Night Shadow A Novel

by ADAIR, CHERRY

• ISBN13: 9780345499929
• ISBN10: 0345499921
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-24
• Publisher: Ballantine Books

Summary

The passion and suspense of Cherry Adair's latest killer trilogy, begun in Night Fall and continued in Night Secrets, now reaches its explosive conclusion in Night Shadow, as mismatched international agents take on evil head-to-headand each other heart-to-heart. Aside from working for the international anti-terrorism agency T-FLAC (and having the same last name), Lexi Stone and Alex Stone are polar opposites, right down to Lexi's mere mortality and Alex's paranormal powers. While straight-arrow Lexi pushes paper at an Internal Affairs desk, renegade Alex is busy pushing the envelope as he pursues the most dangerous global criminals. And though Lexi disdains his rule-breaking bravado and cowboy tactics, she can't deny Alex's skills when it comes to getting his man (not to mention any number of women)just as she can't ignore how his roguish charm makes her heart race and her temperature rise. But Lexi's secret desires clash head-on with her duties when suspicions arise that Alex is poised to switch sidesand join forces with a European terrorist cell. Tapped for her first field mission, Lexi finds herself assigned to shadow Alex's every move, and if necessary, terminate him. Despite her feelings, Lexi's willing and able to carry out her orders, as long there's proof that Alex is a traitor. But getting the goodsand the dropon her superagent quarry becomes an even tougher task when Lexi and Alex suddenly find themselves partners on an emergency mission in Russia. When terrorists seize a busy Moscow railway station for ransom, then abruptly massacre their hostages and vanish into thin air, the agents realize they're facing adversaries possessing of the same paranormal abilities as Alex's elite T-FLAC/psi unit. But after Lexi kills an armed suspect during a breathless rooftop chase, she makes a series of shocking discoveries about the enemy T-FLAC is facing, the troubling truth Alex has been concealing, and the terrifying plot of a treacherous mastermind that could spell the downfall of T-FLAC's most powerful and valued operatives. To save precious lives and stop the rise of a superhuman terrorist threat, Lexi and Alex must work as a well-oiled team in a race across the globeand against timewith lethal shadows looming behind them, and no one to trust but each other. From the Hardcover edition.

Author Biography

Cherry Adair has garnered numerous awards for her innovative action-adventure novels, which include Night Secrets, Night Fall, White Heat, Hot Ice, On Thin Ice, Out of Sight, In Too Deep, Hide and Seek, and Kiss and Tell, as well as her thrilling Edge trilogy: Edge of Danger, Edge of Fear, and Edge of Darkness. A favorite of reviewers and fans alike, she lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she is as work writing the next T-FLAC mission.

Excerpts

Chapter One


MOSCOW
 55 45 08 37 36 56 02 10 08 
1800 HOURS 

Blinking snowflakes off her lashes, T-FLAC operative Alexis Stone shot a quick glance down at the toes of her brand-new, size-eight combat boots as she teetered on the edge of the snow- encrusted roof. The excruciating headache that had plagued her for the last several minutes intensified. A headache was going to be the least of her damned problems if she didn’t move. 

Jump. Get it over with. Quick and painless. 

What the . . . ? 

Jumpacross,she told herself. Not down.Across. Betweenthe buildings. A relatively easy jump, yet she hesitated. Terminal velocity wouldn’t be in effect in such a short drop. She’d only fall about a hundred and fifty feet, not the four hundred necessary to pick up the hundred and thirty- five miles an hour to achieve terminal speed. 

What was shethinking? Mouth dry, heart pounding, Lexi shook her head to clear it. 

Mathematically, a falling object—her—increased its velocity by thirty- two feet per second as it fell. Acceleration to gravity— 

Over.Not down. 

She’d be on the ground in less than two seconds— 

Over.Not down. 

Jump.Do it now. 

Hallucinations? 

Crap. She blinked white out of her eyes, her breath coming hot and fast. The training simulations hadn’t aptly portrayed what it felt like to be out in the field under hostile conditions. Not the cold, not the pressure, not the frantic tattoo of her heart. Not the irrational thoughts clouding her mind. One word summed up the experience. 

Terrifying. 

Focus.Fortunately, she was a pragmatic woman. Flights of fancy weren’t in her DNA. Or hadn’t been before to night. She’d trained with the best of the best. Now she just had to put it into action. She could do this. Donotimagine being shot in the back. 

Donotpicture falling. 

Do not look down. 

Her mouth was too dry to even attempt swallowing. She started counting, silently, to slow the rushing thud of her pulse, which made it hard to hear and intensified the headache. 

Her gaze climbed upward incrementally until she focused on the hotel across the alley. Only eight feet separated the two buildings. 

Fifteen stories to the snowy ground below. 

She’d never been afraid of heights before. Lights popped on in some of the dark windows as dusk fell like an unwelcome blanket over Moscow. 

They’d followed her. She knew they had.Jump!her brain screamed. 

Despite the bone- chilling cold, sweat beaded her face. Her entire body was damp and clammy beneath her black civilian clothing. The familiar weight of the Glock, all seven ounces of firepower, felt as heavy as a boulder in her numb fingers. 

Running footsteps, crossing the roof behind her, sounded like a freaking herd of crazed wildebeests charging. Her galloping heart jumped into her throat. Too late. Her hesitation was going to cost her. She glanced down at the shadowy drop just beyond the tips of her boots, then back at the dark footprints just behind her. Easy to follow her trail when her steps were clear in the snow blanketing the rooftop. 

She’d had a five- minute, eleven- second head start. They’d caught up. The men following her had scaled that blasted metal fire escape in record time. And probably without being terrified the thing would pull away fro

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Excerpted from Night Shadow: A Novel by Cherry Adair
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.