She dances on the edge of life...and death
Not all are meant to walk in the light. Marine Corps Sergeant Khat Shinwari lives among the shadows of the rocky Afghani hills, a Shadow Warrior by name and by nature. She works alone, undercover and undetectedâuntil a small team of US Navy SEALs are set upon by the Talibanâ¦and Khat is forced to disobey orders to save their lives.
To go rogue.
Now, hidden deep in the hills with injured SEAL Michael Tarik in her care, Khat learns that heâs more than just a sailor. In him, she sees something of herself and of what she could be. Now duty faces off against the raw, overwhelming attraction she has for Mike. And she must decide between the safety of the shadowsâ¦and risking everything by stepping into the light.
Praise for Lindsay McKenna
âA treasure of a bookâ¦highly recommended reading that everyone will enjoy and learn from.â
âChief Michael Jaco, US Navy SEAL, retired, on Breaking Point
âMcKennaâs latest is an intriguing taleâ¦a unique twist on the romance novel, and one thatâs sure to please.â
âRT Book Reviews on Dangerous Prey
âMcKennaâs military experience shines through in this moving taleâ¦. McKenna (High Country Rebel) skillfully takes readers on an emotional journey into modern warfare and two peopleâs hearts.â
âPublishers Weekly on Down Range
âGunfire, emotions, suspense, tension and sexuality abound in this fast-paced, absorbing novel.â
âAffaire de Coeur on Wild Woman
âAnother masterpiece.â
âAffaire de Coeur on Enemy Mine
âEmotionally chargedâ¦riveting and deeply touching.â
âRT Book Reviews on Firstborn
âMs. McKenna brings readers along for a fabulous odyssey in which complex characters experience the danger, passion and beauty of the mystical jungle.â
âRT Book Reviews on Man of Passion
âReaders will find this addition to the Shadow Warriors series full of intensity and action-packed romance. There is great chemistry between the characters and tremendous realism, making Breaking Point a great read.â
âRT Book Reviews
âLindsay McKenna will have you flying with the daring and deadly women pilots who risk their livesâ¦.Buckle in for the ride of your life.â
âWriters Unlimited on Heart of Stone
To Abe Koniarsky, one of my many male readers.
Heâs a hero to me, having served during WWII. Thank you for your service, Abe. Youâre a wonderful role model for all of us!
Dear Reader,
Taking Fire is a military term which means the position you are protecting is taking enemy fire. In other words, you are being attacked. Sergeant Khatereh Shinwari, US Marine Corps sniper, was born in the USA. Her father was from Afghanistan. Her mother is an American. Growing up, her father infused her with his strong moral code of always being loyal to oneâs village, oneâs tribe, taking care of the young and the old. That was her duty. Khat took her duties to heart.
For five years, Khat is a fierce protector of her tribe and the villages where her relatives live. She is deep black ops, a part of the Shadow Warriors, and she thwarts the Hill tribe from murdering her people with her brave acts of courage. Riding her black mare in the dead of night or during dangerous daylight hours, she becomes the greatest thorn to the Hill tribe and the Taliban.
She lives alone in the caves of the Hindu Kush, until one evening, while setting up a sniper op on thirty Taliban below her, she spots a four-man SEAL team coming up the slope. They are unaware that the enemy is setting up an ambush to kill them. Khat intercedes, gives the SEALs a warning, taking down her enemy with her Win-Mag sniper rifle. When one SEAL is blown into a wadi by an RPG, the other three are able to retreat and escape.
Khat thinks the SEAL is dead and quickly rides down into the wadi to find his body. Her whole life changes when she finds Petty Officer Michael Tarik wounded but alive. As she rescues him, takes him to her hideout, sheâs powerfully drawn to the man with the gold-brown eyes.
Whether Khat admits it or not, they are destined and bound to one another. Both their hearts are under fire. Will Khat decide to stay in Afghanistan to continue to protect her family, her tribe? Or will she heed the call of the tender love that Mike offers her instead, and go back to America with him?
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CHAPTER ONE
THE SEAL TEAM BELOW, where Marine Corps Sergeant Khatereh Shinwari hid in her sniper hide, was in danger. The June sun was almost setting in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan. Khat made a slow, sweeping turn to the right with her .300 Win Mag rifle along the rocky scree slope. She spotted fifteen Taliban waiting behind boulders to jump the four-man SEAL team climbing up the nine-thousand-foot slope.