by Ali Vali
Hit woman and thief Reed Gable works for the highest bidder, no matter where the job takes her. An orphan of circumstance, Reed knows the streets of Las Vegas better than anyone. Growing up rough has gotten her to the top of her profession, and she plans to stay there.
Accountant Brinley Myers, a recent hire at the Moroccan Casino, discovers a money laundering operation orchestrated by the New York mob and suddenly her life and the people in it become collateral damage.
Reed has Brinley in her sights and is ready to close the contract when she sees Brinley’s son in the car with her. Even hard-hearted Reed can’t kill a mother in front of her child. Before Reed can come up with a plan to finish the job, she’s double-crossed. It’ll take all her street smarts to keep herself, and her surprisingly beautiful mark, alive.
Praise for Ali Vali
Answering the Call
Answering the Call “is a brilliant cop-and-killer story…The crime story is tight and the love story is fantastic.”—Best Lesfic Reviews
“Is there anything better than a smoking hot butch woman in uniform?…If you enjoy stories with stakeouts, gun-slinging butch cops, meddling family members coupled with murder and mayhem around every corner, then this story is certainly for you.”—The Lesbian Review
Lammy Finalist Calling the Dead
“So many writers set stories in New Orleans, but Ali Vali’s mystery novels have the authenticity that only a real Big Easy resident could bring. Set six months after Hurricane Katrina has devastated the city, a lesbian detective is still battling demons when a body turns up behind one of the city’s famous eateries. What follows makes for a classic lesbian murder yarn.”—Curve Magazine
“The plot is engrossing and satisfying. A fun aspect of the book is the images of food it includes. The descriptions of sex are also delicious.”—Seattle Gay News
“In Calling the Dead, Vali has given us characters that are engaging and a story that keeps us turning page after page.”—Just About Write
Beauty and the Boss
“The story gripped me from the first page…Vali’s writing style is lovely—it’s clean, sharp, no wasted words, and it flows beautifully as a result. Highly recommended!”—Rainbow Book Reviews
“This was a story of love and passion but also of surprises and secrets. I loved it!”—Kitty Kat’s Book Review Blog
The Romance Vote
“Won by a Landslide!…[A] sweet and mushy romance with some humor and spicy, sexy scenes!”—Love Bytes
Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici
“A stunning addition to the vampire legend, Balance of Forces: Toujour Ici is one that stands apart from the rest.”—Bibliophilic Book Blog
Blue Skies
“Vali is skilled at building sexual tension, and the sex in this novel flies as high as Berkley’s jets. Look for this fast-paced read.”—Just About Write
Beneath the Waves
“The premise…was brilliantly constructed…skillfully written and the imagination that went into it was fantastic…The author managed to insert a real fear and menace into the story and had me totally engrossed…A wonderful passionate love story with a great mystery.”—Inked Rainbow Reads
Second Season
“Whether Ali Vali is writing about crime figures or lawyers, her characters are well drawn and extremely likeable. Indeed, writing so the reader really cares about the main characters is a trademark of a Vali novel. Second Season is no exception to the rule…This is a rich, enjoyable read that’s not to be missed.”—Just About Write
“The issues are realistic and center around the universal factors of love, jealousy, betrayal, and doing the right thing and are constantly woven into the fabric of the story. We rated this well written social commentary through the use of fiction our max five hearts.”—Heartland Reviews
Carly’s Sound
“Vali paints vivid pictures with her words…Carly’s Sound is a great romance, with some wonderfully hot sex.”—Midwest Book Review
“It’s no surprise that passion is indeed possible a second time around.”—Q Syndicate
“Carly’s Sound is a great romance, with some wonderfully hot sex, but it is more than that. It is also the tale of a woman rising from the ashes of grief and finding new love and a new life. Vali has surrounded Julia and Poppy with a cast of great supporting characters, making this an extremely satisfying read.”—Just About Write
Praise for the Cain Casey Saga
The Devil’s Due
“This is an enthralling, nail biting and ultra fast moving addition to the Devil series…once again Ali Vali has produced a brilliant story arc, solid character development, incomparable bad-ass women in traditionally male roles, leading both the goodies, baddies and cross-breeds.”—Lesbian Reading Room
“A Night Owl Reviews Top Pick: Cain Casey is the kind of person you aspire to be even though some consider her a criminal. She’s loyal, very protective of those she loves, honorable, big on preserving her family legacy and loves her family greatly. The Devil’s Due is a book I highly recommend and well worth the wait we all suffered through. I cannot wait for the next book in the series to come out.”—Night Owl Reviews
The Devil Be Damned
