At long last, the story of Max and Gina. Through
flashbacks, readers are reminded of Max's injuries that
left him hospitalized and unable to work for quite some
time. During that time, Gina stuck around, trying to get
him to understand the true depth of their relationship. But
Max couldn't seem to love her and she finally left.
Then Max is delivered the horrible news: Gina's name is on
the list of those killed by a terrorist bomb. Devastated
and sorry for all the things he didn't say, Max travels to
the scene of the attack, only to have his knees literally
buckle when he looks at a dead woman who is not Gina.
But where is Gina? Desperate to find her, Max and Jules go
a little AWOL (okay, okay, there's probably not such a
thing as a "little" AWOL) from their FBI jobs.
Gina has been pulled into the romance between Grady Morant
and Molly Anderson. Grady is wanted by practically everyone
in the world for his various misdeeds (including the U.S.
government), but he's a reformed man who is thoroughly in
love. How can he and Molly ever find happiness, though?
The women are kidnapped in an effort to draw Grady out and
Max and Jules, working reluctantly with Grady, rush to help
them. Will Max get the chance to tell Gina how much he
cares?
I have very mixed feelings about this book. I have enjoyed
all of Ms. Brockmann's books in this series and have
wondered when we'd get Max and Gina's story. I did,
however, have problems with the extensive use of flashbacks
to when Max was in the hospital. It seemed to interrupt the
flow of the book and, although I think the author was using
them to establish Max's personality in walling himself off
from emotion, I think it could have been done in a more
effective way. I loved the love story of Molly and Grady --
gotta love those sexy bad guys! Also, Jules was a strong
character in this book, as he was in the last. Those with
difficulties dealing with homosexuality may be a little put
off by him, but I like the guy. He's a good friend to Max
and Gina, both. I recommend this book, though I do think
you'll like it better if you've been reading the series.
As commander of the nation's most elite FBI counterterroism
unit, agent Max Bhagat leads by hard-driving example:
pushing himself to the limit and beyond, taking no excuses,
and putting absolutely nothing ahead of his work. That
includes his deep feelings for Gina Vitagliano, the woman
who won his admiration and his heart with her courage under
fire. But when the shocking news reaches him that Gina has
been killed in a terrorist bombing, nothing can keep Max
from making a full investigation -- and retribution -- his
top priority.
At the scene of the attack, however, Max gets an even
bigger shock. Gina is still very much alive—but facing a
fate even worse than death. Along with Molly Anderson, a
fellow overseas relief worker, Gina has fallen into the
hands of a killer who is bent on using both women to bait a
deadly trap. His quarry? Grady Morant, a.k.a “Jones,” a
notorious ex-Special Forces operative turned smuggler who
made some very deadly enemies in the jungles of Southeast
Asia . . . and has been running ever since. But with
Molly’s life on the line, Jones is willing to forfeit his
own to save the woman he loves.
Together with Max's top agent Jules Cassidy as their only
backup, the unlikely allies plunge into a global hot zone
of violence and corruption to make a deal with the devil.
Not even Jones knows which ghosts from his past want him
dead. But there's one thing he's sure of--there's very
little his bloodthirsty enemies aren't willing to do.