Grady “Buck” McCormick blows shit up for a living as the explosives and demolitions expert on his SEAL team. He grew up on a thoroughbred farm in Kentucky, but he joined the Navy to escape the pain of watching his mom die a long, slow death of cancer. Since then he’s lived with the guilt and dedicated his life to protecting others, carefully guarding his heart along the way. Melinda Emerson loves chemistry but isn't so crazy about people. A pharmaceutical chemist with social anxiety, she’ll happily climb through a jungle canopy in search of medicinal plants, but put her in the middle of a party and she passes out. As the only child of older parents, she struggled watching her father fall victim to Alzheimer’s, and is determined to find a cure. Instead, she discovers a cognitive enhancer that has everyone from the CIA to the Russian mafia after her and her new invention. When Melinda's social anxiety spikes at a friend’s barbecue, she lands in Buck’s arms. After their one-night stand, Melinda makes a desperate call to Buck for help when her lab is attacked by Russian terrorists intent on kidnapping her and stealing her drug research. He blasts in guns-a-blazing, but under his watch, the relentless Russians manage to kidnap both of them, holding them hostage on board a container ship steaming toward the motherland. Now Buck must protect Melinda, her research, and his heart as he embarks on the mission of his life.

Dr. Melinda Emerson is still reeling after her escape from Russian mafia terrorists. If she never sees or hears anything Russian again, it’ll be too soon. She’s ready to go back to researching a cure for Alzheimer’s and to begin building a life with her new man, Grady “Buck” McCormick. But the Russians aren’t done with her just yet. Grady “Buck” McCormick likes to be in charge. But he loves Melinda more. Turns out it’s not so easy for a single alpha male to learn how to be a partner rather than a leader, but he’s determined to do it. That resolve is put to the test when his team gets orders for a new mission where the tables are turned and he must relinquish control, depending on Melinda to protect him. The Russian mafia is back like a bad penny. They’ve been experimenting on the cognitive enhancing drug Melinda invented. Their version makes users obey orders without question, but it’s also fatal. Melinda is sent along as a civilian consultant with two SEAL teams to infiltrate a secret Siberian lab, secure the head scientist, and retrieve all the research on the drug. But the mission goes sideways when Buck and several of the SEALs are injected, and Melinda is forced to find a cure, or lose the man she loves.

\\\This book was previously published in Amazon Kindle Worlds\\\ Two months after her second run-in with the Russian mafia, Dr. Melinda Emerson finally admits she’s struggling with PTSD. Her relationships are suffering—especially with her boyfriend Grady “Buck” McCormick, who’s recently moved into her house. She’s just decided to get help when she gets a lead on a village in the Amazon where nobody’s ever had dementia. Ever. After the disastrous experiment that led to the catastrophe in Siberia, Melinda’s determined to refocus her work on a cure for Alzheimer’s, and puts together an expedition to the jungle. Grady “Buck” McCormick is on leave after almost dying in Siberia. Melinda believes it was her fault, but he’s done everything he can to support her. After all, he’s seen enough vets with PTSD to know what it does to a person. So when she plans a trip to the Amazon, he insists on going along as security detail, not that anything will happen that requires security. He just wants a chance for them to talk and begin healing. Buck’s hope for relationship-building is snuffed out when Melinda brings along her lab assistants April and Cody. On top of that, when a logging company clearing land for farming threatens to destroy the village, Buck agrees to talk to them only to find an old SEAL buddy in charge. The village elders refuse to leave their homes, Melinda refuses to move her research, and his buddy refuses to back down, leaving Buck stuck in the middle. Things go sideways when his buddy kidnaps Melinda to force Buck to his point of view. Bad idea. Nobody threatens Melinda without paying for it.

Dr. Melinda Emerson has had her fill of international intrigue. She’s eager to get back to work on a cure for Alzheimer’s, and a normal life with her boyfriend, Buck. But when her flight home from a conference in Houston is delayed, she rents a car and offers a ride to another stranded traveler, landing herself right back into the thick of danger. Grady “Buck” McCormick is ready to propose to his girlfriend Mindy. He’s been carrying a velvet ring box in his pocket for weeks waiting for the perfect moment to do it. When his teammates give him crap for waiting, he decides he’ll pop the question as soon as she’s back from Houston. When she disappears on the way home, he’ll risk anything—even his SEAL career—to go after her. Melinda is dragged to middle-of-nowhere Mexico by yet another Russian mobster where she tries to escape, but when he discovers his boss wants to get his hands on her for killing his brother, he’s more than happy to sell her for a profit. Meanwhile, Buck and his friends scour the Mexican desert in a frantic search to find her. They catch up in a public plaza in Mazatlán where Buck has to choose: Risk his honor and everything he’s worked for to save the woman he loves, or protect American interests and allow Mindy to be sold off to Russia where he can never follow.