Deadly Games by Cate Noble

These excerpts from "Deadly Games" by Cate Noble (Copyright © 2011 by Kathleen Holzapfel) detail a complex thriller involving CIA agent Rocco Taylor and multiple high-stakes situations. The main plot follows Rocco’s frantic efforts to rescue his ex-girlfriend Maddy Kohlmeyer, who has been kidnapped by the drug lord Minh Tran in exchange for the captured scientist Dr. Rufin, while simultaneously protecting his former fiancée, Gena Armstrong, from Tran’s retaliatory attacks. Subplots involve the recovered agents Dante Johnson and Max Duncan chasing down the missing agent Taz (Logan Treyhorn), who has abducted Dr. Erin Houston to lead him to Dr. Rufin as a result of mind control experiments. The narrative also reveals that Gena's ex-husband, Harry Gambrel, who was presumed dead, is actually alive, working with Tran, and is attempting to capture Gena to use as leverage against Rocco and secure the data chips containing Dr. Rufin's formulas. Ultimately, Maddy and Erin are saved, Taz is located (though severely injured), and Rocco and Dante confront and capture Harry.