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"Jones' suspense truly sizzles."—Booklist
Lethally passionate, wickedly dangerous...
Renegade warrior Damion Browne is a soldier of soldiers, an enforcer of the code of honor. With ruthless precision, he calculates risks as deliberately as he does his lover's satisfaction. Now it's up to him to defeat a new generation of female Super Soldiers, including the one woman perfectly programmed to be his downfall.
His enemy...or his soul mate?
Lara Martin has never felt powerful, until she's brainwashed to destroy the one man who can help her find the answers she so desperately seeks. Alone and embroiled in lies, Lara must turn to Damion for the key to the truth ...
PRAISE FOR THE LEGEND OF MICHAEL:
"Sexy, edgy, pulse–pounding adventure. The Legend of Michael will keep you reading all night!" —Susan Grant, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Warrior
"Utterly absorbing, deliciously edgy, and instantly addictive. If you haven't added Jones to your must–read list, you need to." —Donna Grant, bestselling author of Dangerous Highlander
"Edgy, dark, and creative. A raw new world filled with action, danger, and plenty of sizzle." —Eve Silver, national bestselling author of Sins of the Flesh
Chapter 1
There was nothing unusual to a casual observer about a hot woman in a white string bikini, lounging poolside, a few feet from where undercover Renegade soldier Damion Browne leaned against the cabana-style bar, a beer in hand. In fact, from a purely male standpoint, there was absolutely everything right with this particular woman-a brunette with long, silky, dark hair brushing creamy white shoulders. But then, he was on duty, and he took that duty too seriously to allow primal urges to distract him. Still... something about this woman set his blood pumping, and like it or not, that translated to a distraction that was out of character for him.
He told himself it was because she'd shown up ten minutes into the outdoor excursion of a Russian nuclear scientist and his family that Damion was covertly ensuring didn't end up in Adam Rain's arsenal of weapons. The last thing the Renegades wanted was the leader of the Zodius GTECH movement getting his hands on the nuclear technology Lev was selling the United States in exchange for citizenship. That's why this woman was a potential risk, he told himself, not because she had long, shapely legs that belonged wrapped around a man's waist-his waist, Damion thought with a rush of pure male heat. They belonged around his waist. Damn. What was wrong with him?
Inwardly he shook himself, not sure what it was about this woman, but she could easily drag him into the linger zone when he didn't go to the linger zone on duty. Scratch that, he thought, as he glanced at Lev and family and back to her. She already had him in the linger zone, and there was no forgiving his distraction, unless... That gnawing gut feeling was telling him that underneath all that sex appeal, she was trouble, despite Adam's dislike of female operatives. Add that to the fact that the CIA team watching Lev had allowed him outside in the first place, and Damion had a bad, bad feeling about this. Suddenly, as if she sensed his suspicions, the dark-haired beauty's head snapped in his direction, her attention settling on him, her eyes shielded by white-rimmed sunglasses. Time stood still for an intense, crackling moment. Certainty filled him. She had known the entire time that he was watching her.
The microphone tucked discreetly inside Damion's ear hummed a second before the voice of his Harley-loving, wild card, second-in-charge, Chale Bonner, spoke, "We reported Lev's barking dog to the front desk several times. Looks like security is headed his way. We'll have him inside the building where he's less exposed in a flash."
Damion didn't reply. He was still watching the woman, who, as abruptly as she'd given her attention, jerked it away. Reaching for her bag, she stood up, offering him a nice, heart-shaped backside view as she sashayed away. Her pace was slow, confident, but a bit too precise. She was hiding something, beside the intimate details of her body, details he wanted to discover beneath those tiny pieces of white material. Damion knew Adam didn't typically work with women-he believed they were inferior beings-but somehow, someway, this one was the source of the warning in his gut.
