Risk: An Emma Caldridge Novella: Part One of Three

As the head of Pure Chemistry, she enters volatile territory for rare botanical compounds. She treats jungle firefights and cartel crossfire as ordinary occupational hazards.

Sebastian Ryan, the risk analyst for the insurance company, takes one look at her history of winding up in the wrong place at the wrong time and deems her a "statistical nightmare." But for Ryan the nightmare is just beginning, and he'll need Caldridge's assistance if he's going to survive.

Ambushed in his apartment by armed intruders demanding a ransom payout, the cautious analyst learns how little protection actuarial tables offer against a drawn gun. With a pursuing car on their tail and the police overwhelmed by holiday crowds, he must trust the client he rejected to navigate an escape.

• Race Against Time: Fleeing gridlocked causeway traffic on foot, Ryan and Caldridge dodge gunfire along the Star Island bridge to reach a private boathouse.
• Forced Proximity: An urban analyst and a field-tested scientist escape into open water aboard a stolen cigarette boat, navigating the dark route to Key Largo together.
• Florida Setting: From crowded South Beach streets during festival weekend to the Florida Keys, the chase spans the state's most treacherous coastal corridors.
• Also by This Author: Running from the Devil, Dead Asleep and Running Dark.