Teaser Tuesday! ~ The Prophet and the Snow Angel

 

When Navy Seal Team leader, Charlie Stein is paired with Operations Analyst Aria Lockett, he is annoyed. Having the burden of an Analyst on a field mission was not a headache he wanted to endure.

Operations Analyst Aria Lockett has been tracking The White Guard Terrorist cell for years. When they finally get a strong lead on an upcoming attack, she is ready to put an end to their terrorist reign once and for all.

With an imminent attack scheduled for Christmas Day in Rome, the pair must work together to thwart the threat. The unease between them quickly turns to trust and unexpected desire. When the terror cell is alerted to their plan, can they remain focused and save Christmas or will their growing feelings cloud their judgment and destroy the path of hope?

Excerpt

 “Good afternoon, Jean-Paul Krandif. How can I help you?”

“We apologize for taking time out of your busy day. My name is Chris Schoenfelder, and this is my associate Lisa Milam. Your establishment is very beautiful.”

“Thank you, our supporters are very generous, and we have established ourselves as the premiere établissement vinicole of Paris. The tourists love us. Please call me Jean,” he said, leaning against the desk.

“Given your reputation and expansive collection du vin from around the world, I just wanted some insight about the procurement of some rather rare more robust vintages.”

“There is an entire network of dealers and well-known suppliers. Why come to me?” Krandif said. “What business are you in again?”

“Recovery and we were told you are the guy who gets things done."

“How can I help?”

“Well, what we wanna know is, if I wanted to procure and transport canisters of a potentially lethal bioweapon from somewhere, let's say, Germany would you be the guy to talk to?” Stein said. Aria watched Krandif’s reaction closely. He blinked, and his bald head started to perspire. “Would you be that guy?”

“No, I'm afraid not,” Krandif said. “I believe our meeting is over.”

Krandif moved to the door and Stein followed, “all right, thank you for...wait I have a quick question. Do you like Hummers?”

Oh good lord

“Range Rovers, Land cruisers?”

“Mr. Schoenfelder, will you leave the room?

“No!” Stein said, smashing Krandif’s head against the edge of the wooden door. “Should've taken the money, Jean!” Aria immediately moved behind the desk to the computer.

“You broke my nose!” Krandif said.

Stein pulled his weapon from the back of his pants, pointing it at Krandif’s head, “not a word.” Aria wrapped up the laptop, cable, and started searching the desk. “I won't shoot you unless I have to, don’t make me have to because and I’ll feel bad about it. Sit down!” Aria pulled the duct tape out of her bag, tossing it to Stein. Stein proceeded to bind Krandif to the chair. Aria pulled every piece of paper and notebook out of the desk, shoving it into her bag. Then she started on the bookshelf.

“Two nights ago, you had a German visitor, Geoff Vlakin. Why was he here?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, we have guests—” Krandif started, and Stein backhanded him with the gun in his hand. “Understand, it is not my intent to disrupt this little operation you’ve got going on here, Jean. I need to know about Vlakin. Why he was here and the location of the canisters he stole.”

“I don’t—”

“Come on, Jean,” Stein hit the man’s face again. “I can do this all day. Just tell me what I need to know, and we can be on our merry way.”

Aria yanked the books off the shelves uncovering a hard drive and a camera she detached and shoved into her bag, “Stein, we need to go.”

Stein glanced at her and then hit Krandif again, this time pointing his gun at the man’s groin, “Talk to me Jean, or you will be spending Christmas getting reconstructive plastic surgery that may or may not restore your manhood.”

“Fine!” Krandif said. “The man—”

“Vlakin.”

“Yes, Vlakin. He asked me to add a box to my shipment. It seemed harmless,” Krandif said.

“Where?”

“I don’t know. Vlakin put the package on one of the trucks. I didn’t ask which one.”

“Where is the shipment going?”

“Downtown Paris.”

“When?”

“Today,” Krandif said, and Stein rolled his eyes.

“Where are the deliveries for today?” Krandif hesitated, and Stein shot him in the knee. Krandif screamed. “Come on, Jean, you’re making this way too hard.”

“Alright, alright!” Krandif said. “There are three, I de Flore, Les Deux Magots, and Le Secret.” Aria gathered up her bag and moved to the door.

Stein ripped off another piece of tape using it to cover Krandif’s mouth, “thank you for your cooperation. It’s been a pleasure.” Stein met her at the door. “Let’s go.”

