Out of Control (Troubleshooters, Book 4) - Softcover

Brockmann, Suzanne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0804119716 ISBN 13: 9780804119719

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 2002

Synopsis

Bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann knows how to push the limits of romantic suspense to new, breathtaking heights. Potent, gripping, and explosive, OUT OF CONTROL is a roller coaster ride of a novel– as a single act of loyalty becomes a desperate struggle for survival. . . .

Savannah von Hopf has no choice. To save her uncle’s life, she goes in search of Ken “WildCard” Karmody, a guy she barely knew in college who is now a military operative. She must convince him to help her deliver a cache of ransom money into the hands of terrorists halfway around the world. What she doesn’t expect is to end up in WildCard’s arms before she can even ask for his help.

WildCard has always had a soft spot for beautiful women. But when he discovers Savannah’s hidden agenda, he is determined to end the affair. But Savannah is bound for Indonesia with or without his protection, and he can’t just walk away. When her plan goes horribly wrong, they are trapped in the forsaken jungle of a hostile country, stalked by a lethal enemy. As time is running out, they scramble to escape, risking their lives to stop a nightmare from spinning even further out of control. . . .

About this title

About the Author

After childhood plans to become the captain of a starship didn’t pan out, Suzanne Brockmann took her fascination with military history, her respect for the men and women who serve, her reverence for diversity, and her love of storytelling and explored brave new worlds as a New York Times bestselling romance author. Over the past twenty years, she has written more than fifty novels, including her award-winning Troubleshooters series about Navy SEAL heroes and the women—and sometimes men—who win their hearts. In addition to writing books, Suzanne Brockmann has co-produced a feature-length movie, the award-winning romantic comedy The Perfect Wedding, which she co-wrote with her husband, Ed Gaffney, and their son, Jason. She has also co-written a YA novel, set in the world of her paranormal Fighting Destiny series, with her daughter, Melanie. Find Suzanne Brockmann on Facebook, follow her on Twitter, and visit her website to find out more about upcoming releases and appearances.

Reviews

Blending several humor-garnished love stories into the best sort of cocktail, veteran romance author Brockmann (Over the Edge) serves up a heady brew that readers are certain to savor. Computer wiz and Navy SEAL Ken Karmody changes a tire for grease-smudged damsel-in-distress Savannah van Hopf, cooks her dinner and ends up in bed with her the beginning of a fantastic relationship, he believes, until Savannah shatters his dreams the next morning with her sheepish revelation that she had sought him out so he could help her negotiate her uncle's ransom in Indonesia. But sleeping with him, she insists, was never part of her plan. Feeling betrayed, Ken nonetheless accompanies her to Indonesia. Evading kidnappers plunges them deep into the jungle with few resources, forcing the two to rely on each other, rebuild their broken trust and rediscover their former passion. Meanwhile, Savannah's grandmother a World War II double agent whose memories of her love for a supposed Nazi interweave with Ken and Savannah's jungle perils rousts Ken's fellow SEALs and the FBI into organizing a rescue mission. A consummate and prolific storyteller, Brockmann consistently turns out first-rate novels that tug on the reader's heartstrings, and her latest is no exception. (Mar.)Forecast: Brockmann's books consistently garner rave reviews, hit the bestseller lists and rank high on RWA's 10 Favorite Books of the Year list. Despite its forgettable cover, this military romance should sell particularly well, given the public's recent hunger for patriotic entertainment.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

One

SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

Savannah von Hopf’s life spiraled even further out of control when she opened her cell phone and discovered that the batteries were completely dead.

She stared at the phone in disbelief, unwilling at first to accept any explanation other than that she’d suddenly and horrifically been plunged into an alternate reality. She’d charged her phone last night in her hotel room—same as she charged her phone every single night of her life. She wouldn’t have forgotten something as important as that, and she hadn’t. She’d plugged it into the outlet in the bathroom and . . .

And then turned out the light to go to sleep. Without the light switch in the on position, the outlet hadn’t worked and the phone hadn’t charged.

Of course.

She wasn’t in an alternate reality. She was merely an idiot.

So now here she was, sans phone, in a rental car with a flat tire, in an unfamiliar part of San Diego.

Okay. Cross using her cell phone to call the car rental company for roadside assistance off the list that had the heading “What To Do Now.” Savannah kept the motor on and the air conditioner running while she tried to think. What were her other options?

Knock on doors and ask to use a phone?

She peered out the windows of her car. The houses in this neighborhood was extremely small, and many of them had a grayness to them—as if the people living inside had had to choose to spend their money on something more vital, like repairing the roof, rather than on a fresh coat of paint.

The yards were all neatly kept, but still, this entire part of town had a desperate feel to it, a hopelessness.

The thought of having to get out of her car made Savannah a little uneasy—let alone the idea of getting out of her car and knocking on some stranger’s door.

And wasn’t that just great? If she were too chicken to get out of her car in some middle-class neighborhood in San Diego, how on earth was she going to get off the plane in Jakarta?

Of course, that was why she was here in the first place. Because she didn’t want to get off that plane in Jakarta—at least not without a hand to hold.

Specifically, Kenny Karmody’s hand.

