Freeing Lark (Special Forces
(2026)(The third book in the Condor's Overwatch series)
A novel by Amanda Zook
Karma keeps score. Murphy’s Law makes trouble. Love changes every rule.
Former Navy SEAL Cormac ‘Hoot’ Shibley believes life keeps score. Judging by eight years of guilt, nightmares, and one teammate’s unfinished warning, karma has misplaced his account and is charging interest. His solution is simple: avoid complications, feelings, and anyone likely to make him smile.
Then Lark Meadows arrives with Murphy’s Law riding shotgun, refusing to wear a seat belt.
Lark escaped a powerful family, a future chosen for her, and a man she never loved. Now she’s opening an art studio, building a giant copper bell, and proving she can run her own life. So far, independence has included a runaway boat, airborne espresso, spilled pennies, and repeatedly body-checking the same grumpy former SEAL.
Hoot insists Lark is a walking disaster. Lark considers making him smile a personal mission. Between accidental swims, coffee casualties, and a fake-boyfriend fib featuring Hoot’s very real name, she begins cracking his defenses, and he wonders whether keeping her safe might be the most dangerous thing he’s ever volunteered to do. His steadiness makes Lark feel safe without feeling controlled, while her warmth reminds him that surviving and living aren’t the same thing.
But when a mysterious emblem on Lark’s river island connects her to the shadowy organization haunting Hoot’s past, the lifelong bad luck she blames on Murphy’s Law takes a deadly turn. Old enemies surface, Lark’s family becomes entangled in the conspiracy, and Hoot’s instinct to protect her collides with her hard-won independence.
If karma brought them together, she has a wicked sense of humor. And if Lark’s old nemesis Murphy thinks he can ruin their happily ever after, he’d better prepare for a fight.
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Former Navy SEAL Cormac ‘Hoot’ Shibley believes life keeps score. Judging by eight years of guilt, nightmares, and one teammate’s unfinished warning, karma has misplaced his account and is charging interest. His solution is simple: avoid complications, feelings, and anyone likely to make him smile.
Then Lark Meadows arrives with Murphy’s Law riding shotgun, refusing to wear a seat belt.
Lark escaped a powerful family, a future chosen for her, and a man she never loved. Now she’s opening an art studio, building a giant copper bell, and proving she can run her own life. So far, independence has included a runaway boat, airborne espresso, spilled pennies, and repeatedly body-checking the same grumpy former SEAL.
Hoot insists Lark is a walking disaster. Lark considers making him smile a personal mission. Between accidental swims, coffee casualties, and a fake-boyfriend fib featuring Hoot’s very real name, she begins cracking his defenses, and he wonders whether keeping her safe might be the most dangerous thing he’s ever volunteered to do. His steadiness makes Lark feel safe without feeling controlled, while her warmth reminds him that surviving and living aren’t the same thing.
But when a mysterious emblem on Lark’s river island connects her to the shadowy organization haunting Hoot’s past, the lifelong bad luck she blames on Murphy’s Law takes a deadly turn. Old enemies surface, Lark’s family becomes entangled in the conspiracy, and Hoot’s instinct to protect her collides with her hard-won independence.
If karma brought them together, she has a wicked sense of humor. And if Lark’s old nemesis Murphy thinks he can ruin their happily ever after, he’d better prepare for a fight.
Genre: Romantic Suspense