High Treason
Page 32
“We can go together. How many times tonight have you heard this wasn’t your fault?”
“A lot.” She’d been trained in defusing volatile people. Her documented success rate was excellent until a few hours ago. A dead victim, his wife permanently disabled, hit way too hard.
“April, I know you’ve heard this before. He had a choice.”
“Choice is a complicated word. It includes mine. Taking the stairs to the apartment this morning instead of the elevator slowed me. The lapse interfered with me encouraging the shooter’s wife to grasp control of her emotions. My request for a partial SWAT team to stay out of view and wait for my determination—”
“You’re not God.”
“Trust me, I’d ensure life around here operated differently.” She grabbed a few seconds for positive self-talk, but guilt tossed ugly accusations. “When the man bent to drop his gun, I thought I’d gained his confidence. But he hesitated and turned the weapon on his wife, narrowly missing his child, then on himself. I hadn’t evaluated him sufficiently to sort out how best to talk him down.”
“You care too much.”
“It’s who I am.” Compassion for others was etched in her DNA.
“I hope it doesn’t get you killed.”
“If it does, my parents will gladly confirm they were right about my job.” They much preferred her using her doctorate as a university professor.
“Your goal is not to prove them right. Go home and get some rest. How about dinner with me and the wife tomorrow evening, providing we aren’t all blown away or flooded out?”
November was really late in the season for a hurricane. But why talk weather when her mind raged over this morning’s situation? “Dinner? Only if you two come to my place.”
He moaned. “The last time I couldn’t move for twenty-four hours. Chicken adobo?”
“Of course.” She grappled with her turmoil. “Thanks. Simon Neilson therapy always makes me feel better.”
Her phone buzzed with a call from their SAC. “April, we have a reported hostage situation. Jason Snyder escaped jail in Sweet Briar after being arrested for murder. His twelve-month-old daughter is missing, and the county sheriff believes Snyder nabbed the child from her grandparents. The fugitive is emotionally unstable, and the sheriff fears for the child’s life. We’ve been asked to assist, and we only have you and Simon to take the lead on this. Snyder has to stop sometime and then we can proceed with negotiations. With the sporadic power outages, you’ll need to conduct another face-to-face without a NOC. The hurricane still has many of our SWAT people trapped. The team is ready to go.”
The SAC didn’t need to say more. She understood. “Where is Snyder now?”
“According to telematics, he’s driving a 2018 green Chevy pickup truck from Tyler County. I’ll text you the plates and a pic of Snyder.”
She ended the call and peered up at Simon. “Want to be my negotiation partner for another case?”
FBI: HOUSTON SERIES
CALL OF DUTY SERIES
ATTRACTED TO FIRE
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A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Dear Reader,
The characters in High Treason captured my heart the moment the story crept into my mind. My goal was to show the reader that although culture and race may separate us, we can get along and model Jesus to all we meet.
CIA Operative Monica Alden’s skills and intelligence were a solid fit for the task force, but her gender fought Saudi Arabian tradition. She overcame a nightmare past to find the blessings of acceptance and love.
FBI Special Agent Kord Davidson valued his relationship with Prince Omar. They were as close as brothers. All the while Kord searched for meaning and purpose until he found it.
Like so many of us have experienced, life doesn’t play fair. When we are faced with tragedy and injustice, the blame game enters our hearts. Sometimes God allows us to walk through fire to make us stronger.
Monica and Kord were more than survivors; they are characters we think about long after the book is closed.
Thank you, my friend, for reading High Treason.
DiAnn
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
FBI Agent Kord Davidson seems initially reluctant to accept help from his CIA counterpart. Monica Alden, meanwhile, has her own hesitancies about working with a partner. For what reasons do both Kord and Monica want to work alone? How do their skills complement each other? When given the option of working alone or with a team, what’s your preference? What advantages and challenges are inherent with teamwork?
Kord has forged a strong bond with the Saudi men in the prince’s detail, but Monica and Kord’s superiors fear he might be blind to an inside threat. Is he able to look at this investigation objectively? Do you tend to err on the side of trusting those around you or being suspicious? What can you do to set aside your emotions and remain unbiased?
In joining the Saudi prince’s security detail, Monica faces some cultural gender inequalities. How does she handle the discrimination? When encountering cultural differences, when is it appropriate to stand up for your perceived rights and when is it better to step back?
As a CIA agent, at times Monica feels forced to lie to her friends and family. How does this affect her relationships? Her emotional health? Are there situations where not revealing the truth is completely justified?
Kord’s family history left him searching for answers in the Bible and the Quran, as well as Hindu and Buddhist teachings, and ultimately becoming an agnostic. What causes him to revisit his thoughts about the existence of God? How do you approach someone who’s well-read or well-versed in world religions but doesn’t see the truth?
After Monica catches Princess Yasmine meeting secretly with the prince’s press secretary, she worries that telling Prince Omar the truth could have dire consequences. Is her concern justified? Does she do the right thing?
Ali is a rather passionate man—swinging from extremes of being bloodthirsty at the possible betrayal within the prince’s inner circle to sharing a lighthearted moment with Monica. What was your favorite moment for this character? Do you think he was significantly changed after this trip to the States?
Monica struggles to forgive herself after Liam’s betrayal. What happens to convince her to begin the process of forgiveness? Have you ever felt stuck in a similar state of being unable to forgive yourself? What steps could you take to get unstuck?
When Monica shares her story about Liam with the princesses, she briefly worries that the prince might not approve of her words but rationalizes, “What good was her faith if she didn’t stand for it?” Describe a time when you stood for your faith or when you could have taken a stand and didn’t. What happened as a result?
Kord wonders why, if God is good and in control, innocent people suffer in the face of evil. What would you tell him? What does he learn about grace?
In chapter 44, when Yasmine declines to learn self-defense techniques, Monica has some harsh words for the young woman. Does she go too far in what she says, essentially telling the princess to stop being selfish? How would you respond in that situation?
Monica’s perfectionism becomes a barrier to her spiritual growth. What would you say to someone struggling to “let go and let God” work in their life?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DiANN MILLS is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She combines unforgettable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels.
Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne du Maurier, Inspirational Reader’s Choice, and Carol Award contests. Firewall, the first book in her Houston: FBI series, was listed by Library Journal as one of the best Christian fiction books of 2014.
DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of Advanced Writers and Spe
akers Association, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She is codirector of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, where she continues her passion of helping other writers be successful. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country.
DiAnn has been termed a coffee snob and roasts her own coffee beans. She’s an avid reader, loves to cook, and believes her grandchildren are the smartest kids in the universe. She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.
DiAnn is very active online and would love to connect with readers on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DiAnnMills, Twitter: @diannmills, or any of the social media platforms listed at www.diannmills.com.
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