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Beyond
Limits
The Tracers Series #8
The Tracers Series #8
By: Laura Griffin
Releasing January 27th, 2015
Pocket Books
FBI agent Elizabeth LeBlanc is still caught
in the aftermath of her last big case when she runs into the one man from her
past who is sure to rock her equilibrium even more. Navy SEAL Derek Vaughn is
back home from a harrowing rescue mission in which he found evidence of a
secret terror cell on US soil. Elizabeth knows he’ll do anything to unravel the
plot—including seducing her for information. And despite the risks involved,
she’s tempted to let him. . . .
On the surface Derek’s offering a simple
deal—Elizabeth provides him with intel, he delivers the terrorist. But he knows
nothing about Elizabeth is easy, and now their volatile relationship threatens
to distract him from the most important mission of his career. Together with
the forensics experts at the Delphi Center, he and Elizabeth are closing in on
the truth, but it may not be fast enough to avert a devastating impending
attack . . . or stop a ruthless enemy from escaping to kill again.
It was full-on rush
hour by the time Elizabeth reached the city, so she crossed Starbucks off her
list, although she sorely needed caffeine. Even without the call-out, she’d had
a bad night. Most of it had been spent curled on her sofa, flipping channels
and determinedly avoiding CNN as she downed chamomile tea, which was supposedly
a natural sleep aid. After weeks of drinking the stuff, she’d discovered it
worked great when accompanied by Ambien.
She pulled into the
bunker-like parking garage and found a space. Flipping down the vanity mirror,
she checked for any telltale signs of fogginess. Her eyes were bloodshot, her
skin sallow. She smoothed her ponytail and fluffed her new bangs. She’d had
them cut a few months ago in an effort to hide her scar, but she wasn’t crazy
about the look. A little too schoolgirl, which wasn’t helpful. As a five-four
blonde, she already had enough trouble getting people to take her seriously.
She flipped up the
mirror, disgusted. She had more important things to worry about today than her
appearance. Such as her boss’s reaction when he heard about the murder of her
newly recruited informant.
Elizabeth’s stomach
tightened with nerves as she walked into the office and rode up the elevator.
The doors slid open. She made her way toward her cubicle and saw Maxwell
talking to a pair of agents outside his office. He’d probably heard by now.
Would he dress her down at the staff meeting or call her into his office
beforehand?
He spotted her, and
the grim look on his face told her he’d received the news. Elizabeth changed
course, bracing herself for a blast of criticism as she approached.
“Sir, I need to talk
to you about—”
“Save it. You’ve
got a visitor.” He tipped his head toward one of the men standing nearby.
“Hello, Elizabeth.”
She blinked at him,
taken aback. “Gordon. What—”
“Feel free to use
my office,” Maxwell told him, then gave her a sharp nod. “We’ll talk later.”
Gordon watched her,
his look unreadable. He was based in Washington, but if he’d spent the morning
on an airplane, you’d never know it from his immaculate suit and shiny
wingtips. Agents who worked for him sometimes called him “Wall Street,” and she
hadn’t figured out whether it was because of his clothes or because his
all-business demeanor reminded them of Gordon Gecko.
He gestured toward
the empty office. “After you.”
Polite as always.
She stepped inside and felt a chill down her spine as the door thudded shut.
She glanced through the window into the bullpen and caught the baffled looks of
her coworkers, who were obviously wondering why the Bureau’s newly promoted
assistant director of counterterrorism wanted to see her.
Gordon tucked his
hands into his pockets and stepped past Maxwell’s desk. He had an athletic
build, good posture. His salt-and-pepper hair was trimmed short, as she
remembered it. Despite the demands of his job, he took care of himself.
He turned to look at her. “How have you been?”
He turned to look at her. “How have you been?”
She started to say
“Fine” but remembered something else she’d learned about him a year ago. He was
a human lie detector.
“Busy,” she said.
He lifted an
eyebrow, then turned to study Maxwell’s ego wall, which featured his Princeton
diplomas, along with several framed photos of him rubbing elbows with VIPs: the
FBI director, a few senators, the Texas governor.
“Have you been
following the news out of Afghanistan?”
She cleared her
throat. “You mean the hostages?”
“Yes.”
“The newspaper said
they were rescued by NATO forces.”
The paper hadn’t
specified what type of forces. But since meeting a SEAL team last summer,
Elizabeth had been paying close attention and had learned to read between the
lines. A team of commandos storming a compound and plucking civilians from the
hands of Taliban insurgents? The mission had SEAL written all over it.
“Many of the
details weren’t made public.” Gordon turned to face her. “The team that
conducted the raid recovered some interesting info during their SSE sweep.”
SSE. She racked her
brain.
“Sensitive site
exploitation,” he provided.
“You mean
computers?”
“A laptop, a thumb
drive. The information there was surprisingly minimal, but they also collected
a cache of papers, including several detailed maps of Houston.”
Houston. Not D.C.,
not New York, but Houston, Texas. Elizabeth’s palms felt sweaty and she tucked
them into her pockets. “What’s in Houston?”
He smiled slightly.
“You mean besides six million people? Three major sports venues, a
world-renowned medical center, a Christian megachurch.” He sat on the edge of
Maxwell’s desk. “Not to mention the corporate headquarters of some of the
world’s largest energy companies.”
