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Taking Fire
Lindsay McKenna
She dances on the edge of life…and deathNot all are meant to walk in the light. Marine Corps Sergeant Khat Shinwari lives among the shadows of the rocky Afghanistan mountains, a Shadow Warrior by name and by nature. She works alone, undercover and undetected–until a small team of US Navy SEALs are ambushed by the Taliban…and Khat is forced to disobey orders to save their lives.To go rogue.Now, hidden deep in the mountains with injured SEAL Michael Tarik in her care, Khat learns that he's more than just an operator. In him, she sees something of herself and of what she could be. Now duty faces off against the raw, overwhelming attraction she has for Mike. And she must decide between the safety of the shadows…and risking everything by stepping into the light.
She dances on the edge of life...and death
Not all are meant to walk in the light. Marine Corps Sergeant Khat Shinwari lives among the shadows of the rocky Afghani hills, a Shadow Warrior by name and by nature. She works alone, undercover and undetected—until a small team of US Navy SEALs are set upon by the Taliban…and Khat is forced to disobey orders to save their lives.
To go rogue.
Now, hidden deep in the hills with injured SEAL Michael Tarik in her care, Khat learns that he’s more than just a sailor. In him, she sees something of herself and of what she could be. Now duty faces off against the raw, overwhelming attraction she has for Mike. And she must decide between the safety of the shadows…and risking everything by stepping into the light.
Praise for Lindsay McKenna (#ulink_fe7275db-f838-5fdd-a63d-51a9f496cff5)
“A treasure of a book…highly recommended reading that everyone will enjoy and learn from.”
—Chief Michael Jaco, US Navy SEAL, retired, on Breaking Point
“McKenna’s latest is an intriguing tale…a unique twist on the romance novel, and one that’s sure to please.”
—RT Book Reviews on Dangerous Prey
“McKenna’s military experience shines through in this moving tale…. McKenna (High Country Rebel) skillfully takes readers on an emotional journey into modern warfare and two people’s hearts.”
—Publishers Weekly on Down Range
“Gunfire, emotions, suspense, tension and sexuality abound in this fast-paced, absorbing novel.”
—Affaire de Coeur on Wild Woman
“Another masterpiece.”
—Affaire de Coeur on Enemy Mine
“Emotionally charged…riveting and deeply touching.”
—RT Book Reviews on Firstborn
“Ms. McKenna brings readers along for a fabulous odyssey in which complex characters experience the danger, passion and beauty of the mystical jungle.”
—RT Book Reviews on Man of Passion
“Readers will find this addition to the Shadow Warriors series full of intensity and action-packed romance. There is great chemistry between the characters and tremendous realism, making Breaking Point a great read.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Lindsay McKenna will have you flying with the daring and deadly women pilots who risk their lives….Buckle in for the ride of your life.”
—Writers Unlimited on Heart of Stone
Taking Fire
Lindsay McKenna
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Abe Koniarsky, one of my many male readers.
He’s a hero to me, having served during WWII.
Thank you for your service, Abe.
You’re a wonderful role model for all of us!
Dear Reader (#ulink_dbe6d6aa-85bc-5b32-a565-657d12765e14),
Taking Fire is a military term which means the position you are protecting is taking enemy fire. In other words, you are being attacked. Sergeant Khatereh Shinwari, US Marine Corps sniper, was born in the USA. Her father was from Afghanistan. Her mother is an American. Growing up, her father infused her with his strong moral code of always being loyal to one’s village, one’s tribe, taking care of the young and the old. That was her duty. Khat took her duties to heart.
For five years, Khat is a fierce protector of her tribe and the villages where her relatives live. She is deep black ops, a part of the Shadow Warriors, and she thwarts the Hill tribe from murdering her people with her brave acts of courage. Riding her black mare in the dead of night or during dangerous daylight hours, she becomes the greatest thorn to the Hill tribe and the Taliban.
She lives alone in the caves of the Hindu Kush, until one evening, while setting up a sniper op on thirty Taliban below her, she spots a four-man SEAL team coming up the slope. They are unaware that the enemy is setting up an ambush to kill them. Khat intercedes, gives the SEALs a warning, taking down her enemy with her Win-Mag sniper rifle. When one SEAL is blown into a wadi by an RPG, the other three are able to retreat and escape.
Khat thinks the SEAL is dead and quickly rides down into the wadi to find his body. Her whole life changes when she finds Petty Officer Michael Tarik wounded but alive. As she rescues him, takes him to her hideout, she’s powerfully drawn to the man with the gold-brown eyes.
Whether Khat admits it or not, they are destined and bound to one another. Both their hearts are under fire. Will Khat decide to stay in Afghanistan to continue to protect her family, her tribe? Or will she heed the call of the tender love that Mike offers her instead, and go back to America with him?
Visit me at my website, lindsaymckenna.com (http://www.lindsaymckenna.com). Please sign up for my free quarterly newsletter! Chock-full of exclusive information only subscribers will get!
