Crossfire (Extreme Measures Book #2)

Lynette Eason

Description

FBI special agent Julianna Jameson is a top-notch negotiator who has never lost a hostage. Surely she can manage to take care of her much younger sister, Dottie, who showed up unannounced to live with Julianna while she finished her senior year of high school.A former sniper with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Clay Fox left the army after a tragic incident that he can't get past. Now he's working as a high school resource officer until he can figure out what to do with the rest of his life. Their paths cross when Julianna is called in to negotiate a courtroom hostage situation involving Clay's sister. Impressed and a bit intimidated by the calm, capable woman with the dark hair and blue eyes, Clay invites her to speak at his school. Dottie's school.But as the anniversary of a school shooting from Julianna's past approaches, it becomes clear that her perfect record is about to be tested and that Dottie is at risk. If Julianna and Clay can't figure out who's behind the attacks, more innocent people will die--and Dottie is next in line.This intense story of revenge and redemption from bestselling author and master of suspense Lynette Eason will have you up all night as you race toward the explosive finish.

Sujets

• Romance
• Thriller

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 02 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493436217
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Endorsements
Praise for Life Flight
“This book is an edge-of-your-seat suspense thriller from start to finish. . . . Eason, a seasoned suspense author, has no trouble developing the plot flawlessly over the pages. With great character development and enough excitement to keep readers hooked, this novel is sure to keep patrons talking for months to come.”
Library Journal
“ Life Flight by Lynette Eason is a heart-stopping, breath-stealing masterpiece of romantic suspense! I read it in one gulp and could not put it down. It’s the best novel I’ve read this year. Highly recommended!”
Colleen Coble, USA Today bestselling author of A Stranger’s Game and the Pelican Harbor series
“Ready for a book that is a race from page one to the end? Then you need to read Life Flight , the latest from bestselling author Lynette Eason. The pages hurtle us from a life flight that crashes in the North Carolina mountains to a race against time and a serial killer. Laced throughout are enough additional plotlines to keep the characters desperately figuring out how to stay one step ahead. Layer in a blossoming romance, and this book has all the ingredients for a story I could not put down. I highly recommend this for those who love romantic suspense with enough twists to keep the most astute reader guessing.”
Cara Putman , award-winning author of Flight Risk and Lethal Intent
“A life-threatening medical emergency, a helicopter crash, and an escaped serial killer . . . Lynette Eason packs in all the ingredients for a thrilling edge-of-your-seat read! Life Flight will grip readers by the throat on the very first page all the way to the shocking ending, leaving them gasping for breath.”
Elizabeth Goddard , bestselling author of Present Danger and the Uncommon Justice series
“Lynette Eason’s latest book, Life Flight , grabs you from the opening words and doesn’t let go until the final chapter. I’m green-eyed with envy over her ability to craft such a heart-pounding, nail-biting story. I know one day she’ll even teach me how to write the sweet romance she so effortlessly weaves into her suspense novels. Another outstanding winner!”
Carrie Stuart-Parks, award-winning, bestselling author of Relative Silence
“Once again, Lynette Eason delivers a suspense-filled romance in Life Flight . Prepare to stay up all night as this book grips you from page one and won’t release you until the satisfying conclusion. The twists and turns had me holding my breath. Highly recommend!”
Robin Caroll , bestselling author of the Darkwater Inn series
“When you pick up Lynette Eason’s Life Flight , buckle up and brace for a wild ride! The story dips, twists, and spins with danger and deception on every page, all leading to the breath-stealing conclusion.”
Lynn H. Blackburn , award-winning author of the Defend and Protect series
Half Title Page
Books by Lynette Eason
W OMEN OF J USTICE
Too Close to Home
Don’t Look Back
A Killer Among Us
D EADLY R EUNIONS
When the Smoke Clears
When a Heart Stops
When a Secret Kills
H IDDEN I DENTITY
No One to Trust
Nowhere to Turn
Nothing to Lose
E LITE G UARDIANS
Always Watching
Without Warning
Moving Target
Chasing Secrets
B LUE J USTICE
Oath of Honor
Called to Protect
Code of Valor
Vow of Justice
Protecting Tanner Hollow
D ANGER N EVER S LEEPS
Collateral Damage
Acceptable Risk
Active Defense
Hostile Intent
E XTREME M EASURES
Life Flight
Crossfire
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2022 by Lynette Eason
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2022
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-3621-7
