Flash of Death
She was a target—and a job for a
very
special agent.
Trent Hollings has been secretly engineered to be the fastest man on earth. But when undercover forensics accountant Chloe Jordan walks into his life, with all her sexy reserve, time stands still for him. Not even the threat of retaliation from a powerful drug cartel can stop Trent from using his superhuman skills to keep her safe.
Chloe takes one look at Trent and sees everything she’s ever craved and avoided when it comes to men: adventure…and lies. Still, she knows that it’s only a matter of time before she surrenders to this smoking-hot man. But when the enemy finds them, Chloe is confronted with a truth that could destroy her love for Trent forever….
“There’s something I’ve always wanted to try....”
“Do tell.” Trent smiled. “What does a nice girl like you think about alone in the deep of night?”
And in her whiskey-induced honesty, Chloe told him. Every lurid, naughty detail of every lurid, naughty fantasy she’d ever had. By the time she was finished, his eyes blazed with desire and his body was obviously more than eager to play along.
“I don’t think we can get to all of that tonight, Chloe, but we can definitely make a dent in your list.” He rolled out of bed and fetched her discarded panty hose. With quick efficiency, he tied her wrists together and then to the headboard and knelt between her knees, his eyes burning with dark fire.
“Let’s see just how far you’re willing to go, my nice, normal little accountant.”
Dear Reader,
This was one of those books that burst into life, hit the ground running and never looked back. It’s always a special treat for me when a pair of characters take over the story and drag me along purely to act as their typist. Chloe and Trent sent me on a particularly wild ride, and I really had to type fast to keep up with them.
Chloe was a ton of fun. It was a challenge to write the sibling of a former heroine and to find a completely unique story for her even though Chloe and her sister came from essentially the same background. Trent continues my exploration of the limits of current science and what the near future may look like. I continue to be amazed at how close we are to having abilities like Trent and the other members of the Code X team.
And then, of course, there was the sizzling chemistry between Chloe and Trent to capture on the page without burning it to ashes. Throw in a bad guy or two, attempted murder and kidnapping, and we’ve got a recipe for a fun read.
So pour yourself your favorite beverage, order out so you don’t have to cook supper, relax, put your feet up and dive into a flash of death, mayhem and true love!
Until next time, happy reading…
Cindy Dees
Cindy
Dees
Flash of Death
Books by Cindy Dees
Harlequin Romantic Suspense
†Soldier’s Last Stand
#1665
The Spy’s Secret Family
#1673
Captain’s Call of Duty
#1684
†Soldier’s Rescue Mission
#1689
†Her Hero After Dark
#1703
‡Breathless Encounter
#1716
‡Flash of Death
#1726
Silhouette Romantic Suspense
Behind Enemy Lines
#1176
Line of Fire
#1253
A Gentleman and a Soldier
#1307
* Her Secret Agent Man
#1353
* Her Enemy Protector
#1417
The Lost Prince
#1441
**The Medusa Affair
#1477
**The Medusa Seduction
#1494
†The Dark Side of Night
#1509
Killer Affair
#1524
†Night Rescuer
#1561
The 9-Month Bodyguard
#1564
†Medusa’s Master
#1570
The Soldier’s Secret Daughter
#1588
**The Medusa Proposition
#1608
†The Longest Night
#1617
Dr. Colton’s High-Stakes Fiancée
#1628
**Medusa’s Sheik
#1633
†Soldier’s Night Mission
#1649
Nocturne
Time Raiders: The Slayer
#71
*Charlie Squad
**The Medusa Project
†H.O.T. Watch
‡Code X
Other titles by this author available in ebook format.
CINDY DEES
started flying airplanes while sitting in her dad’s lap at the age of three and got a pilot’s license before she got a driver’s license. At age fifteen, she dropped out of high school and left the horse farm in Michigan, where she grew up, to attend the University of Michigan. After earning a degree in Russian and East European studies, she joined the U.S. Air Force and became the youngest female pilot in its history. She flew supersonic jets, VIP airlift and the C-5 Galaxy, the world’s largest airplane. During her military career, she traveled to forty countries on five continents, was detained by the KGB and East German secret police, got shot at, flew in the first Gulf War and amassed a lifetime’s worth of war stories.
Her hobbies include medieval reenacting, professional Middle Eastern dancing and Japanese gardening.
