06 Double Danger
Page 29
Avery’s heart stopped. His breath stuck in his throat. And he felt as if someone had just kicked him in the gut.
She was dressed in fatigues, standing next to a bearded man leaning against a desk, his hand resting intimately on her knee. “Sweet Jesus,” Avery said, the words strangled. “This was on the backup drive we found in Afghanistan?”
“Yeah.” Harrison nodded, his face filled with worry. “I was just as surprised as you are.”
“Is that?” Drake said, turning to Nash, who was staring open-mouthed at the photograph.
“Yeah.” Nash nodded. “Martin Shrum. Avery’s old partner. From before A-Tac days. And Evangeline, Avery’s wife. But I thought she was—”
“Dead,” Avery finished, emotion cutting through him as he caressed the ring he wore on his little finger. “She is. For almost fourteen years now.”
“Yeah, well, Avery, there’s more.” Harrison clicked the picture so that it zoomed in and then moved it so that they could better see the desk behind the two people. “Look at the wall.” He enlarged the picture again.
“It’s a calendar,” Drake said, stating the obvious.
Avery’s blood ran cold, his eyes reading the date, his mind trying to process the seemingly impossible.
“Holy shit,” Drake continued, his incredulity only adding to the surrealistic horror of the moment. “It’s dated December of last year.”
ALSO BY DEE DAVIS
Dark Deceptions
Dangerous Desires
Desperate Deeds
Daring (novella)
Deep Disclosure
Deadly Dance
Raves for Dee Davis’s A-Tac Series
DEADLY DANCE
“What an intense and thrilling read!”
—USAToday.com
“Davis brings in the suspense and romance in good, equal doses.”
—RT Book Reviews
“A dynamic suspense that fans will surely enjoy.”
—RomRevToday.com
“A great addition to this exciting series. Ms. Davis keeps each book fresh and new. This is a wonderful series and one I recommend to anybody who loves action with their romance.”
—NightOwlReviews.com
DEEP DISCLOSURE
“The bullets are flying in this fast-paced, high-octane, romantic adventure. Don’t miss Deep Disclosure—it’s Dee Davis at her best!”
—Brenda Novak, New York Times bestselling author of In Seconds
“Davis creates a compelling, entertaining story line, action-packed and full of mystery, suspense, and an unlikely romance. Readers will not be able to put it down; this is a real page-turner.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Dee Davis brings a pulse-pounding tale of romantic suspense in Deep Disclosure… This is the latest in Davis’s series about hunky special operatives and the danger surrounding them, and they all continue to bring in the heat and the action.”
—Parkersburg News and Sentinel (WV)
DESPERATE DEEDS
“Delightful… The perfect weekend or vacation read. The fast-paced story takes you through an intriguing game of cat and mouse as protagonists solve the crime, save the world, and, of course, fall in love.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Five Stars, Top Pick! This series is fast-paced and action-packed. This book is a keeper. I, for one, cannot wait to see what Ms. Davis will bring us next.”
—NightOwlReviews.com
DANGEROUS DESIRES
“Rich in dialogue [with] a strong heroine and intricate plot. Full of twists, turns, and near-death encounters, readers will consume this quickly and want more.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Danger, deception, and desire are the main literary ingredients in Davis’s high-adrenaline, highly addictive novel of romantic suspense.”
—Chicago Tribune
“Dangerous Desires’ pace is perfect, the dialogue clever, and the plotlines are surprising, captivating, and brilliant.”
—ReadertoReader.com
DARK DECEPTIONS
“High-stakes action and high-impact romance… Dee Davis leaves me breathless.”
—Roxanne St. Claire, New York Times bestselling author
“Dee Davis always keeps me on edge from start to finish! I read this book in one sitting… a keeper!”
—FreshFiction.com
“Dee Davis sure knows how to nail a romantic suspense. Packed full of tension, action, and romance, this book is a page-turner from beginning to end.”
—BookPleasures.com
THE DISH
Where authors give you the inside scoop!
