirty enlisted Marines in Lima.