ISBN: 9780440237617

Chapter 1 Ten hours later Washington State, near the Canadian border The wind hit him like an ice pick from hell. It was a nasty night in a week of nasty nights, but Hawk Mackenzie barely… More...

Chapter 1 Ten hours later Washington State, near the Canadian border The wind hit him like an ice pick from hell. It was a nasty night in a week of nasty nights, but Hawk Mackenzie barely noticed. After twelve years as a Navy SEAL, bad nights were his specialty. The Nile on eBay   FREE SHIPPING UK WIDE   Code Name: Princess by Christina Skye Jess Mulcahey&#039;s life gets complicated in a hurray when she finds herself babysitting a top-secret koala bear. As Jess&#039;s world gets tossed into the whirlwind of Navy SEALS and ransom deadlines, her best hope may be to hang on for the ride. With CODE NAME: PRINCESS, Christina Skye features her signature blend of seduction and adventure that readers have come to love. FORMATMass Market Paperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description When a beautiful hotel investigator teams up with an irresistible Navy SEAL, going undercover could take them over the top . . . Two FBI agents are dead. A top-secret government lab animal has been stolen. Now Hawk MacKenzie just walked in on a naked woman in his hotel shower. She says she's royalty and has the attitude to match. Whether this arousing female is a true blue-blood or not, the combat-trained Navy SEAL isn't letting her out of his sight. Actually a hotel investigator in disguise, Jess Mulcahey can't believe she's being held against her will by this gorgeous commando who's about to blow her cover. Lucky for her, she's good at narrow escapes. But just when she hits the road, dodging bullets and outwitting cold-blooded pursuers, her luck bottoms out . . . and Hawk is her only hope of protection. A few stolen hours in a stalled elevator show Jess a different, more sensual side to the hard-edged SEAL. Now the two are closing in on their missing government secrets and trying hard to ignore their memories. . . . But they're about to discover that the most dangerous revelations come from an unguarded heart. . . . Back Cover When a Beautiful Hotel Investigator Teams Up with an Irresistible Navy Seal, Going Undercover Could Take Them Over the Top .... Two FBI agents are dead. A top-secret government lab animal has been stolen. Now Hawk MacKenzie just walked in on a naked woman in his hotel shower. She says she's royalty and has the attitude to match. Whether this arousing female is a true blue-blood or not, the combat-trained Navy Seal isn't letting her out of his sight. Code Name: Princess Actually a hotel investigator in disguise, Jess Mulcahey can't believe she's being held against her will by this gorgeous commando who's about to blow her cover. Lucky for her, she's good at narrow escapes. But just when she hits the road, dodging bullets and outwitting cold-blooded pursuers, her luck bottoms out...and Hawk is her only hope of protection. A few stolen hours in a stalled elevator show Jess a different, more sensual side to the hard-edged Seal. Now the two are closing in on their missing government secrets and trying hard to ignore their memories....But they're about to discover that the most dangerous revelations come from an unguarded heart.... Author Biography Chritina Skye has eaten snake meat in Shanghai and armadillo in Canton. A Ph.D. graduate in Chinese literature, she has translated for Chinese generals, dissident poets, and fifth-generation puppet masters. In 1981 the Ohio native was nearly arrested when a businessman she was working for insisted she help him smuggle two "ladies of dubious virtue" into Peking's prestigious State Guest House. The armed PLA soldiers at the gate were not amused, she notes. But these days Skye's greatest love is England, especially the fog-swept southeast coast. Here she first encountered the portrait of a pro Review Quote "Action-packed!" -- Publishers Weekly Excerpt from Book chapter 1 Ten hours later Washington State, near the Canadian border The wind hit him like an ice pick from hell. It was a nasty night in a week of nasty nights, but Hawk Mackenzie barely noticed. After twelve years as a Navy SEAL, bad nights were his specialty. He studied the rugged terrain around him. Layered tracks led across the cliffs and then turned sharply, looping back to the road. They''d stopped here for a break. As Hawk maneuvered his powerful off-road motorcycle through ankle-high mud, his encrypted cell phone began to beep. "Mackenzie here." "This is Teague. What have you got?" "Motorcycle tracks. Probably a dozen or so, but only three sets look fresh. Hold on." Hawk smiled grimly. "Someone''s been through here