Seducing The Mercenary
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Silhouette Romantic Suspense
ISBN 0373275609
November 2007
Parisian-born mercenary Jean-Charles Laroque – ‘le Diable’ – is not what he seems. To the rest of the world he’s a darkly mysterious and renegade ruler who has seized a small country by force and is now threatening international oil interests in the African Gulf of Guinea. But one woman – Manhattan profiler and FDS contractor, Dr. Emily Carlin – has gained access to Laroque’s inner sanctum and glimpsed the truth of this man. But will Emily be able to go against all thinking and defy her own Shadow Soldiers team to save the rebel ruler’s life before the clock stops ticking at midnight in seven days? And what will the notorious and darkly seductive ‘Diable’ do when he learns that the woman he has welcomed into his castle, into his bed, and into his very heart … is a traitor sent to kill him?
Excerpt
Basaruto, Ubasi, Africa.
Jean-Charles Laroque sat high in the back of the vehicle, regal, utterly confident. Everything about him telegraphed power.
The sleeves of his camouflage shirt had been rolled back to reveal gleaming biceps. His shoulder-length black hair was drawn back into ponytail of dreadlocks that accentuated the aggressive angle of his exotic cheekbones. He wore pitch-black shades under an army beret cocked at rakish angle over his brow.
At his side sat his faithful Alsatian, Shaka. The dog’s fur glistened in sunlight, its teeth starkly white against a pink tongue as it panted in the heat.
A hot thrill slid sharp and fast through Emily’s stomach.
The jeep drew close, coming right up alongside her, and a strange primal awareness prickled over her skin. Emily could not have looked away if she tried.
Laroque turned his head, slowly scanning the crowd, then his gaze collided with hers. His body tensed visibly. He raised his dark glasses slowly, looked right at her, into her, isolating her from the crowd, cutting her from the herd like prey. He was close enough for Emily to see that his eyes were ice-green against burnished mahogany skin, and just as cold, devoid of any humor or glimmer of kindness.
She could barely breathe. Her own eyes watered as she met his gaze, unable to blink. Not wanting to. The crowds around her faded into a distant blur, the silence becoming a deafening buzz as her world narrowed to focus solely on him.
Laroque shifted round in his seat, watching her as his convoy crawled up the road … then he was gone.
Emily stood rooted to the spot, dust settling around her as the crowd erupted in a riot of sound. She tried to catch her breath.
What in hell had just happened here?
This man clearly had the adulation of his people. She hadn’t expected that. Nor had she expected the affect he would have on her.
She swallowed, suddenly gravely uneasy with what she was about to do, with the very real impact her profile would have on this country, these people, and that powerful man.
Because Emily wielded a power of her own. Her professional judgment could kill him.
In less than one week.
THE BUZZ
SEDUCING THE MERCENARY gets Romantic Times BOOKreview TOP PICK
After Jean-Charles Laroque, aka Le Diable, becomes the dictator of the African country of Ubasi, the CIA is worried. The private military company Force du Sable is hired to evaluate the situation, and Dr. Emily Carlin is sent to Ubasi to determine what will happen in the region if Jean-Charles is overthrown.
From the moment their eyes meet, there’s an instant connection, but subterfuge is a must. When Emily finds out what Jean-Charles’ situation really is, will help arrive in time?
With Seducing the Mercenary (4.5), part of her Shadow Soldiers series, Loreth Anne White sets in motion an intricate plot that’s revealed layer by layer. Jean-Charles is a winner of a hero, and his complexity is painted in many shades. This is an enthralling story!
—Sandra Garcia-Myers
***
SEDUCING THE MERCENARY gets five stars from CataRomance
“Emotionally charged scenes between a dynamic couple and escalating suspense are the driving force behind SEDUCING THE MERCENARY, where secrets abound and decisions are crucial.”
For this stirring installment of her Shadow Soldiers miniseries, Loreth Anne White crafts a fascinating story about a man and woman whose lives are filled with angst over how their actions will affect the future of many people. With time ticking away, this talented author brings their moving personal story to life with convincing thoughts and emotive actions.
With the African country of Ubasi becoming more potent after the discovery of oil, their leader also becomes an influential man. Just over a year ago, Jean-Charles Laroque overtook the country by forcing out its despotic ruler. Laroque had been a mercenary plus knew much about how to fight wars successfully, so being the dictator of this small country had gone well until recently when several bodies were discovered and he is blamed for the deaths of the Americans. With the United States wanting answers, the Force de Sable, a private military organization, is contacted for help. They in turn hire Emily Carlin, a profiler who specializes in questioning fanatical leaders, to be sent undercover into Ubasi so she can evaluate the true nature of Laroque. She has one week to determine what this leader actually believes, and her judgment of him will decide what action will be taken against him, even possibly leading to his death.
After an eventful arrival in the African country, Emily comes face to face with the man whose life she now holds in her hands. Laroque is a powerful man in numerous ways, and she is fearful of being influenced by his commanding ways. Though she is wary of him and his actions, she soon finds reasons to wonder about him and his actual way of thinking. When the line between professional and personal thoughts becomes blurred when around the leader, Emily finds herself torn when forced to decide what she really believes about Laroque, as the lives of countless people will depend upon her making the correct choice.
For stories which are always intriguing and spellbinding, Loreth Anne White has the romantic suspense genre mastered. Regardless of the subject, Ms. White is able to make each moment of the story not only believable but also gripping, and causes readers to be pulled more into the story with every turn of the page. In her latest Shadow Soldiers story, the hero’s motivations are often questionable as Laroque is a man of mystery with much power. However, as new facts are disclosed about this enigmatic man, he slowly turns into a hero worthy of his own dramatic story. The interesting heroine, Emily, is a remarkable woman, one whose past deeply affects her present actions. Once these two spirited individuals meet, the attraction was vividly depicted, making me also feel the immediate connection between them. When these two are faced with life and death issues, Ms. White portrayed them in such a genuine way, where emotions and inner feelings come to the surface. Their more intimate moments are tenderly shown with heartfelt sentiments, making Laroque and Emily even more realistic. The storyline itself is riveting with suspense, action and countless emotion. Whether danger is imminent or a character’s heart is on their sleeve, there is never a lull in the story. A mesmerizing plot and unforgettable characters combine to make SEDUCING THE MERCENARY a uniquely notable story.
– Amelia Richard, CataRomance
***
SEDUCING THE MERCENARY - review from Romance Reviews Today
Ubasi, Africa - Present Day
When four undercover CIA Agents are murdered in the signature style of the deceased mercenary Peter Laroque, Force du Sable (FDS) sends Dr. Emily Carlin to Ubasi to profile its dictator, Jean-Charles Laroque. It is up to Emily to determine whether Jean-Charles, a former mercenary who arrived in Ubasi a year earlier and ousted the dictator, should be captured or assassinated. As Emily gets to know Jean, she sees a man much different from the tyrannical ruler the world claims him to be. She sees someone who is putting the good of the people first, a man willing to fight and even die for what he believes in. And, a man she finds herself dangerously attracted to. Jean is not a man who forgives a betrayal, and if he ever learns of the lies Emily has told him, or her true purpose in Ubasi, Emily’s heart won’t be the only thing she’s in danger of losing.
SEDUCING THE MERCENARY is an intense romantic suspense. Emily is a psychologist who is an expert on dominant men. Her interest in studying them stems from her childhood and her own attraction and subsequent inability to trust herself with this type of man. This makes profiling Laroque dangerous on both a professional and a personal level, but Emily has never been one to shy away from doing what needs to be done. FDS is working with the
– Jennifer Bishop, Romance Reviews Today