Aria followed Stein out of The Ice House without incident. Aria immediately dialed her phone as they dashed to the car. “Wes, we have three potential targets—”

 

Stein got into the car, his mind spinning with the most likely target. All well known Paris café’s. The door next to him closed, and he started to drive. “Three places. All well known, all heavily populated this time of day.”

“He said it was a box which means it the device is small. Likely a low yield,” Aria said, digging into her bag. She pulled out the laptop, inserting a USB drive into the device. “We are dispatching French Hazmat and police to all three locations.”

“Where are we going?”

“Give me a minute,” Aria said, waiting for the encryption key to do its job. The computer unlocked, and she started searching.

“The deliveries are regular. Check the last delivery contents against the deliveries for today. See if there are any anomalies,” Stein said. “There has to be a notation, a change in weight, contents—”

“Stein shut up!” Aria scrolled through the data fervently searching. “If you are getting paid to deliver an important package you are going to assign someone you trust to get it done. Not your usual lackey.”

She found it, the delivery driver for Le Secretonly driver was not on a reoccurring route before today.

“Le Secret, it’s going to Le Secret.”

“We are ten minutes away,” Stein said.

“Go faster,” Aria said, and Stein hit the gas weaving his way through Paris traffic. Aria was back on the phone updating Wes. They hit a traffic jam and came to a stop. “Stein!”

“I’m working on it.” Stein looked around seeing the median between the two sides clear. “Hang on.” He pulled onto the median and hit the gas, seeing a break in the cars he made a left and then a right. He came to a stop at the police barricade. Both he and Aria sprinted toward the chaos of the café evacuation. Stein saw Wes in front of the building. People started falling. One by one they fell like dominos. Stein stepped up his pace and grabbed Aria holding her back.

They watched Wes turn in realization before he fell to the ground.

“No!” Aria screamed.

The Prophet and the Snow Angel is coming this holiday season from eXtasy Books stay tuned for more details!


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Teaser Tuesday ~ Finders

Now that Finders is off to the editor I thought I would give y'all another sneak peek. Enjoy!

Blurb : When an expert Demonologist a meets a Reality Show Producer on the Ghost Hunting Show Finders, sparks of true love fly so bright even the Devil takes notice.

Demonologist Luke Melloy has seen the face of true evil. He's fought it and sent it back to hell. It's what he does. To Claire Westin, ghosts and demons are just great television and good for ratings. When faced with the truth Luke has seen, her reality is turned upside down as the two are swept into dire straits just moments after they meet. Desire sparks between the unlikely pair, throwing their hearts into chaos. Love was neither expected or wanted.

When the demon targets an unsuspecting Claire with his wrath, Luke finds his focus split between his oath to God and the awakening of his heart. Together, they must face the ancient evil and defeat it. Or lose everything.

Excerpt

Claire moved off to the right. Luke forced himself to not look in her direction, giving her needed privacy. Arranging his clothes to dry he left a drying rod for Claire’s things.

You’re a professional. Your attraction to this woman is superficial and based on the extreme circumstances of the moment. Nothing more. Focus.

Luke turned to the bed of leaves realizing his little pep talk wasn’t working. Running a frustrated hand over the back of his neck, Claire stepped into his eyeline, and he stopped. Her hair once pulled up and away from her face, was now a cascade of caramel dancing in the firelight. She moved carefully. Her bare feet unsteady on the rocky floor. The edge of his gray t-shirt showed off her long, toned legs but covered enough to tweak his imagination. Her blue eyes shone brightly despite the surrounding darkness. Luke struggled to focus on anything but the ravishing beauty walking toward him.

“Where do you want me to put these?” She asked, her eyes full of uncertainty.

“I’ll…” he started and then stopped recalling her need not to be coddled. “You can hang them here.” Luke referenced the piece of wood hanging over the fire. She stepped forward. Luke put another log on the fire and moved to the pile of leaves.

“How is this gonna work?” She asked, her gentle voice a small whisper from behind.

“The idea is to create heat through mutual body warmth, then trap the heat under the leaves to raise body temperature. Not the most ideal situation but it’s all we have until the clothes dry out,” Luke said, Claire was already shivering violently. He wasted no more time. “You’re going to lay down first, on your side facing the wall. I’ll lay down next to you, cover you with my body as much as possible. Once settled in we can cover ourselves with the leaves.”

