The Guardian — Joshua Hood

From the USA Today bestselling author of Robert Ludlum's Treadstone series, The Guardian is an action-packed adventure with a hint of romance that's perfect for fans of Extraction and Romancing the Stone.

When a retired Air Force PJ with nothing to lose is hired to rescue a kidnapped American from the depths of the Congo Basin, what was supposed to be a simple mission quickly turns into a fight for survival …

As a member of the elite Air Force Pararescue, Travis Lane abides by the motto “These things we do, that others may live.” After an injury forces him to consider retirement, he is blindsided when his brother-in-law is killed in the line of duty, leaving Lane as the sole support for his sister and the family farm they can no longer afford.

Desperate for something to help them keep the farm, Lane accepts an offer to join Broadside Solutions, a private company with specially trained military operatives who provide protection for clients all over the world. But it's trial by fire when his first mission takes him to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to find and retrieve a kidnapped American in the middle of a densely forested jungle.

Infused with the author's own experience as a parachute infantryman, this high-octane thriller throws the reader deep into the African jungle on a rescue mission where nothing is as it seems.