Alyssa Locke is no stranger to dealing with danger. As team leader of the nationa (TM)s number one personal security company, Troubleshooters Incorporated, shea (TM)s seen more than her share of action, survived plenty of close calls, and holds her own with the best of thema "and against the worst of them. Guarding lives is her game, and no one plays it better. But her toughest challenge will be protecting herself from a serial killer shea (TM)s been after for years, a fiend who is determined to make her his ultimate trophy. The assignment was supposed to be an easy one: teach self-defense techniques to a newly elected congresswoman and her chief of staff after a political controversy makes them the target of death threats. But among the blizzard of hate mail from hotheads and cranks are the terrifyingly familiar taunts of the sadistic multiple murderer known as The Dentist. Mysteriously silent after a decade-long killing spree, he has suddenly resurfaced, attracted by Alyssaa (TM)s growing celebritya "and the diabolical desire to turn the tables on his pursuer. In an effort to stay one step ahead of The Dentist, Alyssa mobilizes her squad of moonlighting Navy SEALs in New York City. But between bodyguarding two independent, busy women, butting heads with a hard-case cop who thinks that the Troubleshooters are chasing shadows, and trying to find time for her husband, Troubleshooters operative Sam Starrett, and their infant son, Alyssa has her hands full. Meanwhile, it wouldna (TM)t be a Troubleshooters operation without romantic sparks and heated rivalriesa "and any time the SEALs of Team Sixteen are involved, there are plenty of both. But when new threats and fresh bodies make it clear that The Dentist is back in bloody business and much closer than anyone suspects, Alyssaa (TM)s only priority becomes bringing down her monstrous nemesis once and for all, even if it means forcing a confrontation that only one of them can survive.