Taking a Chance
By Lindsay McKenna
Praise for Lindsay McKenna
“A treasure of a book . . . highly recommended reading that everyone will enjoy and learn from.”
—Chief Michael Jaco, US Navy SEAL, retired, on Breaking Point
“Readers will root for this complex heroine, scarred both inside and out, and hope she finds peace with her steadfast and loving hero. Rife with realistic conflict and spiced with danger, this is a worthy page-turner.”
—BookPage.com on Taking Fire
March 2015 Top Pick in Romance
“. . . is fast-paced romantic suspense that renders a beautiful love story, start to finish. McKenna’s writing is flawless, and her story line fully absorbing. More, please.”
—Annalisa Pesek, Library Journal on Taking Fire
“Ms. McKenna masterfully blends the two different paces to convey a beautiful saga about love, trust, patience and having faith in each other.”
—Fresh Fiction on Never Surrender
“Genuine and moving, this romantic story set in the complex world of military ops grabs at the heart.”
—RT Book Reviews on Risk Taker
“McKenna does a beautiful job of illustrating difficult topics through the development of well-formed, sympathetic characters.”
—Publisher’s Weekly (starred review) on Wolf Haven
One of the Best Books of 2014, Publisher’s Weekly
“McKenna delivers a story that is raw and heartfelt. The relationship between Kell and Leah is both passionate and tender. Kell is the hero every woman wants, and McKenna employs skill and empathy to craft a physically and emotionally abused character in Leah. Using tension and steady pacing, McKenna is adept at expressing growing, tender love in the midst of high stakes danger.”
—RT Book Reviews on Taking Fire
“Her military background lends authenticity to this outstanding tale, and readers will fall in love with the upstanding hero and his fierce determination to save the woman he loves.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Never Surrender
One of the Best Books of 2014, Publisher’s Weekly
“Readers will find this addition to the Shadow Warriors series full of intensity and action-packed romance. There is great chemistry between the characters and tremendous realism, making Breaking Point a great read.”
—RT Book Reviews
“This sequel to Risk Taker is an action-packed, compelling story, and the sizzling chemistry between Ethan and Sarah makes this a good read.”
—RT Book Reviews on Degree of Risk
“McKenna elicits tears, laughter, fist-pumping triumph, and most all, a desire for the next tale in this powerful series.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Running Fire
“McKenna’s military experience shines through in this moving tale . . . McKenna (High Country Rebel) skillfully takes readers on an emotional journey into modern warfare and two people’s hearts.”
—Publisher’s Weekly on Down Range
“Lindsay McKenna has proven that she knows what she’s doing when it comes to these military action/romance books.”
—Terry Lynn, Amazon on Zone of Fire.
“At no time do you want to put your book down and come back to it later! Last Chance is a well written, fast paced, short (remember that) story that will please any military romance reader!”
—LBDDiaries, Amazon on Last Chance.
Available from
Lindsay McKenna
Blue Turtle Publishing
DELOS
Last Chance, prologue novella to Nowhere to Hide
Nowhere to Hide, Book 1
Tangled Pursuit, Book 2
Forged in Fire, Book 3
2016
Broken Dreams, Book 4
Blind Sided, BN2
Secret Dream, B1B novella, epilogue to Nowhere to Hide
Hold On, Book 5
Hold Me, 5B1, sequel to Hold On
Unbound Pursuit, 2B1 novella, epilogue to Tangled Pursuit
Secrets, 2B2 novella, sequel to Unbound Pursuit, 2B1
2017
Snowflake’s Gift, Book 6
Never Enough, 3B1, novella, sequel to Forged in Fire
Dream of Me, 4B1, novella, sequel to Broken Dreams
Trapped, Book 7
Taking a Chance 7B1, novella, sequel to Trapped
The Hidden Heart, 7B2, novella, sequel to Taking a Chance
Harlequin/HQN/Harlequin Romantic Suspense
SHADOW WARRIORS
Danger Close
Down Range
Risk Taker
Degree of Risk
Breaking Point
Never Surrender
Zone of Fire
Taking Fire
On Fire
Running Fire
THE WYOMING SERIES
Shadows From The Past
Deadly Identity
Deadly Silence
The Last Cowboy
The Wrangler
The Defender
The Loner
High Country Rebel
Wolf Haven
Night Hawk
Out Rider
WIND RIVER VALLEY SERIES, Kensington
2016
Wind River Wrangler
Wind River Rancher
2017
Wind River Cowboy
Christmas with my Cowboy
Wrangler’s Challenge
Taking A Chance
Copyright © 2017 by Nauman Living Trust
ISBN: 978-1-929977-48-2
Kindle Edition
Excerpt from The Hidden Heart
Copyright © 2017 by Nauman Living Trust
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Blue Turtle Publishing, PO Box 2513, Cottonwood, AZ 86326 USA
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Blue Turtle Publishing
www.lindsaymckenna.com
Dedication
To my many global readers: You’re the greatest! Thank you for reading my stories and I hope it gives you a ‘time out’ from this chaotic world of ours for at least a few hours!