"Alert," Chale added. "Doggy Patrol has arrived. Get ready for movement." Damion eyed the back door of the hotel to find two uniformed security guards and a woman dressed in a suit headed toward Lev and his brood. "I see them," Damion said, his gaze shifting to the fast-departing, bikini-clad female. But had she seen them? Was that why she couldn't get away from this place fast enough?
Damion set the beer down and discreetly touched the mike hidden in his ear. "Cover Lev. Something about that woman is bothering me." He pushed off the bar and started walking, unable to use his GTECH ability to travel inside the wind without risk of garnering unwanted attention. This woman was dangerous. The kind of dangerous a soldier, a Renegade, didn't let escape.
***
Lara's hand slipped discreetly into her oversized bag, wrapping around the hot steel of the weapon there, even as she rounded the diving board of the pool, carefully pacing herself, despite the urgency coursing through every pore. She was driven by the certainty that the man with the hot stare-and hotter body-by the pool was one of those GTECH monsters who'd killed her family.
She'd suspected as much the minute he'd walked to the bar, looking like an all-American soldier, no matter the absence of a uniform-his swagger confident, his jeans and T-shirt molding a perfectly honed physique, and his light brown hair neatly trimmed. A lethal air crackled off him, belying the casual way he leaned back against the bar and sipped his beer with an air that said that he could not only kill you if he wanted to, but he was ready to do so at the drop of a hat.
The hard edge of his assessing stare had settled on her, hot as it flickered across her barely clad body and then returned to her face. Lara had felt the intensely probing inspection with the unnerving feeling this man-this GTECH-could see beyond her dark glasses as surely as he'd glimpsed beneath the thin strips of fabric covering her. Heat had flooded her limbs at the daring way he'd looked at her, and having been warned about the unique, unpredictable abilities the GTECHs developed over time-that she too might develop over time-she'd jerked her gaze away.
It had been a foolish, amateurish reaction, unworthy of the training she'd received when she'd joined Project Serenity. Part of her welcomed the man to follow her, welcomed a chance to unload her weapon between his eyes where even a GTECH would be vulnerable, where their incredible healing abilities wouldn't matter, nor would their high-tech, second-skin armor protect them. But she couldn't risk failing General Powell and making a misstep that would allow the GTECH to get his hands on Lev. Powell had given her her life back, given her a chance to protect innocents. She now had a reason to fight and a reason to live. Her orders were clear, as well as her intel on Lev and his security detail. She was to be the silent, second level of security for Lev Egorov, the protection against the threat the GTECHs represented, Renegade or Zodius. Neither GTECH group could be trusted with nuclear technology-or trusted at all. The GTECHs outside of those on team "Serenity" were to be disposed of, before the public ever knew they existed. Only a handful inside the government knew, and the agents protecting Lev weren't included in that circle.
Determined to quickly and efficiently complete her task, she'd reached the trail directly behind the pool that led between this hotel and an adjoining property. A young couple walked toward her, delaying her plan to slip into the foliage and trees lining the path. She gave a friendly smile to the man and woman, a gesture that belied her racing heart and the worry that the GTECH would appear at any moment. She took that moment on the path to yank a red-and-white-striped cotton dress from her bag and pull it over her head. Then she kicked off her sandals and dropped a pair of Keds white tennis shoes to the ground before shoving her feet inside them. Not the perfect fighting attire, but better than a bikini.
By the time she was done, the man and woman had disappeared down another path, and from her earlier surveillance, she knew that their path lead to a duck pond.
Another quick glance around confirmed Lara was alone. She slipped off the path, behind the thick line of trees several feet deep that gave her ample cover, a mixture of pine needles and rocks crunching beneath her feet.
Lara stopped behind the thickest patch of foliage beside a chain-link fence, the steel laced with thick ivy. She inched her gun, complete with silencer, over the edge of her bag and peered through the greenery.
Surveying the pool area, Lara's breath lodged in her throat as she found the GTECH missing. He was coming for her, and if he wind-walked, he could appear near her at any moment. Focus, she silently reminded herself. Do the job, then catch some wind of your own, and be gone.
