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      To Angi, my sprinting partner in crime

      ABOUT THE AUTHOR

      Carol Ericson lives with her husband and two sons in Southern California, home of state-of-the-art cosmetic surgery, wild freeway chases, palm trees bending in the Santa Ana winds and a million amazing stories. These stories, along with hordes of virile men and feisty women, clamor for release from Carol’s head. It makes for some interesting headaches until she sets them free to fulfill their destinies and her readers’ fantasies. To find out more about Carol, her books and her strange headaches, please visit her website at www.carolericson.com, “where romance flirts with danger.”

      CAST OF CHARACTERS

       Meg O’Reilly Dempsey —Meg enjoys her job leading mountain hikes for tourists, but when her estranged husband shows up on one of her tours bringing espionage and secrets, she realizes it’s time to tell him the biggest secret of all.

       Ian Dempsey —A former member of the covert ops team Prospero, Ian has tracked down the next piece of the puzzle to find missing Prospero member Jack Coburn. Just his luck, the clue brings Ian face-to-face with his wife, and the distraction just might get them both killed.

       Hans Birnbacher —A German tourist on Meg’s hike, Hans asks too many questions to be an innocent bystander.

       Sheriff Pete Cahill —The sheriff has a thing for Meg and isn’t too pleased to see her husband show up. Will his anger jeopardize Ian’s investigation?

       Matt Hudson —Meg’s boss isn’t much of a businessman, but would he make a deal with terrorists to save his company?

       Travis Dempsey —Meg’s son meets his father for the first time and Ian has to face his fears about fatherhood, which are put to the ultimate test.

       Kayla Shepherd —A CIA operative who risks her life to find Jack Coburn.

       Farouk —Prospero’s former nemesis has expanded his business model and taken his terror worldwide, and this time it’s personal.

       Colonel Scripps —Prospero’s coordinator, the colonel knows he can summon all the former team members with one call. He just hopes it’s not too late to save Prospero’s leader, Jack Coburn.

       Jack Coburn —The former leader of Prospero and current hostage negotiator has run into a little trouble. Can he depend on his brothers in arms to save him, or is he going to have to save himself?

      Contents

      Prologue

      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

      Epilogue

       Prologue

      He crouched beside the edge of the outcropping that had saved his life and peered at the trail snaking below him toward the small village at the base of the mountain. He narrowed his eyes and assessed the terrain—rugged but doable. He had to get to that town if it killed him. And it just might.

      He flattened his belly against the rough slab of rock, scooted toward the edge and swung his legs over the side, sliding the rest of his body into oblivion. He hung onto the ledge with calloused hands, his legs swinging freely beneath him, the sharp pain in his ribs almost cutting off his breath. He fumbled against the side of the cliff with the toe of his boot until it met the foothold he’d scoped out minutes before.

      Bracing all of his weight on the meager indentation in the side of the mountain, he released his grip on the edge of the outcropping and did a freefall before clutching at some scrubby bushes for support.

      Okay, off his stone savior and pinned to the side of a hostile cliff.

      The rough-and-tumble trail below him beckoned, and he extended his long frame, searching for the next foothold. He could do this. Somehow he knew he’d done it before—maybe not this particular cliff, maybe not this particular trail—but his hands and feet moved with a natural rhythm down the face of the mountain.

      His head throbbed and he could feel his scalp prickle as the knot on the back of his skull grew bigger and harder. As if to remind him he had other injuries to worry about, a trickle of blood crawled down his cheek and he flicked it away with his tongue—blood, sweat and dirt creating a nauseating taste in his mouth.

      He glanced over his shoulder, tempted to release his hold and drop to solid earth, but his aching body couldn’t absorb another fall. He continued his scrappy descent, blocking out the protesting screams and wails from the various cuts, scrapes and bruises dotting him from head to toe.

      Two feet above terra firma, he dropped to the ground, his heavy boots cushioning the impact. As he hit the dirt and gravel

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