DEGREE OF RISK finishes Lindsay McKenna's story about Ethan Quinn and Sarah Benson from RISK TAKER. Both are stationed at Camp Bravo in Afghanistan. Ethan is a SEAL and Sarah flies medevac helicopters into hot zones to extract wounded military. Both are extremely good at what they do. Ethan and Sarah have fallen love with each other and gotten engaged. They are not supposed to show any kind of affection on the base, and since their work schedules often conflict, it's been hard to develop their relationship. Occasionally they steal a few minutes alone, and Ethan's boss is great to help them find time for each other. His SEAL buddies have adopted Sarah and set up a room for her at SEAL Headquarters when she is not on duty.

As Sarah is flying a load of explosives into a hot zone, a Taliban missile is fired at her helicopter. On the ground, Ethan sees everything that's happening. Sarah does her best to elude the missile and land the helicopter. The missile misses the aircraft body, but not the tail blades. She manages to land, but the vehicle begins to slide down the mountain. Realizing her co-pilot has been killed, Sarah jumps from the helicopter before it crashes and the ammunition explodes. Sarah is alone on Taliban infested ground. Can her inner toughness help her survive until someone rescues her? Will they even know to look for her, or will they think she died in the crash?

I'm so glad Lindsay McKenna chose to finish Ethan and Sarah's story and fully develop it in a second book. DEGREE OF RISK is a real thriller, action-packed and fast- paced. Her characters are hard-nosed warriors, yet very sympathetic. Ethan is helping Sarah work through the tragedies of her early life. He is a true SEAL, but has a wonderful tenderness about him. Sarah draws on her background to help her survive a gruesome adventure. This one is even more riveting than RISK TAKER and hard to put down. Look for other books in Ms. McKenna's new Shadow Warriors series.

Book Summary

A couple's future is under fire in New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Lindsay McKenna's Shadow Warriors miniseries

When her Black Hawk helicopter is shot down in Afghanistan, Army medevac pilot Sarah Benson does what she must to survive. Hiding by day and hiking through the mountains by night, Sarah manages to save a mother and daughter before being taken captive. Even then she fights. She has to get back to the base�and to the man she loves.

Once Ethan Quinn learns that Sarah has survived the crash, he refuses to stop until he finds her, though the battle- hardened Navy SEAL knows the odds are against him. For him, it's more than a matter of courage�it's their future he is fighting for.

Author Note

Dear Reader

This is the sequel to RISK TAKER, HRS, 2.1.2014. If you read it, then know that Sarah and Ethan’s journey together continues in this second book.

I rarely write sequels. I can count on one hand how many I’ve written over the years….so they’re pretty rare. What makes me write a sequel? The characters have to be compelling, sympathetic and their story is really a journey of not only falling in love, but keeping that love alive after the fact.

I love that Ethan, although a US Navy SEAL, has a softer side to himself that he’s unafraid to plumb within himself or with Sarah. And Sarah brings out this wonderful side of himself. Few SEALs can move between not feeling their emotions and then, allowing themselves to feel. But some do. And Ethan is one of them. His ability to do it is in part, because of Sarah. She has been wounded deeply as a child but has the heart of a lion when it comes to rescuing others as a Medevac pilot. His admiration and respect for her captured him from the beginning. And as he found out more about her and her tragic past, the more he fell in love with her.

Sarah has learned not to trust men, but when Ethan comes into her life, it all changes. He does not threaten or try to bully her. Instead, Ethan allows her to unfold like a flower, one petal at a time, to him. He lays the groundwork for love to not only be sown between them, but take deep root. She would never have believed such a man as himself existed. But he does. And he loves her fiercely.

Love is never easy under any circumstance, but when Sarah’s Black Hawk is shot down by a Stinger missile and Ethan sees it happen, his life is torn apart by the incident. No one believes the pilots of the helicopter survived. But Ethan does and goes to the crash site with his SEAL team to prove out what his heart and gut know. Sarah survived. His suffering, worry and anxiety that if she did, she is in the worst trouble of her life because this is a Taliban held valley in Afghanistan. If Sarah is captured by their enemy….Ethan can’t even go there. The Army gives up on her and pronounces Sarah died along with the other pilot. But the SEALs find subtle evidence of her survival and it’s enough to mount a search and rescue for the brave woman pilot that is now in harm’s way.

I hope you enjoy this sequel!