Blind Trust releases October 26th—available now for preorder at Amazon, and at other retailers next week—and I can finally share the cover with you.
An ice-cold mountain. A deadly enemy. A scorching-hot desire they can’t ignore.
After escaping from kidnappers in the Montana wilderness, Lindsey Garcia is her best friend’s only hope for rescue. But when her enemies trap her on the mountain with a sexy stranger she’s not sure she can trust, both her life and her heart are in danger.
Former special operator Todd Brennan is on a personal hunt for a killer when he saves Lindsey from a deadly fall. He plans to get her to the nearest town and renew his pursuit, but a fatal encounter forces him to choose between love and justice.
You might have noticed this one’s a little different from books 1-5. Well, it was time for an update, so the whole series is sporting a fresh look. Don’t they all look pretty? ❤️
Tara Fujimoto's story is almost here! She's played an integral role in every Men of Steele book since she first got into trouble in Blind Fury (Book 1), so I'm excited to have found her perfect match in Jeff Patarava, a former Air Force Combat Weatherman (yes, it's a real special operations role).
He craves the outdoors. She's a hardcore city girl. Sometimes opposites attract…a killer.
And then it gets hot. 🔥
When Tara Fujimoto’s quest to avenge her sister’s death makes her a target, a sexy security specialist steps in to watch her back, but his quiet appeal threatens her carefully guarded heart. Can she resist their lightning-hot attraction, and stay alive long enough to expose her enemy?
Former military special operator Jeff Patarava has good reasons to keep his distance from his impossibly perfect coworker, but when her life is threatened, his resolve is shot to hell. Forced into close proximity, sparks fly as he learns she’s far more than her flawless appearance suggests. Now, he’ll put everything on the line to keep her alive.
Preorder Blind Justice today from your favorite retailer!
Yes! Kurt Steele finally gets his own book. Running Blind (Men of Steele #4) releases January 16, 2018, and is available now for preorder at Amazon, iBooks, and Kobo. For fun facts and an excerpt, check out the book page.
Description
Charter pilot Caitlyn Brevard’s sister disappeared while working undercover to expose human traffickers in the Caribbean. Four months later, Caitlyn has finally found her, but to infiltrate the captor’s inner circle and rescue Rose, she must appear at the man’s gala event with a fiancé she concocted to keep his lecherous son at bay. Can she convince Kurt Steele to forgive a past betrayal and play the doting groom-to-be?
Former special operator and wounded warrior Kurt can’t say no to a friend in need, especially not Caitlyn, who he can’t forget, no matter how hard he tries. But playing ardent fiancé to the woman who broke his heart—and still attracts him like no other—might just be more than he can bear. When their mission turns deadly, he and Caitlyn must risk everything to save Rose and get a second chance at a love worth dying for.
BLINDSIDED (Men of Steele #3) is up for preorder now, and releases Feb 14th!
I’m excited to share this fast-paced romantic suspense between former Marine sniper Scott Kramer—who played a key role in Blind Ambition—and gutsy white hat hacker Valerie Sanchez.
Here’s a short description and a preview of the first chapter. Enjoy!
SHE’S RUNNING FOR HER LIFE
Framed for espionage, reformed hacker Valerie Sanchez has no choice but to run. Worse, when the proof of her innocence is destroyed, things turn deadly. Can she trust the sexy terrorist hunter who mysteriously turns up to protect her, or is he the real threat?
HE’S HOT ON HER TRAIL
Former Marine sniper Scott Kramer’s job was supposed to be easy. Follow the hot computer geek who stole plans for classified weapons until she meets her buyer, then let law enforcement take over. But when Valerie becomes an assassin's target, Scott's gut says she’s innocent. Now, he must risk his life—and his heart—to keep her safe.
CHAPTER ONE (EXCERPT)
Valerie Sanchez summoned her most dazzling smile and prepared to lie through her teeth. She unzipped her long wool coat as she approached the Westgate Defense Systems security desk before the early crowd of employees arrived.
“Hi, there. It’s my boyfriend Brian’s thirtieth birthday today, and I’d like to decorate his cubicle before he arrives.” She tugged the bouquet of Star Wars-themed helium balloons she had picked up that morning, making the shiny Darth Vader and R2D2 bounce.
The security guard, his badge pinned proudly to his chest, glanced around the empty lobby and swallowed. “I’d like to help you, ma’am, but I can’t let in anyone without an employee ID or visitor’s pass. Your boyfriend would have to vouch for you.”
“That would kind of give away the surprise, wouldn’t it?” she asked, her grin cheeky. “But, I understand.” Resting her free elbow on the counter, she leaned forward enough to give the man a glimpse of her already ample, plumped-to-the-max cleavage.