Quickly, she took aim at Lev, who was standing up and arguing with what looked like hotel security. They seemed to want him to go inside, where he should have stayed. It was too late for that. Too late because he was already on the GTECH's radar, just like she was.
The sound of female voices on the trail behind her stilled Lara momentarily. The instant they faded, her finger lifted to the trigger only to once again pause as one of Lev's little girls rushed to his side. Lara hesitated at the unexpected tightness in her chest, urging her not to take the shot. Why couldn't she take the shot? This was a big-picture job, about saving the world. She'd trained for this. She had prepared mentally and physically to do whatever was necessary to protect the innocent. She was a soldier. It hit her then, and she knew what was bothering her. The little girl. She didn't want the little girl to see her father drop dead at her feet, which was insane and completely unacceptable. She was part of Team Serenity, part of a greater cause to save the world from a GTECH takeover, from GTECH enslavement. She was defending millions of little girls, not one. With that thought, a steely cold began to reshape inside her. A hardness that was part of her training, part of her destiny, had taken shape the day the GTECHs had slaughtered her family.
Her finger moved a millimeter. She was ready to fire, but again, that tightening in her chest halted her. In that split-second of hesitation, an odd, dizzy feeling set her swaying. With one hand, she steadied herself on the fence, but before she'd even righted herself, a screeching sound ripped through her eardrums.
A rush of images flew through her mind like a reel from a film on fast forward. Unfamiliar images of herself, of a life she didn't know, of a man she seemed to love like a father. Of being dragged up the stairs by her hair, by someone she couldn't see, to watch that man die. A shrill sound blasted through her skull, and just like that it ended.
Lara came back to the present in a jerk and a gasp, unsure how long she'd been lost to whatever had just happened to her. Her head. God, her head was still pounding as if someone had beat it like a drum. She brushed at the dampness on her cheeks, shocked to realize she'd been crying. She hadn't cried since the night Powell had saved her life, since he'd given her a chance to fight back, given her a purpose.
A sudden gust of wind touched her hot skin and jolted her with full recall-the GTECH, her mission. The GTECH was coming. The GTECH was the wind. In a blast of adrenaline, Lara pushed herself off the fence where her fingers had somehow curled, reaching for the gun she'd apparently abandoned in her purse during her blackout, but she was too late. She could feel the heat of the body that materialized in the wind behind her a moment before strong, powerful arms surrounded her, held her.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, sweetheart," came the rich male voice that whispered against her ear, his warm breath brushing her neck and sending a shiver down her spine. A voice that she knew instinctively, on every level, matched the man who'd been by the pool. The GTECH had found her.
Anonymous
Posted September 19, 2012
Enjoyable read as part of the Zodius series
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Lisa Renee Jones continues her exciting and unique Zodius series with The Danger that is Damion; an action packed thrill-ride that will capture your heart, heat you up and keep you turning the pages!
The Danger that is Damion starts out with a bang with Lara Martin, an elite soldier from an all-women Zodius team. Mysterious, dangerous, and sexy; she is on a mission of revenge seeking those who destroyed her family and taking them down. But when it comes down to the wire Lara can’t pull the trigger, something isn’t right and it’s not just the instant attraction she feels for the enemy Renegade soldier in her way, Damion Browne.
Damion makes Lara question everything she believes in but how can she trust him when she can’t even trust herself? With parts of her memories missing and others that seem fabricated, Lara doesn’t know where to turn so she follows her feelings and instinct which lead back to Damion. But Damion is the epitome of the perfect soldier, always following the rules and his commander’s orders. For some reason though, Lara makes him want to break every rule in the book and when it comes to Lara’s safety he will. Passion ignites and desire flares between these two as danger surrounds them on all fronts. Damion and Lara are strong apart but together, they are unstoppable.
