A giant freighter in the Gulf of Aden holds secret cargo that could bring down the governments of four nations. When Somali pirates grab the ship, the order comes down: get the freighter back, at all costs. Only one combat group is close enough to respond before the hijacked freighter reaches Somali waters: the elite US Air Force pararescue unit—the PJs—stationed in Djibouti. Though their mission is to save lives, and their oath is “That Others May Live,” the PJs are battle-tested. The team doesn’t hesitate because one of their own, Sgt. LB DiNardo, is already onboard the hijacked ship. LB has three tasks: provide intel on the pirates, stay alive until the team arrives, and withstand the humiliation of breaking the PJs’ cardinal rule: Never be the one who needs rescuing. At the head of the pirates is the shrewd and ruthless Yusuf Raage, a clan leader who will sacrifice anything and anyone to keep his captured ship. The PJs have a mere hour to take down the ship before the Air Force blows it up. Even if they survive the wrath of Yusuf Raage, more secrets and danger await them.

Every member of the Special Ops US Air Force pararescue jumpers, the PJs, swears by the motto “That Others May Live.” A top-secret mission to save a kidnapped Saudi princess will put that oath to the ultimate test.The Empty Quarter is a pulse-quickening tour de force featuring the tactics and men of modern combat search-and-rescue and the complex politics of today’s Arabian peninsula. It’s a moving tale of desperate love and sacrifice set in the wastes of the Rub’ al Khali, the world’s largest and harshest sand desert.

Inside South Africa’s Kruger National Park, ranger Promise discovers the remains of a crashed military drone—and a live missile. Immediately, Promise calls her uncle, Juma, a rhino-poaching kingpin and an illegal arms dealer. With Promise’s help, Juma has kept her and her grandparents out of crushing poverty with illicit money. Alerted US authorities send pararescuemen LB and Wally into the Kruger to secure the crash site. But Juma gets there first and takes the unexploded missile. This ignites a race to find Juma’s camp and then eliminate the evidence before the missile triggers an international incident. LB and Wally must join forces with disgraced Promise and her jaded, dangerous boss, Neels, who wants both Juma and Promise dead. This tense alliance sets out in pursuit of the stolen missile. But how much will Wally and LB be asked to risk so that others may live?