Table of Contents
Title Page
Praise for Lindsay McKenna
Available from Lindsay McKenna
Copyright Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Excerpt from The Hidden Heart by Lindsay McKenna
The Books of Delos
Everything Delos!
CHAPTER 1
Mid-October
Tucson, AZ
Ali felt anxious and frustrated while trying to project an aura of calm for her younger sister, Cara. At age twenty-six, two years younger than herself, Cara shakily stood between their
parents, trying to smile, but it was forced and brittle. She tried to look “normal,” but that word would never apply to her again.
Ali watched as her parents, their arms around her sister’s waist, carefully walked down the steps from the Operations building. Her sister was still weak after having been a prisoner in Mexico for more than two, long weeks.
The family was now at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona. Above them, two A-10 Warthogs thundered overhead. Ali had helped rescue her sister, along with an Artemis Security team. Afterward, the group had flown from Mexico to Tucson for a long, arduous debriefing with the FBI, CIA, DEA, and ATF. Everyone was exhausted, but Cara looked pale and weak. Ali suspected her sister would head straight for bed as soon as she got home.
Cara was a kindergarten teacher for Delos Charities, and had been kidnapped off a street in Tucson less than a month ago while walking the five blocks from the school to the home where she and her parents lived. She had been stuffed into a car trunk, tied up, duct-taped across her mouth and drugged. She was then driven into the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico in the state of Sonora, which butted up against the US border. There, she was thrown in with three, female German tourists, also abducted by Azarola’s men. The four women were kept imprisoned in a mountain fortress belonging to the drug lord, who planned to sell his captives to sex traffickers in Southeast Asia.
Cara found out that a container ship anchored at Puerto Nuevo on Baja’s west coast would be leaving shortly for Asia. She would be hidden in a truck and driven dockside, put on board the container vessel, and join over a hundred other kidnapped women from North and South America, as well as children as young as eight, already promised to buyers. Fortunately, their plan was foiled by Ali and the Artemis Security team.
Ram Torres, Ali’s black-ops partner on the rescue mission, came and stood quietly by her side. They traded brief looks with one another. Ram’s presence always calmed Ali as nothing else ever could. She could feel tension radiating off him, his green eyes narrowed upon Cara as the family slowly approached them. Ram and Ali had been working together for two years in the military and she was highly sensitized to his feelings. Right now, he was feeling very protective of Ali, knowing that her sister would be leaning heavily upon her in the coming weeks after being rescued.
Cara’s forced smile made Ali’s stomach clench. They had always had very different personalities, even as children. Cara had always wanted to be a teacher, and had gloried in her job teaching kindergarten. All she’d wanted was to make a positive change in the lives of under-privileged children. Ali, on the other hand, had gone into the Marine Corps at age eighteen.
“Ali!” Cara said brightly, “Thank you for coming!” Her parents released their arms around her, allowing her to move freely toward her sister.
Swept up in her grief for her traumatized sister, Ali forced her own wooden smile, opened her arms, and took Cara into her embrace. As her arms wrapped around Cara, Ali could feel her sister trembling, and Cara clung tighter and tighter to her, burying her face against Ali’s shoulder.
As they separated, Ali saw the worry in her parents’ eyes. They knew Cara had been shattered by the experience—who wouldn’t be? And afterward, she’d been debriefed, trying to answer questions along with the German women who had also been rescued. Authorities had asked them detailed questions about Azarola and his fortress in the mountains, where they had been kept prisoners.
Ali knew that each woman had undergone a thorough medical exam by a female doctor on base, and then spent hours with an Air Force psychiatrist. All that debrief material would be sent to Artemis Security, the in-house security firm for Delos Charities. The top-secret debrief would also be sent to other security and law-enforcement agencies worldwide who were dealing with this situation.
Ali was itching to read that report! As she released Cara, she saw that her skin was stretched tight across her high cheekbones, her black hair drawn into a pony tail, her dark-brown eyes almost black with terror etched deep within them.
Ali knew her baby sister did not have the internal grit that she did. Cara had always been the “soft” one in the family, as her father, Diego, had once confided to her. Mary, her mother, once told her that Cara needed protection from time to time.
“Cara, I’d like you to meet Ram Torres, the man who led the Artemis team to free you and the others,” Ali said.
Cara turned to the tall, dark-haired man with intense green eyes. “Thank you, Mr. Torres.” She stuck her hand out toward him, her voice trembling, “I remember you from that night you came to rescue us. Thank you . . . ”
Ram managed a gentle smile, knowing that his hard, weathered face had been known to frighten women and children. He gently grasped Cara’s damp, cool hand. “You’re welcome, Señorita Montero.”
