Marine Captain Luke Steele and FBI Special Agent Amberlyn Reiner must work together to unravel a deadly conspiracy before times runs out while also navigating their undercover fake relationship that is becoming all too real. When a terrorist attack grips the nation, Luke Steele, a military aide to the president of the United States, is reassigned to track down the suspect because the alleged bomber was spotted wearing a state championship ring from Luke’s hometown. Luke has desperately tried to forget his high school years, but he can’t run from them now. Instead, he must face his most formidable assignment yet: leave his post by the president’s side, return to Pine Falls, Virginia, and face every demon from his childhood—including every person and every thought that told him he wasn’t worth anything. FBI Special Agent Amberlyn Reiner has spent years tracking domestic terrorism. When she catches a break that could pinpoint the key player in the antigovernment group responsible for dozens of needless deaths, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get the information she seeks—even if it means going undercover as Luke Steele’s plus-one at his high school reunion. Though Amberlyn found Luke arrogant and aloof during their time together at Quantico, it doesn’t take long for her to discover that there’s much more to him than she realized. But even as the line between fact and fiction in their relationship blurs, the countdown to danger accelerates. Time is running out, and with the threat of another terrorist attack looming, the stakes are higher than ever.

A taut, electrifying thriller." —Brad Thor, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Edge of Honor Military aide Luke Steele and FBI Special Agent Amberlyn Reiner go undercover once again to unravel a string of murders that may be tied to a nuclear threat capable of igniting a war. Military aide Luke Steele grapples with self-doubt after a tragic loss during his last mission. But when a trusted American journalist is killed in Istanbul, Luke must push past his grief to prepare for a new assignment. The Turkish police report the journalist as the eighth victim of a serial killer. But US intelligence considers the suspicious death a murder at the hands of an international threat and fear that the journalist could have had top-secret information that is now in the hands of an enemy of the United States. The president tasks Luke to join with FBI Special Agent Amberlyn Reiner to investigate. As the two delve into the cause of the journalist’s death, they unravel a conspiracy that reveals a chilling plan for the assassination of the president and a potential nuclear strike on the United States. Going undercover as a couple, Luke and Amberlyn travel to Istanbul to connect with a Russian source who holds key information to the case—if they can find him in time. In the crucible of danger, Luke must rediscover his confidence and trust the bond he has forged with Amberlyn as they fight to save the president of the United States and stop a perilous nuclear plot poised to kill millions.