Strongbox Chronicles Books

The Cardinal Rule by Cate Dermody released on Dec 13, 2005 is available now for purchase.

It should have been simple. Get in, get the goods, get out. Yet what should be simple almost never was Once more Alisha MacAleer was racing around Europe, this time searching for the black box from a downed aircraft. Yet for the first time as a CIA agent, she doubted her work — and her superiors. Too many people were able to trace her movements. Was there a double — or triple? — agent in the CIA? How else could the dangerous, almost mythical group known as the Sicarii have targeted her? The worst problem? She'd discovered the only person she could rely on was the man who'd once broken her heart — by shooting her in the back....

All former spy Alisha MacAleer wanted was to lead a normal life, complete with settling down near her family. Then a hail of gunfire followed CIA agent Brandon Parker's arrival on her doorstep. He'd done the impossible: created an AI, a sentient being with artificial intelligence. The U.S. government and two powerful secret societies—hell, even Europe's top underworld figure—all wanted it. And Brandon's arrival made Alisha the last obstacle between them and the AI. The one person who could help had betrayed her years ago. Yet with the exasperating and elusive Frank Reichart on her side, Alisha might have a chance. If Alisha could use him without giving him her trust, she might just make it through this final mission alive….