Enjoy the first scene from the last book in the Warriors of the Heart series, Know You by Heart:

When Alice Liddell chose her legal name at the age of eighteen, she meant it as a symbol of her new life. Like Alice in Wonderland, she’d visited strange lands, met distrustful people, and barely survived a brush with death. She’d been afforded more than one second chance, something she was grateful for every day.

Now, she straightened her spine and stepped through the walkway, toward a 747 bound for Texas.

The attendant escorted her to a large, leather seat at the front of the plane.

Her first-class accommodations were definitely an upgrade from the military cargo planes and assault helicopters she’d grown accustomed to traveling in. Physically spent after the long walk through the airport, Alice breathed a sigh of relief. For the next several hours, she could sit and relax.

As she limped over to her window seat, she winced at the sudden muscle cramp in her right leg. She eased herself down and used her strong fingers to knead out the ache, just as her physical therapist instructed. After a minute, the cramp subsided, and she sat upright, begging her body to cooperate for the remainder of the flight and resist any more bursts of pain.

People walked by and down the aisle, rolling small suitcases and carrying bags, travel pillows, and children. One woman wearing a purple pantsuit clutched a designer bag in her hands while whispering words of comfort to the small dog tucked inside. Outside the window, baggage carts hurried around the tarmac.

She hoped both her suitcases would arrive in Austin. Her so-called vacation would transform from bothersome to aggravating if she had to spend the week wearing the same outfit.

“Excuse me.” A deep voice sounded from the aisle. “Would you mind if we switched seats? I prefer to sit on the inside, away from the aisle.”

She turned her attention from the action outside to the man speaking, and her gaze moved up the length of his athletic body, finally settling on a striking pair of brown eyes. After several seconds of flipping through her recently unreliable memory bank, she placed a name with the face. He had the look of a young Keanu Reeves, circa Point Break. Despite the fact she recognized him, she wouldn’t give Micah Palmer the satisfaction.

Why did he want the interior seat? Maybe to hide from obsessive sports fans, which she was, but neither of him nor his team. “Sure.” Why not? As long as she remained in first-class, the location of her seat didn’t matter. She stood and shuffled out into the aisle.

He was tall, beating her by a few inches, and his hands were large. She imagined he had no trouble keeping a tight grip on a football. Micah was the star quarterback of the Timber Lake Warriors, or more accurately, the former star. After last year, his standing with the team and its fans dropped.

“Thanks.” He smiled and stepped back to make room. He moved his gaze from her face to her lower half. “Is your leg okay?”

Forcing her face to remain relaxed, she blocked out the pain radiating from the entire right side of her body. “I’m fine. It’s just stiff.”

Once Micah was in her old spot, Alice settled herself into the aisle seat and the ache in her leg subsided. At least in her new location, she could stretch her leg into the aisle every so often.

Curious, she subtly peeked at her new neighbor. He was more handsome close-up than on TV. Most people would be thrilled to sit beside a professional football star, but not her. Or, at least, not when the star was Micah Palmer. First, she was a huge fan of the Arizona Scorpions, the Warrior’s biggest rival. Second, Micah Palmer missed most of last season due to a torn ACL. Third and most important, she’d read reports about his excessive partying and alleged drug use.

The flow of boarding passengers trickled to a final few people.

She reclined her head on the chair’s soft headrest and closed her eyes, listening to the sounds of the attendant preparing for take-off mixed with passengers’ chit chat. A phone chimed beside her, and she lifted her eyelids to peer over.

Micah cleared his throat. “Hey…I’m on the plane and need to shut off my phone. What do you need?” After a brief pause, he rubbed his face. “I told you I’ll be out of reach for the next two weeks.” Another pause. “No, I can’t have any guests while I’m there…I got to go…bye.”

His groan of obvious frustration made her smile. Alice heard enough through the phone’s speaker to concur the caller had been a female admirer. Poor guy. All he wanted was two weeks of peace. His phone chimed again, and Alice almost rolled her eyes.

“Ana, I’m so glad you called. I wanted to let you know where I’m staying.” He straightened in his chair. “Oh, okay.” He paused. “That’s fine. I should get off my phone anyways, so I’ll talk to you soon. Maybe tonight after I get settled in.” Micah picked at some lint on his khaki shorts. “Sure, I forgot you’re leaving with Ray. Have a good trip…bye.”

Another female caller, but she’d received the gold-star treatment. Alice turned her head to gaze upon the seemingly most popular man in the world.

He clicked off his phone. “Sorry about that.” He grinned and shrugged. “You know how it is…people need to reach you every second of the day.”

“No…I don’t know how it is.” She returned the smile then mentally slapped the grin off her face. Don’t want him thinking she was another flirty, star-struck girl. From what she’d read in news reports, his ego didn’t need any more stroking. “I’m lucky if I get a call once a month.” Her circle of friends was small and tight. Most of her Army Cultural Support Team sisters were either deployed or busy with their civilian jobs. Her only family was her cousin—a newlywed. Kate had other things on her mind.

“Consider yourself lucky. I’m unplugging these next two weeks. Get off the grid so to speak.” Micah slipped his phone into his carry-on bag then showed her his empty palms. “If you see me pull out my phone during the flight, feel free to slap me.”

Alice laughed at the invitation. During previous football seasons, she would have loved to do just that. Especially during the game when Micah threw a touchdown pass with eight seconds left for the win, knocking her beloved Scorpions out of the playoffs. “You’ll be safe with me. My fighting days are over.”

The plane bumped with sudden movement, and then glided away from the gate.

Alice jolted with an increasing tempo in her pulse, either the result of the stress of flying or the nearness of Micah Palmer. So what if he was cute? Good looks weren’t necessarily a reflection of a good soul.

She’d brought along a book about helping women in third-world countries become business owners. She opened it in an attempt to read through a couple chapters.

After about fifteen minutes, she gave up, unable to concentrate on the typed words on the page. She had a bad case of the jitters and couldn’t calm her over-analytical mind. Flying normally didn’t make her nervous. She’d jumped out of planes with nothing but a parachute strapped to her back. Maybe, she’d feel better after a nap.

Alice closed her eyes and visualized her destination—a veterans’ retreat. She had no idea what to expect. Her friend, former Special Ops soldier Heath Carter, helped start it, and she attended at his invitation. She’d gotten to know Heath when she’d served alongside him in Afghanistan. He was a good man and soldier—actually, the best.

She’d never made a secret of her injuries as a result of an IED and how she still suffered. Heath traveled to visit while she was at Walter Reed and witnessed firsthand the wounds marking her body. He hadn’t needed a PhD to understand the damage done to her mind.

Two of her soldier brothers lost their lives to the same IED. Yet, she was still breathing, with a few scars to show as souvenirs.

After only two weeks at the retreat, she had no illusions that she’d learn the answer to the question keeping her wide awake at nights—why had she lived?