Some Scripture used in this book, whether quoted or paraphrased by the characters, is taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016
Some Scripture used in this book, whether quoted or paraphrased by the characters, is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Baker Publishing Group publications use paper produced from sustainable forestry practices and post-consumer waste whenever possible.
Dedication
Dedicated to those who put their lives on the line every day for others. Thank you for your service.
Contents
Cover
Endorsements
Half Title Page
Books by Lynette Eason
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Epigraph
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Sneak Peek of Another Exciting Story
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
Epigraph
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 NIV
CHAPTER ONE
MAY THURSDAY MORNING
FBI Special Agent Julianna Jameson glanced at the alert on her phone. “Hostage situation in progress,” she murmured, reading the text aloud.
Federal judge taken hostage in full courtroom. Suspect threatening to kill her and everyone else.
The address was a good thirty minutes away from her home.
“Let me guess.” Dottie leaned back in her chair and looked up at Julianna through the dark bangs that hung over her striking aquamarine-colored eyes. “You’ve got to go.”
Julianna pushed her half-eaten omelet aside and drained the rest of her orange juice in one swallow. “Yeah, sorry. You good?” Her sister had been living with her since her eighteenth birthday nine months ago—when their mother had no more say in where Dottie had to live. They’d settled into a pretty good routine, but Julianna’s occasional sudden departures still took the teen by surprise.
“Sure. We’ve got all of this end-of-school stuff going on, along with exam reviews, so I’m staying busy.” With only four weeks left in her senior year, Dottie was determined to experience it to the fullest.
Julianna grabbed her gear and shoved her weapon into her holster. “I’ll text you when I’m done.”
“Cool.”
She paused and held her sister’s eyes. “I’ll be fine. I promise.”
“I know.” Dottie stood, her red sneakers squeaking on the hardwood floors. She snagged her backpack, detached her plethora of keys from the hook on the side, and threaded them through her fingers.
Her own version of brass knuckles—or more likely a sign that she felt stressed. Before Julianna could decide whether to mention it or not, Dottie strode to the door. “I’ve got to get to school. I’ll be looking for your text.”
Julianna followed her. “Dottie—”
“It’s all good, I promise.” She whirled back to face Julianna. An abrupt move that took her by surprise and almost sent her crashing into the girl. “I know you’re careful,” Dottie said, “but I need you, okay? I can’t go back to living with her.” She grimaced. “ Not that that’s the only reason I don’t want you to die, but—”
“I know. I promise.” She squeezed Dottie’s shoulder. “I need you too, Dot. You’re good for me.”
Dottie relaxed a fraction. “Okay, then.” Another slight pause. “And I know what I do with the keys. It chills me for some reason. Makes me feel ready to fight back should I come across the enemy.”
Even when it was an invisible enemy like anxiety. “Whatever works for you, hon. I’m not judging.”
“I know. Thank you.”
Julianna followed her sister out the door and climbed into her Bucar, a Bureau-issued late-model Ford sedan, while Dottie cranked her ancient Jeep Wrangler. Julianna still couldn’t believe the girl had driven it from California to Charlotte, North Carolina, all by herself. Thoughts of the trouble that could have happened still sent shudders through her. “Nothing happened,” she muttered, backing out of the drive. “She’s fine. She’s safe. She’s in a good place.” And she’d stay that way as long as Julianna had a say in the matter. For now, she did.
More texts came through, blowing up her phone. She activated the Bluetooth, listened to the messages through the car’s speakers, and responded to them individually via voice texting.
She drove as fast as she dared and made it to the courthouse to find local law enforcement on scene along with fire trucks, ambulances, and the FBI mobile command post. SWAT was on standby. Julianna parked, pulled on her vest and windbreaker, and headed for the RV.
When she stepped inside, Supervisory Special Agent Hector Rodriguez looked up. “Glad you could make it.” His dark eyes, normally serious, held a new level of intensity. A neatly trimmed black mustache graced his upper lip, and he stroked it with one finger, as he was known to do when stressed or thinking.
“Got here as fast as I could.” Julianna slipped on the headset that would allow her to connect with the man holding the judge and a roomful of people hostage. “Do we have eyes?”
“We should any moment now.”
“Catch me up.”
“This was the Nicholas Manchester trial.”
“Ah yes. The guy who hijacked the plane last year and killed six passengers.”
“That’s the one.”
Rodriguez ran his finger over his mustache once more. His collateral duties included supervising SWAT and the field office coordinators for crisis negotiations and the Behavioral Analysis Unit.