When his eyes strayed to the shiny little charm sewn to the front of her bra, she asked, “What if you escorted me?”
He snapped to attention, raising his eyes to meet her gaze, and cleared his throat. “I can’t leave my post. Not until the other guy shows up.” He checked his oversized sport watch. “And even then, you’d need someone to sign you in.”
Based on her previous surveillance, she was ninety-nine percent positive the other guard wouldn’t arrive for at least ten more minutes. Her partner Jay had pegged this one as more vulnerable and figured if she could get him alone, he’d be more susceptible to her “wiles.”
“I could be your guest,” she said, pushing the red-framed prop glasses onto the bridge of her nose.
His eyes widened. “But I don’t know you.”
“Well, let’s change that.” She held out her hand and smiled. “I’m Vanessa Rios.”
His face reddened all the way up to the roots of his receding brown hair. For a full five seconds, he didn’t respond. Then he grasped her hand in his own thick, clammy one. “John Watkins.”
She resisted the instinct to slide her palm against his. If she laid on the sex appeal too thick, he’d question her devotion to Brian, the programmer whose computer had access to the entire network at Westgate. A man she’d never met.
“Nice to meet you, John. I work in human resources at Farmington International. That’s where I met Brian before he got the job here. We’ve been dating for about two years.” She raised her eyes in thought. “Let’s see, what else? I’m a Libra, my friends call me Van even though I hate it, I have a sister, two cats, and a small apartment in Georgetown. I love living in D.C., but hate the traffic, and someday I want to do something important that changes the world for the better.”
He was giving her a funny look, but she was pretty sure she had him. “Or would it be easier if I just showed you some ID?”
A small part of her almost hoped he wouldn’t give in. As much as she wanted her pretext to work, this guy would be in big trouble if she succeeded. And he seemed nice.
Then again, if he wasn’t doing his job properly…
John chuckled and shook his head. “If you can wait until my partner shows, I’ll take you up.”
She glanced at her watch. “Unfortunately, I can’t. I have to leave for work in the next five minutes or I’m going to be late.” Frowning, she asked, “You know what? When your other half gets here, can you put this stuff on Brian’s desk for me? I was going to really do it up”—she placed a sack of streamers, banners, and party favors on the desk—“but the balloons will have to do. Oh! And don’t forget the cupcakes.”
Popping the lid on the Tupperware full of chocolate cupcakes with colorful confetti candy on top, she pulled out two and leaned over the counter to set them on John’s workspace. “One for each of you.”
The guard laughed outright and shook his head. “You’re something else, Van.” He glanced around the empty lobby, chewed on his lip, and stewed for several seconds before nodding. “All right, surrender your ID and I’ll give you five minutes.”
“Oh, my God, thank you.” She flashed him a smile as she lay her jacket and scarf over a nearby chair. Then she traded the fake license for a clip-on visitor’s badge, grabbed the party supplies, and turned for the elevators. “I’ll be quick.”
“I’ll be watching.” He pointed to the TV monitors.
Heart pounding, Valerie had to keep herself from running across the gleaming white marble. Not that she could have run in her heels anyway. She didn’t have enough practice wearing them, and they were pinching her toes. A minute later, she emerged onto the third floor and made her way along a row of blue, cloth cubicles. Based on the map Jay had found God-knew-where, Brian’s desk was the fourth one on the right.
The entire space was eerily hushed, with no sound but the faint hum of fluorescent light bulbs and the whoosh of warm air coming from vents overhead.
She glanced up at the camera stationed on the ceiling behind Brian’s cubicle and waved. Then she clipped the balloons to the desk, casually positioning them to block the camera’s view of the computer. Draping streamers with one hand, she leaned over the keyboard, giving the guard a shot of her ass. She let her dress ride up as she used her other hand to snap a tiny gadget into a slot on the back of the computer.
Quickly, she finished decorating the small workspace and hightailed it to the lobby. “Thanks so much. I really appreciate this, John,” she said, smiling as she returned the badge for the license and donned her winter armor.
“Brian’s a lucky guy,” he murmured as she walked toward the tall glass-encased exit.
If he only knew. She gave the guard a little wave and forced herself to stroll nonchalantly into the cold.
I'm so excited! I finally have the cover for my March 17th release, Blind Ambition. What do you think?
For those who've read Blind Fury, this is Dan Molina's story…
IT’S ABOUT TO GET HOT IN THE JUNGLE
Rescuing a kidnapped aid worker from St. Isidore’s dangerous rebels is just another day at work for former pararescueman Dan Molina. But his mission falls apart when the woman—who once shattered his heart—refuses to leave the island.
