A deadly international mission reunites a sexy Black Ops, Inc. hero and his sizzling former love in Cindy Gerard’s seductive new romantic thriller. A RED-HOT ATTRACTION . . .Twelve years of chasing bad guys didn’t erase beautiful Sophie Baylor from Wyatt Savage’s memory. If he had another chance, he’d never let her leave. So when she tracks him down from El Salvador and begs for help, he doesn’t ask questions—he just goes.STARTS WITH A TERRIFYING THREAT . . .Sophie is grateful her daughter survived a kidnapping attempt, but she won’t forgive herself until the girl who was mistakenly abducted is safe. Wyatt is the only man brave enough to take on the mysterious terrorists behind the crime—and the one irresistible man she wishes she had never let go. . . . AND UNLEASHES AN UNFORGETTABLE ADVENTURE.Sophie knows Central America’s steamy jungles and sticky politics better than anyone. Yet she refuses to hide in fear. Then she becomes the enemy’s number one target. Wyatt lost her once, and he won’t lose her again—even if he has to fight, kill, or die to save her.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Special Offers and Product Promotions
- This item is eligible for our 4-for-3 promotion. Eligible products include select Books and Home & Garden items. Buy any 4 eligible items and get the lowest-priced item free. Here's how (restrictions apply)
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The old cargo van caught Sophie’s attention the moment she stepped outside the Baylor Middle School’s double front doors. Instantly wary, she stopped on the top step and squinted into the blinding El Salvador sun. The vehicle was black and beat-up, the windows tinted dark. It was also as out of place as a tank on this street lined with school buses and high-dollar limos parked right alongside used compact cars driven by parents or nannies or maids waiting to pick up their kids on the last day before the school’s summer break.
The van crawled like a heavy-bellied lizard stalking prey through street traffic that was thick and harried, stop-and-go. Students laughing and happily leaving the campus jammed the cracked sidewalks, the dirt-packed schoolyard, and the littered curb. All of the kids were anxious for summer to start. All of them were looking for their rides. All of them knew to beware of strange vehicles. Yet in their excitement to start their break, they all seemed oblivious to the possibility of a predator among them.
Sophie had made the difficult decision to dismiss classes three days earlier than planned. It was a precautionary measure after a rash of kidnappings for ransom had paralyzed the community. Her heart ached for the two children who had not yet been returned. Her anger boiled at the thought of the ruthless monsters who preyed on a parent’s terror and for the corruption and ineptitude of the San Salvador policÍa who had been criminally incompetent in their efforts at recovery.
Not again, Sophie thought, never taking her eyes off the van as she dug into her pocket for her whistle. Another child was not going to be abducted. Not from her school and not on her watch. Her students were well versed in what to do if she or any of her teachers sounded three sharp, shrill blasts. She was just about to sound the alarm when the van moved on down the street and disappeared.
She drew a deep breath, let it out with a mixture of relief and embarrassment. Vigilance was one thing. Panic and paranoia, however, did not look good on a school administrator. It wasn’t very reassuring to the children, either.
“Whoa.” Sophie laughed and caught her balance when little Juan Gomez ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her hips.
“Le echarÉ de menos, SeÑora Weber.”
Sophie bent down to return Juan’s hug. He smelled like youth and summer. The ten-year-old was a darling little boy. He’d come a long way from the shy, illiterate waif who’d arrived two years ago, wide-eyed and frightened and on a track to follow his older brother’s footsteps straight into the violent Mara Salvatrucha gang.
“I’ll miss you, too, sweetie, but I’ll see you in the fall, okay? In the meantime, don’t forget your summer reading.”
“I won’t.”
No, he wouldn’t, Sophie thought as the child waved good-bye and skipped down the steps. The Baylor School had opened up a new world to Juan. A future that promised something more than poverty and despair. She grinned as he disappeared into the milling crowd of students, some of whom were privileged and some of whom were poor. To ensure minimal class distinction, they all wore the standard school uniform of white short-sleeve shirts and khaki shorts or skirts. To ensure equality, many of them had been awarded scholarships that came with the promise of a future they would never have had without her school. Juan was one of those children.
