Series: The Hunted (Book 2)Desire in a hot zone
Unless they stop it, the deadly virus decimating San Marquez will be unleashed on America. Fugitive sergeant Sebastian Stone and Dr. Julia Davenport have stumbled onto the shocking conspiracy behind a terrifying ultimatum-but exposing it could cost their lives.
Sparks of passion have already threatened their mission. Though both Sebastian and Julia don't "do" commitment, they rush headlong into a casual affair. On the run from both the government and terrorists, neither Sebastian nor Julia knows whom to trust. As the clock runs down, they must stop this deadly threat...and realize that some things are worth the risk....
Fantastic book with almost constant suspense. I really liked both Julia and Sebastian. Julia has found her calling and has spent her career working in clinics in third world countries. This is her way of honoring her sister who died of an infection that couldn't be treated while traveling in Africa. While in San Marquez she is visited by Sebastian, who is posing as a journalist while trying to track down a virus they found out about in Soldier Under Siege. She is attracted to him but distracted by a missing colleague. When she hears from him she heads out to track him down and stumbles on a village that has been decimated and is being cleaned up by a military task force. She is captured, then rescued by Sebastian. During the rest of the book they have to work together to find the source of the virus and stop it.
Julia is an amazingly strong character. She has no problem speaking her mind which seems to surprise Sebastian every time it happens. I loved the way she was able to stay calm when she was captured and think about what she said before she said it. She also had no problem following Sebastian's lead when necessary, but also made her wishes known at times also. She felt a strong attraction to him from the beginning, but has no interest in a long term relationship because of her work. I loved the way that she basically jumped him to make sure he got the picture of what she wanted. As their search went on and they spent more time together she found that she could share things with him that she'd never told anyone before. She also discovered that they had a lot in common, which added to the feelings that were growing stronger.
Sebastian was quite a guy. He was a big tough man who seemed very self contained. He also tended to look on the pessimistic side of things which occasionally drove his coworkers nuts. When he met Julia the attraction was intense but he was concentrating on his mission. When he found her as a prisoner in the middle of that disaster he knew he had to rescue her before she became another victim. I loved the way that he rationalized it to himself, but the truth was that he just wanted her to be safe. I really liked the way that his nice side peeked out just a little when they arrived at the hideout and he was greeted by Eva's little boy. As the mission went on and he spent more time with Julia he felt his walls start to crumble. He has always kept his emotions separate because he feels that he is cursed by having people close to him die and he blames those deaths on himself. He is stunned when Julia points out that she is alive because of him. I love seeing him open up to her and begin to see that he has a shot at a future. I especially loved the way she let him have it at the end.
The suspense of the story is pretty intense with the need to find out how it is spread and who is responsible. They also have to decide who they can trust. I enjoyed seeing them do what had to be done and develop a great way of working together. The premise of the story is pretty scary when you think about it and I like thinking that there are people like Sebastian who are able to do something about it.
