I serve at the pleasure of the President…and at his complete annoyance. When the secret service identifies a credible threat against the life of President Spencer Thomas, they have to call in outside help for protection, because they believe the threat is coming from inside the West Wing. Neither President Thomas nor I are thrilled with the situation, but I joined my black ops squad to protect and serve my country, and my president, against all threats, foreign and domestic. So I’ll be right here, as close to him as possible, until that threat is neutralized. But the more time we spend together, the more I start to wonder…how close is too close?

Being a member of a ghost op team means never getting to grow close to anyone outside of the unit. And I was fine with that lifestyle…until I met Troy Dunkirk. Dating the quarterback for a professional football team might not be the smartest move I’ve ever made. It’s difficult to stay anonymous when your boyfriend shines so brightly in the public eye. And it’s even harder to lie to him about who you really are and what you really do. When I’m called to action after a series of terrorist attacks, Troy becomes suspicious about my actual job, and I have to weigh the love of my country against the love of my life. The decision really shouldn’t be this difficult, and yet…

In my professional career, hunt and capture is the name of the game. But when it comes to my personal life I’ve always been more of a catch and release kind of guy. So why is Dane Acker even still on my radar? We had our night of fun, and it should be time to double-down my focus on the person or persons attacking my adopted country. But I can’t get that man out of my damned mind. He swears he’s straight, and I swear I’m not into relationships but somehow we keep finding our way back to each other. Is this fate or am I just staring down at yet another bomb waiting to explode in my face?

No one is coming to save you… From childhood, to the military, to special forces, I learned never to put my faith in anyone but myself. Because if you don’t let anyone get close to you, then it’s less likely that someone can hurt you. Or betray you. But life doesn’t always work out the way you want it to. Sometimes someone finds a crack in your armor. Despite your best efforts to protect yourself. Now, the only two men to ever break down the walls I’ve built around myself have both managed to destroy me in completely different ways. And as the world burns down around me, I can’t help but wonder…was it worth it?

Buckle up, Buttercup. The explosive finale of the Phoenix Squad series is finally here. I’m hunting a monster half a world away from home, away from Phoenix, away from Scout, and I’m more scared than I’ve ever been. But it feels as if everything I’ve ever lived for has come down to this moment. And I’ll be damned if I let my family down now. Because they’ve always shown up for me. Phoenix Squad do or die.