FREEZING POINT
by Elizabeth Goddard
Romantic
Suspense from LOVE INSPIRED SUSPENSE
When
investigative reporter Casey Wilkes unwittingly stumbles upon a smuggling ring,
she jeopardizes Homeland Security Jessie Mitchell's covert and his life, as well
as her own.
Secrets Under
The Ice
Casey Wilkes
didn't realize her simple human-interest story would put her life at risk—again.
After fleeing her home and journalism job in Portland, she wanted to live under
the radar for a while. But when her interviewee starts dodging her questions,
her reporter instincts kick in and she finds herself in over her
head…
Homeland
security agent Jesse Mitchell has been undercover as an ice sculptor for months,
trying to infiltrate a smuggling ring. He wants to avoid trouble, and that's
just what Casey brings. Now someone has a target set on Casey. Saving her could
blow his cover, but leaving her unprotected endangers him even more—especially
his heart.
A quick read,
lots of action to keep your attention and a sweet love story to end it all.
Definitely a great way to spend an evening!! 4 stars –The Suspense
Zone
Chapter
One
Beautiful…but
dangerous.
Jesse finished
shoving the last block of dry ice into the back of the specially designed
truck—well insulated, yet ventilated to allow for sublimation—the melting that
would give off deadly CO2 gas.
The solid form
of carbon dioxide would be used to create the snow effect around the ice
sculptures along with fog—a mysterious yet stunning display.
He tugged off
the gloves used to protect his hands from ice burns or, worse, frostbite.
Because his father was a chef and master ice sculptor, Jesse had learned a few
techniques of his own, even entering competitions during his college
days.
That's what made
him the perfect candidate for this covert operation, and the only reason Robert
McCoffey, his superior, had pulled Jesse from the desk job and visits to the
psychiatrist and put him back into the action. Working as an undercover agent
for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Jesse had nearly blown his last
assignment and thought he'd never get the chance to restore his reputation and
career.
But ICE's bulk
cash and smuggling division decided Helms Ice and Trucking Company was
hot—laundering money for the Mexican cartel—and they wanted someone on the
inside. Since the trucking company also had a catering side business
specializing in ice sculptures, Jesse was it.
He shoved his
hand through his hair. God had some sense of humor.
Miguel grinned
as he assisted Jesse in closing off the back of the truck. He signaled to the
driver that the truck was ready to go, and it lumbered away from the loading
dock.
"You okay
today?" Miguel asked.
"Everything's
great," Jesse lied. With his superiors breathing down his neck, he had to come
up with something and soon. He'd already been working undercover too long for
his own good.
"You'd better
get back to your hole. You got another gig in a few days." Miguel strode over to
a counter and grabbed a pack of cigarettes.
Though Miguel
referred to the ice-sculpture competition that Jesse needed to prepare for,
Jesse was concerned about a far different gig, and that's what had him on edge
today. He was desperate to get in on what he believed would be the next
transport of bulk cash. As the truck departed, Jesse fought the tensing in his
gut. Could this truck be driving off with millions in cash tucked away behind or
in the ice, and Jesse had somehow missed it?
Carlos returned
from his break. "We expecting another truck in a few?"
"You're not
going anywhere. Jesse's got his own work. You're lucky he was here to cover for
you," Miguel said.
Carlos gave a
halfhearted snarl. Jesse didn't like the guy. After years spent working
undercover assignments, Jesse had learned there were some people you met while
undercover that you grew to care about and others you grew to hate. Carlos was
someone to hate. He had no doubt that Carlos was capable of much worse than
smuggling cash. He might have committed the murder on the loading dock that
occurred several months ago, bringing the police down on this place and the cash
smuggling operations to a complete halt for a few weeks.
Jesse had to
remain and bide his time until things began moving again. Though he had proof of
several small transactions, those crimes had already occurred. His goal was to
gather intelligence, figure out all the players and be witness to the movement
of a large amount of cash—catching them in the act. This would bring stiffer
penalties under federal law.
When Carlos's
eyes slid toward him, Jesse turned his back on the man. "Later," he said, and
headed for the exit.
He squeezed his
eyes closed for a moment. Guys like Carlos were the reason Jesse had grown to
loathe working undercover. Memories from his last assignment flooded his mind—a
man struggling with the thugs of a drug ring Jesse had infiltrated. He'd lived
with the nightmare day and night. Jesse could have stepped into the fray, but
that would have been kicking his cover in the teeth. He'd almost cracked under
the moral dilemma. If only Jesse had gone a little out of his way, he could have
prevented the man from strolling around the corner at that precise moment—the
exact wrong moment. He would never allow that to happen again.
He promised
himself then that once he got out, he'd never go back. In the end, he'd almost
blown the mission and been reprimanded before being returned to a desk job.
After months living life undercover as a drug runner, learning to walk and talk
like them, to avoid the cops, he'd struggled to fit in with his fellow agents
again.
