Bullard's Battle

His rescue from the ocean after a horrible plane explosion was his top priority, in any way, shape, or form. A small sailboat and a nurse to do the job was more than Ryland hoped for. When Tabi somehow drags him and his buddy Garret onboard and surprisingly gets them to a naval ship close by, Ryland figures he’d used up all his luck and his friend’s, too. Sure enough, those who attacked the plane they were in weren’t content to let him slowly die in the ocean. No. Surviving had made him a target all over again.

Cain - hearing a killer’s last words “You’re next” - knows his time is running out. Not only for him, but for his entire team. As members of his team search for the still missing Bullard in the ocean, Cain has focused on tracking the killer’s history, hopefully to lead to the madman after them all. A trip to Sicily brings more information to light but also more puzzles to sort out. And an unexpected light in Cain’s life.

Eton journeys to Switzerland, unimpressed at finding Garret there as his backup. Barely recovered but pissed and mobile, Garret refuses to be kept out of service any longer. Eton’s intel leads them to a small village, to a woman in distress, and to someone who likes cleaning up a trail a little too much. Living a quiet life with her aging father, Sammy is surprised by an offer of help when she gets an unexpected flat tire. Strangers in this area are not common, and neither are they well received.

Stronger than he had any right to be after the plane explosion and still angry about it all, Garret’s seriously unimpressed to fly to London to speak with an ex-fiancée who’d screwed him over with his own brother. But she had information on his missing brother, who was a link to the plane crash that sent Garret into the ocean. Yet Astra, not Amy, waits in London for Garret, to explain the little she knows, hoping he’ll let go of some of his resentment and help her look for her sister, Amy - who disappears just before Garret’s arrival. Some coincidence there.

Catherine. DeeDee. Paris. Kano had hoped to never deal with the three again. The woman he loved, her dragon of a mother, and a city to bring the best - and worst - memories to mind. A return trip leads to a conversation with DeeDee, which sheds more light on who is behind Bullard’s murder in that planned plane explosion.

Fallon returns to Africa and Bullard's home base to follow the only active lead they have in their hunt for their plane saboteur. Once home, Fallon finds Dave, Bullard's right-hand man, heading out to check on a lead for Bullard, and Dave's niece, Linny, is home for a visit. Fallon and Linny have shared both good and bad moments, as the two of them dance around a long-term attraction - which Fallon refuses to pursue, not wanting his relationship with Bullard and the crew at the compound to change.

Fed up with always feeling one step behind, Quinn is determined to find out who is trying to annihilate all of Bullard’s team. Only the trail takes him to Izzie, Bullard’s niece. The team knows the saboteur was someone close to Bullard, and Izzie had had a hell of a fight with Bullard the last time they spoke. But how involved was she in this plane crash? Izzie is also suspicious of everyone. She’s been to hell and back, all because she was stubborn and angry at Bullard, but she’d never do anything to hurt him.

Bullard’s barely aware of his surroundings as he slowly emerges from a coma and months of slow healing. He recognizes the general area, but not the facilities or the woman attending him. Nor does he remember exactly what happened. Leia, a gifted surgeon in her own right, hadn’t expected this giant of a man to wash up in the shallows by her beach, nor to call on every trick she’s ever learned to keep him alive. The longer he’s with her, the more she realizes how hard it could be to let him go.

After finding the killer who tried to take out the entire team and now with Bullard safe, the crew heads back to the island where he recovered. Leia wants to get married there, so Dave has gone ahead with Katie, Bullard’s caterer, to set things up. Katie has been in Dave’s orbit for a long time; she’s not sure what’s changed in their relationship, but something certainly has, and she couldn’t be happier. Except for one loose thread from that same island. After all, someone let the outside world know Bullard was alive.