From the desk of Katie Lane
Dear Reader,
Have you ever pulled up to a stoplight and looked over to see the person in the car next to you singing like they’re auditioning for American Idol? They’re boppin’ their head and thumpin’ the steering wheel like some crazy loon. Well, I’m one of those crazy loons. I love to sing. I’m not any good at it, but that doesn’t stop me. I sing in the shower. I sing while cooking dinner and cleaning house. And I sing along with the car radio at the top of my lungs. Singing calms my nerves, boosts my energy, and inspires me, which is exactly how my new Deep in the Heart of Texas novel came about.
One morning, I woke up with the theme song to the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas rolling around in my head. You know the one I’m talking about: “It’s just a little bitty pissant country place…” The song stayed with me for the rest of the day, along with the image of a bunch of fun-loving women singing and dancing about “nothin’ dirty going on.” A hundred verses later, about the time my husband was ready to pull out the duct tape, I had an exciting idea for my new novel.
My editor wasn’t quite as excited.
“A what?” she asked, and she stared at me exactly like the people who catch me singing at a stoplight.
She relaxed when I explained that it wasn’t a functioning house of ill repute. The last rooster flew the coop years ago. Now Miss Hattie’s Henhouse is nothing more than a dilapidated old mansion with three old women living in it. Three old women who have big plans to bring Miss Hattie’s back to its former glory. The only thing that stands in their way is a virginal librarian who holds the deed to the house and a smokin’ hot cowboy who is bent on revenge for his great-grandfather’s murder.
Yes, there will be singing, dancing, and just a wee bit of “dirty going on.” And of course, all the folks of Bramble, Texas, will be back to make sure their librarian gets a happy ending.
I hope you’ll join me there!
Best wishes,
From the desk of Amanda Scott
Dear Reader,
What happens when a self-reliant Highland lass possessing extraordinary “gifts” meets a huge, shaggy warrior wounded in body and spirit, to whom she is strongly attracted, until she learns that he is immune to her gifts and that her father believes the man is the perfect husband for her?
What if the warrior is a prisoner of her father’s worst enemy, who escaped after learning of a dire threat to the young King of Scots, recently returned from years of English captivity and struggling to take command of his unruly realm?
Lady Andrena MacFarlan, heroine of THE LAIRD’S CHOICE, the first book in my Lairds of the Loch trilogy, is just such a lass; and escaped Highland-galley slave and warrior Magnus “Mag” Galbraith is such a man. He is also dutiful and believes that his first duty is to the King.
I decided to set the trilogy in the Highlands west of Loch Lomond and soon realized that I wanted a mythological theme and three heroines with mysterious gifts, none of which was Second Sight. We authors have exploited the Sight for years. In doing so, many of us have endowed our characters with gifts far beyond the original meaning, which to Highlanders was the rare ability of a person to “see” an event while it was happening (usually the death of a loved one in distant battle).
It occurred to me, however, that many of us today possess mysterious “gifts.” We ca
n set a time in our heads to waken, and we wake right on time. Others enjoy flawless memories or hearing so acute that they hear sounds above and/or below normal ranges—bats’ cries, for example. How about those who, without reason, dream of dangers to loved ones, then learn that such things have happened? Or those who sense in the midst of an event that they have dreamed the whole thing before and know what will happen?
Why do some people seem to communicate easily with animals when others cannot? Many can time baking without a timer, but what about those truly spooky types who walk to the oven door just before the timer goes—every time—as if the thing had whispered that it was about to go off?
Warriors develop extraordinary abilities. Their hearing becomes more acute; their sense of smell grows stronger. Prisoners of war find that all their senses increase. Their peripheral vision even widens.
In days of old, certain phenomena that we do not understand today might well have been more common and more closely heeded.
Lady Andrena reads (most) people with uncanny ease and communicates with the birds and beasts of her family’s remaining estate. That estate itself holds secrets and seems to protect her family.
Her younger sisters have their own gifts.
And as for Mag Galbraith… Well, let’s just say he has “gifts” of his own that make the sparks fly.
I hope you’ll enjoy THE LAIRD’S CHOICE. Meantime, suas Alba!
www.amandascottauthor.com
From the desk of Dee Davis
Dear Reader,
Sometimes we meet someone and there is an instant connection, that indefinable something that creates sparks between two people. And sometimes that leads almost immediately to a happily ever after. Or at least the path taken seems to be straight and true. But sometimes life intervenes. Mistakes are made, secrets are kept, and that light is extinguished. But we rarely ever forget. That magical moment is too rare to dismiss out of turn, and, if given the right opportunity, it always has the potential to spring back to life again.
