Jake Cogburn, code name Hondo, is the deadliest agent in the CIA's secret enhancement program. Designed to be the perfect killing machine, he's the program's greatest asset, and biggest secret, until the night he removes his tracker and disappears. Once he goes rogue, his handler and only friend, Mike Grant, has a big decision to make; hunt him down or delete all the information in his file, including his last known whereabouts.<br><br>Mike has always sensed there's something more to Jake than a mindless killer. He feels drawn to the secret assassin in a way he can't describe, and even though he's sworn an oath to his country, he feels his first loyalty is to his secret agent. Knowing there will be severe consequences, he does the best he can to assist Jake after he disappears, going rogue himself in order to help Jake get a head start.<br><br>But once he helps Jake, who will help him avoid the consequences of a rogue heart?

The Rogue Element

“Somewhere safe. Safe enough that nobody else is going to take a shot at you.”


I wondered how that could be. The flight was several hours long, but the reach of the government stretched very far. Far enough that you couldn’t just fly away from it. Where had he found safety?


“I don’t leave here very much. It has basically everything I need right now. Like any safe house, it could be compromised at any time. I can’t promise you that’ll never happen, but if it does, we’ll make it out.”


“You risked a lot when you came to get me.”


“I would risk anything for your safety. I owe you that much.”


I looked down, remembering my earlier certainty that he’d come for me because he loved me. That he wanted to touch me, and wanted me to touch him, because he loved me. But what if it hadn’t been that at all? What if he just thought he was indebted to me?


“I owe you my life,” Jake countered.


Chapter 13