She clamped her
mouth shut. Maybe she’d look less ignorant if she let him talk.
“It was a take-no-prisoners
raid,” he continued. “However, when the commandos saw this cache of intel, they
grabbed a young man who’d been subdued, hoping some of our CIA guys could
persuade him to talk.”
“Did they?”
His mouth
tightened. “He’s no longer cooperating.”
What did that mean,
exactly?
“And unfortunately,
after poring through all the intel, our analysts believe the terrorists
planning the attack were not in the compound when the raid went down. As far as
we know, they’re still at large.” He paused and watched her. “Homeland
Security’s staffed up a joint task force to investigate this potential plot and
interrupt it.”
Elizabeth’s mind
was reeling. She’d admired Gordon since the day she’d met him, both as an
investigator and as a leader. The thought of working with him again made her
giddy and nervous and terrified all at the same time.
He stepped closer
and gazed down at her.
“Your SAC says you
had a rough spring. He thinks you’re not up for this assignment.”
Anger welled in her
chest.
“If you join my
team, I need to know that you’re one hundred percent. Are you?”
“One hundred and
ten. Sir.”
He held her gaze,
the human lie detector. Her heart thudded so loudly she could hear it. Time
seemed to stretch out. He glanced at his watch. “Be at San Antonio
International Airport in two hours. Pack light.”
Relief flooded her.
“We’re going to Houston?”
“California. Naval
Amphibious Base Coronado, to be precise.” He crossed the room and reached for
the door. “We need to interview some SEALs.”
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author LAURA GRIFFIN started her career in
journalism before venturing into the world of romantic suspense. She is a
two-time RITA Award winner (for the books Scorched and Whisper of Warning) as well as the recipient
of the Daphne du Maurier Award (for Untraceable). Laura currently lives in
Austin, where she is working on her next book. Visit Laura at www.LauraGriffin.com or Facebook.com/LauraGriffinAuthor
Laura, Thank you for stopping by _____________ to chat today about your New
Release in the Tracers Series, BEYOND LIMITS.
For New Readers, what is the Tracers Series
about?
The Tracers are an elite
group of forensic experts who help investigators solve their very toughest
cases. The Tracers include all sorts of talented people: Mia the DNA expert,
Ben the cyber detective, Kelsey the forensic anthropologist. The list goes on!
I love writing about these people- not just their work but their tumultuous
personal lives, too.
BEYOND LIMITS is the eighth in the Tracers
Series, when you first started writing, let’s go as far back as THREAD OF FEAR,
did you have ANY idea that the Tracers would become what it is today?
I had no
idea. Originally I had envisioned three books, but the series just kind of took
on a life of its own. I would introduce a new character, then readers would ask
for that character’s story. With each new book I love bringing in new
characters and also catching up with people from past books.
If you could have one of the field careers
that pertain to the Tracer’s team, which would you want for a career?
Well, I’m
fascinated by so much of what the Tracers do. You could say I’m a forensics
junkie! I really love Mia’s job—she’s the DNA expert. I’m also amazed with all
the tricks Ben has up his sleeve. He’s the computer expert who uncovers some
key clues in BEYOND LIMITS.
I know you do a TON of research on the careers
associated with the Tracers Team, do you have a favorite “research trip” that
you can share, or the coolest thing you have gotten to experience for book
research?
The
fictional Delphi Center Crime Lab sits in the middle of a body farm. I’ve had a
chance to visit one, and what they do there is so interesting (if you can get
past being squeamish). It’s amazing to see all the ways that human bones can
tell a story for investigators.
To Date, which is your favorite Tracers novel
and why?
The books
are all so different, so I don’t really have a favorite. I love BEYOND LIMITS
because the story really pushes these characters to their max—both in their
jobs and their personal lives. Derek’s SEAL skills come into play, and
Elizabeth’s sharp investigative instincts. But what I love most is their
relationship struggle. Derek and Elizabeth have to work hard to find their
happy ending.
Is it difficult to come up with fresh
ideas?
I started
out as a newspaper reporter, so I like to keep up with current events. I’m
always getting inspired by headlines and news tidbits. And every time I
interview a new law enforcement person or forensic expert the ideas start
rolling in.
What is the best part about writing Romance
Suspense?
I like to
read tense, exciting stories. With romantic suspense you have the sexual
tension plus the action-adventure plot to drive the story forward. My favorite
books are thrillers where you also feel an emotional connection to the
characters.
I know you are working on the HART &
MORENO Series with the fabulous Allison Brennen, and just released your first
Hard Cover Suspense, FAR GONE, and then of course we have BEYOND LIMITS now
released, so what are you working on currently?
I’m writing
the next Tracers book, SHADOW FALL. This one features some of my favorite
Tracers characters- Mark Wolfe, Kelsey Quinn, Mia Voss. The book’s hero is
Mark’s brother, Liam Wolfe, an ex-Marine who runs a private security firm and
finds himself being investigated for a brutal murder.
Is there anything else you would like to share
with readers?
People
often ask me if you need to read the Tracers books in order, and you don’t .
Each story has a stand-alone mystery and a different romantic couple. So you
can dive right in to the series!
Thank you so much for stopping by to
chat!! Readers, don’t forget to enter to
win a Tracers Book Bundle featuring SCORCHED and TWISTED!
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