Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team Series Book 10)
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Authors: Kaylea Cross
Tags: #Hostage Rescue Series
Reclaimed
by
Kaylea Cross
Copyright © 2016
by Kaylea Cross
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Cover Art by
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.
ISBN: 978-1-928044-15-4
Dedication
This one goes out to all my readers who have fallen in love with this cast of characters as much as I have. I truly appreciate all your support and enthusiasm, not just for this series, but for my work in general. You guys rock my socks!
Dear readers,
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. It’s hard to believe I’ve reached the last book in the HRT series, and I’ll be sad to write The End in this one. But never fear, I guarantee these guys will make appearances in future stories!
In the meantime, get ready for an emotional roller coaster ride as you read Adam and Summer’s story. Without a doubt, this one is a true nail biter and several of the scenes had me in tears. This couple has been through so much. They’ve loved and lost, they’ve been broken.
But through everything, they have continued to love each other. My favorite thing about them is that they’ve continued to fight for each other and for their marriage in spite of all the pain they’ve suffered.
I hope their story touches your heart as much as it did mine.
Happy reading!
Kaylea Cross
Sometimes love isn’t enough.
The painful words Summer had said to him kept tumbling through Special Agent Adam Blackwell’s head as he rode the elevator of the Jordanian government building to the twelfth floor. He’d just left his teammates a few floors down, waiting for another meeting to break up, because he had a few minutes and wanted to pull off this surprise.
He hadn’t wanted to believe Summer’s prophetic words at first, but now he recognized that they were true. Love wasn’t always enough to make a marriage work. Because sometimes, other things got in the way.
He’d been blind and selfish, had almost lost Summer because of it. Thank God he’d finally woken up and realized all that before it was too late.
At least…he hoped it wasn’t too late.
The elevator slowed. A soft ding sounded and the doors slid open. He strode down the hallway, his pulse accelerating and something like butterflies swirling around in his stomach.
Nerves and the buzz of anticipation. All because he was about to come face to face with his wife for the first time in nearly a month and he wasn’t sure what her reaction would be when he surprised her by showing up here.
She’d said those fateful words to him a little over a year ago now, though the unraveling of their marriage had begun after a certain event a year before that. They’d been trying to find their way back to each other ever since.
The meeting room doors were still closed, two guards posted outside, one at either end. They nodded at him. He nodded in return and leaned back against the wall across from the room, his hands braced behind him as he waited.
The door handle turned. Voices floated out of the room as it opened. He stood there unmoving, scanning people’s faces as they exited. Intelligence officials from various agencies within the U.S., along with their Jordanian counterparts. All part of a massive, multi-national summit to address the ongoing security situation in the region.
He caught a glimpse of red hair in the group of people waiting to exit and something stilled inside him. Everything else faded away as a man stepped aside and Summer suddenly appeared in the doorway. She paused a moment when she saw him, her pale green eyes lighting up with surprise and delight.
Relief spilled through him, and the happy smile that spread across her face almost took his breath away. It had been so damn long since she’d looked at him like that.
“Hey,” he said with a grin, glad he’d made the effort in finding her during his short break.
She crossed toward him, smile in place, a formfitting charcoal gray skirt suit hugging her petite frame and black high heels accentuating every muscle in her sexy legs. Her scent reached out to tease him as she drew close, a mix of vanilla and musk that hit him with a thousand bittersweet memories.
Stopping in front of him, her laptop bag in one hand, she reached up and tucked a lock of shiny auburn hair behind her ear, the end of it trailing over her Defense Intelligence Agency ID badge clipped to the lapel of her jacket. “Fancy meeting you in Amman,” she teased, giving him an appreciative look that made his heart pound. While they were here they were both on assignment and couldn’t stay together, even if they’d wanted to.
“Yeah, imagine that.” He wanted to touch her so damn bad but held back. Things were still shaky between them, he didn’t want to mess up the progress they’d been making through counseling and all the rest of it. Slow, tentative progress, but he’d take whatever he could get on that front.
Then the residual tension between them reared its ugly head once more, and her smile faded. “Were you guys here for meetings this morning?”
“Yeah. I had a few minutes so I thought I’d run up and surprise you before we headed out.” The HRT was here acting as the personal security force for the director and a few other top officials of the FBI.
Her lips curved into a soft smile that told him he’d made the right decision in surprising her. “That was nice of you. So, what do you think of Amman?”
“It’s different than most places I’ve been to over here.” And by here he meant the Middle East and parts of South Asia he’d frequented back in his SF days while he’d served in the Army. “Way more liberal.”
