Title: Heart Strike
Series: Delta Force, #2
Author: M.L. Buchman
Pubdate: August 2nd 2016
ISBN: 9781492619253
Synopsis
SERGEANT RICHIE “Q” GOLDMAN: The smartest soldier on any team
SERGEANT MELISSA “THE CAT” MOORE: Newest on the team, determined to be the best
Rescued from an icy mountaintop by a Delta operative, Melissa Moore has never met a challenge she can’t conquer. Not only she will make Delta Force, she will be the best female warrior in The Unit, and woe to anyone who says otherwise. Technical wizard Richie Goldman is Bond’s “Q” turned warrior. A genius about everything except women, he takes point on the team’s most dangerous mission yet. When the Delta Force team goes undercover in the depths of the Colombian jungle, surviving attacks from every side requires that Richie and Melissa strike right at the heart of the matter…and come out with their own hearts intact.
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Exclusive Excerpt
Five Delta Force operators sitting in a Venezuelan hotel room while awaiting their next mission assignment.
One new team member, Staff Sergeant Melissa Moore. Whose sudden arrival is proving to be surprising to many of the team.
This is especially true for the team’s tech wizard, Richie Goldman, who has managed to unravel his tongue enough to convince Melissa to sit on a couch beside him.
And now is the moment when that Delta Force #2 begins to earn its title. It’s time for: Heart Strike!
There was a sharp knock on the hotel door that shattered the tableau. Not a coded tap, but the sharp rap-tappa-tap-tap of “Shave and a Haircut.” Carla and Melissa both jerked like they’d been slapped.
Chad and Duane were already on the move back into their rooms. They’d be out of sight with weapons drawn in case force was needed. Richie swept his radio gear and computer into a sack he’d kept handy and kicked it under the couch.
He brushed his fingertips across Melissa’s shoulder, partly to get her attention and partly because he wanted to. There was a shock, like one of deep recognition. She felt…amazing, even from that light brush.
She spun to face him in surprise—whether at the touch or if she felt the same thing, he couldn’t tell.
“There are a pair of silenced Glock 23s behind the sofa cushion you’re leaning on,” he whispered. Then stretched his arm along the back of the couch. It would look as if they were a couple, but it placed his hand ready to plunge down and grab a handgun if needed.
Melissa studied him for just a second, shook her head more like a wet dog than a surprised cat, and nodded. In that instant, Richie was overwhelmed by the blueness of her eyes. There was a depth there normally reserved for dark-eyed women. Her eyes said, “I’ve seen some shit,” then they turned calm and cool as the operator clicked into place.
As Kyle rose to his feet, checking the room with a single glance before heading to answer the door, Melissa did the strangest thing.
She turned and leaned back against Richie’s chest as if they were indeed a couple.
Strategically, it was a good move. First, it provided her with a natural reason to turn and fully face the entryway that had been off her left shoulder. Second, it would look casual to anyone who entered. And third, it placed her hand close beside his, just above the hidden guns, without inhibiting his own line of fire.
And fourth, it totally overwhelmed him. If brushing his fingers along her shoulder had been a shock, having her lean back against his chest was a body blow. She was warm…hot…radiating, as if she was a part of his own bloodstream or nervous system or something. It felt as if she’d always been there, and if he were to place his arm around her waist instead of hovering it over a hidden Glock 23, they’d be just as they were meant to be.
Her head rested back against his shoulder, brushing half of his face with her hair. It was soft and smelled of shampoo and plane flights—also of icy mountaintops and warm fires on a dark night. He buried his face in her hair and breathed her in.
“Hey!” She tried to twist around to look at him and impacted his nose with her temple.
“Ow! Crap!” His eyes crossed at the sudden flash of pain.
“God damn it!” Carla was swiveling in their direction to see what was happening and had her own pistol drawn.
That, in turn, had Melissa grabbing for her hidden weapon.
Chad and Duane rolled into the room with the HK416 assault rifles raised to their shoulders and seeking a target.
Richie heard the distinct snick of the HKs’ safeties coming off.
Everyone was holding a weapon except for Richie, who was holding his nose.
Kyle stepped back in from the short front hall and stopped. A tall thin man peeked over Kyle’s shoulder. He looked familiar, but Richie’s eyes were still watering and he couldn’t see clearly.
The man surveyed the tense situation.
“I don’t think they’re glad to see me.”
About the Author
M. L. Buchman has over 35 novels and an ever-expanding flock of short stories in print. His military romantic suspense books have been named Barnes & Noble and NPR “Top 5 of the year,” Booklist “Top 10 of the Year,” and RT “Top 10 Romantic Suspense of the Year.” In addition to romantic suspense, he also writes contemporaries, thrillers, and fantasy and science fiction.
In among his career as a corporate project manager he has: rebuilt and single-handed a fifty-foot sailboat, both flown and jumped out of airplanes, designed and built two houses, and bicycled solo around the world.
He is now a full-time writer, living on the Oregon Coast with his beloved wife. He is constantly amazed at what you can do with a degree in Geophysics.
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Giveaway
Print copy of Heart Strike, open to US residents only.
