Although I went on to other projects, I never forgot the guys I'd left behind. I'd always promised myself - and a lot of you - that I would give the other characters their own stories someday. And here they are!

Thank you to everyone who loved these guys as much as I did. And extra thanks to: Penelope, Chez, Sherron, Lori, Mary, Carol, Estelle, Christine, Sharon Lyn, Danny, Megan, Joanna, Barbara, Janet, Kathy, Judy, Lekha, Barbie, Faith, Tisa, Edith, Pam, Alicia, Alina, Amy, Linda, Suzie, Carrol, Monica, Sherry and Kelly! You ladies inspired me - the guys owe you their lives. And sorry Brona, but Jack got saddled with a Russian scientist before I could match him with an Irish woman...
 
 

Eagle Squadron: Countdown
 

HER BABY'S BODYGUARD
April 2010
ISBN 978-0-373-27674-5

Sergeant Jack Norton is the character whose story has been requested most often by readers. Jack's a risk-taker and a gambler who thrives on the challenge of his work as Eagle Squadron’s medic. In HER BABY'S BODYGUARD, Jack is sent with the team to extricate a defecting scientist from a secret bio-weapon research complex in the heart of the Caucasus Mountains, only to have his heart ambushed by the beautiful Eva Petrova and her infant daughter. With mother and baby in tow, Jack and the commandos fight their way to safety, where they learn the real danger is just beginning....
 

ACCIDENTAL COMMANDO
June 2010
ISBN 978-0-373-27684-4

As Eagle Squadron’s most recent recruit, Master Sergeant Tyler Matheson accepts the endless new-guy razzing from his teammates with his typical, strong, silent stoicism. An expert marksman and a munitions specialist, Tyler attributes his aptitude with firearms to his cowboy heritage. In ACCIDENTAL COMMANDO, Tyler and the team are on the small Carribean island nation of Rocama, where they have five days  to prevent an assassination. But their low profile stake-out is accidentally stumbled upon by runaway bride, reporter Emily Wright. Emily has left her cheating fiancé at the altar and intends to enjoy her honeymoon alone...even if it kills her.
 

ARMY OF TWO
August 2010
ISBN 978-0-373-27691-2

The commanding officer of Eagle Squadron, Major Mitch Redinger, is a widower who believes love only happens once in a lifetime. In ARMY OF TWO, Mitch is attending a top secret meeting at a resort on the rugged Maine coast when the place is taken over by terrorists. While everyone else is rounded up and held hostage, Mitch remains undetected, along with the resort’s owner, Chantal Leduc. As a teenager, Chantal had been desperately in love with Mitch, then a dashing young captain, only to be left heartbroken when he married another woman. Past hurts as well as passions are stirred as Mitch and Chantal work together to survive.
 
 
 
 

Jack Norton had seen his share of trouble during his years with Eagle Squadron. He’d faced fanatics with bombs strapped to their bodies and enemy soldiers who were loaded up with enough weapons to fill an arsenal. He never took anything for granted. It was when a man felt safe that he usually bought it.

So he should have known this mission was going too smoothly.

He stared at what he'd uncovered. It was a baby, all right. She was trussed up a jury-rigged cloth carrier that held her across the woman’s midriff like a combination apron and hammock. A lacy, knitted cap covered the baby’s head. One tiny fist, wrapped in a mitten that trailed shiny ribbons, rested against her mouth. Luckily, her eyes were closed, which meant she was asleep, but how long that would last was anyone’s guess.

Actually, it was up to Murphy, the guy who wrote the law about anything that could go wrong, would...

Jack looked more closely. The kid wasn’t the only cargo Eva Petrova was hauling. Two lumpy cloth sacks dangled from strings on either side of the kiddy carrier. Eva's coat was large and knee-length, and she’d obviously made use of every square inch of space she had under there. It was a wonder she had been able to walk one klick like that let alone six. Jack tapped the largest sack. “What’s in these?”

“Diapers and baby clothes,” Eva replied. She spoke fluent English with only a hint of an accent, which was to be expected. According to Army Intelligence, she’d spent the first few years of her life with her mother’s family in upstate New York. She’d been nearly four when her Russian father had gained custody.

Eva brushed his hand away and zipped her coat closed. Not all the way, though. He could see that she’d left a gap at the top for air. “I don’t want her to get cold,” she continued. “She might wake up.”

“Right. We sure wouldn’t want that.” His mind filled with crying-baby scenarios, none of them good. They were in hostile territory on a mission his government would disavow any knowledge of if it went wrong. Discretion was essential. That’s why the major had made the team plan for every contingency. 

Having an infant along wasn’t one of them.

Eva stepped closer and poked her index finger at Jack’s chest. “I made a bargain with the American government, Sergeant Norton. Safety and asylum in exchange for my cooperation. I expect you to honor it.”

He snapped his gaze to her face. Could she think they would leave her here?

One look in her eyes told him that she wasn’t thinking at all. She was terrified. That’s why she had concealed the kid, and why she’d refused to part with the disk. Those shivers he’d felt through her arm probably weren’t all due to the cold. She didn’t trust him. His reaction to her excess cargo wasn’t helping matters.

She’d taken him by surprise, that’s all. But damn, a baby? Even when he wasn’t on a mission, he kept as far away from those as he could.