Next to Die
Authors: Marliss Melton
Tags: #Fiction, #Contemporary, #General, #Thrillers, #Suspense, #Romance
Contents
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2007 by Marliss Arruda
Excerpt from
Don’t Let Go
copyright © 2007 by Marliss Arruda
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Warner Forever is an imprint of Warner Books.
Warner Forever is a trademark of Time Warner Inc. or an affiliated company. Used under license by Hachette Book Group USA, which is not affiliated with Time Warner Inc.
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First eBook Edition: August 2007
ISBN: 0-316-00663-7
RAVE REVIEWS FOR MARLISS MELTON AND HER NOVELS
TIME TO RUN
“Melton . . . doesn’t miss a beat in this involving story.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Melton’s compelling protagonists propel the gritty and realistic storytelling . . . Excellent!”
—Romantic Times BOOKclub Magazine
“This book will twist all of your heartstrings . . . you won’t be able to put TIME TO RUN down . . . a must-read.”
—FreshFiction.com
“Exceedingly riveting . . . enthralling . . . you’ll find your-self racing through it from one exciting scene to the next . . . my favorite.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“An exciting tale starring a fine lead couple . . . fans will enjoy this wonderful thriller.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Exciting and emotionally moving . . . gripping.”
—Bookloons Reviews
“Edgy contemporary romantic suspense . . . emotional fireworks as well as some fancy sniper shooting.”
—Booklist
IN THE DARK
“Fantastic . . . keeps you riveted . . . will keep you guessing . . . Well done!”
—OnceUponARomance.net
“A strong thriller . . . Action-packed . . . will keep the audience on the edge of their seats.”
—Blether.com
“Hooked me from the first page . . . filled with romance, suspense, and characters who will pull you in and never let you go.”
—Lisa Jackson,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Absolute Fear
“Packed with action from the first page to the last . . . a must.”
—Novel Talk
“[A] hard-charging romantic thriller as warm and heady as a Caribbean sun-soaked bay.”
—Bookpage
“Picking up where
Forget Me Not
left off . . . danger, passion, and adventure.”
—Romantic Times BOOKclub Magazine
FORGET ME NOT
“Refreshing . . . fine writing, likable characters, and realistic emotions.”
—Publishers Weekly
“An intriguing romantic suspense . . . Readers will take great delight.”
—Midwest Book Review
“The gifted Melton does an excellent job building emotion, danger, and tension in her transfixing novel.”
—Romantic Times BOOKclub Magazine
“Entertaining . . . moving and passionate . . . with plenty of action and suspense . . .
Forget Me Not
is a winner; don’t miss it.”
—RomRevToday.com
“A wonderful book, touching at all the right heartstrings. I highly recommend it!”
—Heather Graham, author of
Dead on the Dance Floor
“Amazing . . . fantastic . . . a riveting plot, engaging characters, and unforgettable love story . . . not to be missed.”
—NewandUsedBooks.com
“A thrilling romance.”
—TheBestReviews.com
“Riveting . . . you’ll definitely want to pick this one up.”
—RomanceJunkies.com
“Wonderful, thrilling . . . loved it!”
—RomanceReviewsMag.com
Also by Marliss Melton
Forget Me Not
In the Dark
Time to Run
In loving memory of the three Navy SEALs who died on June 28, 2005, while on a reconnaissance mission in support of Operation Redwing, in Afghanistan.
Michael Murphy
Danny Dietz
James L. Suh
and the sixteen Special Operators who sought to rescue them and also perished.
Lastly, to the sole survivor—
This is not your story, but your heroism inspired it.
God love you, Chief.
Carry on, down the Good Road.
“A light shines above them, and an angel comes down to them—beckoning them to come. The angel is dressed in a WWI-style infantryman’s uniform. He tells them, without words, not to worry. Warriors take care of their own in Heaven, he says. They have been expected, and there is a big reception planned.”
A Tribute to the Fallen,
CMDR Mark Divine
There are so many souls who deserve credit for helping me write this story. The most outstanding contributor would be a reader-turned-collaborator, Janie Hawkins. Janie, you have painted my world in Technicolor! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your contributions to my characters, their stories, and every last line of this book. Here’s to the next project; I can’t wait!
Thank you, Kevin McPartland, Special Agent FBI, retired. You were with me at the conception of this story and answered all of my silly questions along the way, with patient faithfulness. I’m thinking you deserve a story of your own . . .
Commander Mark Divine, thank you, sir, for checking the accuracy of my facts and for your unintentional influence when you wrote in your
Tribute,
“What if it were me?” In some ways, this story answers that question.
Thank you, Sam the SEAL, for taking the time to hash out details that changed the whole gist of my story and made it more real.
For Sharon, who helped tremendously in determining the personality types of my characters and for the articles you’ve sent my way.
For Cathy, Kerri, and Lisa P., who helped me get started, and everyone else who has contributed a portion of this shared project.
Thanks to physical therapist, Carrie Hewitt, for contributing your expertise and making Joe’s therapy more credible.
Above all, thank you, loyal readers, for urging me to carry on with the SEAL series. Without you, I’d be writing to myself. Bless you all!
Northern Afghanistan
“Break contact,” Joe whispered through the interteam radio, and he and the three SEALs in his command stepped off the trail to descend as quietly as possible into the wooded ravine. Wending through the cypress forest that glowed green in his night vision goggles, Joe counted the seconds that elapsed before the staybehind—the claymore that he’d placed on the trail—exploded.
“. . . nineteen, twenty.”
Bang!
The loud crack was accompanied by the screams of Taliban insurgents, the same men who’d surprised them four miles up the trail when they swarmed from an underground cave. The SEALs had retreated, taking and returning heavy fire. It was a long way back to the landing zone, made longer still with forty men or more, equipped with night vision capabilities, raining bullets at them in a firestorm that echoed off the surrounding mountains.
The SEALs had dropped their backpacks on the trail to speed their retreat. And with just six rounds of ammo per man, they were running low on both ammunition and energy by the time the landing zone, or LZ, came into view.
There it was, on a plateau on the adjacent mountain, the side of which had been riddled by aerial cannon fire that incinerated the scrub brush and cratered the earth. The only way to access the LZ was to pass through a precipitous wooded ravine and climb the other side.
Once deep within the ravine, the SEALs remained hidden and, for the time being, safe. In the wake of the claymore’s destruction, gunfire gave way to moans and shouts. Wind whistled eerily through the limbs of stunted evergreens.
If the SEALs were lucky, the explosion and their subsequent disappearance would send the insurgents back into their caves, away from the LZ.
This reconnaissance mission, thought Joe, darkly, had been cursed from the moment Chief Harlan spiked a high fever, prompting Joe to take his place. The Spectre gunship that had swept this mountain an hour prior to their drop-off had completely overlooked the presence of unfriendlies on the trail. Worse still, the gunship was nowhere within range of the four SEALs now. If it were, one simple radio call would bring the AC-130 screaming to their rescue like a mother eagle protecting her fledglings. Its minigun was capable of knocking out the forty or so insurgents with the precision of a surgeon’s blade.