She breathed deeply of the fragrant blossoms of a row of mature white coffee-bean trees lining the schoolyard. She would miss that scent and her kids during summer break. She worried about them, encouraged them, stood up for them. Granted, only one of the two hundred and fifteen middle-school students was actually her child, but she considered all of them her kids. Because this was her school. The school she’d made happen five years ago in a part of the city where those most in need usually did without.
Her sense of satisfaction was tempered with the wish that she could do even more. With Diego Montoya’s help, perhaps she could.
She thought about the handsome coffee baron, knew he was still waiting for a response regarding his invitation to take her and Hope to Honolulu, where he wanted to show them Punahou School, a progressive college-prep school that could serve as a model for further development of Baylor or one of the schools she hoped to open in the future.
She sighed deeply and wondered what she should do about Diego. He was persistent, she’d give him that. Had been ever since her divorce. Since he was also a major benefactor not only to Baylor’s scholarship fund but also to the general operation budget, she couldn’t afford simply to brush him off. Frankly, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to. Diego was … well, he was a very attractive man. A very powerful man. At times, he could also be an intimidating man, and he’d made it very clear that his interest in her went beyond professional. She supposed she should feel flattered, but in actuality, she wasn’t sure what she felt.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him. He’d never given her reason not to. But something—she didn’t know what. Couldn’t pinpoint it, but for all of his polished manners, good looks, and generosity, he made her a little bit uncomfortable. Maybe it was simply all that overstated Latin charm. She wasn’t accustomed to such blatant and unabashed attention.
Tomorrow, she thought, would be soon enough to tackle that problem. Today, she still had paperwork to finish up before she could call it a day.
“You can smell the freedom in the air, can’t you?”
Sophie grinned at Maris Hoffman when her vice principal joined her on the front steps, her pretty brown eyes sparkling, her native German tongue barely discernible anymore when she spoke English.
“Do you remember that feeling?” Sophie asked her, congratulating herself again for having had the foresight and good fortune to hire Maris two years ago. Maris had proven to be an exemplary educator and administrator and also a trusted and cherished friend. “Being young and free with nothing ahead of you to worry about but summer sun and fun?”
“Oh. You thought I meant the kids?” Maris laughed and brushed a straight fall of auburn hair out of her eyes. “I was talking about me. Two months without calls from parents, schoolboard meetings, and doling out detention. Ah, yes, the sweet scent of freedom.”
“If I didn’t already know that the next couple of months, you’ll be pouring your heart and soul into curriculum content and ways to increase the quota on scholarship students, I’d buy that line.”
Maris lifted a shoulder. “Oh, well. A girl can dream. So what’s on your agenda for the summer?”
“Haven’t thought that far ahead.” Well, if she didn’t count Diego’s tantalizing yet somehow manipulative offer of that trip to Hawaii.
Maris pushed out a huff. “And you accuse me of being dedicated.”
Yes, Sophie thought again, all the stars had aligned when Maris interviewed two years ago. “Lunch next week?” she suggested as Maris turned to go back inside.
“Sure. Give me a call in a couple of days. I’ve been dying to try that new place that was written up in the paper last week.”
Sophie turned to follow Maris back inside and hit that paperwork but paused and smiled when she spotted Hope. Her lovely yet currently gangly daughter stood by the curb, chatting with her “BFF” Lola Ramirez, while waiting for Lola’s mother to pick them both up. Peas in a pod, those two. Both wore their dark hair straight to the middle of their backs, with thick bangs falling over their foreheads. And both so wanted to be older than twelve.
Too soon, she thought, watching them. Too soon, Hope would get her wish. Her daughter was growing up, a truth that both saddened and thrilled her.
Hope caught her eye just then and waved. When Lola also spotted her, she waved to Sophie, too. Smiling widely, Sophie lifted her hand to return their greeting—then froze on a sudden clutch of alarm when the black van reappeared out of nowhere, careening down the street, motor racing.
The van wove recklessly among the waiting cars, then screeched to a stop by the curb where her daughter stood.
Sophie’s heart slammed into her ribs like a fist. She grabbed her whistle, gave it three short, sharp blasts, and sprinted down the steps, her heart racing as fear shot adrenaline through her blood like jet fuel.
“Run! Hope, run!” she cried as the side door of the van flew open.
A man jumped out; he headed straight for Hope.