recently, Izzy. Thanks to the rain, most of the detail is gone, but I''d say we''re talking three dirt bikes." He ran a flashlight over the wet, freshly gouged earth. "The tracks heading back to the road appear to be deeper, too. Before they turned around, they picked up more weight." Since the man on the other end of the line was one of the government''s finest security operatives, Hawk knew every word between them was being recorded. After the call was complete, every detail would be tracked and analyzed. "You''re sure they had more weight when they left?" "No doubt about it." Hawk pulled out a digital camera and powered up the flash. "I''m running some shots for you now. Maybe you can pull details from the tire tracks. Off the cuff I''d say there are three or four usable footprints here, too, probably from boots." Ishmael Teague was silent for a long moment. "I need a field assessment, Mackenzie. Where are they headed?" The Navy SEAL squinted into the icy rain sheeting down the cliff face. "They know the terrain, Izzy. If I hadn''t been right on top of these tracks, I never would have found them. The tracks appear to be running north, so the obvious answer would be Canada." Keys tapped quickly at a computer. "But--?" "But I don''t buy it. I think they''ll stay local." Hawk studied the mud, frowning. "They''ll go to ground and try to wait us out." Hawk had been teamed with Izzy Teague before, involved in covert missions that required brains, guts and seat-of-the-pants planning, and Hawk trusted the man without reservation. And trust was something Hawk didn''t give easily. "So you advise that we scratch our surveillance team in Portland?" "Roger that." The SEAL hunched his shoulders against the driving rain, reading the terrain for subtle clues he might have missed. "Put a skeleton force in place for insurance. Meanwhile, I''ll stay up here. Call it a bad ache in my bones, but I think something''s out here." Izzy bit back a curse. "I don''t need to remind you that careers--and a hell of a lot of lives--are riding on this mission." "No, you don''t have to remind me." As he spoke, Hawk left his bike and walked in a careful circle, trying to piece together what had happened here. Three off-road bikes, traveling fast. Men with heavy boots, staying close to the granite edge so they''d leave few prints. As his flashlight swept the ground, Hawk frowned. There were no dropped cigarette butts, no water bottles, no candy wrappers. All he found were three partial footprints and several indistinct tire tracks. Phone in hand, the SEAL squinted out at the gunmetal water below him. "They''re pros, Izzy. This place is clean. If they go to ground and try to wait us out, the weather is on their side. There have to be a thousand coves and inlets where they can hide along the Sound or across the Strait." "The weather''s heading downhill, too. I just pulled up the latest satellite maps, and tonight''s winds are expected to top forty miles per hour." Hawk said a few choice words under his breath. More dark clouds were already shouldering their way toward the coast. "It''s your call." Izzy Teague sounded irritated. "If you think they''ll stay local, maintain your search area. Check in every six hours, and record all information precisely. Heads are going to roll if we don''t recover this package pronto." "No need for reminders." Hawk knew exactly what this mission entailed. As a SEAL, he was used to mantras about national security, but warnings about a scientific debacle and grave medical consequences indicated a whole new threat level. "I''ll hang around here and see if I can find anything else before the rain scours the cliffs clean." "Copy that." Izzy cleared his throat. "How are your ribs holding up?" "What ribs?" Hawk picked his way slowly over the muddy ground. If he allowed himself to think about it, his pain was constant, despite the top-secret meds the Navy was testing on him. "The ribs you broke two months ago, Mackenzie." "They''re no worse than they were yesterday." Which wasn''t saying a hell of a lot. But Hawk Mackenzie knew this corner of Washington State better than anyone, and he didn''t cave in to pain, so his tone was steady as he walked back to his mud-spattered bike. "Gotta go, Izzy. Wind''s picking up." "Keep your search short, and upload those images as soon as you get back to the hotel. If there''s any speck of evidence left, I''ll isolate it." Hawk knew this was no idle boast. The man on the other end of the phone could geek one pixel out of a million until you knew names and dates--who, what and why. "Roger that, Izzy. Signing off now." "Keep your powder dry, Navy." Hawk stared into the sheeting rain. Staying dry tonight was about as, [PU: Dell]<