ABOUT THE BOOK
She wants answers—and justice.
Jaia knows her brother was murdered on a contracting job overseas, and that the company they work for covered it up. She just can’t prove it—yet. But she’s been quietly searching, gathering evidence and building her case at great personal risk. When she learns that the company is about to target another innocent man because of what he knows, she intervenes, risking it all to warn him and steal secret company files. Now there’s no safe place for her. Not knowing who else to trust, she flees and turns to the stranger she saved—hoping it won’t cost her life.
Their search for the truth could get them killed.
Air National Guard Pararescueman Brandon Whitaker nearly died after being captured by the enemy during a mission in Yemen. The things he learned about atrocities allegedly committed by American contractors there continue to haunt him. When no one seems interested in finding the truth, he starts digging on his own—and discovers a cover-up. When a phone call from a stranger alerts him that he’s in imminent danger, it triggers an irreversible chain reaction. On the run while trying to track down the woman who warned him, their paths suddenly collide. He doesn’t know if he can trust her, but now it’s the two of them against the shadowy forces tracking their every move. Only together can he and Jaia uncover the truth and expose the people responsible. But with trained killers on their tail, it’s all they can do to stay alive.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
In the previous book you read all about Brandon’s backstory. Now you’ll get to meet the mysterious woman he’s about to cross paths with, never realizing it’s going to change the trajectory of his entire life.
Hope you enjoy his and Jaia’s story!
Kaylea
Chapter One
I can’t talk now, but serious shit’s going down and the company’s involved.
Her brother’s final words to her replayed in her mind as Jaia strode quickly down the top floor office hallway toward the elevator. She’d timed this carefully, waiting until her boss was in another meeting before making her exit. She was anxious to get out of here, a mental clock ticking with each passing second.
She was fifty feet away from the elevator when a door opened behind her. She didn’t slow. Didn’t dare look back.
“Leaving already?”
Alarm shot through her. She froze, took a split second to compose her face into a serene mask before turning to face the speaker.
Her boss, the company COO stood in his office doorway, hands in pockets as he watched her with a scrutiny that made her pulse race. Robert couldn’t know what she’d done. Not this soon. She’d been too careful.
Or...did he? The way he watched her made her not so sure.
“Unless you need me for anything else, yes,” she replied, her voice calm in spite of her elevated pulse. The company’s CEO was in Robert’s office right now. She didn’t like or trust him.
Robert’s face softened in a grin, and he waved her off. Well into his fifties, he was still in good shape and carried himself with the proud bearing of a former military man. “Nah, just messing with you. Have a good weekend and I’ll see you Monday.”
“Thanks, you too.”
Her knees felt weak as she stepped into the elevator, but she dared not show any sign of relief or weakness with the security camera capturing her every move. Just like at the funeral, she held herself together. Composed. Concealing her true thoughts and emotions from everyone else in this world she no longer trusted.
She managed a smile and a wave at the security personnel manning the desk in the lobby and flashed her security badge to the man standing guard at the elevator down to the underground parking garage. He checked it, nodded at her and stepped aside to let her enter. Security was tight on a normal day, but with the CEO here for meetings and an undercurrent of unease in the air, things were more strict than usual.
Her car was parked in its usual spot two rows away from the elevator. Only one other car was still in the row, everyone else having gone home for the Easter weekend. She slipped inside, allowed herself a mental sigh of relief. But even here she couldn’t afford to let her guard down. Cameras covered every inch of this level.
And she couldn’t be sure that someone hadn’t planted a microphone or tracker on her car.
She felt nauseated and elated all at once as she pulled out of her spot and wound her way up through the garage to street level. She had passed the official point of no return. There was no going back now. All she could do was hope for the best.
A storm front had moved in from the Gulf during the afternoon. The moment she exited the parking garage and pulled into Tampa rush hour traffic, fat raindrops beat against the windshield. All around her, the spring sky was completely blotted out by ominous, purple-tinged clouds.
She kept careful watch around her, looking for any sign that she was being followed, but the gridlock made it impossible to tell. The rain got heavier as she inched her way to the freeway onramp and merged into the slow-moving traffic, finally becoming an angry torrent. Even at a crawl her wipers could barely keep the windshield clear. Jagged bolts of lightning tore through the sky, the boom of thunder loud enough to rattle her windows.
It took almost twice as long as usual to make it to her neighborhood along the bay. But when she got close, she spotted a gray van a few cars back that might be following her. It didn’t make sense that her boss would order someone to tail her home. He would simply just send someone to her house.
Unwilling to leave it to chance, she took several right turns in a row, completing a square to make sure. By the third turn, the van had disappeared.
A little rattled, she took a long, winding route toward her house, paranoia nagging her the entire time. But there was no further sign of the van, or anyone waiting for her when she finally reached her street.
She opened the automatic garage door, drove straight in and closed it behind her. Instantly the sound of the rain became muffled, the relative silence of the interior closing around her.
Drawing in a deep breath, Jaia let it out slowly, forcing her tense muscles to relax and letting some of the nervous energy drain away. She got out and hurried into the house, disarming her security system on her way through the door that led into her combination mudroom and laundry room. A system that likely gave her a false sense of safety considering the people she worked for could easily hack or bypass it without her ever realizing.
Considering what she’d been working on lately, it was possible they already had.
Shoving that disturbing thought aside, she dropped her purse and workbag on the kitchen counter and went straight to her office just off the living room. She woke her computer, suppressing another tingle of alarm before opening the program she needed.
This still felt surreal. She was a top-notch executive assistant, not a tech wizard. It had taken her six weeks to research how to do this and get the equipment she needed using a fake name and a PO box. Then another week to finalize her plan and work up the nerve to actually plant the devices.
An audio feed popped up. Pulling in a determined breath, she hit start.
A live conversation was happening in her boss’s office. She quickly put on her headphones to listen in, checking to make sure the program was also recording a written transcript of what was being said. She recognized the two voices instantly. One was her boss.