She’d gotten what she’d come into this neighborhood for before the thumping front tire had forced her to pull to the side of the road.

She’d driven past Kenny’s house and made certain there was no circumstantial evidence in his yard that would signal he was married with kids. No swing set, no big wheels, no Barbie hanging by her hair from a tree. No minivan parked in the drive.

Adele had told Savannah that, to the best of her knowledge, Ken was still single. But she’d had experience back in college with “the best of Adele’s knowledge,” and she’d wanted to see where Kenny was living before she called him.

And asked him to travel halfway around the globe with her, as a favor.

God, how was she going to ask a favor like that? Of a man she hadn’t seen in over six years? A man with whom she’d had only one brief conversation, who probably wouldn’ t even remember her?

Savannah could see Ken’s house in her rearview mirror—it was one of the better kept ones on the street. Miniature, sure, but not quite as drab.

She wasn’t going to have the opportunity to ask the man anything if she didn’t get back to the hotel and call him.

And say what?

Adele had been adamant that Savannah not mention her when she spoke to Kenny. According to Adele, he still wasn’t over their breakup.

“Don’t even tell him you met him while you were at Yale,” she’d said. “He hates Yale—hates all Ivy League schools and everyone who went to one.”

So what was Savannah supposed to do? Lie?

“Tell him you met him at that technical college he went to in San Diego,” Adele had suggested.

No, the last thing she was going to do was lie. She was going to call him and say she got his name from a friend of a friend—which was a variation of the truth since Marla had stayed friendly with Adele after college, and Savannah still met Marla for lunch in the city every few months.

She was going to tell Ken that she needed some advice, and would he meet her for dinner at the Hotel Del Coronado? Her treat. Her plan was to get him to show with the promise of a gourmet meal, and then, once face to face, tell him about Alex and the money and the trip to Jakarta. And—somehow—get up the nerve to ask him to come along.

Without making it sound as if she were propositioning him.

Although, truth be told, the idea of spending a day or two in the exotic port of Jakarta with a man she’d had the hots for since she’d first laid eyes on him, left her considering the possibilities.

Considering? Try fantasizing.

Savannah turned off her rental car’s motor, and stepped out into the five-billion-degree heat. Didn’t it figure? San Diego had perfect weather nine hundred and ninety-nine days out of every thousand.

Today, however, there was a heat wave that could put her mother’s beloved Atlanta to shame.

Her hair wilted instantly as she bent to look at her front right tire.

Pancake city.

If Savannah had been even just a little less practical, she might have sat down and cried. Instead, she just sat down. Right there on the curb. Crying wouldn’t get her out of there.

Driving on that tire wouldn’t get her out of there, either.

And walking to that service station she’d passed two or three miles back also wasn’t going to do the trick. Her high-heeled pumps matched her beige linen skirt and jacket with such perfection, her mother would have swooned with pride. However, her shoes didn’t do such a terrific job matching her feet. After a half a mile, she would be in such excruciating pain, she’d have to crawl the rest of the way on her hands and knees.

So that left the final option. Changing the tire.

Savannah opened the trunk and there it was, under the rug. The spare tire. And the metal thingy that would prop the car up so the bad tire could be removed and the new one attached.

She’d driven past someone who was using one of those things once. A jack. That’s what it was called.

How hard could it be?

“Please.” Joaquin’s mother knew only a few words of English, but the anguish in her eyes said it all. Save my son.

Molly Anderson’s first-aid training made her the closest thing to a doctor on this remote mountain in this remote corner of Parwati Island in this remote part of Indonesia. But she wasn’t a doctor, and she had no clue as to what was causing the little boy to struggle so just to breathe.

She couldn’t radio the hospital for advice. The camp’s radio had been stolen three weeks ago for the third time in a row. Short of guarding it 24/7, Father Bob had decided not to replace it.

“Please,” the little boy’s mother whispered again.

The trip down the mountain to the port of Parwati—the island’s sole metropolis, population a whopping 3,500—would take five days via treacherous mule trail.

As the parrot flew, it was only a few hundred miles.

A relatively short trip via airplane.

“Gather the things you need,” Molly said in the local dialect. “You may be at the hospital for some time. I’m going to go find Jones. You know Mr. Jones, right? Meet me up at his airstrip.”

There was only one airplane in the neighborhood, and it belonged to an American expatriate who went by the name Jones. Just Jones. And Molly was willing to bet that that wasn’t the name he’d been given at birth.

Jones was a loner. A quiet man who kept to himself.

He’d shown up about six months ago, looked her up and down in a manner Molly was sure was meant to be insulting, then hired twelve men from the village to help him clear the old WWII-era airstrip that had been cut into the valley a short distance up river.

He’d worked the men hard—and paid them fairly, too, Molly had noted.

The next time she’d seen him, he’ d been buzzing overhead in his battered red Cessna.

She suspected he was a smuggler. She knew he was a black marketeer. She’d heard he’d be willing to carry anything in that dilapidated old plane of his—even a gravely ill child—if the price was right.

And today the price would be right, because Jones owed Molly a big favor.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804119716
• ISBN 13: 9780804119719
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 480