Heart of Danger: Body of Danger, #1

By Sidney Bristol

Christmas is a special time of year for Valentina. Nothing beats the lights and the food of her home town. Which is why she can't wait to share it with her best friend, who also happens to be her very attractive boss. Val vows that the only treat she'll give Duke this Christmas is one of Abuela's cookies. Except when they arrive home, no one is celebrating Christmas at all.

After suffering devastating losses, the only comfort Duke has known is in his work--at least that was until Val. Her vivacious personality has reminded him that life is worth living. Keeping their relationship friends only is the hardest challenge of all. When Val goes into a near panic at the abandoned streets of her home town personal feelings are put on the back burner.

From the moment the friends arrive home it's obvious something is wrong, and it's up to Val and Duke to figure out what could have a whole town afraid to celebrate Christmas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sidney Bristol
• Release date: Dec 19, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386951858

Book preview

Heart of Danger

Body of Danger 1

An Aegis Group Novella

Sidney Bristol

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Inked Press

Heart of Danger

Body of Danger #1

Christmas is a special time of year for Valentina. Nothing beats the lights and the food of her home town. Which is why she can't wait to share it with her best friend, who also happens to be her very attractive boss. Val vows that the only treat she'll give Duke this Christmas is one of Abuela’s cookies. Except when they arrive home, no one is celebrating Christmas at all.

After suffering devastating losses, the only comfort Duke has known is in his work—at least that was until Val. Her vivacious personality has reminded him that life is worth living. Keeping their relationship friends only is the hardest challenge of all. When Val goes into a near panic at the abandoned streets of her home town personal feelings are put on the back burner.

From the moment the friends arrive home it's obvious something is wrong, and it's up to Val and Duke to figure out what could have a whole town afraid to celebrate Christmas.

Explore the whole Aegis world in these series...

It all began with the Aegis Group.

Dangerous Attraction

Dangerous in Training

Dangerous Games

Dangerous Assignment

Dangerous Protector

Dangerous Secrets

Dangerous Betrayal

Dangerous Heat

Dangerous Connections (2020)

Dangerous Exposure (2020)

More Coming Soon!

Within Aegis Group, special teams take on special jobs, beginning with the Alpha Team.

Dangerous in Love

Dangerous in Action

Dangerous in Transit

Dangerous in Motion

Dangerous in Charge

Other specialized teams exist under the Aegis Group umbrella, including Lepta Team.

Dangerously Taken

Dangerously Involved

Dangerously Deceived

Dangerously Broken

Dangerously Entwined

Troy Team has signed on to work an ultra-secret case in the Aegis Group Task Force series.

(prequel) First Risk: a newsletter exclusive serial

Stolen Risk

Forged Risk

Technical Risk (2020)

More soon!

In Dangerous Games it continued with the Gone Geek girls.

Beauty and the Geek

Mr. Purr-fect and the Geek

The Jock and the Geek

The Gamer and the Geek

The Adorkable Girl and the Geek

The Fake Boyfriend and the Geek

When the Seattle office of Aegis Group opened the Twisted Royals took the stage.

The Origin Story

Alpha Prince

Her Prince

Bad Boy Prince

Noble Prince

Stay tuned for the appearance of the Omega Team.

For short reads, tune in this December for the Body of Danger novella series kick-off.

Heart of Danger

Spirit of Danger

Soul for Danger (2020)

The other Smith brother takes us to the Texas SWAT series, a small town suspense series.

Fighting Redemption

Stolen Redemption

Forbidden Redemption

Reckless Redemption (coming soon)

Thanks to the SWAT team, Ransom, Texas enjoys a slower pace of life beginning in The Love Barn.

Give Me Back My Man

Summer of Love

Party out of Bounds

For my Grandma, who always showed us what the meaning of Christmas really was.

Christmas only comes once a year. The love that I have for you comes once in a lifetime.

―UNKNOWN

Table of Contents

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1.

WEDNESDAY. COLOMBIA. 10 days until Christmas.

Duku Duke Kodjoe would give his left nut for a little horizontal time on a stationary surface. It didn’t even have to be a bed. He’d sleep on the floor.

I wish we could see the rainforest while you’re here. And the Amazon. Maybe we can get away for a few days? Val leaned into his personal space and peered out the window. Despite traveling for days, she still smelled like vanilla. Happiness.

And bring the whole family? He winked at her.

And have to share you? Never. She grinned back.

It was a joke, nothing more, and neither of them would take things further. On the one hand, he enjoyed their banter. On the other, it was incredibly frustrating to toe this line and never cross it.

We’d probably have a whole busload of people with chickens. She nodded her head at the wire cage of birds that had only recently stopped their screaming.

They sound kind of like the guys. Duke nudged her with his elbow and clucked.

That’s one thing I’m glad to get a break from. She pushed his elbow away.

Is that how they sound to you sometimes? He leaned against the side of the bus, the better to admire his traveling companion.

Yeah. We should come up with a prank, make them think you aren’t coming back.

Part of him didn’t want to leave, and they’d just gotten here. At home, he had to share Val’s company with the team, their hosts, her patients. Here he hoped to get some time just the two of them.

What? She glanced at him.

Nothing.

