Short description

FBI Agent Kate O' Hare is a force of nature, and she's lived for one thing and one thing only: to put the slippery conman known as Nicolas Fox behind bars. In a cruel twist of fate, Kate's bosses at the FBI force her to covertly partner up with Nick to take down big league crime. Their adventures continue in this exciting second novel in the series.

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg, bestselling authors of The Heist, return in this action-packed, exciting adventure featuring master con artist Nicolas Fox and die-hard FBI agent Kate O'Hare. And this time around, things go from hot to nuclear when government secrets are on the line.

Internationally renowned thief and con artist Nicolas Fox is famous for running elaborate and daring scams. His greatest con of all: convincing the FBI to team him up with the only person who has ever caught him, and the only woman to ever capture his attention, Special Agent Kate O'Hare. Together they'll go undercover to swindle and catch the world's most wanted - and untouchable - criminals.

Their newest target is Carter Grove, a former White House chief of staff and the ruthless leader of a private security agency. Grove has stolen a rare Chinese artifact from the Smithsonian, a crime that will torpedo U. S. relations with China if it ever becomes public. Nick and Kate must work under the radar - and against the clock - to devise a plan to steal the piece back. Confronting Grove's elite assassins, Nick and Kate rely on the skills of their ragtag crew, including a flamboyant actor, a Geek Squad techie, and a band of AARP-card-carrying mercenaries led by none other than Kate's dad.

A daring heist and a deadly chase lead Nick and Kate from Washington, D. C., to Shanghai, from the highlands of Scotland to the underbelly of Montreal. But it'll take more than death threats, trained henchmen, sleepless nights, and the fate of a dynasty's priceless heirloom to outsmart Fox and O'Hare.

Praise for The Chase

"Fast and entertaining . . . new thrills and adventure on every page." - Examiner. com

"The action never stops . . . and a humorous tone keeps everything moving at a fun clip." - Associated Press

"Great fun, with plenty of twists." - The Sacramento Bee

From the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Fast and entertaining . . . new thrills and adventure on every page." - Examiner. com

"The action never stops . . . and a humorous tone keeps everything moving at a fun clip." - Associated Press

"Great fun, with plenty of twists." - The Sacramento Bee

From the Hardcover edition.

Excerpt from the book

1

It was 10 a. m. on a warm Sunday morning when the bomb exploded at the First Sunland Bank in downtown Los Angeles, setting off alarms in every parked car and building within a square mile.

The bank occupied the ground floor of an office tower on the north side of Wilshire Boulevard, midblock between Flower Street to the east and Figueroa to the west, in the heart of the financial district.

LAPD headquarters was just a few blocks away, so the dust, shards of glass, and chunks of mortar had barely settled on the ground when the bomb squad, a SWAT team, and scores of uniformed officers swarmed onto the scene.

FBI Special Agent Kate O'Hare got the call ten minutes later from agent Seth Ryerson. Kate was pulling away from the drive--through window of a McDonald's in West Los Angeles.

"A bomb just exploded at a bank downtown," Ryerson said. "We're up at bat."

"Was anyone hurt?" Kate asked, setting her Coke between her legs and the bag with her two hot Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuits on the seat beside her.

"Nope. The bank was closed, and the financial district is a ghost town on Sundays."

"I'll meet you out front in two minutes."

Kate sped east on Wilshire Boulevard. The Federal Building was in Westwood, only a few blocks away, just past the San Diego Freeway overpass.

Ryerson was waiting for her on the sidewalk when she got there. He wore a blue dress shirt and red--striped tie under a blue FBI windbreaker. He was in his early thirties, tall and pale with a rapidly receding hairline. She'd noticed that the faster he lost his hair, the more he lifted weights. Soon he'd be a bald man with grossly inflated biceps.

Kate was about the same age as Ryerson but a lot less concerned with her hair, partly because she had a lot of it, and partly because she could care less. At the moment, her shoulder--length chestnut brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her slim, athletic body was appropriately clothed in a dress--for--success dove gray pantsuit, the jacket left unbuttoned to allow her easy access to her Glock 9mm. Kate was ex–-Special Forces, she believed in law and order, God, and her country, and she suspected that through no fault of her own she'd lost control of her career and her life.

Ryerson opened the passenger door, picked up the McDonald's bag, and wiped the seat to check for grease before he sat down.

Kate made an illegal U--turn across Wilshire Boulevard and minutes later made a sharp turn onto the southbound San Diego Freeway. She steered onto the transition to the eastbound Santa Monica Freeway and could see that traffic was backed up behind an overloaded, rusted--out truck that had spilled wooden crates across three lanes.

"There's no rush," Ryerson said, nervously tightening his shoulder harness, sensing that there was a maniac behind the wheel. "We're just along for the ride. The police will already have everything locked down."

"Blowing up a bank is a federal offense."

"True, but we're a formality. We're only answering this because we're on call this weekend. Someone else will pick this up tomorrow morning, and you'll be back chasing Nick Fox."

Kate mentally rolled her big blue eyes. If only Ryerson knew! She'd be chasing Nick a lot sooner than tomorrow morning. This whole bank event was a fake. A sham. A gigantic waste of taxpayer money, and God knows how many police officers' time. And she was involved! The very thought made her cringe. All her life she'd tried to do the right thing and uphold the law. And now it was a confusing mess. And it was all Nick Fox's fault.

"I hate him," Kate said.

"Who?"

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