Claire went from feeling awkward to not caring one single bit about her nakedness. She was freaking cold! Claire moved forward, the sharp rocks beneath her feet making her wince in pain. The glossy leaves were a comfort for her feet. She lowered first to her knees and then bent forward on her hands. She was shifting to get comfortable as possible, finding herself struggling without something beneath her head.

The sound of rustling and the delicious warmth of his body alerted Claire to Luke’s presence. His large arm slid beneath her neck to cradle her head, and she thanked God for miracles. Her body shivered in response. Luke started twisting, she could feel him draping the leaves over their bodies. Once finished his free arm wrapped securely around her waist pulling her solidly against his heated chest. If she would stop shivering, she could almost feel sleep pulling her away.

“No sleeping, princess.”

“No promises.”

“Not an option.”

* * * *

That's it! That is all you get!

Hope you LOVED it!

Finders will be out this FALL!

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Teaser Tuesday ~ Sneak Peek Outsider in Oklahoma

The shadows grew longer. She estimated only a few hours remained until sunset. Raised in Pennsylvania, she wasn’t a stranger to farm life and their open fields, early evenings and mornings that began before the sunrise. Living across from a dairy farm as a child, she saw the farm hands work the cattle and the fields. It was a hard life, but not without satisfaction for those who loved it.

Maybe that was why she couldn’t picture Aidan here. His passion had always been with the publishing world, the big city and working with clients. Particularly the trends that defined sales, spikes, marketing and the future of the publishing landscape. Since working with him she’d grown to appreciate his passion for the methodology and chaos of it all. Aidan Durrant was an amazing man, and part of the reason she’d worked with him all these years.

The center of activity played out away from the house. Following a gravely, dirt path, the herd of cattle milled around the largest of three enclosures. She heard the familiar sound of a horse whinnying to her right and discovered the smallest enclosure corralled several sturdy, tall horses. A cowboy brandishing a black hat conversed with a second man while examining one of the horses.

Tess watched the pleasurable interaction between them. She hooked her elbows on the top rail of the fence, like a little girl at a rodeo she didn’t want to miss a moment.

The discussion about the horse ended in agreement. The man in the cowboy hat nodded in her direction. She couldn’t help but admire his muscular body. The worn dungarees and cotton work shirt silhouetted against the sun outlined a fine specimen of a man. Cowboys certainly knew how to stay in shape. The cowboy she’d been admiring gave her a wicked grin and Tess’s knees went weak, realizing beneath the hat was a familiar pair of green eyes, Aidan. Oh, God, I’ve done it now.

She had a weakness for alpha males, cowboys, the man’s man. In her childhood fantasies, her prince would kick ass and take names before rescuing her. Now, as an adult, she liked to think she could kick some ass of her own.

Aidan strutted across the enclosure; his expression mesmerizing her, and she couldn't help but blush. This wasn’t the same man she’d spent the last seven years with. No way. Aidan Durrant’s timeworn boots stopped a few feet away. When his green eyes flashed gold, her breath caught in her throat.

"Nice hat, " he said.

"I like yours better."

One dark eyebrow rose.

Who are you, and what have you done with my boss?

"How are you enjoying the fresh air?"

"I am perfect."

"Always have been."

Tess bit her tongue, but inside, she smirked.

"Something wrong with the horse?" Tess quickly turned the subject.

"Nothing we can’t fix with rehabilitation."

"I don’t remember seeing horses earlier."

"There weren’t any."

"Another surprise from Daniel?"

"My brother seemed determined to run up debt." Aidan scratched his head. "Wonder if he realized we were so far in we’d never crawl our way out?"

"Maybe he wanted to do something good for once." Her words were out of line and she knew it. "I’m sorry…"

"No, maybe you’re right." Aidan motioned her to follow him and locked the gate behind them. "You must be starving."

"And you must have heard my stomach protesting."

His hand landed on the small of her back. He leaned into her and pointed to a building across the path. "I need to finish with the Vet and get cleaned up. I’ll meet you in the dining hall in a few minutes."

"Sounds like a plan," Tess said, acutely aware of the warmth flowing from his hand into her back. Aidan smiled and rejoined the vet who was loading a horse onto a trailer. Tess leaned against the fence, puzzled by her reaction to his touch. They’d brushed shoulders a million times over the years. So what was different about this time?

Shaking the thought from her head, she wrote it off to the relaxed ambiance at the ranch, the fresh air. She’d always been aware of his beauty, but it never seemed as pronounced as now. Had she been so buried in her job, she never appreciated the finer things about Aidan Durrant? With that question lingering in her mind, she turned toward the dining hall.

***

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