Alexa Alyssandratos can’t return to her life as a nurse on the hurricane-ravaged Caribbean island, but she won't leave until she’s certain the orphans she cared for—especially one sick little girl—are safe from the rebels. Denied their ransom, a would-be dictator and his soldiers are hunting Alexa, and Dan is the only person who can protect her. Old passions reignite as she and Dan race to save the children before they disappear forever.
Want to be the first to know when the book comes out, and be in the running for a free copy? Sign up for my romance newsletter. Read on for an excerpt from Chapter One.
Alexa lowered the trembling girl into the crawl space beneath the clinic and shut the trap door. She yanked the braided rag rug to cover it and stood. Soldiers would be here any—
The exam room door smashed open and a rangy man in a striped rugby shirt aimed a rifle at her chest. “Hands up!”
Heart hammering, she stepped onto the rug and raised her arms.
The last time the island’s rebel fighters had raided the Hygiea clinic in Terre Verte, they’d stolen everything—right down to the mattresses on the beds—and left one of the nurses dead. The mother of nine-year-old Flore, who should be safe at the orphanage next door by now.
As long as the stress—and the dust under the building—didn’t bring on another asthma attack.
“Just tell me what you need and I’ll get it for you,” Alexa said, her voice shaky.
Rugby kept his weapon trained on her. “Come with me.”
Her stomach jackknifed, but she followed him into the tiny waiting area where two other men stood guard.
He snagged her wrist and spun her into the front wall. “Do not fight me and you will live.” His lilting island tones didn’t match the menace in his voice.
A tremor ran through her body as he trapped her against the wall. Just last month a French aid worker in another village had been kidnapped and repeatedly raped until her family produced a ransom. Would they take Alexa because she was American?
The man drew her hands together behind her, sending her into panic mode. She knew how much rape could devastate a person. She’d witnessed it firsthand with her sister. No way would she go down easy. Not as long as she had any fight left. Alexa kicked back, connecting with her attacker’s shin and eliciting an enraged howl.
“Bouzin!” he yelled, calling her a bitch. He knocked her feet out from under her and she slammed to the ground, hitting her cheekbone and hip on the solid wood before he landed on her.
She bit back a whimper and flailed like a madwoman. All of the self-defense moves she’d learned were useless now that she was down.
“No more moving.” Rugby ended her fight with a knee to her back and shackles around her wrists and ankles.
Shouts came from the storage room that doubled as her sleeping quarters. She turned her head to see Garfield in the doorway, a rifle trained on him from behind. His lip was split and bleeding and his dark eyes blazed with anger when he spotted her.
Hands out, palms up, he stepped forward. “Why do you fight us? We’ll let you take whatever you need. We’ll treat your men. No need for violence.”
Rugby stood. “You’ll let us take her.” He kicked Alexa in the ribs and she hissed in pain.
“Stop!” Garfield lunged toward her.
A soldier in a yellow shirt jumped forward and plunged his knife to the hilt in Garfield’s side, then pulled away. Blood ran through her friend’s fingers as he gripped the wound and sank to his knees, his eyes wide.
“Garfield!” Alexa jerked against her restraints. “Let me help him.” Her voice turned shrill as Rugby gripped her under the arms and tossed her over his shoulder, setting off a firestorm of pain in her ribs that left her gasping.
Her captor strode to the door, pausing to call directions to his crew, who appeared in the doorway of the back room with their arms full of medicine, blankets, and syringes.
Then he stepped outside into the moist Caribbean air, and Alexa watched through the doorway—absolutely powerless—as Garfield’s blood drained from his body, sliding into the cracks between planks in the scuffed wooden floor.
– Blind Ambition, available March 17, 2015
Click here to add Blind Ambition to your Goodreads list. Thanks! 🙂
Happy Valentine’s Day! A day that celebrates romance seemed like the perfect day to reveal the cover of my upcoming romantic suspense, Blind Fury. So, what do you think?
Blind Fury releases on Feb 25th. Want to make sure you don’t miss it, and be entered for a chance to win? Sign up for my newsletter: http://eepurl.com/oLFjv.
When always-play-it-safe Jenna Ryan starts questioning how her brother died in Afghanistan, someone decides she must be stopped. Permanently. Her brother’s best friend—a sexy thrill-seeker she can’t stop thinking about—won’t reveal what he knows about the fatal shoot-out, putting Jenna at odds with the only man she trusts to keep her alive.
Former special forces operator Mick Fury would give his life to keep his best friend’s irresistible sister safe. He took an oath to stay silent about their last mission, but Mick’s will is tested by the white-hot attraction to Jenna he’s tried to ignore for years. Now he must risk everything—even falling in love—to protect her from the truth that could destroy them both.
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