That’s the basis of Simon and Jillian’s story. Two people separated by pride and circumstance. Mistakes made that aren’t easily undone. But the two of them have been given a second chance. And this time, just maybe they’ll get it right. Of course to do that, they’ll have to overcome their fears. And they’ll have to find a way to confront their past with honesty and compassion. Easily said—not so easily done. But part of reading romance, I think, is the chance to see that in the end, no matter what has happened, it all can come right again.
And at least as far as I’m concerned, Jillian and Simon deserve their happy ending. It’s just that they’ll have to work together to actually get it.
As always, this book is filled with places that actually exist. I love the Fulton Seaport and have always been fascinated with the helipads along the East River. The buildings along the river that span the FDR highway have always been a pull. How much fun to know that people are whizzing along underneath you as you stare out your window and watch the barges roll by. The brownstone that members of A-Tac use during their investigation is based on a real one near the corner of Sutton Place and 57th Street.
The busy area around Union Square is also one of my favorite hang-outs in the city. And so it seemed appropriate to put Lester’s apartment there. His gallery, too, is based on reality—specifically, the old wrought-iron clad buildings in SoHo. As to the harbor warehouses, while I confess to never having actually been in one, I have passed them several times when out on a boat, and they always intrigue me. So it isn’t surprising that one should show up in a book.
And I must confess to being an avid Yankees fan. So it wasn’t much of a hardship to send the team off to the stadium during a fictional World Series win. I was lucky enough to be there for the ticker-tape parade when they won in 2009. And Boone Logan is indeed a relief pitcher for the Yankees.
I also gave my love of roses to Michael Brecht, dead-heading being a very satisfying way to spend a morning. And finally, the train tunnel that the young Jillian and Simon dare to cross in the middle of the night truly does exist, near Hendrix College in Arkansas. (And it was, in fact, great sport to try and make it all the way through!)
Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading Jillian and Simon’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
For insight into both of them, here are some songs I listened to while writing DOUBLE DANGER:
“Stronger,” by Kelly Clarkson
“All the Rowboats,” by Regina Spektor
“Take My Hand,” by Simple Plan
And as always, check out www.deedavis.com for more inside info about my writing and my books.
Happy Reading!
From the desk of Isobel Carr
Dear Reader,
I have an obsession with history. And as a re-enactor, that obsession frequently comes down to a delight in the minutia of day-to-day life and a deep love of true events that seem stranger than fiction. And we all know that real life is stranger than fiction, don’t we?
RIPE FOR SEDUCTION grew out of just such a real-life story. Lady Mary, daughter of the Duke of Argyll, married Edward, Viscount Coke (heir to the Earl of Leicester). It was not a happy marriage. He left her alone on their wedding night, imprisoned her at his family estate, and in the end she refused him his marital rights and went to live with her mother again. Lucky for her, the viscount died three years later when she was twenty-six. And while I can see how wonderful it might be to rewrite that story, letting the viscount live and making him come groveling back, it was not the story that inspired me. No, it was what happened after her husband’s death. Upon returning to town after her mourning period was over, Lady Mary received a most indecent proposal… and the man who made it was fool enough to put it in writing. Lady Mary’s revenge was swift, brutal, and brilliant. I stole it for my heroine, Lady Olivia, who like Lady Mary had suffered a great and public humiliation at the hands of her husband, and who, also like Lady Mary, eventually found herself a widow.
And don’t try finding out just what the poor man did or what Lady Mary’s response was by Googling it. That story isn’t on Wikipedia (though maybe I should add it). You’ll have to come let Roland show you what it means to be RIPE FOR SEDUCTION if you want to find out.
www.isobelcarr.com
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Contents
Welcome
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Epilogue
A Preview of Dire Distraction
Also By Dee Davis
Raves for Dee Davis’s A-Tac Series
The Dish
Newsletters
Copyright
Copyright
This book 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 events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2012 by Dee Davis Oberwetter
Excerpt from Dire Distraction © 2012 by Dee Davis Oberwetter
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the sca
nning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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ISBN 978-1-4555-1758-9