LRJ blends action and romance together seamlessly; I loved Damion and Lara’s story! They balanced each other out perfectly. The characters jumped from the pages and I can’t wait to see where this series takes us next!
I would recommend reading this series in order, though I did start out reading it out-of-order. But the first book, The Legend of Michael, provides a huge amount of background information on the Zodius, Renegades, ect. I think if you’re new to the series that you’ll enjoy these more by starting at the beginning, it's a great fantasy romance series that you won't want to miss!
Suzy-Q55SZ
Posted July 26, 2012
Love this series, can't wait for the next book
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 20, 2012
Very good series and I love the creativeness. Can't wait for the next book.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 19, 2012
Third one I have read.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.The book THE DANGER THAT IS DAMION begins when Damion meets Lara poolside trying to assassinate the man he was protecting. Damion and Lara are instantly attracted to each other, but fight the craving to connect because of the fear the other may be the enemy. They learn to trust each other which brings alot of pleasure to both of them. Damion attempts to help Lara learn the truth of her past. This book is very sexy and I highly recommend it. It is the third book in a series, but can be read as a standalone due to the glossary the author added to the book. I found it to be very helpful to jump right into the book. This book was received for the purpose of an honest review.
Reviewed by Rae, My Book Addiction and More
Rating 4.5
Heat rating: HOT
Raonaid
Posted May 14, 2012
Latest installment of Lisa Renee Jones's Zodius series. This series really does remind me somewhat of Christine Feehan's Ghostwalker books.
They have a similiar vibe but so their own individual creations. Perhaps that is why I like it so much.
So I am at 82%. Powell has changed the stakes in the war between him, the Zodiacs and the Renegades. For a while both - Zodiacs and Renegades- though the mastermind of their creation was out of the playing field.
Damien's book proves he is not "out" but changed a few of the rules. One part of those "rules" includes the heroine Lara - who is equally kick butt like Damion and the rest of the renegades.
We meet some more interesting folks in this book. So I am rooting for Chale (he cracks me up!!!) and Houston getting books. Okay so I am dreaming but I still like Chale to have a book. I did grin when Caleb and a certain doctor had some "sparks" as Lara described. Those two seem the perfect fit
But yes, Lara is quite different from the previous heroines. She's a fighter, a warrior.
Though I overslept and instead of going right back to bed I stayed up to finish the book. Definitely enjoy and love this series.
Mich_Mc
Posted May 3, 2012
When a team of soldiers working in "Project Zodius" are injected with Alien DNA instead of their usual immunisations - GTECH soldiers are born. Faster healing and increased strength and speed are amongst the gifts they develop. One of these soldiers - Adam, has a thirst for power, he is quickly becoming obsessed in his mission to breed a new race of super soldiers. GTECH soldiers can only breed with their true mate, Adam uses this to set up Sex Camps where women are forced to sleep with his soldiers in the hope that one of them will be their mate. Adam has no qualms about using people for his own gain.
Fortunately Adam's brother, Caleb doesn't share his goals and he has formed a group of Renegade's who loosely work with the government in the hope that they can stop him.
Renegade Damion Browne doesn't know what to think when Lara Martin enters his life, she says things that don't make sense and treats him like an enemy. Can they put their faith in each other in order to survive what's coming?
I loved this installment in the Zodius series, it was a perfect mix of romance and suspense. I liked Damion and Lara together they are both stubborn and mistrusting yet they are drawn to each other despite knowing the other is kepping secrets. I loved Lara's sensitive side and her indecision, it was easy to relate to her and I found myself willing her to not give up, to fight for her memories and Damion. I was surprised I liked Damion as much, especially with how much I adore Sterling but he surprised me, going frm a guy who never deviates from the plan to someone who would go to the ends of the earth for someone else.
Lisa really surprised me with this book, just as I get an idea of where we are going and what happens next she completely blows my expectations out the water. Every book is that little bit better than the one before and the world gets that bit more intriguing. I'm in awe of her world building skills, she just keeps adding layers and extra dimensions to the characters. I can't wait to see where she takes us next!
