Page 1 of Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team)

Chapter One

Sometimes love isn’t enough.

The painful words Summer had said to him kept tumbling through Special Agent Adam Blackwell’s head as he rode the elevator of the Jordanian government building to the twelfth floor. He’d just left his teammates a few floors down, waiting for another meeting to break up, because he had a few minutes and wanted to pull off this surprise.

He hadn’t wanted to believe Summer’s prophetic words at first, but now he recognized that they were true. Love wasn’t always enough to make a marriage work. Because sometimes, other things got in the way.

He’d been blind and selfish, had almost lost Summer because of it. Thank God he’d finally woken up and realized all that before it was too late.

At least…he hoped it wasn’t too late.

The elevator slowed. A soft ding sounded and the doors slid open. He strode down the hallway, his pulse accelerating and something like butterflies swirling around in his stomach.

Nerves and the buzz of anticipation. All because he was about to come face to face with his wife for the first time in nearly a month and he wasn’t sure what her reaction would be when he surprised her by showing up here.

She’d said those fateful words to him a little over a year ago now, though the unraveling of their marriage had begun after a certain event a year before that. They’d been trying to find their way back to each other ever since.

The meeting room doors were still closed, two guards posted outside, one at either end. They nodded at him. He nodded in return and leaned back against the wall across from the room, his hands braced behind him as he waited.

The door handle turned. Voices floated out of the room as it opened. He stood there unmoving, scanning people’s faces as they exited. Intelligence officials from various agencies within the U.S., along with their Jordanian counterparts. All part of a massive, multi-national summit to address the ongoing security situation in the region.

He caught a glimpse of red hair in the group of people waiting to exit and something stilled inside him. Everything else faded away as a man stepped aside and Summer suddenly appeared in the doorway. She paused a moment when she saw him, her pale green eyes lighting up with surprise and delight.

Relief spilled through him, and the happy smile that spread across her face almost took his breath away. It had been so damn long since she’d looked at him like that.

“Hey,” he said with a grin, glad he’d made the effort in finding her during his short break.

She crossed toward him, smile in place, a formfitting charcoal gray skirt suit hugging her petite frame and black high heels accentuating every muscle in her sexy legs. Her scent reached out to tease him as she drew close, a mix of vanilla and musk that hit him with a thousand bittersweet memories.

Stopping in front of him, her laptop bag in one hand, she reached up and tucked a lock of shiny auburn hair behind her ear, the end of it trailing over her Defense Intelligence Agency ID badge clipped to the lapel of her jacket. “Fancy meeting you in Amman,” she teased, giving him an appreciative look that made his heart pound. While they were here they were both on assignment and couldn’t stay together, even if they’d wanted to.

“Yeah, imagine that.” He wanted to touch her so damn bad but held back. Things were still shaky between them, he didn’t want to mess up the progress they’d been making through counseling and all the rest of it. Slow, tentative progress, but he’d take whatever he could get on that front.

Then the residual tension between them reared its ugly head once more, and her smile faded. “Were you guys here for meetings this morning?”

“Yeah. I had a few minutes so I thought I’d run up and surprise you before we headed out.” The HRT was here acting as the personal security force for the director and a few other top officials of the FBI.

Her lips curved into a soft smile that told him he’d made the right decision in surprising her. “That was nice of you. So, what do you think of Amman?”

“It’s different than most places I’ve been to over here.” And by here he meant the Middle East and parts of South Asia he’d frequented back in his SF days while he’d served in the Army. “Way more liberal.”

She seemed amused by that. “It’s one of my favorite cities on earth.”

Yeah, he knew that. She traveled here at least a couple times a year, for work.

Something to her right caught her attention. She glanced down the hall, acknowledged someone with a nod and held up a finger to indicate she’d be there in a minute and turned back to him.

Her eyes searched his and he took the time to drink her in, every freckle dotting the skin across her cheeks and nose. She’d always hated them but at that moment he would have given just about anything to be able to kiss each and every one of them.

“Maybe if you get some downtime in the next few days, I could show you around. I’ve got a few favorite restaurants I think you’d love.”

The offer took him a little by surprise, since she was here on assignment and she’d be in full-on work mode, but he nodded. “That sounds great.” And even though it might be pathetic on some levels, he was just thrilled that she actually wanted to go on another date with him. “Tonight?”

“I’ll have to check with my boss, but if not tonight, then tomorrow. Would that work?”

“Sure, whenever. It’s a date.”

“Good.” The hint of a dimple appeared in her left cheek. He wanted to kiss that too. Kiss her all over until she melted the way she used to, before…

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