What had the
psychiatrist told him? "You 're suffering from anxiety and extreme
suspiciousness." That he was near the breaking point.
A shiver swept
over him when he passed the room-size freezer that took up a quarter of the
loading dock.
At the moment, he felt like he was near the freezing point—if he
worked like this for much longer, his heart would turn
stone-cold.
Right now, he
knew one thing—if he wanted to transfer programs within the agency, he'd have to
earn back the respect of his supervisors and the confidence of his fellow
agents.
In order to do
that he'd have to see this case through and make the bust of these so-called
untouchables.
Nothing or no
one would stand in his way this time. Nor would he allow anyone to stumble upon
Carlos and Miguel on the loading dock. Not again. Not on his
watch.
Copyright © 2011
by Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ® and ™ are trademarks
owned by Harlequin Enterprises Limited or its affiliated companies, used under
license.
* * *
The Restorer
-Expanded
Edition
By Sharon Hinck
About the book:
Susan Mitchell thought she was an
ordinary homemaker.
She was wrong.
Pulled through a portal into
another world, she finds a nation waiting for a promised Restorer. Could she be
the heroine they are waiting for? She tackles an enemy that is poisoning
people's minds, uncovers a corrupt ruling Council, and discovers that God can
use her floundering efforts in surprising ways.
This groundbreaking series is now
being released in expanded editions, including an in-depth devotion guide, bonus
scenes, and other fun extras.
"Because of Sharon
Hinck, I have fallen in love with a new genre. The Sword of Lyric series is
exactly what Christian fiction should be. Bravo, bravo…and more please!"
–Susan May Warren, best-selling author of dozens of CBA
novels
"Fresh and compelling. Sharon zigged every time I expected
her to zag, and the world she created is full of mystery and suspense and the
awe of discovery. But it's the characters who keep you coming back for
more".– Robin Parrish, author of
Vigilante
From the new back-of-the-book
extras:
Bonus Scene after Chapter 4
Tristan:
"She
warned me." I tossed back the last swig of clavo and wiped out the mug before
tucking it away on a recessed shelf. Not that there was any real need to clean
up. The place probably wouldn't see another person for seasons to come. I was
stalling, and I knew it.
Kieran
leaned against the open doorway, squinting into the distance. "Who warned you of
what?"
"My
mother. She tried to stop me."
"We all
tried to stop you. You did what you had to."
I slung
my pack over one shoulder and met Kieran at the door. "She warned me that
revenge wouldn't change anything. She begged me to stay in Braide
Wood."
Kieran
shook his head. "You've got new things to worry about. By the way, she headed
toward the center of town."
I
sighed. Not the direction I needed to go. "Of course she did." I followed Kieran
outside and pulled the door closed.
"I still
say you should leave her here and get back to Lyric for some damage control. The
Council has probably figured out by now that you aren't where you're supposed to
be."
More
regret slammed into me. I hadn't cared about what my mother needed, I hadn't
cared about the guardians in my command, I hadn't cared about anything but
tracking the Rhusican. Every day I'd woken with desperate hope that tore my
insides like a rizzid's claws. Hope that confronting the Rhusican would bring me
answers. Hope that justice would ease my pain. Hope that I'd be able to talk to
the One again without shaking with rage. And now . . . now I just
felt empty.
"Hey."
Kieran shoved me, a little too hard to be playful. "Stop it. Second guessing
makes you weak."
I
swatted him aside and tightened my sword belt. "It's not weakness to analyze my
choices."
"Choices? You didn't have choices. You told me he attacked
you."
"He did.
But it was still my sword that took his life. I could have—"
"Let him
kill you?" Kieran spit the words out through a clenched jaw.
I took a
step back. "What are you so mad at me for?"
"Because
you're an idiot. He did more than enough damage, but you insist on making it
worse by torturing yourself." Kieran raked a hand through his dark hair, haggard
lines deepening on his face.
Another
person I hadn't considered. He'd been devastated too. My shoulders
slumped. "I wish I could bring her back."
Pain
flashed in Kieran's eyes. He turned away and cleared his throat. "Go track down
your protégé before she wanders into a clay pit. Although, come to think of it,
that would solve a few problems."
With a
dry chuckle, he strode down the street, heading toward Hazor. I shook my head,
picked up the extra pack I'd assembled, and walked toward the center of town to
find Susan. Unlike Kieran, I could dare to hope for a Restorer. After all, what
else could explain what we'd both seen? Her crumpled, lifeless body had healed.
Still, she seemed awfully small and confused to be of much help. If I were still
on speaking terms with the One, I'd ask Him what her appearance meant, but for
now I'd hope someone in Braide Wood could figure out what to do with
her.
(Copyright Sharon Hinck, 2011. Used
with permission. Please do not reproduce.)
The Restorer-Expanded Edition is
available at Marcher Lord Press:
On Kindle:
And on Nook:
__._,_.___
For more information on this
week's books, join the Chapter a Week Chat group!http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAWChat/
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