Meet the do-or-die warriors wholl do anything for justice
Introducing the Mission Medusa series
Years of intense training have prepared Tessa Wilkes to become a Medusapart of an elite, women-only Special Forces team. But all the mental prep and physical training in the world cant prepare her fully to take on one of the worlds most dangerous men. The ultimate operative, Tessa teams with trainer Beau Lambert to track her target, but even if she survives, will her heart?
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author CINDY DEES is the author of more than fifty novels. She draws upon her experience as a US Air Force pilot to write romantic suspense. Shes a two-time winner of the prestigious RITA® Award for romance fiction, a two-time winner of the RT Reviewers Choice Best Book Award for Romantic Suspense and an RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Best Author Award nominee. She loves to hear from readers at www.cindydees.com.
Also By Cindy Dees
Mission Medusa
Special Forces: The Recruit
The Coltons of Roaring Springs
Colton Under Fire
Code: Warrior SEALs
Undercover with a SEAL
Her Secret Spy
Her Mission with a SEAL
Navy SEAL Cop
Soldiers Last Stand
The Spys Secret Family
Captains Call of Duty
Soldiers Rescue Mission
Her Hero After Dark
Breathless Encounter
Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.
Special Forces: The Recruit
Cindy Dees
www.millsandboon.co.uk
SPECIAL FORCES: THE RECRUIT
© 2019 Cynthia Dees
Published in Great Britain 2019
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.
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Version: 2020-03-02
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Beau closed the motel rooms door and turned to face Tessa, who stood in the middle of the room, frowning. Problem? he asked.
Well, yes. Theres only one bed.
You afraid to share it with me? He arched an eyebrow in an open dare. What are you going to do when youre bivouacking with a male team and all of you are crammed into a hide like sardines, spooning with each other?
Her mint-green eyes narrowed. Ive got no problem sleeping with you. The question is, are you okay sleeping with me?
He snorted. Honey, Im not sixteen. Ive got my hormones firmly under control, thank you very much. Which might not be entirely true where she was concerned. All of the previous Medusas had lived and worked in very close quarters with her male counterparts. She had to learn to do the same. Starting with him. Oh, joy.
Great, she said cheerfully. Then you wont mind if I take my pants off. Theyre still a little wet.
Well, hell. Give the woman points for calling his bluff.
* * *
Mission Medusa: a fierce team of warriors who
run into the danger zone...
Dear Reader,
Im beyond excited to welcome you to this, the first book in the return of the Medusas! It has been a few years and times have changed a bit since I wrote the very first Medusa story, The Medusa Project, in 2005. Back then, the idea of women in the Special Forces, let alone the idea of an all-female team of special operators, was pure fiction.
Now, some fourteen years later, women in the US military are allowed to serve in any job whose qualifications they can meet, including all of the Special Forces. The US Army uses women in Cultural Support Teams (CSTs) that work side by side with elite male Special Forces units. The first women have completed Army Ranger training, and news outlets are reporting on a few brave women Special Forces operatives serving alongside their male counterparts in irregular roles.
Furthermore, both the Norwegian Army and the Afghan Special Forces have fielded all-female Special Forces teams. Which is to say, the Medusas have become real.
I would like to think that adds even more excitement to these ongoing adventures of the Medusas. So, as always, pour your favorite beverage, sit back, relax and get ready to rock and roll with the baddest babes in combat boots and the men strong and brave enough to work with and love them...
Happy reading!
Cindy
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
About the Author
Booklist
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
Dear Reader
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
About the Publisher
Chapter 1
Staggering a little as she ran, Tessa Wilkes spied the finish line maybe a half mile ahead through waves of heat and dust. Whatever bastard had decided to call a twenty-mile run carrying a forty-pound rucksack a sprint should be shot. Right now. She volunteered to pull the trigger.
Her body hurt in every way it was possible to hurt. Three months of grueling, around-the-clock physical training had taken its toll on her. Shed reached the end of her rope, and her fingers were slipping off the last bit of said rope with every agonizing step.
Shed known going in that just because it had become legal for women to begin Special Forces training, it didnt mean any were going to be allowed to finish the program and play with the big boys. The male instructors would keep doing BS like this run until they broke her. They were never going to back off.
Only she could make the pain stop. By quitting. By giving in. By accepting that she was never going to be one of them. She was sorely tempted to give up on her futile dream when she reached this one last finish line.
But no sooner had the impulse come to her than a wave of sheer, cussed stubbornness slammed through her. She was that horse who would die in the harness, still straining to pull its load.
Her face was on fire. Her lungs were self-combusting. The heavy pack hammered her feet into the ground with every step she took. But onward she staggered. Step after miserable step. At this point any reasonably fit person could walk beside her faster than she was running.
But she. Did. Not. Stop.
Shed asked for this insanitybegged for it, evenwhich made her misery even worse. It stripped away her right to complain. All she had left was anger.
She reached for her old friend, Fury. Born of rage at being powerless to control her life, it rose from her determination someday to become a strong, independent woman whom no man would ever push around.
Her steps stabilized. Her stride stretched back out into a full run. Less than a quarter mile to go now.
Damn. Thought we had you there, Wilkes, a male voice said sardonically from behind her.
She didnt bother turning around to look. Lambert. A recently arrived instructor, he always wore mirrored shades and a baseball cap, which meant she had no idea what her latest tormenter actually looked like beyond that lean, chiseled jaw. And a physique modeled after the great masters of sculpture, of course. He never participated in harassing the trainees. He just watched. Mostly her.
Hed been hanging around pretty much continuously the past few days. Either he was studying her for who knew what inscrutable reason, or he was stalking her. Whatever. They could throw their best head games at her and run her till she dropped. When she got back up, she would just keep on going.
Ahh, well. Well break you next time, he murmured from just behind her. Or the time after that. If you wont quit coming after us, we wont quit coming after you.
His lightly delivered comment sent a chill through her. He was not lying. They would keep coming after her until they destroyed her.
The finish line of todays sprint loomed ahead, and she pushed herself to reach it by envisioning a big glass of ice water waiting for her. She crossed the finish line and stopped cold, not taking one more running step than necessary as she panted in the oven-like heat.
Shed done it. One more time theyd failed to break her. A stone-faced instructor looked at a stopwatch and recorded her time on a clipboard without comment. She caught Lambert looking over Clipboard Guys shoulder. Both men pulled disgusted faces, then Lambert peeled off to head for the instructors building.
Screw them. Shed given it everything she had. Just because her triumph was their failure didnt make it any less of a triumph for her. She bent over, planting her hands on her thighs, sucking in great, awful lungfuls of parched, scorching air.