by Julie Rowe
“No,” she cried. “Don’t leave me yet.”
“I hurt you.” He was going to beat himself up for doing it.
“Maybe a little, but then it was so beautiful.” She sniffed. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”
Her tears made him feel like beating the crap out of the guy who’d hurt her, but that guy was him. He stroked her face and gathered her close. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
She nodded and held him tighter.
He hugged her right back.
“Thank you,” she said with a lick at his ear. “That was even better than I expected.”
The ball of worry in his gut relaxed a little. “I’m glad.”
They held each for a few minutes until she cleared her voice and asked, “So...when can we do it again?”
He laughed, happiness a bright light inside him. “Just as soon as you agree to marry me.”
She froze. “You want me to marry you?”
“Yup.”
She stared at him for a long moment before saying, “I’d have to be an idiot to turn that down.” She gave him a brilliant smile. “Yes.”
Connor tucked her in safe next to him and kissed her long and slow. “That’s my girl.”
Epilogue
Colonel Maximillian finished reading the final report on the rabies outbreak in the Northern Lebanese refugee camp and signed his name on the last page.
The strain of rabies identified as the pathogen was unique in its speed and virulence. Properties the terrorist Akbar had magnified until the resulting symptoms were barely recognizable as rabies.
A sample had been put in storage, along with Akbar’s anthrax strain, but the rest had been disposed of.
Akbar had been wounded, but not badly enough to stop him or even slow him down. Max was sure he was busy planning another biological attack, but there were too many possible targets, and too many places to hide for the Biological Response Team to know where to look next. He was watching a number of companies that produced lab supplies and the chemicals Akbar would need to continue his self-proclaimed jihad.
Then there were the messages left on the corpses.
The last great plague is coming.
No one will be safe.
The whole world will know pain.
All of them addressed to Colonel Maximillian, US Army.
This was a new tactic, but not unexpected. Akbar wanted to keep Max and his people off balance, distracted and afraid. But Max had been terrorized before and not only survived, but thrived.
He wouldn’t rest until justice had been done.
Or he was dead.
* * * * *
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Lara had hoped to come into this new position without dragging any of her past behind her. She’d wanted a clean start, but that wasn’t going to happen now.
“We have to assume that with Lara’s photo out there it’s possible that somebody in Moretti’s ring might see it and know that it was Lara who infiltrated them two years ago. It’s possible somebody is out there and looking for revenge.” Victoria looked at Lara. “Maybe it’s time for you to disappear again for a little while until we see how this all plays out.”
“No.” The single word fired out of Lara like a gunshot. “I’m not hiding any longer. I spent over a year in a safe house and I’m not going into lockdown now or ever again.” No way. No how. She needed to get her life back on track.
“So, how high might the risk be to Lara?” Xander asked.
“As I said, with Lara’s help we managed to get Moretti and some of his men behind bars, but we don’t know who might have slipped our noose,” Victoria replied. “And we don’t know how far Moretti’s reach might be beyond his prison walls.”
“I’m not backing down,” Lara said firmly. She’d given up enough because of that monster. She wasn’t about to sacrifice another piece of her soul to the man.
She clenched her hands into fists beneath the table. She needed this job. She needed this new assignment to work out. Her undercover work had made her a virtual pariah within the FBI organization. The last thing she wanted was for this new gig not to work. Then she’d be relegated to desk duty for the rest of her career.
“I’ve got her back if any threats come her way,” Nick said, his dark eyes unfathomable as he held Lara’s gaze.
“We all have her back,” Mei said. The same sentiment rang out from everyone around the table.
Lara might have been grateful if these weren’t all new teammates, if she’d developed a trust with any of them. But, she hadn’t had time to build any confidence in them and ultimately knew she could only depend on herself.
Victoria looked at her again, a question lingering in her eyes.
“I’m here to stay,” Lara said grimly. Moretti was in prison, but even while she’d spent so much time in the safe house in the darkest, deepest recesses of her mind, she’d always known somehow that it wasn’t finished...
