Sharron McClellan - Breathless

From: Delphi@oracle.org

To: C_Evans@athena.edu

Re: United States Marine, Jessica Whittaker

Christine,

Now that we’ve learned Arachne’s true identity, we can better protect the women she’s sure to target.

Jessica Whittaker will be one of them. She and her friend Nikki Bustillo have more to their genetic makeup than good looks and courage. With all the files Arachne’s stolen from the IVF labs, she’ll know just what talents they possess. Though I still haven’t nailed down how Arachne plans to use the women and their special powers, I aim to offer these Athena alums as much warning as I can.

I’ll be contacting Jessica, asking her to be cautious. But I’ve also got a role for her in Arachne’s takedown. More information about our enemy lies under the water, in a three-year-old shipwreck off Puerta Isla. With Jessica’s special abilities, she’ll find what we’re looking for. Even with A. on her tail.

D.

Dear Reader,

I’ll be the first to admit that I am a sucker for series. I’ve worked on continuities before and found it one of the most rewarding writing experiences. So of course I was both thrilled and agog when I was asked to be a part of Athena Force—but not too stunned to say, “Yes!”

The fun was compounded when I found out who my characters were: Jess and Zack. The Marine and the Geek.

Jess is tough. A little broody. Loyal. A woman who will fight for both those she loves and what is right, but who is also oh-so-determined to keep her vulnerabilities to herself. I knew she would be a bit of a challenge and I was right. Jess is not an easy character to know. Things I thought I knew about her were true but there were also many unexpected surprises. And no, I am not telling you what they are or they wouldn’t be surprises.

Then there’s Zack. People hear geek and picture a pasty guy who lives behind a computer. Not true! The “geeks” I know (and I know a surprising number) are driven men. They have to be or they wouldn’t be able to do what they do, and that drive spills into their personal lives. Zack is that man. Driven. Wicked-smart. A bit of a risk-taker. If he were here, I’d fight Jess to date him. I’d lose, but I’d try.

Love,

Sharron

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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always wanted to be a writer. There were two things she had always loved: writing and science. In college she thought about being a marine biologist, but there was the whole shark issue (they freak her out). Instead, she discovered the joys of playing in the dirt—a profession more commonly known as archaeology. For years she focused on excavating ancient sites that included projectile points, burn pits and the occasional burial.

But when she took a position during the archaeological off-season and ended up answering phones for a cruise line, she took to reading romance. It wasn’t long before she fell in love with the genre and returned to her first love—writing. Five years later she sold her first action-adventure/romance novel to Silhouette Books.

Since that first sale Sharron has traveled both the U.S. and Mexico (ask her about the riots in Oaxaca!) living an adventurous life. Currently, she resides in Annapolis, Maryland, where she races sailboats, dates wicked-smart men and writes every day. She believes in hard work, jumping into life with both feet, and she swears that her Muse spends most of her time in the bar next to the bay drinking gin and tonic with extra lime.

To my best friend and critique partner,

Cathy Pegau, who knows everything about me

(the good, the bad and the Jeez Louise, what were

you thinking!) and loves me anyway.

You know I can’t write a book without you.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Epilogue

U.S. Marine Corp Combatant diver, Jessica Whitaker stepped off the edge of the boat and into the Pacific Ocean, barely making a splash as she entered the water.

With the setting of the sun, the submarine world off Oahu, Hawaii, was dark but also as warm and familiar as her own skin. For a few seconds, the only sound she heard was her breathing inside the full-face mask. Then the rest of her team entered the water, breaking the silence. She counted the splashes. One. Two. Three.

A small team, but this was a training exercise, and in the initial stages, she found training to be much more effective if the recruits had personal attention.

Not that they needed or demanded the one-on-one time. They were Marines. They didn’t need anything but water, air and the burning desire to do the right thing.

She could train larger groups, but Jess knew one axiom to be true: there was nothing more detrimental to a mission than a half-assed operative who didn’t know what he was doing.

Or worse, thought he knew but thought wrong.

“Sound off,” she said, adjusting the vocals of her mask’s transmitter and receiver.

“Latham.” Newbie One.

“Taylor.” Her first in command and a trusted friend, the older, weathered Marine was an excellent teacher with an innate patience that the recruits responded to.

“Eielson.” Newbie Two.

The three men gathered around her, their dark, wet-suit-covered forms making them almost invisible in the night water. “As you know, our objective is the enemy ship, Sushi,” she said. “She’s approximately one mile away, and her coordinates were downloaded into your personal GPS systems before you entered the water. Upon arrival, Latham and I will set a charge at the bow of the ship. Taylor and Eielson, you’re taking the stern. Latham—” she addressed her partner for the exercise “—tell me our objective.”

“Disable and distract. Once she’s crippled, the surface team will board her and retrieve the hostages.”

“Good,” she responded. “Questions?”

Nothing but silence. Not even the sound of burbling SCUBA tanks since they wore rebreathers to give themselves an unlimited amount of time underwater.

Not that we have unlimited time, Jess thought. Nor did they need it. Marines did not screw around.

“Move out,” she said. In unison, they swam to the diver propulsion vehicles, DVPs, that drifted in the water next to the boat that had transported them to the drop spot. Taylor and Eielson left first. Sinking below the waves, they’d parallel her and Latham as they made their way to the ship.

She gave a short wave to the boat captain, who stood on the deck watching them depart, then powered up her DPV. Using the GPS coordinates for guidance instead of the running lights, she and Latham headed toward the Sushi.

She almost chuckled at the name but kept quiet. Each new training group gave the ship a different name. Some serious. Some funny. Some as imaginative as blank paper.