She seemed amused by that. “It’s one of my favorite cities on earth.”
Yeah, he knew that. She traveled here at least a couple times a year, for work.
Something to her right caught her attention. She glanced down the hall, acknowledged someone with a nod and held up a finger to indicate she’d be there in a minute and turned back to him.
Her eyes searched his and he took the time to drink her in, every freckle dotting the skin across her cheeks and nose. She’d always hated them but at that moment he would have given just about anything to be able to kiss each and every one of them.
“Maybe if you get some downtime in the next few days, I could show you around. I’ve got a few favorite restaurants I think you’d love.”
The offer took him a little by surprise, since she was here on assignment and she’d be in full-on work mode, but he nodded. “That sounds great.” And even though it might be pathetic on some levels, he was just thrilled that she actually wanted to go on another date with him. “Tonight?”
“I’ll have to check with my boss, but if not tonight, then tomorrow. Would that work?”
“Sure, whenever. It’s a date.”
“Good.” The hint of a dimple appeared in her left cheek. He wanted to kiss that too. Kiss her all over until she melted the way she used to, before…
He noticed the man at the end of the hall was still waiting for her, watching them. Adam indicated for her to head down the hall. He fell in step beside her as they walked toward the elevator. Her boss and the other man were both waiting for her there.
When they reached them a slight awkwardness took hold as they both stared at him in surprise and Adam wondered how much they knew about his and Summer’s marital problems. Probably more than he would like, but he didn’t fault her for telling them.
“Jim, you remember my husband Adam?” Summer asked.
“Sure I do.” The man held out a hand.
Adam shook her boss’s hand, then did the same with the other man, whose name was Mark.
“So, Adam, you and your team here for the summit?” Jim asked.
“Yes.”
“Do we have anything important scheduled for tonight?” Summer asked Jim. “I was hoping to show Adam around town a bit if I could sneak away for a few hours.”
“Well he won’t find a better tour guide than you,” her boss joked as he pulled out his phone. He checked something and shook his head. “Just a dinner with some locals. Mark and I will handle it. You take the night off. You deserve it.”
Summer gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks.”
Adam was thankful too. Their last date had been nearly a month ago and it had been one of the best nights of his life. He couldn’t remember the last time they’d had that much fun together, and he knew she’d enjoyed herself too.
The only downside was that they’d both returned home to their separate places with a raging case of sexual frustration. But the counselor had warned them not to rush back into having sex, so he’d put on the brakes that night and held firm, his only consolation that they were both suffering equally. In spite of all the emotional damage she was struggling to overcome, she still wanted him. That had to mean something.
The elevator reached the underground parking garage. Summer hung back with him as Jim and Mark strode to the line of shiny black SUVs idling there, and climbed into the back of the second one.
“So,” she asked softly when no one else was within earshot. “Are you glad to be back with the team?”
“Definitely. Especially now with the bonus of getting a date with you out of the deal.” He’d requested a leave of absence from the HRT a couple months ago, so he could give saving their marriage a real shot. Getting time off was a problem though, given how busy the team had been, and they’d temporarily lost one of their teammates, Vance, to an injury back in September. So he and Summer hadn’t had as much of an opportunity to focus on each other as he’d hoped.
He was supposed to be off right now but his commander had asked him to join this protection detail, and Vance was finally back. DeLuca had wanted all of Blue Team for this one and the truth was, Adam missed the guys as well as the action when he took time away.
“Good. So can you pick me up at my hotel at six?”
“Absolutely.”
So many emotions played out across her face as she gazed up at him. Affection. Sadness. Hope. “I’m really glad you’re here.”
His heart thudded harder. “Me too.” She was so damn beautiful standing there, and he was so proud of her. She was an amazing woman, had worked hard to get where she was. He needed to make sure he reminded her of that going forward, make sure she understood what she meant to him. God knew he hadn’t done a very good job of that in the past.
She glanced over at the waiting SUVs, regret on her face. “Well, I guess I’d better get going…”
“Yeah.” They still had a long way to go before she’d be ready to move back home with him and live as husband and wife again, but at least he knew he was steadily gaining ground with her. For the first time in forever, he believed they might make it through this mess after all.
“Take care of yourself,” he murmured, hating to let her go. The distance between them felt wrong on every level, and it drove him insane. Unable to stop himself, he reached out and cupped the side of her face with one hand, letting his fingers coast over the softness of her cheek.
She stilled, surprise filling her eyes at the intimate touch, but she didn’t pull away, just kept staring up at him with that mix of hope and uncertainty that made his heart pound.
