Hot Target by Suzanne Brockmann

[Jonetta]

Like most men of action, Navy SEAL Chief Cosmo Richter never learned how to take a vacation. So when he finds himself facing a month's leave, he offers his services to Troubleshooters Incorporated. Founded by a former SEAL, the private-sector security firm is a major player in the ongoing war against terrorism, known for carrying out covert missions too volatile for official U.S. military action. But the first case Richter takes on is anything but under the radar.

High-profile maverick movie producer Jane Mercedes Chadwick hasn't quite completed her newest film, but she's already courting controversy. The World War II epic frankly portrays the homosexuality of a real-life hero-and the storm of advance media buzz surrounding it has drawn the fury of extremist groups. But despite a relentless campaign of angry E-mails, phone calls, and smear tactics, Chadwick won't be pressured into abandoning the project. Then the harassment turns to death threats.

While the FBI appears on the scene, nervous Hollywood associates call in Troubleshooters, and now Chadwick has an army of round-the-clock bodyguards, whether she likes it or not. And she definitely doesn't. But her stubbornness doesn't make FBI agent Jules Cassidy's job any easier. The fiercely independent filmmaker presents yet another emotional obstacle that Cassidy doesn't need-he's already in the midst of a personal tug-of-war with his ex-lover, while fighting a growing attraction to Chadwick's brother.

Determined to succeed-and survive-on her own terms, Chadwick will face off with enemies and allies alike. But she doesn't count on the bond she forms with the quiet, capable Cosmo Richter. Yet even as their feelings bring them closer, the noose of deadly terror all around them draws tighter. And when all hell erupts, desire and desperate choices will collide on a killing ground that may trap them both in the crossfire.

Settings
Los Angeles, California

Prologue
29 Chapters

Character List
(view spoiler)[
Recurring Characters
Cosmo Richter: Chief and Navy SEAL, Team Sixteen. He’s 6’4” with pale blue eyes.
Jane (Janey) Mercedes Chadwick: Hollywood screenwriter and producer. Robin's sister.
Robin Chadwick: Actor, Jane’s brother.
Thomas (Tom) Paoletti: Head of Troubleshooters, Inc., a security consulting company. Former Lieutenant Commander, SEAL Team 16. Married to Kelly.
Kelly Ashton: Tom's wife, a pediatrician. She’s pregnant.
Alyssa Locke: Executive Officer, Troubleshooters, Inc. Former Navy sniper and FBI agent in the Counterterrorism Unit. She and Sam are married.
Roger (Sam) Starrett: Team Leader, Troubleshooters, Inc. Former Lieutenant(jg), SEAL Team 16 leader. He’s now married to Alyssa. Divorced from Mary Lou and father of their daughter, Haley.
Mary Lou Starrett: Sam's ex-wife and mother of their daughter, Haley.
Haley Starrett: Sam's two-year old daughter.
James (Jimmy) Nash: aka Diego. Troubleshooters operative. Former agent with the Agency.
Tess Bailey: Troubleshooters operative.
Lawrence Decker: Team Leader, Troubleshooters, Inc. Former Navy SEAL, Team One.
Sophia Ghaffari: Woman captured by Decker in Kazbekistan.
Vinh Murphy: Troubleshooters operative, former Marine. He’s part African American, part Vietnamese.
Angelina Murphy: Murphy's wife.
Dave Malkoff: Troubleshooters operative, former CIA agent.
Lindsey Fontaine: Troubleshooters, Inc. team member.
PJ Prescott: Troubleshooters, Inc. team member. Former Air Force Para-Rescue Jumper (helo pilot).
Kenny (WildCard) Karmody: Petty Officer Third Class, SEAL Team 16. He’s a computer specialist.
Savannah (Van) von Hopf: Lawyer from New York whose uncle has been abducted in Indonesia. She has blond hair and blue eyes. Her grandmother Rose is a WWII hero.
Casper (Jazz) Jacquette: Executive Officer, SEAL Team 16.
Danny Gillman: aka Gilligan. Petty Officer, SEAL Team 16.
Mark (Jenks) Jenkins: Petty Officer, 2nd Class, SEAL Team 16.
Jay Lopez: Medic SEAL Team 16.
Mike Muldoon: Ensign, SEAL Team 16.
Joan DaCosta: White House public relations assistant.
John (Nils) Nilsson: Lieutenant, SEAL Team 16. Language expert. Married to Meg.
Frank O'Leary: Chief, SEAL Team 16 sniper.
Wayne Jefferson: SEAL Team 16 sniper.
Stanley Wolchonok: Senior Chief, SEAL Team 16. He’s married to Teri.
Teri Howe: Navy reserves, Lieutenant (jg),helicopter pilot. She’s married to Stan.
Kate Takamoto: Navy Lieutenant.
Max Bhagat: Head of the FBI Counterterrorism Unit.
Gina Vitagliano: College student/drummer on a European trip with her school band mates who was assaulted during the hijacking of her plane home from Greece. Max was the negotiator who created a strong bond with her.
Jules Cassidy: FBI agent in the Counterterrorism Unit. Alyssa Locke's partner.
Laronda: Max's assistant.
George Faulkner: FBI Agent and the son of Rose’s friend.
Molly Anderson: Works in a religious mission in Indonesia.
Dave Jones/Grady Morant: American expatriate who lives alone in Indonesia near Molly's mission. He owns a plane and is a former Special Forces member and prisoner of war, now on the FBI most wanted list.
Larry Tucker: Rear admiral and base commander.
Laurel Tucker: Tucker’s wife.
Morton (Chip) Crowley: Admiral and commander of Navy Special Warfare Command.
Ihbraham Rahman: Gardener and Mary Lou's friend.
Ric Alvarado: Tampa police detective.
Manuel Conseco: FBI special agent in charge of the Sarasota office.
Will Schroeder: Reporter.
Adam Wyndham: Aspiring actor, ex-lover of Jules Cassidy.

Non Recurring Characters
Jack Shelton: Elderly Hollywood set designer and WWII veteran, upon whose life—and secret relationship with Hal Lord—the movie American Hero is based.
Hal Lord: Subject of the American Hero movie, the role Robin played.
Patty LeShane: Jane's assistant.
Wayne:
Pierce Hugo: First actor hired to play Jack Shelton.
Victor Strauss
Harve
Carl Linderman
John
Mark Avery
Robbie
Gary
Tim Ebersole

Vlachic
Alana
Taney
(hide spoiler)]

[Anita]

This is my least favorite book in the series. I may just skip this one.

[Jonetta]

Oh, no! I loved Cosmo.

[Lauren]

Looking forward to this one. I love Jules and Cosmo is very intriguing.

[Robin]

I remember really liking this book. I'm looking forward to a re-read.

[Lauren]

Finished today and it is my favorite in the series!

[Jonetta]

I’m trying to remember but this is either my most favorite or tied with another one.

[Lauren]

Jonetta wrote: "I’m trying to remember but this is either my most favorite or tied with another one."

My other favorite is Book #3. This one has a slight edge on it because Jules plays a more significant role than in Stan and Teri's book (the one with the plane hijacking).