Stop staring at me like that then. Val stretched across his seat, her shoulder driving into his chest as she almost flattened her face against the glass. Oh—look. You can kind of see the fins in the distance.

Are you sure you don’t want to trade seats? He’d asked her half a dozen times since leaving Bogotá.

No. She glanced up at him, her eyes aglow with excitement. You should get to see it all. Especially the view headed into town. It’s amazing. And sorry. I’ve just never been away for this long.

You could have visited. I told you. Visiting before now wasn’t convenient for anyone. Dad retired, and they were moving out here to help with the bakery. Visiting now means a—"

Do not tell me how long we have been traveling. Take pity on me. I am an old, old man.

Old my ass.

I’d like to be as old as your ass.

Val snorted a laugh and slapped his shoulder.

Things were different when it was just the two of them. Maybe it was him and maybe it was her. He was hyper-conscious of the precarious position he was in, being attracted to Val and also being her boss. In hindsight, he shouldn’t have offered her the job so fast. But if he hadn’t, would she have stayed? Val was a skilled nurse with experience in combat and disaster situations. His human rights team needed someone like her with them when they waded in on behalf of the African Court to settle disputes in war torn areas.

Since joining the team, Val had become something like his personal confidant. He was the leader of their team, but she was a little removed from it as a medical provider. Besides, there was the language barrier to deal with. English was their only shared tongue, and not everyone his team spoke it. Which meant they could enjoy long, uninterrupted conversations on the road. Those were times he enjoyed. And then there were the off-weekends and break periods where he showed her his Africa.

I wish I could describe to you how beautiful the village is at Christmas. Val twisted to sit almost sideways, her knees jabbing into his thighs and her cheek resting on the head rest. Even squeezed into the safari Jeep hadn’t been this uncomfortable.

Has anyone told you that you’re Christmas obsessed? He remembered the first mention of it, a few weeks after they met and she joined their team.

Me? Oh—you haven’t seen anything yet. Val shook her head slowly. All those decorations in Bogotá? That was nothing compared to the lights they turn on at sunset. No one does Christmas quite like we do.

Why the fascination?

Oh, God. Val stared out of the window, her lower lip pinched between her teeth. If I had to guess, it ties back into the church and our history with fighting. This is a season that gives people in Colombia hope when we stress peace over violence. When I was still in the city working at the hospital we saw fewer violent crimes during the holidays. Still a lot of injuries. December is basically a license to drink yourself stupid and do some crazy shit.

Like? From her smile, he could guess that she knew these things from experience.

"I told you about Mis Aguinaldos?"

Mees ahgeenaldos. Duke could speak six languages, but Spanish wasn’t one of them. Yet. He was beginning to pick up some words, but not enough to be conversational. It was going to be an interesting holiday with only Val to talk to until Felix and Jackie arrived next week.

Close. Val patted his arm. "It’s this silly tradition that groups or friends—and in my case, my family—plays. We’ll decide which one we’re playing, then any time someone says Mis Aguinaldos, you have to do the thing. Sometimes it’s keeping a straw in your mouth, sometimes it’s not taking things people try to give you, not answering questions. We’re pretty tame, but there are some people that get...crazy."

What’s the point? He twisted to face her, taking in the last, dying rays of the sun on her face while the bus rolled on, into the mountains toward their destination. If he could live in a moment, it would be one like this.

Well, you get points and on Christmas Eve you announce a winner, and sometimes a punishment. My family won’t take it easy on you just because you don’t speak the language, by the way.

I think I can hold my own. He grinned. Who gets to decide the reward?

"Abuela."

Don’t tell me. He closed his eyes, digging back into his memories for a stolen moment under the stars when he’d caught Val after a call home. That is your...grandmother?

"Yes, though everyone has to call her Abuela. Even you."

What does your other grandmother think about that?

My mom’s parents were killed when I was very little.

Duke winced and opened his mouth.

Don’t be sorry. She squeezed his hand. It was a long, long time ago. They were poor, and the only job they could find was cooking for a group of guerilla soldiers. They were killed during a conflict with a paramilitary group. Colombia was a much more dangerous place then.

Duke turned his hand over and wrapped his fingers around her palm. He wished he could offer her soothing words. It was easy when they were thrown into a situation to issue the stock words of comfort. She’d heard him console enough people that nothing he said would be new.

The sun dipped below the horizon, plunging them into a darkness broken only by the occasional smart phone. They passed through a few small villages, each with a smattering of lights illuminating the buildings. All the while, her hand remained in his.

Duke could only blame himself for the corner he’d backed himself into. He’d offered Val the job as their team’s medic in the hopes that they could save lives and offer medical attention in the remote areas they visited as part of their work with the African Court of Human Rights. She was possibly their most valuable asset after the protection they offered the marginalized and persecuted. He’d also become her friend, making it even more complicated. How could he betray their friendship by wanting more? And if things didn’t work out, how would that impact their working relationship? Her contribution to the team was more important than his feelings, which was why moments like these were what he lived for. He was hoping these next few weeks would give him a wealth of memories to keep him going.

We should be almost at the top. Val craned her neck, peering toward the front of the bus. There were only a few passengers left. "We’ll be able to look down on the town. This time of night it will be lit up. You won’t believe how many lights they can put on all the buildings.