Navy SEAL Chief Kelly Ballard sees the two Taliban RPGs hit the Chinook helicopter and rip it in two. As it falls to the ground, he sees someone crawl out through the windshield. How could anyone survive that crash? Kell is on a Black Ops mission in the Hindu Kush Mountains and makes his way to the crash site after taking out the Taliban soldiers who fired the RPGs. Quickly he carries the wounded pilot out of harm's way. When he has time to examine the pilot, he realizes it is a woman. Her dog tags say Chief Warrant Officer L. MacKenzie.

Kell is a medic and tends to CWO MacKenzie's head and arm wounds, sewing her up in both places. They are in a cave system that is relatively safe for now with everything they need for the time being. The Afghan war is heating up this time of year, and Kell is told by his commanding officer that extracting Leah is not possible right now. Kell continues his mission each day as Leah heals from her wounds. Gradually she is able to move around and take care of herself during the day. But as the battle continues to rage and the Taliban get closer, they have to move from cave to cave, working their way back to the forward operating base (FOB) Camp Bravo.

During their time together, a romance begins to blossom between Kell and Leah, but Leah has been hurt in a bad marriage and is very withdrawn. Kell senses that she was abused and knows he needs to take it slow with her. The abuse was not only physical, but also emotional and psychological. There's a lot of healing that needs to take place before a relationship can be born. But what awaits them when they return to the FOB?

Lindsay McKenna continues her military thrillers set in Afghanistan with RUNNING FIRE. Her characters are always strong, and the plot is riveting and full of suspense. RUNNING FIRE isn't quite as action-packed as her previous books in this series, but it holds you spellbound just the same. This is a story about having stability in your life and a sense of belonging; about being yourself, not what you think other want you to be. It is a story about healing and finding safety. RUNNING FIRE is number eight in Ms. McKenna's Shadow Warriors series. I love this series and know you will too.