Prequel to the Elioud Legacy series

In the end, you don’t need a hero in the field. You need a team.

A year after high-risk missions to stop terrorists, arms dealers, and criminals, CIA officer Olivia Markham no longer operates in the field. Instead, she runs a clinic for immigrants in a backwater Balkans capital. Olivia has also found a modicum of peace—and someone to love. Her career trajectory? A safe desk job at Langley.

Until the day terrorists attack the clinic, upending Olivia’s world and sending her back into active fieldwork.

Olivia, whose protective instincts often collide with her duty, now finds herself once again walking a tightrope between pursuing Agency operations and her own. When Captain Alžběta Czerná of Czech military intelligence calls for help to free a young trafficking victim, Olivia convinces Anastasia Fiore of Italian foreign intelligence to join their unsanctioned mission.

But Olivia has made more than one enemy during her short career—inside and outside of the Agency. Shocking allegations rocket her to the top of the CIA’s most wanted list just when a terrorist targets her. And more than her career is at stake. Much more. As Olivia sets out on what could be her final mission, Stasia and Beta initiate their own operational protocol for their friend.

Set a year before THE ELIOUD LEGACY series, THE GUARDIAN INITIATIVE tells the story of how Olivia Markham, Beta Czerná, and Stasia Fiore team up to aid the victims of their intelligence targets—regardless of the consequences.