Moving Target (Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Band 1790) - Softcover

Buch 9 von 60: Harlequin Romantic Suspense

Van Meter, Kimberly

 
9780373278602: Moving Target (Harlequin Romantic Suspense, Band 1790)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0373278608 ISBN 13: 9780373278602
Verlag: Harlequin Romantic Suspense, 2014

Inhaltsangabe

"I don't think I can live with what I've done…." 

In an effort to cure an ailing relative, Dr. Kat Odgers makes a revolutionary new drug—and powerful new enemies. She has no idea what her latest concoction is capable of, but Jake Isaacs knows. And Jake must get to Kat before someone else does. Her safety is his mission, but the assignment gets complicated when a strong mutual attraction threatens to throw him off course. Centered in the crosshairs of corrupt adversaries, Jake and Kat must suppress their growing passions and focus on survival. But when Kat's formula falls into the wrong hands, they may face full knowledge of the drug's catastrophic effects. 

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Kimberly Van Meter started her writing career at the age of sixteen when she finished her first novel, typing late nights and early mornings, on her mother’s old portable typewriter. She received The Call in March 2006 with Harlequin Superromance and hasn't looked back since. She currently writes for Harlequin Romantic Suspense.Kimberly and her three children make their home in the Central Valley of California.

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Katherine "Kat" Odgers fought the urge to cry.

"No," she breathed, staring at her research and back again at the rhesus monkey she'd secretly named Auguste after the first clinically diagnosed Alzheimer patient who lived in the late 1800s. The monkey didn't seem to know what to do with the banana she'd tried to give him. Worse was the fact that he seemed to have lost the ability to do anything a monkey would normally do.

"C'mon, Auguste, don't do this to me," she said, reaching into the cage against protocol. The monkey, frightened, climbed into her arms like a baby and clung to her as if she were its mama. "Oh no, oh no, oh no." She gently administered a sedative and carried the monkey over to a machine geared toward mapping his mental acuity. As she waited anxiously for the machine to do its work, she bit at her fingernails, nibbling at the near-nonexistent sliver of nail, worried and scared-not only for Auguste but for her research.

Had something gone wrong? Had she missed something?

Three years' worth of careful, painstaking research, animal trials that showed brilliant, exciting promise in the area of Alzheimer's research, all hinged on the results of that scan.

The machine finished and after returning Auguste to his cage, she stared at the monitor, reading the results with a sinking heart and a nauseous stomach.

Her drug, MCX-209, was supposed to repair the brain but instead…it had destroyed it.

Somehow she'd missed something crucial, because according to Auguste's scan, the area that stored memory was less wrinkled and nearly smooth in places. His memories had just disappeared courtesy of MCX-209. "I failed," she murmured, tears springing to her eyes as her stare returned to the unconscious Auguste. "And I've ruined poor Auguste."

Bad. Bad. Bad.

She wiped at her running nose and searched for a tissue. She'd been so close. So close to victory over this insidious disease, but now all was lost. Her boss would likely can her for failing so miserably. So much for being a so-called genius. She was so smart she'd found a way to destroy brains without leaving a mark. Brilliant! Yes, she could just imagine the scientific journals already, lauding her for her failure to help a single person suffering from Alzheimer's. Better polish up that résumé, she thought miserably as she collected herself, shuffling to the tiny mirror over the sink.

Her hair hung in its usual disarray, refusing to stay put no matter how many pins she used to try to hold it together. She pushed a strand behind her ear and adjusted her glasses with a disheartened frown as the same face she'd been born with stared back. Not exactly a heart-stopper. As far as career choices go, stripping was not going to be a viable plan B. She had no breasts and she was horribly clumsy, she reminded herself. One attempt at gyrating on a pole would end with someone getting a stiletto in the eye as she careened from the stage, arms and legs akimbo.

Science had been her only gift. And now? Clearly not.

And poor Auguste. He'd been the cutest of the monkeys. Now he was a drooling mess.

She didn't even know if the results were permanent or temporary. Kat blew an irritating strand of hair from her eye. Time to pay the piper. She had to write up her findings and let her boss know that MCX-209 was a total, abject failure.

Jake Isaacs stood respectfully as his superior Miles Jogan walked into Jake's office, his expression stern. "Take a seat," he advised Jake as he dropped a file on

Jake's desk. "I have a job for you-one I would only trust to you even though you're no longer working the field." Jake took the folder and opened it, his interest piqued. "What you're about to read could change the world."

Jake scanned the file, a subtle widening of his eyes the only indication that the information had troubled him. "Who is she?" he asked, regarding the file photo of his subject. At only five feet four inches and one hundred and fifteen pounds-petite-with long wavy light brown hair and very thick black glasses that hid half her face, Katherine Odgers wasn't portrayed in a flattering light. "And why does she matter to the Defense Intelligence Department?" he asked, closing the file.

"Dr. Odgers is the hottest ticket in town," Miles answered, causing Jake to frown. "That woman has just changed the world we live in by creating one of the most dangerous drugs known to man."

"What does it do?"

"The drug, MCX-209, erases memory-permanently. Yet, it leaves other brain functions intact." Miles watched Jake's reaction. As the implications tore like a forest fire through Jake's mind, Miles nodded. "This is why it's imperative that you collect Dr. Odgers and bring her to Washington for her own safety. All other attempts to persuade her have been unsuccessful."

"And what attempts were those?" he asked, taking a second look at the woman in question.

"Naturally, a woman of her caliber would be an asset to the DID," Miles said. "We made quiet inquiries as to her interest in moving from the private sector to government work but all inquiries were rebuffed."

Jake shrugged. "Government work isn't for everyone."

"It certainly didn't seem to appeal to Dr. Odgers that's for sure. The fact of the matter is, we've run out of time for civil negotiations. We need to secure Dr. Odgers before her work falls into the wrong hands."

"How many people have access to this drug trial?"

"Only her superior, and we've taken care of that weak link." Jake lifted a brow in question and Miles said, "Alive and well but decidedly spotty in recollection of what Dr. Odgers was working on."

"And her research materials?"

"Removed from the laboratory and placed under lock and key. All I need you to do is procure the doctor."

"If she resisted the idea of working for us, what makes you think she's going to want to come with me willingly? Seems a fine line we're walking here."

"Unfortunately, at this point it is necessary to procure Dr. Odgers whether she appreciates the U.S. government's help or not. It's vital that her research doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

Jake knew that sometimes the U.S. government found it necessary to operate under the radar for the good of the people but it always made him feel dodgy when the lines were blurred. And this felt a lot like blurring the lines. "Perhaps she'll change her mind and come willingly after we explain the danger she's in," Jake said.

"We don't have time to hold her hand and hope she makes the right decision. I have it on good authority factions within organized crime and corrupt dictatorships are licking their lips at the prospect of stealing Dr. Odgers's work and using it for their own devices. Our friends in North Korea are quite keen to get their hands on Dr. Odgers, and I can assure you, that will end badly for everyone involved," Miles pointed out with grave certainty. "Including Dr. Odgers."

A drug such as MCX-209 in the wrong hands would certainly upset the balance of power. What if someone drugged the president of the United States with that concoction? Or each member of Congress? A drug like that could ruin the United States of America, reduce it to ash within months as enemies-such as North Korea- jumped at the chance to attack when the country was at its most vulnerable. Jake shuddered at the thought. Even though the mission didn't leave him with a good feeling, he...

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Verlag
Harlequin Romantic Suspense
Erscheinungsdatum
2014
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0373278608
ISBN 13 
9780373278602
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
288
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
HarperCollins Publishers Ireland
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