Sweet Reward: A Last Chance Rescue Novel - Softcover

Buch 9 von 10: Last Chance Rescue

Reece, Christy

 
9780345524096: Sweet Reward: A Last Chance Rescue Novel
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0345524098 ISBN 13: 9780345524096
Verlag: Ballantine Books, 2011

Inhaltsangabe

WHEN RISK IS THE REWARD—LET THE DANGER BEGIN
 
Adrenaline junkie Jared Livingston has found the perfect blend of exhilaration and danger in his new job at Last Chance Rescue. Raised to depend only on himself, Jared tried marriage, but the end of the relationship renewed his belief that he was meant to be a loner. Now a desperate plea from his ex-wife puts Jared in the unique position of using the skills she despised to rescue her missing daughter. The case brings Jared face-to-face with Mia Ryker, the only agent ever fired from LCR—for playing too far outside the box. Now Mia’s back, and as a team, they’re as compatible as fuel and fire—blowing off tension in each other’s arms, blowing open the secret life of a wealthy philanthropist and his shameful dealings. Their search for the innocent child takes them to places neither have been before—to the edge of danger and to the edge of their hearts.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Christy Reece is a member of Romance Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. She lives in Alabama with her husband, two adorable canines, and one very shy turtle. Sweet Reward is the third novel in her new three-book Last Chance Rescue series.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

one

Present day Agar, France

“Livingston, where the hell are you?”

As Noah McCall’s terse words rang in his earbud, Jared’s mouth twisted with a wry grimace. His boss was pissed—­not an unusual event. Couldn’t do a damn thing about that . . . especially right now. Standing on a six-­inch ledge twelve stories above the ground and only a few feet from a maniac with a gun impeded his ability to answer.

Plastered against the white brick wall, his concentration fierce, Jared focused on his destination: the half-­open window ten feet to his right. His muscles strained as he extended his arms above him; his long fingers gripped the small overhang as his feet inched along the ledge of the building.

They had been on the other side of the apartment door for over two hours, trying to talk a nutcase into freeing a ten-­year-­old girl he’d snatched off the street. So far, all they’d gotten were threats to shoot the child if anyone tried to come in. Jared had gotten tired of waiting.

McCall had been in the midst of conversing with the man when Jared had walked away. The Last Chance Rescue leader was a good hostage negotiator, but hearing the child crying had turned Jared’s stomach. He’d figured he had two choices: walk away and let the negotiations continue or do something to speed up the process.

“Livingston,” McCall snarled softly, “if you fall, I swear I’ll figure out a way to bring you back to life so I can kill you myself.”

Apparently someone had alerted his boss that Jared had found an alternate entrance.

He was an avid climber, and at least once a year he went somewhere—­lately Mont Blanc—­and fed his need. Compared to that, hanging out on a ledge in downtown Agar wasn’t that much of a challenge. Still, even just this high up, the air was fresher and the only creature around was a bored-­looking pigeon that had barely acknowledged him.

A heavy gust of wind slammed him hard against the wall. His fingers tightened on the ledge. It was a good reminder that while a twelve-­story building wasn’t much of a challenge, it could still get dicey.

He inched closer to the window. Since they’d managed to slide a mirror beneath the door, he had a good idea of what was going on inside. The creep faced the door; his back to the window, he held a gun to the girl’s head. It seemed to Jared that the best option for a live rescue was to come in behind him.

At the edge of the window, Jared stopped. Barely easing his head over, he got his first real glimpse of what was going on inside. The man, known to them only as Bernard, stood about four feet from the window. A young girl sat on a stool in front of the man, her thin body shuddering in obvious terror, and with good reason—­the gun was still pressed to her head.

Jared quickly took in the rest of the room. Sofa and chair to the left, small kitchen with a bar to the right. No one else in sight. Looked like the guy was on his own for this.

The window was open about half a foot, with no screen, thankfully. Shooting the bastard was a temptation, but one Jared couldn’t risk. Bernard’s finger was on the trigger. One involuntary jerk and the child was dead.

A sudden flutter of wings was Jared’s only warning as a pigeon dove toward him. As he instinctively ducked, his left foot slipped and he slid to one knee. His right hand latched onto the windowsill, saving him from plunging to the ground. A cooing sounded above him; Jared glared at the two birds sitting on the ledge. Not one whit intimidated, they continued their pecking and ignored him.

With a firmer grip on the windowsill, Jared pushed himself back to his feet and drew his gun from its holster. In that instant, Bernard whirled around. Wild, bloodshot eyes went wide as he stared at Jared. He swung his gun around, moving it away from the girl’s head. Jared had a split second to make the decision. Without hesitation, he took the shot. A small hole appeared in Bernard’s forehead and the man fell to the floor.

A flurry of people burst through the door. Jared slid the window open wider and slipped inside. Medics rushed to the girl; McCall stalked in after them. His boss’s eyes went straight to Jared, and the expression on his face promised a future dressing down.

Jared mentally shrugged. He and McCall had a weekly “What the hell were you thinking?” meeting. He had gotten used to them. Sure, he had a deep respect for his boss and the work LCR performed, but Jared had told the man up front that following rules wasn’t his strong point. McCall didn’t always like Jared’s methods, but he got the job done.

He moved across the room toward the lone Agar policeman, who also happened to be the police chief. A small town like Agar had only a skeleton force. LCR often helped out when small towns needed assistance. Though it had been a clean kill, that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be questions. In Jared’s previous life, he’d been able to walk away with no one even knowing about his existence, much less asking questions. Odd how he didn’t miss those old ways.

Always aware of his surroundings, he knew McCall was bringing in the mother to console the sobbing child, who’d raced to the corner of the room the instant after the bullet hit Bernard. In the middle of the room, LCR operative Aidan Thorne stood over the dead man as a medic examined him.

The jaded, tired eyes of the police chief told Jared more than any words ever could. This was a man who’d been around the block a few times and had seen it all more than once. He’d probably moved to Agar from a larger city, expecting low crime and an opportunity to enjoy some peace and quiet. Problem was, evil had no respect for boundaries. It had a tendency to show up in the damnedest places these days.

In case those tired, knowing eyes had missed the obvious, Jared gave him the information: “It was a clean kill.”

The older man nodded grimly, then proceeded to pepper him with questions, letting Jared know that even though he looked like he’d rather be anywhere else than here, he planned to do his job.

As Jared answered each carefully worded question with his own careful answers, his phone vibrated in his pocket. To most people, that wouldn’t be a big deal. Phones rang twenty-­four/seven all over the world for all kinds of reasons. His phone didn’t. He could count on one hand the number of friends he had, and on the other, he could count who else might need to get in touch with him. Either way, he wasn’t going to ignore them.

Holding up his hand to stop the questions, Jared pulled his phone out and answered, “Yeah?”

“Jared?” A sobbing gasp and then: “Please . . . I need your help.”

He was rarely surprised, but his ex-­wife’s frantic voice asking for his help came as close as anything had in years. With the phone pressed to his ear, he turned and walked away for privacy. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Mandy. Oh God, Jared, my baby is missing.”

The fact that both McCall and Aidan had stopped what they were doing and were staring intently at him told him they were aware of the importance of the call. A second later, McCall went over to the police chief. Knowing his boss would handle any further questions, Jared headed out the door. In the hallway, he stopped at the entrance to the stairwell and said, “Tell me what happened.”

“I went to her room this morning and she wasn’t there.”

“You called the...

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Verlag
Ballantine Books
Erscheinungsdatum
2011
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0345524098
ISBN 13 
9780345524096
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
368
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
Nicht verfügbar

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