J R Ward
Crave
The second book in the Fallen Angels series, 2010
For Judith Peoples, PhD,
and all her good works-
she is proof positive that angels can have GREAT shoes
while their feet touch the ground.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To Kara Welsh, for everything!
And with thanks to Leslie Gelbman and Claire Zion
and everyone at NAL who are so amazing.
Thank you to Steve Axelrod, my voice of reason.
With huge props and thanks to Team Waud: D, LeElla, and Nath, without whom none of this would be possible-what would I do without you? And with a shout-out to Jac (and his Gabe!): My kitchen is your kitchen. No, really. Please. Don’t make me beg.
Thank you also to Ann, Lu, and Opal-the most incredible line tamers I’ve ever seen! And Ken-I’m trainable, see? I really am-you can send back the Gorilla Glue. Also to Cheryle, who I take orders from because I’m no fool.
With big hugs to all the mods on the boards-I’m so grateful for everything you do out of the kindness of your hearts.
Tremendous thanks to my C.P., Jessica Andersen, who has been endlessly supportive and smart and lovely and brilliantly funny for all these years. I still wish I were in your top five. *sigh*
And, of course, with thanks to Mother Sue (Grafton).
As always with love to my mother and my husband and my family and the better half of WriterDog.
Prologue
The desert, far from Caldwell, NY, or Boston, MA, or… sanity.
Some two years after the fact, when Jim Heron was no longer in special ops, he would reflect that Isaac Rothe, Matthias the Fucker, and he, himself, had all changed their lives the night that bomb went off in the sand.