“No!” Sophie yelled, her breath catching as knots of frightened children cried and screamed and ran for safety.
She raced toward her daughter, but by the time she reached the street, it was too late. The driver gunned the motor, took the corner on two wheels, and sped off—stealing a piece of Sophie’s heart as the van disappeared.
© 2010 Cindy Gerard
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One perilous adventure after another,
By A. Richard (NC, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Risk No Secrets (Black Ops, Inc.) (Mass Market Paperback)
The extremely touching love story in RISK NO SECRETS keeps you emotionally involved while the dangerous scenarios make the heart pound. For the fifth Black Ops, Inc. book, there is one perilous adventure after another where the uncertain outcomes up the anxiety level to extra high. Cindy Gerard expertly creates a comradeship amongst the Black Ops team members which is realistically credible and leaves the reader believing every single moment must have surely taken place.
When a van slows down near the school run by Sophie Baylor, she quickly realizes her suspicions about its occupants are founded when the girl talking with her own daughter is kidnapped. Although kidnappings for ransom occur much too regularly in El Salvador, she believes her daughter was the intended victim as the family of the other girl is very poor. Receiving no real help from the local authorities, guilt about the wrong abduction has Sophie calling upon a man from her past, someone she has not seen in twelve years yet has never forgotten. Although Wyatt Savage has tried to keep any thoughts concerning Sophie from surfacing, recollections about the only woman to ever intensely affect him could never be completely repressed. When the Black Ops, Inc. member receives a frantic phone call from her requesting his help in rescuing a kidnapped girl, he readily agrees though knows it will be an emotional nightmare for him. With aid from other members of his elite covert team, Wyatt and Sophie try to discover the location of the missing girl while keeping their undeclared feelings under control. However, there are various forces working to keep them from being successful, ones where the results could be fatal. Cindy Gerard is a premier writer of gripping romantic suspense stories. The plots of all the Black Ops, Inc. books are chillingly feasible, as world problems come to life with much convincingness. Ms. Gerard conveys the heroic lives of every member of this patriotic group with dramatic realism, and I always feel prouder of the many actual soldiers who defend America because of this observable dedication which I know they also possess. In RISK NO SECRETS, numerous incidents are frequently depicted with a sense of edginess yet still brimming with strong-willed determination. Then there are scenes where emotions are so passionately expressed that they also overpower the reader with their palpability. There were certainly more than a few instances where I was totally caught up in a happening, regardless of whether it is perilous or just emotional, and actually felt my breath catching as I anticipated how everything would finally play out as tension escalated. Ms. Gerard repeatedly creates likable characters and none has been more endearing than Wyatt and Sophie. As the tumultuous romance between these two tries to grow, there are countless decisions to be made and each one tugged at my own feelings as the thoughts of this couple are heartbreakingly told to readers. Their internal conflicts are particularly moving at times, especially when their unspoken desires desperately wanted to override the responses they felt must be followed. With pent-up longing having built for many years, any intimate encounters are fueled with enough heat to start ten blazingly hot fires. Wyatt may have southern manners with a charming personality, but he is also a courageously fearless fighter and is devoted to those for whom he deeply cares. As for Sophie, she proves just how brave she can be on several occasions, thus making my connection with her genuine. The many secondary characters are superbly portrayed, and the Black Ops members involved in this mission only become more memorable with each new revelation. There are additional stories to be told, and I am exceedingly grateful for every enthralling future book. RISK NO SECRETS intrigues on each compelling page while the romantic love story profoundly captivates. Single Titles review
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Romantic Suspense Done Right,
By Jacqueline (Lone Jack, MO USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Risk No Secrets (Black Ops, Inc.) (Mass Market Paperback)
I have read all of Cindy Gerard's books. I like them all, some more than others. This one is near the top. 5 stars not because it was perfect but because I really liked it and it made me happy to read it. It pushed all the right buttons for me. Clean well thought out plot. Not overly wordy, overly descriptive etc. Some angst, which I personally like, but it doesn't overwhelm the story. While they do think about their feelings, the characters are not wallowing in their thoughts.