THE DANGER THAT IS DAMION is my favorite Zodius book so far. It's a fast-paced, action packed, thrill ride from the time you crack the cover open, right up to the turn of the last page! There is also plenty of hot romance stirred into the mix as Lara and Damion fight not only their enemies, but also their growing attraction.
Lisa Renee Jones has added new layers to her Zodius series, keeping it fresh without adding too many new players into the mix. Adam Rain and his Zodius soldiers aren't the main enemies this time around, but I wasn't surprised to see who was.
It took me a while to warm up to Lara, but as the story progressed and I began to understand her motives, that changed and I soon found myself liking her and her spirited attitude. Damion on the other hand is easy to love. He is determined to save the world from the Zodius, and soon you see his focus change to saving Lara, while saving the world. And he is just so dang sexy!
I also loved seeing the people I've met in the previous Zodius books. It was good to see Michael and Sterling - and their lifebonds, of course. :) I really liked seeing Caleb Rain, Dr. Kelly Peterson, and Dorian again. I can't wait to see how their lives are going to play out in the future books. I'm especially looking forward to discovering if Dorian is going to side with his Uncle Caleb or his father Adam. I think Chale is up next, I can't wait to see what Lisa has in store for him.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.BooksnKisses
Posted May 2, 2012
Love me some Damion!!!!!!
Lara is a woman on a mission, a mission to kill those who have hurt her and her family. But when Lara gets the chance she can’t pull the trigger. Something about this mission doesn’t feel right. Now Lara has drawn the attention of one of the Renegades. Not just any Renegade, Damion Browne.
What Lara learns from Damion, will make her questions everything she thinks, knows and feels. Lara now has to trust the people she has long hated. But how can she trust them when she can’t trust herself.
Damion never breaks the rules. NEVER!!! He is a by-the-book kind of guy, but the minute he sees Lara the rule book gets thrown out the window. Damion doesn’t know why yet but he is drawn to Lara, and is willing to do anything, sacrifice anything, and most of all break any rules to keep her safe and with him.
I loved Damion & Lara together. They are both so stubborn and hard headed but perfect for each other. Both think that they can handle anything on their own, but soon learn they are much better as a team. I so love this series. I can’t wait to see where Lisa takes us next.
As posted on The Smutty Kitty
We have made it to The Danger That is Damion and personally this one was my favorite in the series so far. Powell is back and now he’s turning females into GTECHs and brainwashing them to keep them under control. Thanks to Damion’s past he tries to keep himself at arm’s length and doesn’t want to be to be responsible for anyone else. Lara wants revenge and wants to kill all GTECHs. She finds her conscience right before she is about to execute someone the Renegades are trying to keep safe. Lara has lost her past, she can’t even remember her last name. Damion finds himself drawn to her and wants to help her. Lara is shocked to find that she wants him to help.
Right off the bat I was sucked into this book. I loved the banter between Damion and Lara it was so natural and fun. There were some very serious moments between the two of them too that really sucked you in. Once I picked this one up I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. I was rooting so hard for them to make it that I was almost in tears the closer I got to the end. The ending of this book was also my favorite of the series so far. I honestly can’t think of one thing I didn’t like about this book. It made me laugh and cry and smile and I loved every minute of it.
Anonymous
Posted November 4, 2012
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Anonymous
Posted May 17, 2012
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Anonymous
Posted November 12, 2012
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Anonymous
Posted October 13, 2012
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Overview
"Jones' suspense truly sizzles."—Booklist
Lethally passionate, wickedly dangerous...
Renegade warrior Damion Browne is a soldier of soldiers, an enforcer of the code of honor. With ruthless precision, he calculates risks as deliberately as he does his lover's satisfaction. Now it's up to him to defeat a new generation of female Super Soldiers, including the one woman ...