“Ali Vali excels at creating strong, romantic characters along with her fast-paced, sophisticated plots. Her setting, New Orleans, provides just the right blend of immigrants from Mexico, South America, and Cuba, along with a city steeped in traditions.”—Just About Write
Deal with the Devil
“Ali Vali has given her fans another thick, rich thriller…Deal With the Devil has wonderful love stories, great sex, and an ample supply of humor. It is an exciting, page-turning read that leaves her readers eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.”—Just About Write
The Devil Unleashed
“Fast-paced action scenes, intriguing character revelations, and a refreshing approach to the romance thriller genre all make for an enjoyable reading experience in the Big Easy…The Devil Unleashed is an engrossing reading experience.”—Midwest Book Review
The Devil Inside
“Not only is The Devil Inside a ripping mystery, it’s also an intimate character study.”—L-Word Literature
“The Devil Inside is the first of what promises to be a very exciting series…While telling an exciting story that grips the reader, Vali has also fully fleshed out her heroes and villains. The Devil Inside is that rarity: a fascinating crime novel which includes a tender love story and leaves the reader with a cliffhanger ending.”—MegaScene
“The Devil Inside by Ali Vali is an unusual, unpredictable, and thought-provoking love story that will have the reader questioning the definition of right and wrong long after she finishes the book…first time novelist Vali does not leave the reader hanging for too long, but spins a complex plot of love, conspiracy, and loss.”—Just About Write
“[T]his isn’t your typical ‘Godfather-esque’ novel, oh no. The head of this crime family is not only a lesbian, but a mother to boot. Vali’s fluid writing style quickly puts the reader at ease, which makes the story and its characters equally easy to get to know and care about. When you find yourself talking out loud to the characters in a book, you know the work is polished and professional, as well as entertaining. Ever just wanted to grab a crime boss by the lapels, get in their face, and tell them to open their eyes and see what’s right in front of their eyes? If not, you will once you start turning the pages of The Devil Inside.”—Family and Friends Magazine
Double-Crossed
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Double-Crossed
© 2019 By Ali Vali. All Rights Reserved.
ISBN 13: 978-1-63555-301-7
This Electronic Original Is Published By
Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 249
Valley Falls, NY 12185
First Edition: September 2019
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Credits
Editors: Victoria Villaseñor and Ruth Sternglantz
Production Design: Stacia Seaman
Cover Design By Jeanine Henning
By the Author
Carly’s Sound
Second Season
Blue Skies
Love Match
The Dragon Tree Legacy
The Romance Vote
Girls with Guns
Beneath the Waves
Beauty and the Boss
Call Series
Calling the Dead
Answering the Call
Forces Series
Balance of Forces: Toujours Ici
Battle of Forces: Sera Toujours
Force of Fire: Toujours a Vous
Vegas Nights
Double-Crossed
The Cain Casey Saga
The Devil Inside
The Devil Unleashed
Deal with the Devil
The Devil Be Damned
The Devil’s Orchard
The Devil’s Due
Heart of the Devil
Acknowledgments
A new series is both a daunting and exciting thing to start. Daunting because you want to do the story justice and exciting because you’re entering a whole new universe where new characters are waiting for their story to be told. That there are a few familiar characters, murder, mayhem, and romance are added bonuses.
Thank you to Sandy Lowe, not only for all you do but for the gentle shove to start another adventure and for the idea of the title. As always, thank you to Radclyffe for all your support from that very first day. Thank you to my BSB family for all your support and advice whenever it’s needed.
New adventures are also better shared with friends and new editors. Lucky for me I got both in the awesome Victoria Villaseñor and Ruth Sternglantz. Thank you, Vic, for everything you taught me in this process, for your friendship, and for making this a book I’m proud of. Ruth, thank you for all the hard work in finishing the process, and for all the things you do that go beyond editing as well as your friendship. Thank you to Jeanine Henning for the great cover.
Thank you to my first readers, Cris Perez-Soria, and welcome back to one of my real first readers, Lenore Beniot. You guys were great and I value your input. To all the readers who have supported me and followed my work, every word is written with you in mind.
Thank you to C for the greatest adventure of all, and I look forward to all the ones yet to come. Verdad!
For C
For all the readers
Thank you
Chapter One
“Are you fucking listening to what I’m saying? I don’t give a good goddamn how much it costs. Get it done, and don’t make it look like I have anything to do with it.” Sofia Madison’s disembodied voice sounded as if she was trying to downplay her anger, but she was failing miserably.
