Calculated Risk by Ronald L. Love and Debra L. Seabury

About the book

What separates calculated risk and suicide? Two bloody deaths in a Frankfurt bombing compel Will Chandler, international securities broker, husband and father, to examine that question. Decades earlier he had wrestled the issue to an uneasy draw. This time a draw would not be enough.

Back on his ranch in rural Western Washington, Will struggles to keep his past buried until terrorist murder a boyhood friend. Revenge once again forces Will to revert to the creed that had proven its worth nearly a life time ago in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Stop the leader, stop the pain. But if Will turns loose his killing skills, can he control them? Had he ever really had control over them?

From Cyprus' sunny southern coast, terrorist leader, Abdel ibn Haddad, advances his political agenda, his legitimate business ventures and the Arabian Horse bloodline that's been a family treasure for generations. With the help of his lieutenant, Aka, and Kathleen O'Malley, an Irish beauty with secrets of her own, Haddad plots a new round of terror intended to break three of his loyal soldiers free from German Custody.

Protecting those he loves with a costly silence. Will plays on Haddad's weakness for his prized horses and gains access to his cliff-top villa. Armed with forged veterinary credentials, a gift for languages, and the bloodstained talismans of his youth, Will enters the terrorist's elegant fortress where he must dodge Aka's open hostility, Kathleen's sexual design, and Haddad's hidden motives. Following a Bedouin feast in his honor, Will watches from hiding as Aka and Kathleen assemble in Haddad's suite along with Diedrich and Louis, an odd pair of business associates. Will is trapped as the five finalize plans to bomb a German airliner bound for Los Angeles. Hours later, Will looms over Haddad sleeping form, weapon poised, vengeance at hand, but he realizes that killing Haddad will comprise saving a doomed airliner--and hundreds of innocents on board. Will eases off the trigger. When Haddad awakes, choice evaporates. Will Fires.

Praying against discovery of Haddad's body, Will races time to escape Cyprus and pass information to authorities. Even with the details Will provides, security fails to act. As passengers board, Will launches a last ditch to avert disaster--but before he can act, he is thrown into the confrontation that leaves Diedrich dead and Will facing the killer within himself. Finally casting the past aside, Will spares Louis' life and saves the plane.

About the author

While still a student at Pacific Lutheran University near Seattle, Ronald L. Love launched an advertising business which grew to produce posters and point of sale merchandise for the North American ski industry. His photo essays have been published in a number of regional and national magazines. During his stint as an advertising executive for Multi Media, he wrote and produced fifty-seven television commercials, one of which earned his firm a prestigious CLIO award. Ron is currently at work on another thriller, Silent Consent, the story of two stockbrokers and the moral dilemma that will ultimately destroy one of them. Retired after seventeen years as a securities broker, Ron lives with his wife in a log home on a small ranch in rural Western Washington.

A professional writer for two decades, Debra L. Seabury has authored a number of titles for The Center for Applied Research in Education, an imprint of Prentice Hall Direct. These include Ready-to-use Science Activities for the Elementary Classroom and Earth Summit. Her articles have appeared in educational journals such as Oasis Magazine. She is also a member of the editorial advisory board and a contributing author to The Primary Teacher's Ready-to-Use Activities Program. Her latest educational title is due out in early 2000. Debbie lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in the home they built overlooking Lake Whatcom in Northwest Washington. She is currently working on a screenplay and another novel while completing her Masters Degree.