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Acknowledgments
Thanks go to my incredible editor Alissa Davis, whose ability to see all the story threads is beyond amazing.
Also available from Julie Rowe
and Carina Press
Icebound
North of Heartbreak
The War Girls series
Saving the Rifleman
Enticing the Spymaster
Aiding the Enemy
Biological Response Team series
Deadly Strain
And watch for the next book in the Biological Response Team series, Viral Justice, coming in February 2016!
About the Author
Julie Rowe’s first career as a medical lab technologist in Canada took her to the Northwest Territories and northern Alberta, where she still resides. She loves to include medical details in her romance novels but admits she’ll never be able to write about all her medical experiences because “Fiction has to be believable.” Julie writes contemporary and historical medical romance, fun romantic suspense and military romance. Her most recent titles are Deadly Strain and Lethal Game, books #1 and #2 of the Biological Response Team series. Book #3, Viral Justice, is set to release in February 2016. You can find her at julieroweauthor.com, on Twitter, @julieroweauthor, or at her Facebook page, facebook.com/julieroweauthor.
American Sniper meets a worldwide infectious disease outbreak meets romance in DEADLY STRAIN, book one of Biological Response Team—available now!
DEADLY STRAIN
Biological Response Team, book one
“DEADLY STRAIN is a gripping, terrifying hybrid that combines suspense with romance without compromising either aspect of the story.”
—RT Book Reviews
A sniper tries to protect an infectious disease specialist while they combat a deadly new bacterial strain, but he might not be able stop her from making the ultimate sacrifice in order to save him.
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Are you always ready for more romantic suspense? Don’t miss Sharon Calvin’s Gulf Coast Rescue series!
A DANGEROUS LEAP
Gulf Coast Rescue, book one
“Military romances are thought-provoking and sometimes easier to get attached to due to the risks and stress the relationships must endure. Ian and Kelly are no exception. These well-developed characters voice their story with ease thanks to Calvin’s skilled pen.”
—RT Book Reviews
Coast Guard resue swimmer Kelly Bishop is used to dangerous situations, but when Ian Razzamenti demands she risk her heart, she’s not sure she has the courage. Then disaster strikes and they both must face their worst fear—losing each other.
JAYHAWK DOWN
Gulf Coast Rescue, book two
ER doctor and army reserve Black Hawk pilot Stillman Gray has nothing but respect for Coast Guard lieutenant Caitlyn Stone, but he’s not the only one who’se noticed her—a terrorist is looking to hijack a helicopter, and he’s decided Caitlyn is the perfect target. What began as a normal rescue mission turns deadly...
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Addicted to shows like CSI and The Blacklist?
Can’t get enough of authors like Lisa Jackson & Tess Gerritsen?
You’ll love....
TOUGH JUSTICE
Justice is worth every sacrifice
A brand new 8 part reading experience!
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FBI Agent Lara Grant has finally put her life as an undercover operative behind her and started a new assignment in New York City. But her past and present collide and become ever more twisted as a spate of murders send a message that is cruelly, chillingly personal ...
Tough Justice: Exposed (Part 1 of 8) by New York Times bestselling author Carla Cassidy
Tough Justice: Watched (Part 2 of 8) by Tyler Ann Snell
Tough Justice: Burned (Part 3 of 8) by Carol Ericson
Tough Justice: Trapped (Part 4 of 8) by Gail Barrett
Tough Justice: Twisted (Part 5 of 8) by Gail Barrett
Tough Justice: Ambushed (Part 6 of 8) by Carol Ericson
Tough Justice: Betrayed (Part 7 of 8) by Tyler Ann Snell
Tough Justice: Hunted (Part 8 of 8) by Carla Cassidy
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ISBN-13: 9781459290198
Lethal Game
Copyright © 2015 by Julie Rowe
Edited by Alissa Davis
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.
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