What Sofia was asking for was something Reed Gable totally understood. She wasn’t the first woman to request the exact same thing once the reality dawned that her marriage was a total sham. Some people made mistakes, but Sofia’s husband had more women than an old sultan with a harem. A feat he seemed pretty pleased about, from what Reed could tell. “It’s ten percent of the total. Are you sure about that?”
“He’s probably going to offer me less than a percent of the fucking total in a divorce,” Sofia said, going from angry to exasperated. “You think ten percent is going to bother me?”
“I need a few days to figure out a timeline, and I’ll get back to you.” Reed stood in the den of her home in Henderson, Nevada, and gazed out at the empty golf course beyond the pool. It was incredibly early, so the hardcore golfers weren’t out yet. The house had plenty of space between the two neighboring properties and was exactly like all the other houses on her private street. That was the main thing she loved about the place. It didn’t stand out. Homogenous wasn’t a dirty word in her world.
“I want to meet.” Sofia tried again. Like a forgetful old codger, she’d asked for this every time they’d spoken.
“It’s your right to insist, but if you can’t proceed without that, you need to find someone else.” She hung up and tapped the burner phone against her chin. There was another contract offer she was considering, but she’d put them off because Sofia’s job was more of a challenge. It might be time to give them a callback.
“Fuck it. Not my problem, and hopefully she’ll be okay with getting screwed in the divorce.” The phone rang before she could remove the SIM card and destroy it, so she took a moment before answering to watch the first golfers of the morning playing by the fourteenth hole. She found the sport boring, and it seemed aggravating, if all the cursing she heard was any indication.
“How do I know you’re not a cop?” Sofia asked without preamble.
“You don’t, and you can choose not to believe me, but I’m not. I’m willing to help you, but meeting people isn’t my thing. What you’re asking for is something you might not be able to do without laying eyes on me, and I understand that. If you decide this isn’t something you can stomach, this conversation will never come back to haunt you. On that you have my word.”
The problem with most people was that they were too emotionally invested even when they declared loudly and repeatedly that they weren’t. Emotions, or more precisely an overabundance of them, weren’t Reed’s problem. She patiently waited for Sofia to either talk herself in, or out, of what she was asking—that wasn’t Reed’s job.
She stared at the guy whacking away in the sand trap and figured his time would be better spent gardening. At least at the end he’d have something to show for it. By the time the ball had rolled into the tall grass, Sofia seemed to have come up with more to say, and she kept on rambling. Reed sighed away from the phone; this was by far the most aggravating part of the job, and she rolled her shoulders to try and relax. Long, unproductive conversations had a way of tensing her up more than the actual job.
“I gave Victor my word, as well as everything else, including our children. He turned them against me first. My sons want nothing to do with me because their father has told them repeatedly I’m a bitch who’s fucking crazy.” Sofia stopped and took a deep breath. “All I wanted was a faithful husband, but when I complained too much when he slept with half the women in this town, he started stripping away the life I’ve enjoyed and the things I love about it.” Sofia’s voice finally softened and she sounded like a woman set adrift in a sea of uncertainty.
“Has he contacted an attorney that you know of?” An impending divorce was the fastest way to an impending police investigation, and that’s not what her client needed. She promised quick and easy closure, and that’s what she’d deliver.
“Unless he went behind my back, no.” Sofia sounded sure, but she’d droned on at first about how solid her marriage was, saying she just wanted to make totally sure. But that had been a month ago.
The fantasy world Sofia had existed in for so long was destroyed after Reed had followed Victor for two days. All Sofia had wanted at first was to convince herself the rumors about Victor weren’t true. That simple plan had turned on the proverbial dime when the truth was staring at her in nice glossy pictures.
“Do you want me to find out?�
��
Reed wondered if the golfer trying to put his little ball in the hole knew his pants had torn down the seam, showing his dingy tighty-whities. The lesson from this little story was: become a better golfer and avoid sand traps if your pants are at least a size too small.
“All I need you to do is tell Victor and your kids you’re going to New York to spend time with your family. Once you’re out of town, turn your phone off and relax. Don’t complain about Victor or your sons to anyone, but answer the inevitable questions of why you’re there with you needed a break before you came back to work on your marriage. Do not raise any questions with Victor or anyone else about divorce. You don’t want that in someone’s memory when the cops start asking questions.”
“You know who my father is, right? He’ll never believe that I’m in New York for a break, and I don’t want him blamed.”