Table of Contents
Cover (#udf95686d-2f5e-5e46-bf76-4aeb72cf8a2b)
Back Cover Text (#u96cb3d2a-97ca-5016-9971-f094d0a77c46)
Praise (#ue642633e-0270-5ca1-b3f9-194a0a4a8a69)
Dear Reader (#udefba5e4-266b-5aa3-9960-bc1382a36d10)
Title Page (#ue4c8f48d-675c-5a9e-8893-90bc76b4599d)
Dedication (#u7460fa76-93ca-5fc1-bc1a-2ed591a1f291)
CHAPTER ONE (#u0c6901d6-38e3-56a5-b846-056861b6c3a2)
CHAPTER TWO (#u5c08f0da-5cee-5dc0-b6a1-39e38209db56)
CHAPTER THREE (#uacc02c33-f994-55b5-95b2-30759e31ecec)
CHAPTER FOUR (#uff829cb1-0e4b-5fd9-a2bb-13e885387593)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINETEEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWENTY (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#ulink_90f3fc0e-310e-5777-be55-8daa1c78e81e)
THE SEAL TEAM BELOW, where Marine Corps Sergeant Khatereh Shinwari hid in her sniper hide, was in danger. The June sun was almost setting in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan. Khat made a slow, sweeping turn to the right with her .300 Win Mag rifle along the rocky scree slope. She spotted fifteen Taliban waiting behind boulders to jump the four-man SEAL team climbing up the nine-thousand-foot slope.
Lips thinning, Khat watched the inevitable. She knew the team was looking for Sattar Khogani, the Hill tribe chieftain who was wreaking hell on earth to the Shinwari tribe. Her tribe. Her blood.
Pulling the satellite phone toward her, she punched in some numbers, waiting for her SEAL handler, Commander Jim Hutton, from J-bad, Jalalabad, to answer.
“Dover Actual.”
“Archangel Actual.” Khat spoke quietly, apprising Hutton of the escalating situation. She shot the GPS, giving the coordinates of where the SEALs were located and where the Taliban waited to ambush them. She asked if Apache helos were available.
No.
An A-10 Warthog slumming in the area?
No.
A C-130 ghost ship?
No.
A damned B-52 on racetrack?
No. All flight assets were tied up with a major engagement to the east, near J-bad.
“What the hell can you give me, Dover?”
Khat was only a Marine Corps staff sergeant, and her handler, a navy commander, but she didn’t give a damn at this point. Four good men were going to die on that scree slope really soon.
“No joy,” Hutton ground back.
“You’re going to lose four SEALs,” she snapped back in a whisper, watching through her Nightforce scope. “Do you want another Operation Redwings?”
She knew that would sting him. Four brave SEALs had walked into a Taliban trap of two hundred. They were completely outmatched and without any type of support because their radio failed, and they couldn’t call for backup help.
It had been one of the major reasons she’d gotten into her black ops activity and become involved. Khat didn’t want any more fine men murdered because a drone wasn’t available, or a satellite, or a friggin’ Apache combat helicopter.
More men had died that night when a hastily assembled QRF, Quick Reaction Force, was finally strung together out of J-bad. The MH-47 Chinook had taken an RPG, rocket-propelled grenade, into it, and it had crashed, killing all sixteen on board. More lives were wasted. She had cried for days after it happened, unable to imagine the tragedy inflicted upon the families involved. None of their husbands, brothers or fathers were coming home.
It can’t happen again. She wouldn’t allow it. Khat knew without a sat phone, radio calls into this area were DOA, dead on arrival. The radio call would never be heard. She wasn’t sure the leader of the patrol had one on him.
“There are no assets available.”
“You said this team is out of Camp Bravo?”
“Affirmative. I’m initiating a QRF from Bagram. But it will take an hour for them to arrive on scene.”
“What about a QRF from Camp Bravo?” Khat wanted to scream at this guy to get off his ass and get involved. Sometimes she wondered why they’d given her Hutton. He was a very conservative black ops handler. She wished she still had Commander Timothy Skelling, but he’d just rotated Stateside. Hutton reminded her of a slug; as if he didn’t know what to do quickly, when pressed.
“I’m calling them, too. They can be on scene, providing they aren’t already engaged elsewhere, in thirty minutes.”
“Roger,” she said, her voice hardening. “Get a call patched through to that platoon and warn them.” Like fucking yesterday. She felt her rage rising. It always did in situations like this. She didn’t want to lose Americans.
“I’ve sent a call over to Chief Mac McCutcheon of Delta Platoon.”
“I’m waiting five minutes,” Khat growled. “If I don’t see that team stop and hunker down for an incoming call from Bravo, I’m engaging. The least I can do is warn off the SEALs, and they’ll take appropriate action.”
Shifting her scope, she saw more of Khogani’s men sneaking up on the other side of the ridge. There had to be twenty of the enemy in all. Smaller boys with the Taliban group held the reins of the horses far below the slope. Sweat ran down her temples, the heat at this time of day unbearable.
“Archangel, you are not authorized to engage. Repeat. Do not engage. Your duty is to observe only. Over.”
She cursed Hutton in her mind. “Roger, Dover Actual. Out.” She hated Hutton’s heavy, snarling voice. All they did was spar with one another. To hell with him.
