His orders were getting a bit out of hand, but she let it pass. Heâd killed for her. When a guy took that step, you cut him some slack.
âIâm not getting into bed before I wash the dirt and blood and heaven only knows what else off me.â
His gaze wandered all over her, and the skin under his heated gaze tingled. âWhat about you? You can have half of the bed.â
âNo. Itâs not a good idea.â
âI was only talking about getting some rest. Nothing else.â
âYou know, youâre a very attractive woman, Sela.â
âOne with her own mind. I know who Iâm attracted to and who Iâm not.â
âAnd what type of guy are you attracted to?â
She debated playing it safe, then thought about how close sheâd come to death over the last twenty-four hours, and skipped right over the games to the truth.
âYou.â
To Jill Shalvis for being a terrific conference roommate,
enthusiastic first reader and great friend.
Award-winning author HelenKay Dimon spent twelve years in the most unromantic career everâdivorce lawyer. After dedicating all that effort to helping people terminate relationships, she is thrilled to deal in happy endings and write romance novels for a living. Now her days are filled with gardening, writing, reading and spending time with her family in and around San Diego. HelenKay loves hearing from readers, so stop by her website at www.helenkaydimon.com and say hello.
Zach Bachman âThis explosives and demolitions agent isnât ready to give up. While the rest of the Recovery Project team switches to wait-and-see mode, Zach launches his own investigation into corruption in the Witness Security Programâ¦and ends up in the middle of a kidnapping.
Sela Andrews âShe is just trying to earn a living. She finally has a decent job and a safe place to live. It all seems perfect until she gets hit in the head and wakes up to see Zach in front of her. The question is whether heâs there to hurt her or to help.
Trevor Walters âHeâs a powerful man with few weaknesses but his assistant Sela is one of them. When sheâs taken he has to turn for help in the most unexpected placeâ¦but whether he can be trusted remains a question.
Rod Lehman âHe worked as a handler in the Witness Security Program and retired to set up the Recovery Project. Heâs a guy accustomed to finding people but now heâs the one whoâs missing. His team worries heâs dead, but there are rumors he might be at the center of the murder conspiracy.
Vince Ritter âHe is Rodâs former partner and a consultant to the Recovery Projectâ¦but no one on the team can tell which side heâs really on.
Luke Hathaway âAs the interim head of the Recovery Project all the pressure is on him. He has to watch over Zach as he rescues the girl, protect the team and find the bad guy. Failing is not an option.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Sela Andrews was five minutes away from walking into an ambush. Slumped down in his Jeep on the street outside her apartment, Zach Bachman watched the setup unfold.
The small split-screen monitor on his watch showed Sela approaching the elevator on the floor five stories above.
That wasnât the problem, except for how clueless she appeared to be to the danger around her. The other shot centered on the buildingâs underground garage. There, in stall seventeen, not far from where Zach sat, a man fiddled with something under the hood of her car.
And not just any man. A guy dressed in black, his gaze skipping around the garage as if looking for witnesses. Heâd even taken the time to disable the security camera. He just didnât know heâd missed oneâZachâs.
Thanks to this development, Zach knew he had to break his word. When heâd convinced Adam Wright, his fellow Recovery Project agent, to tap into the cameras in Selaâs building, Zach promised to watch but not get involved. That wasnât possible now. He pressed the green button on the bottom of his watch and sent Adam an emergency pulse. Just in case.
That left Sela. Going through the garage door was the faster route to cutting her off, but also the most likely to give away his position and get shot. Not his favorite activity, certainly not at this painfully early time of day. No, he had to do this the long and hard way.
Out of the car, he hit the buildingâs lobby at a run, stopping only to use the master key Adam had made for just this type of problem. Zachâs sneakers squeaked against the tile floor as he crossed in front of the elevator bank. He knew the schematics without thinking and headed for the emergency stairwell in the back corner.
As he raced down the stairs two at a time to the underground garage, his palm slid against the metal railing. The stale hot air of the enclosed space filled his lungs, but he didnât stop. As they passed, he ignored the man stumbling up the stairs from what looked like a hard night of drinking. None of that mattered because Zach had to get there before she did.