Harvard's Education
Harvard's Education Senior Chief "Harvard" Becker believes that there's no room for women in a combat zone. It's too dangerous, too tough…and with P.J. involved, too distracting.He might respect her intellect and shooting abilities, but he doesn't want the responsibility of making sure she stays alive. But P.J. isn't a woman who backs down easily, and to her mind, Harvard has a lot to learn. She just doesn't expect him to be so eager to instruct her on other subjects…like trust, desire and maybe even love.
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New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann has thrilled audiences with her Tall, Dark and Dangerous series. Experience it here with a hero who must face the most daring adventure of allâfalling in love.
It was an experimentâ¦but no one could have predicted the results.
For eight weeks FInCOM agent P.J. Richards is being given access to the absolutely no-women-allowed world of the US Navy SEALs, and she isnât about to let anyone tell her she canât hack it. P.J. canât afford to be distracted by anythingâ¦or anyone. And that includes Senior Chief âHarvardâ Becker.
Harvard believes that there is no room for women in a combat zone. Itâs too dangerous, too toughâ¦and with P.J. involved, too distracting. He might respect her sharp intellect and her shooting abilities, but he still doesnât want the responsibility of making sure she stays alive. But P.J. isnât a woman who backs down easily, and to her mind, Harvard has a lot to learn. She just doesnât expect him to be so eager to instruct her on other subjectsâ¦like trust, desire and maybe even love.
For my fearless pointman, Ed.
Special thanks to Candace Irvinâfriend, fellow writer and unlimited source of U.S. Navy information. Thanks also to the helpful staff at the UDT SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida, and to Vicki Debock, who told me about it.
Thanks to my swim buddy Eric Ruben for suggesting I write a book with a Navy SEAL hero! (I owe it all to you, baby!)
Thanks to the Harvard Project volunteers from the Team Ten list (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/teamten) for their proofreading skills: Group Captain Rebecca Chappell, Vi Dao, Kellie Jones, Amy Madden, Claire Madden, Lynn McCrea, Heather McCormack-McHugh, Debbie Meiers and Kelly Shand.
Hooyah, gang! Thanks for helping to make the TDD world as typo-free as possible.
Thanks to the real teams of SEALs, and to all the courageous men and women in the U.S. military (especially the Marines! Forgive me for including the banana joke as an example of the healthy rivalry between the Navy and the Marines!), who sacrifice so much to keep America the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Last but not least, a heartfelt thank-you to the wives, husbands, children and families of these real-life military heroes and heroines. Your sacrifice is deeply appreciated.
Any mistakes Iâve made or liberties Iâve taken in writing this book are completely my own.
CONTENTS
This was wrong. It was all wrong. Another few minutes, and this entire combined team of FInCOM agents and Navy SEALs was going to be torn to bits.
There was a small army of terrorists out there in the steamy July night. The Tsâor tangos, as the SEALs were fond of calling themâwere waiting on their arrival with assault rifles that were as powerful as the weapon P. J. Richards clutched in her sweating hands.
P.J. tried to slow her pounding heart, tried to make the adrenaline that was streaming through her system work for her rather than against her as she crept through the darkness.
FInCOM Agent Tim Farber was calling the shots, but Farber was a city boyâand a fool, to boot. He didnât know squat about moving through the heavy underbrush of this kind of junglelike terrain. Of course, P.J. was a fine one to be calling names. Born in D.C., sheâd been raised on concrete and crumbling blacktopâa different kind of jungle altogether.
Still, she knew enough to realize that Farber had to move more slowly to listen to the sounds of the night around him. And as long as she was criticizing, the fact that four FInCOM agents and three SEALs were occupying close to the same amount of real estate along this narrow trail made her feel as if she were part of some great big Christmas package, all wrapped up with a ribbon on top, waiting under some terroristâs tree.
âTim.â P.J. spoke almost silently into the wireless radio headset she and the rest of the CSF teamâthe Combined SEAL/FInCOM Antiterrorist teamâhad been outfitted with. âSpread us out and slow it down.â
âFeel free to hang back if weâre moving too fast for you.â Farber intentionally misunderstood, and P.J. felt a flash of frustration. As the only woman in the group, she was at the receiving end of more than her share of condescending remarks.
But while P.J. stood only five feet two inches and weighed in at barely one hundred and fifteen pounds, she could run circles around any one of these menâincluding most of the big, bad Navy SEALs. She could outshoot nearly all of them, too. When it came to sheer, brute force, yes, sheâd admit she was at a disadvantage. But that didnât matter. Even though she couldnât pick them up and throw them any farther than she could spit, she could outthink damn near anyone, no sweat.