“Call me Cara,” she insisted, releasing his hand. She glanced at her parents, who stood nearby, and asked wearily, “Mama? Papa? Can we go home now?”
“Of course, cariña, dear,” Mary said, coming forward, sliding her arm around Cara’s waist again. “Papa put our pick-up in the parking lot across the street. Come this way.”
Hesitating, Cara gave Ali and Ram an anxious look. “You’re coming with us, aren’t you? I don’t feel safe alone. I was told in the debriefing that Mr. Torres would be staying with us at our home for a while to help me feel safe. Is that right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ram said, speaking up. “I’m your personal security detail. Your parents have given me their guest bedroom and I’ll be in the house and accompany you wherever you go. You’ll be safe, Cara.”
Ali saw her sister’s face mirror utter relief hearing Ram’s words of reassurance. She knew he could project quiet strength to her sister and her parents. He was a wonderful anchor for someone to hold onto.
Ram had been right in his raw assessment of Cara’s state: she was traumatized to the point of being lost, unable to grapple with what had happened to her. Actually, Ali still wasn’t sure what had happened to Cara, and this made her even more eager to get her hands on the debrief report that Lockwood had.
“Oh,” Cara whispered, giving Ram a grateful look, “that’s wonderful. Thank you for doing this, Mr. Torres.”
“Call me Ram, and it’s my job—one I’m happy to provide, by the way. Just know that I’ll be with you for as long as you need me.” He gestured to Ali, who stood nearby. “And remember, your sister is a trained operator, just like me. You actually have two guard dogs in the house protecting you. Ali is just as good as I am at being a personal security detail.”
Cara gave her a grateful look. “I-I know. But it’s nice to have both of you so close. I-I worry that Azarola will send men back here to take me away again.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Ali told her.
“A-are you also staying with us, Ali? Tell me you will, okay?” Cara begged.
“I’m staying, Cara.” Ali reached out, briefly touching her sister’s slumped shoulders. “You’re safe now. And there’s no way Azarola will come after you again. Ram and his team put a huge hole in their operations. They aren’t focused on you any longer. They’ve got their hands full with other issues they have to address, okay?” She gave her sister a look of confidence, hoping it would reassure her.
There was no way Ali was going to appear weak, unsure, or hesitant around Cara. She knew what it took to make her sister feel stable again. She’d spent their formative years being her sister’s protective shield, so it was easy to move into that role once more for Cara’s sake. Instantly, she saw her grow a little less frightened.
“That’s wonderful!” Cara wobbled. She reached out, gripping Ali’s hand. “I’m ready now. Let’s go home.”
*
Ram watched the family dynamic as the observer he was. Mary, the mother, was a Yaqui Indian. Diego, the father, was Mexican, and they’d had two beautiful daughters, Cara and Ali.
He remained a shadow in the background while Diego drove their extended-cab truck back to their one-stor
y, pink stucco home in southern Tucson, near the Pascua Yaqui reservation. Tucson was built upon the sprawling Sonoran Desert, dotted with saguaros and other types of cacti. Farther to the south, near the Mexican border, were rugged volcanic mountain ranges. The city boasted a large metropolis that was home to a healthy mix of Caucasians, Hispanics, and other ethnicities, drawn to the area by thriving business and a major university.
The family lived in a simple, but well-loved home. Every inch was well cared for. The six-foot adobe wall built around the home’s one-acre lot matched the color of the desert. The pink stucco house sported a Spanish red-tile roof and a spacious yard, half of which featured a big garden out in the back. Palo Verde desert trees with their namesake green bark, provided shade from the hot sun overhead. The yard was well taken care of and showed pride of ownership.
Night-blooming cereus cacti were in each corner and Ram imagined the hand-sized white or pink blossoms were magnificent when they bloomed for one night of the year.
His heart was centered on Ali, however. He knew her well from years of working with her in their SEAL team in Afghanistan under Chief Wyatt Lockwood’s leadership. They had worked well together on ops, even though they had tangled on a personal level.
He amended that thought. She knew he was walled up and unable to emotionally trust anyone, and hated not being able to connect with him, so they’d ended up sniping at one another, instead. At the time, she had wanted more from him than he could give her—or anyone else. She hadn’t known that he’d barely survived a painful, lonely childhood.
Now, as Ram looked around, the simple beauty of the large, two-thousand-square-foot house struck him. As they entered the residence, he admired its airy, brightly lit, open quality. The windows were large beneath a cathedral style roof, and the rooms were light and bright.
He was also looking at it through the eyes of an operator. Where were the possible places an enemy could penetrate, in case he needed to get Cara out of the house and to safety?
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