Out of view, Laura shouted to the other women in English, then in a language Javier didn’t understand, terror in her voice. “Run! Get out! Go!”
But AK fire and screams told him that not all of them would make it.
Then two men dressed like Taliban or AQ operatives—olive green BDUs, head scarves—grabbed Laura off the floor, their bodies blocking the camera’s view.
¡Madre de dios, no!
“Leave her the fuck alone!” Javier shouted. “Jesus Christ!”
He’d have given anything in the world to be there right now.
“No!” She kicked, screamed, seemed to fight with all her might as they carried her toward the door. “
Nooo!
”
And then she was gone.
The station shifted back to a stunned Gary Chapin.
Chills slid down Javier’s spine, his gut churning. “
Bella!
”
Two days after her abduction, an Al-Qaeda splinter group headed by a fucker named Abu Nayef Al-Nassar took credit for abducting Laura—and claimed to have decapitated her.
The news struck Javier with the force of a grenade. He drifted through the day, feeling sick, doing his best to guide the men through the second day of their workup, trying to turn grief into anger.
“Shit like this is why we fight,” he told them with a calm he did not feel.
It was only when he got home that he’d been able to take off his mask, grief tearing him apart, memories haunting him.
Laura. Bella.
She’d been so alive and vibrant, so intelligent, so sensual and beautiful. He remembered kissing and nipping her graceful neck, groaning against her throat—a throat that some son of a bitch had cut. Unable to bear that last thought, he stumbled out of his BDUs and stepped into a hot shower, rage erupting from inside him until he found himself beating on the tile wall with his fist. “No! No! No!”
For the second time in his life, Javier felt tears in his eyes.
“
María, madre de Dios, por favor, prométeme que Laura no sufrió
.”
Mary, mother of God, please promise me that Laura didn’t suffer.
No answering voice came to reassure him.
He had no idea how long he stayed in the shower, how long he wept for her. He knew only that the water had turned cold. He stepped out, dried off, and looked at his own reflection in the mirror, making himself a promise.
One way or another, he would bring that motherfucker Al-Nassar down.
To read the Prologue to
Striking Distance
(I-Team #6), which continues Laura and Javier’s story, visit
my website
(www.pamelaclare.com).
“This sixth I-Team installment sees Clare at her very best, combining scorching desire with a gripping, often painful, exploration of healing and redemption. The plot's mystery and suspense elements are exceptionally well researched and expertly plotted, but the real achievement lies in her beautifully crafted main couple. Her heroine's ordeal is unspeakably painful, but her strength never wavers. The chemistry with her steadfast hero never lacks for sizzle, but the emotional bond they share allows them to go beyond the physical to a profound, unforgettable love.”
— RT Book Reviews, 4.5 stars Top Pick for
Striking Distance
“Packed with action and raw, sexual tension, Pamela Clare’s
Striking Distance
brings readers the edgy suspense, meaty subject matter, and intense emotions fans have come to expect from this talented author.”
—Cindy Gerard, New York Times best-selling author
Colorado author Pamela Clare began her writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor-in-chief of two different newspapers. Along the way, she and her team won numerous state and national honors, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service. In 2011, Clare was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award. A single mother with two sons, she writes historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense at the foot of the beautiful Rocky Mountains. To learn more about her or her books, visit her
website
. You can also keep up with her on
Goodreads
, on
Facebook
, on the
Rock*It Reads
website, or by joining the private
Facebook I-Team group
. Search for @Pamela_Clare on Twitter to follow her there.
Books by Pamela Clare
Kenleigh Blakewell Family Trilogy
MacKinnon’s Rangers series
Romantic Suspense
The I-Team Series
Heaven Can’t Wait: An I-Team novella (Book 1.5)
Skin Deep: An I-Team After Hours novella (Book 5.5)
Table of Contents
Books by Pamela Clare