The characters are well drawn. You totally understand and believe that Wyatt has loved Sophie for 12 years. He is an honorable man who let her go to marry his best friend without saying anything when she made that choice. Sophie is also well drawn and believable. You can totally see her as a young woman choosing the wild exciting guy over the more quiet guy even though she knows they both love her. You can see that she has wondered over the years whether she made the right choice. There were a couple of spots where I would have liked more discussion/revelation. For example when she tells him she loves him, she doesn't tell him that she had those thoughts. I would have liked to see his reaction to that. Also she doesn't explain even though he basically asks why she didn't call him in the 2 years since her divorce. She doesn't even answer that in her head. So we don't know if she thought he'd forgotten her or what. The kidnapping portion was well done. Ms. Gerard takes the less obvious choice to have the kidnapped child be not her daughter but her daughter's friend. This choice allows their relationship to develop more naturally as I never do buy that a mother of a kidnapped child would have a hot and heavy affair with a spec ops guy while her child is missing. I did guess the bad guy even though there were a few red herrings. But that was okay since this wasn't about if you could figure out the bad guy but the focus was on the romance where I like it as long as the rest makes sense. There is plenty of male interaction with the BOI guys which is nice. It is mostly told through Wyatt's POV which I prefer over the female POV. There was a nice bit of gun toting, door knocking down spec ops stuff. It was well writte. It is important in these sorts of books that I can believe the guys could actually do what I'm being told they are doing. There are only 2 guys left to get their own books. I am looking forward to them. I hope Ms. Gerard either introduces more BOI guys or starts another spin off series as she did with this one. The book, like many of her others, takes place in South America which is an under utilized setting for these sorts of books so I like to see that as well. Ms. Gerard, in my opinion, is one of the top three writers in this genre along with Suzanne Brockmann and Marliss Melton. If you like those ladies, you will love Cindy Gerard as well.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but lacking.,
By
This review is from: Risk No Secrets (Black Ops, Inc.) (Mass Market Paperback)
This was a good, entertaining story but I wouldn't say it was great. Wyatt made for a compelling and sexy lead male- as part of the efficient and intimidating Black-Op Team - he is perfect for the job when his old "friend" (and almost lover from 12 years before) Sophie calls him in desperation after her daughter's best friend has been kidnapped in South America. Sophie's own child was the target and she is guilt-ridden. Upon arrival, Wyatt and Sophie are involved in an exciting airport shoot-out before they make it home to get the break-down of the kidnapping.
Basically, that's when I lost some interest. As sexy and exciting as Wyatt was... Sophie was the complete opposite. I found her character to be boring. She had very little personality. I was also annoyed at her... for someone who was supposed to be so wholesome, I was a little turned off that she picked Wyatt's best buddy Hugh over Wyatt because he was... more dashing? NOT that she loved him more? Come on. Then to spend almost the next decade with the wrong man even though he was a jerk. Then, like Wyatt said, she didn't even call Wyatt after Hugh left... she called him when she needed a favor because her "dashing" hubby Hugh wouldn't come to her aid. The first intimacy scene was just sad to me. It was like Wyatt's dream come true (finally after all these years!!!) and for her it was like comfort or something. I didn't feel the sparks or the connection between the two people. It was like she needed support from her old friend Wyatt... the friend she passed up because he wasn't exciting enough. I felt like he STILL wasn't good enough for her but he was there and she needed him. I felt embarrassed to read it. They were embarrassed too... after that part the characters wouldn't even look at each other and it was awkward. I also found it hard to believe that these two sexy mega-men would fight over this woman anyway. They met her in an adult education Spanish class. She was their teacher. On the first day they saw her and both started to flirt and that was it. I didn't see WHY they liked her or felt compelled to date her, compete for her hand, and for gosh sakes, in Wyatt's case- to be still pining after her over a decade later? Come on! She was THAT beautiful or what? Because it wasn't about her personality or her intelligence because they had barely even spoken to her when this all happened. I wanted this story to be a memory of Wyatt's... and to read his REAL romance with someone else that was worth his time. At the point that the Black-op team brought the teacher ON AN ASSIGNMENT IN THE JUNGLE with them I was rolling my eyes. Usually it's the girl who is TSTL but this time it was becoming Wyatt. Maybe being emasculated by the one-who-got-away was distracting him. Gerard is a promising writer and I've enjoyed some of her other work- but that wasn't the best example of her writing.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
So You'd Like to...
|
|