This RITA® Award-winning author’s first book was published in 2002 and since then she has published more than twenty-five bestselling and award-winning novels. She loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at
www.cindydees.com
.
Kathy, you keep me sane even when I accept insane deadlines. Thanks for everything. You’re the best!
Contents
Chapter 1
C
hloe Jordan knew one thing: the combination of turning thirty and being one of the only single women at her little sister’s wedding was thoroughly depressing—expensive-chocolate-and-cheap-wine-binge depressing. The hell of it was that she, as the maid of honor, emphasis on
maid, old
maid, had an ironclad obligation to be the life of the party. No matter how much she loved her little sis, this night officially sucked.
A chorus of spoons knocking on glasses startled her out of her momentary slip into melancholy. Shouts of laughter went up as the groom laid a smoking-hot kiss on the bride.
Sheesh. Somebody throw a bucket of ice water on those two.
Chloe checked her bitterness. Sunny’d had a really crappy run of luck and deserved all the happiness she could get. The lucky groom, Aiden, obviously loved Sunny fiercely. Next up on her personal hit parade of depressing events was bound to be playing indulgent auntie to their perfect children. Yippee.
The band resumed playing too loudly to talk over, and thankfully a mob of guests piled out of their seats, relieving her of any duty to go out onto a painfully empty dance floor and “get things started.”
It didn’t help her mood that she’d had a little too much champagne and was starting to feel a little weepy. Sunny was so beautiful and radiant, and she was so proud of her little sis. Chloe noticed from her seat jammed in the corner that it had started raining outside.
One of the groomsmen got the bright idea to light up a cigar, and furthermore, to pass out cigars to all the other groomsmen. A cloud of noxious blue smoke enveloped her. Her stomach roiled ominously.
Enough was enough. She took her queasy stomach and crazy mood swings and fled the reception in search of fresh air. She burst out of the private club that was one of Denver’s most exclusive addresses and inhaled deeply. But even the rain wouldn’t give her a break and the skies opened up without warning. Her hotel was right across the street and she ran for it, racing down the club’s wide steps. Streetlights glittered off the wet pavement as she dashed between cars.
She never saw it coming.
A big, dark SUV accelerated toward her out of nowhere, its engine growling hungrily as it shot forward. Its headlights were blinding and she stared into them in shock.
The impact was incredible, knocking her completely off her feet and sending her flying through space splayed out on her back. Something powerful wrapped around her torso, yanking her in a midair one-eighty so she landed on her stomach. She slammed into something...
...and didn’t die horribly. Whatever she’d smashed into had definitely been hard but not nearly as unyielding as concrete. Her breath was knocked clean out of her, though, and she gasped frantically to no avail. Disoriented, she stared down at the man lying beneath her. Had she been thrown into him and knocked him down?
An engine revved and tires squealed behind her. She looked up in time to see a black, shiny, wet SUV disappear around a corner at a high speed.
She’d nearly died. And the man lying so still beneath her had probably saved her life by breaking her fall. Had she
killed
him? All of a sudden, she was able to breathe again. She sucked in a sobbing breath and rolled off of the man.
“Are you okay?” she asked urgently.
His eyes blinked open, and silver eyes stared up at her, laser-intense. Eyes she recognized. Ohmigosh. He was one of Aiden’s groomsmen. Trenton something. Hollings. That was it. She’d heard some of the other guys call him Trent.
“I’ll live,” he rasped. “You?”
“I’m fine. You broke my fall. I’m so sorry—”
He cut her off. “No need to apologize. Who was in that car?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t see anything, and then those headlights were coming at me. I guess the SUV hit me and sent me flying into you.”
“Actually,” he murmured, sitting up carefully, his dark hair tousled and sexy, “I’m the only thing that hit you. I knocked you out of the car’s way at the last second. Had that SUV hit you, something that heavy moving that fast would have killed you instantly.”
She stared, stunned anew. He really
had
saved her life. For a man who’d just been knocked flat by a human-sized flying object, he popped to his feet with a speed and grace that shocked her. A hand materialized in front of her eyes. It was big and tanned and calloused in stark contrast to the pristinely starched white cuff and onyx cufflink above it.
She took his hand and floated to her feet.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked, his voice deep. Rough with concern.
She looked down at her red silk gown ruefully. The side seam had torn from the hem almost all the way to her hip. Her slender leg was entirely exposed. “I’m fine. But I can’t say the same for my dress.”
